An Introduction to Film

An Introduction to Film (Faith & Film: Elements of Filmmaking) The Special Nature of the Art of the Cinema The Effects of Flow 1. Flow: “Anything that makes you conscious of the camera pulls you out of the experience” (see Boorstin, Making Movies Work, 31). Contrast this to the flow of a sermon. Should a sermon ever draw attention to itself as a mode of persuasion (to lose flow but add to the credibility)? 2. The essence of the art of Cinema is the FLOW that we experience when we’re transported into an imaginary but vividly real world of make-believe (cinema’s “illusionism”). FLOW engages our curiosity, interest, desire, and intellect by causing us to become concerned, focused, Questioning, and open to new realities and interpretations. To get to the “what” of the movies” we first have to get past the “wow of the how” (the illusion). 3. Flow occurs when a movie appeals powerfully in three areas in good balance (in Boorstin, How Movies Work): a) The voyeuristic element: this world is real (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars trilogies, Godfather, Harry Potter films) b) The vicarious element: I empathize with the feelings of the characters (Sixth Sense, Philadelphia, Contact, Precious, Shawshank Redemption) c) The visceral element: I am caught up in experiencing this (Devil, thriller movies, Toy Story 3) 4. For the viewers to experience this flow, they must be willing to “suspend their belief.” (They know the movie is not real, but they are willing to accept this.) In addition, all the elements of the movie should cooperate to keep viewers absorbed in the movie, not expel them out of it. (“Verisimilitude” = the Quality or appearance of being true.) Some elements that distract or expel the viewer from the experience: poor theatre conditions, lack in narrative and visual continuity (plot holes, anachronism), lack of believability (within the established “universe” of the story). A Unique Form of Art 1. The main purpose of the cinematic experience is to entertain. While we can easily accept what we see on screen as reality, it is highly selective, carefully constructed representational “map” (idealized, glamorized, staged to be more ugly or beautiful than reality). 1 2. In cinema, remember that the medium (visual/audio presentation) is the message (meaning, value, story). All movies have a mixture of both meaning (the what of the content) and message (how it’s presented)—the two cannot be separated. The “message” side stresses the real and the actual; the “medium” side stresses expressionism and the fantastic. Horace: “He wins universal applause who blends what is improving [the message] with what is pleasing [the medium].” 3. Cinematic art depends on the “persistence of vision,” by which the retina retains an “after- image” of 1/10 of a second after viewing the lighted image while the dark between images occurs on the screen. The Artists Who Create Film Cinematic art involves a team of creative people (246 crafts are involved in the average film) working along a continuum of skills combining the medium (form, techniQue) and the message (content, ideas). 1. Some artistic contributors must span BOTH sides of the medium and the message (these are the key figures/items). a) The PRODUCER. This is the head of the studio who secures money for the budget, develops the initial concept, chooses the stars, director, and possibly the script. Producers include associate producers, executive producers, and production managers. Under these there are usually production assistants. b) The DIRECTOR. The director is in charge of production and photography, secures the rest of the cast, technical crew, cameraman, location, music. Under the director there are usually a casting director for the actors and a director of photography. c) The ACTORS. They master the message of the script and express it in the proper medium by acting out the script. Actors can rely on methods of imitation (“techniQue” acting) or involvement in character (“method” acting). There are featured actors (“stars”) as well as guest stars, co-stars, support roles, and sometimes voice-overs. d) The CINEMATOGRAPHER. This is the key cameraman (also called a DP for “director of photography”) whose job is to photograph/film what is before the camera. He uses many options available to be accurate yet convey the right emotional tone and atmospheric effects. Choices include film stock, lighting options (daylight, flood light, reflector, filter, backlighting, etc.). The cameraman is often more responsible for the film’s visual style than the director. e) The CRITIC. The critic evaluates the message, medium and their artistic interaction. 2. Some artistic contributors focus more on the MEDIUM (technical production). a) Cameraman b) Soundman c) Special effects 2 d) Costume/wardrobe e) Scenery f) Gaffer (key electrician with assistants) (Best Boy = Gaffer’s first assistant) g) Key Grip and assistants to move camera, lighting, scenery, dolly tracks, etc. h) Set decorator i) Property manager j) Make-up artist k) Hair stylist l) Stunt coordinator m) Visual effects coordinator n) Special effects coordinator o) Composer/music director p) Stand-in actors q) Extras (non-speaking parts) r) Production sound mixer s) Editor and assistants 3. Some artists contributors focus more on the MESSAGE a) The writer(s) (also called screenwriter) creates an original script or adapts an existing work (play, novel, etc) into a movie script. b) The script supervisor ensures continuity of the film (most are shot out of seQuence). c) The reviewer, critic, or censor What to Look For in the Medium of the Movies Film Stock 1. Film stock (type) includes options such as gauge or width (8mm, 16mm, 35mm [what most movies use], 70mm), grain, speed, color, tone, sound, aspect ratio, frame size. 2. Once a reel of film is exposed it is called “footage.” Type of Camera 1. Cameras can be fixed (mounted), handheld, IMAX (bigger image and is beginning to be used more; i.e. The Dark Knight had portions shot in IMAX). 2. The lens focuses the image. The iris diaphragm consists of plates that allow for a larger or smaller amount of light to enter the central hole (“lens aperture”). (It functions the same way the eye’s pupil does.) 3. The shutter determines the different lengths of time (expressed in “f-stops”) that light is allowed in much like the eyelid does. 3 4. The actual film has a material base (transparent and flexible) with an emulsion (mixture of liQuids that do not blend) on it. Up until the early 1950’s nitrate film was used, but it was highly flammable. It was replaced with cellulose acetate. The Technical Aspects of Production 1. The frame. A frame is one photographed picture, a single rectangular area of exposed film that is separated from the next frame by a line. Raw celluloid film is a strip of frames which is constantly being moved along and intermittently stopped at regular intervals by sprockets and projection mechanisms. At each stop, the frame is briefly exposed (1/24th of a second) as the shutter briefly opens, allowing light to create a negative imprint on the film. Half of our viewing time we start at a dark screen (between frames). 2. The shot (called a “take” on the set). The “shot” is the basic unity in cinematography, and is usually a set of uninterrupted consecutive frames. The shot refers to all the images created at one time from one camera position (from “action” to “cut”). Shot duration is measured either in feet and frames, or seconds. (With 35mm film, this comes out to 16 frames per foot; 1 ½ feet of film = 1 second of footage.) Most shots run between 1 and 10 seconds. Director must make sure there is good “coverage” in their shots. There should be sufficient footage of the action from all perspectives needed to allow for the finished product. 3. “Mise-en-scene.” This French term refers to the composition within the frame and throughout the shot. Shooting a “take” involves carefully arranging what the camera will see on set and record within the frame. This is comparable to painting on a canvas or framing a picture with the view-finder of a camera. Mise-en-scene includes many variables: a) Framing (tight or open). Much mise-en-scene focuses on the location of people and objects within the space of the frame at rest or in motion in relationship to each other. Are the characters in the center or off-center? What is the meaning of empty space? Relationships are often expressed in geographical configurations (triangular, rectangular, circular, etc.). This is why something is lost when the sides of a widescreen picture are cropped off; pan-and-scan versions of films lack some information in the original presentation. The viewer’s imagination can be manipulated as to what is in the frame, but also as to what is imaged outside the frame. People and objects are often emphasized by an “inner frame” – framing them within a frame (window, doorway). (EXAMPLES: Citizen Kane scene when Charles is being signed over to the banker [ch. 6 on DVD]; The Searchers beginning and end framing shots). All the action must follow “action lines” so that movement within the story proceeds from shot to shot with consistency (i.e. a ball thrown to the left of the thrower’s frame enters the catcher’s frame from the right). b) Pan (rotation, partial or 360 degrees) or tilt motion with the camera on a pivot (this affects viewpoint). 4 c) Motion (forward or backward, fast or slow) of the camera on a dolly or crane between shots and during shots (this also affects viewpoint).

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