Announcement
• Please do the reading -Textbook (formal analysis) -The film term list
• SA2.1 due Thursday midnight -Film available on Canvas -Prepare for SA2.2 (comparative cultural analysis)
Thursday: Movie Day; prompts distributed About SA 2.1
• Do you describe a specific scene and identify the details? • Do you use clear and logical language? • Do you focus on 1-2 particular categories of basic elements? • Do you develop your analysis by giving at least one example (for the category) from the scene of the kinds of mise-en- scene/camera movement/sound/editing? • Do you cite the reading or place in dialogue with other scenes/films? • Do you ask a(n) effective question about the scene? Start with a keyword and conclude with a question that you are interested in and might dig deeper in the following assignments Panning Shot Tracking Shot
Stationary camera Moving camera
turns on an axis; moves along a linear path; sweeps from left to right or horizontally on wheels or from right to left railroad-like tracks Stationary Cam Moving Cam movement movement
Stationary camera Mobile camera (shooting from a moving object)
mostly used for Establishing shot, Tracking/dolly shot Still shot, (travelling shot) Scenery shot, Moving shot, Panning shot; Crane shot; Long take (one scene) Long take (sequence shot) Handheld Stabilized shooting shooting handheld camera professional stabilized camera/steadycam
Mobile, Shaky, Stable, Smooth, Naturalist, Continuous, disturbing More common Writing About Film
-Who is your audience?
-To be an investigator, detective
-Observation: details, evidence
- Critical Analysis Searching for Evidence
• Mise-en-scene (setting/prop, subjects, composition) • Camera Movement • Sound • Editing
Film Editing
Editing
Shot-shot relations: graphic; rhythmic; spatial; temporal editing basics: 4 kinds of edit (transitions); 4 kinds of emphasis
Two approaches to editing: . for continuity (Classical Hollywood Style) . for discontinuity (Soviet Montage)
Two aesthetic styles . editing matters . the lack of editing (single shot cinema; slow cinema; cinema of stasis) Shot-shot Relations
Graphic Purely pictorial qualities Mise-en-scene and most cinematographic aspects For smooth continuity or abrupt contrast
Shot-shot Relations
Rhythmic
About the length of individual shots (Short as a single frame or thousands of frames long) Several shot lengths form a discernible pattern
Cinematic rhythm: editing rhythm + other film techniques (movement in the mise-en-scene, camera position and movement, the rhythm of sound, the overall context) Shot-shot Relations
Spatial Create film space (juxtapose any two points in space; construct a whole space out of component parts)
Kuleshov Effect: any series of shots that in the absence of an establishing shot prompts the spectator to infer a spatial whole on the basis of seeing only portions of the space.
Emphasize different lines of action taking place in separate places; Ambiguous and uncertain spatial relations (Parallel editing/Crosscutting)
Shot-shot Relations
Temporal Control the time of the action; story-plot relation
Flashback; Flash-forward
Elliptical editing (punctuation; empty frame; cutaway) Overlapping editing
Two Approaches I
Editing for Continuity . Ensure spatial continuity 180 degree system (consistent relative positions in the frame, consistent eyelines, consistent screen direction) Establishing shot (master shot) Shot-reverse shot pattern (reestablishing shot) Eyeline match . Ensure temporal continuity The narrative progression, no gaps Soundtrack (diegetic sound overlapping on cuts) Match on action . Temporal ellipsis Dissolve/fade/wipe/cut; montage sequence
Shot/Reverse shot
Two Approaches II
Editing for Discontinuity . Graphic and rhythmic possibilities
. Spatial and temporal discontinuity Soviet Montage Two techniques: Jump cut; nondiegetic insert Axial cutting (violation of 30 degree rule) Two Aesthetic Styles
Editing Matters Action movie; parallel editing
The lack of editing Long take style Mise-en-scene; Realism; Observational, non- narrative; stillness/motion single shot cinema; slow cinema; cinema of stasis parallel editing How the sequence works
• Narrative • Composition–cinematography/Mise-en-scene • Sound • Editing • Audience address • Other considerations Audience Address
“Position”: Does the film acknowledge the spectator, or do events transpire as if no one were present? （Do characters look into the camera or pretend it is not there, for instance? –Direct Address）
“Emotion”: How does the film position the spectator vis-a-vis the onscreen events? (through music that "tells" us how to respond or distances us from the action)
“Values/Convention”: Does the film appeal to certain expectations/conventions and subvert them or conform to them?
“Ideology”: Does the film address contemporary social issues and intend to convince its audience?