anatomy of film based on text by bernard f. dick

Anatomy of FilmBased on text by Bernard F. Dick

Film, Movie or Cinema?

Movie suggests popular culture

Cinema suggests art culture

Film encompasses all

Reading Critically

Jaxtaposition Visual elements Sound elements

Context Time & Place Social Interaction

4 Formal Structure Systems

Mise-en-scene Cinematography Editing Sound

Narrative Film

Narrative told through sound and image, that builds to a climax and culminates in a resolution

Does not require dialogue Images themselves can tell

part of the story and can carry as much weight as words

Time-Space Relationships

Conflict is heard and seen Visually represents events

unfolding—some occurring at the same time

Movie Time

Must tell a story within a certain period of time

Manipulates real time Is elastic—time compressed or

prolonged

Employs many forms of art

Print Dialogue Music Camera movement Settings Costumes Performance

Graphics

Logos Main titles, credits, precredits

sequences and end credits Opening titles and end titles Other print materials: letters,

signposts, street signs, newspapers, plaques

Minimizes the need for expository dialogue

Sound

Actual Sounds Sound Effects Noise Silence

Commentative Sounds Music

Synchronization—sound and image are related contextually, spatially, and temporally

Asynchronization—sound and image are related symbolically, metaphorically, or ironically

An Introduction to Film Sound: http://www.filmsound.org/marshall/index.htm

Overlapping Sound

Sound or dialogue that either carries over from one scene to the next or anticipates the new scene

Can build narrative http://imv.au.dk/~pba/Homep

agematerial/MMproduktionmateriale/Raskin%20Sound%20%20Paper.pdf

Sound Overview

http://imv.au.dk/~pba/Homepagematerial/MMproduktionmateriale/Raskin%20Sound%20%20Paper.pdf

Voice-Over Narration

The Narrating “I” Absurdly overused

The Voice of God An authoritative voice that belongs to

no character—completely disembodied

Weaves in and out of the action, commenting, reflecting, even questioning

Imparts a feeling of objectivity Can insinuate itself into the

characters, noting their moods and emotional states

Voice-Over Narration

Epistolary Voice—plot through letters Allows the audience to hear the

other characters Plot device whose contents must

be heard Subjective Voice—the inner

voice of the character

Voice-Over Narration

The Repetitive Voice The Voice from the Machine

Deus ex machina—god from the machine, of Greek theater

Film process

The Shot The Scene vs. The Sequence

Appear to be virtually synonymous

Chief difference—there can be scenes within a sequence, but not sequences within scenes

Camera Movements

http://www.fis.ie/

The Shot

Defined in terms of distance, area or the subjects they contain

Types: Close-up Extreme Close-up Long Shot Full Shot Extreme Long

Shot Medium Shot Establishing Shot Two-shot, Three-

Shot Shot/Reverse Shot Over-the-shoulder

shot

http://www.fis.ie/

Shots

http://www.fis.ie/

The Shot

High-angle Shot God’s Eye Suggest entrapment or

frustration Low-Angle shot

Makes subject appear larger Suggests dominance or power

Objective-view of camera Point of View Shot

http://www.fis.ie/

The Moving Shot

Pan shot—horizontal Tilt shot—vertical Mobile Camera shots Swish pan—unusually rapid &

produces momentary blur Tracking Shot—greater area

and more detail Dolly Shot Crane Shot

The Moving Shot

http://www.fis.ie/

Zooms and Freezes

Zoom in/Zoom out camera does not move Represents deceptive motion

and distorts size Freeze Frame

Stopped motion Suggests stasis Implies immobility, helplessness

or indecision

The Sequence

A group of shots forming a self-contained segment of the film that is, by and large, intelligible in itself

Types Linear Sequence Associative Sequence Montage Sequence

The Linear Sequence

Beginning initiates the action Middle adds to the action End follows and completes the

action Elliptical linear sequence

Certain details omitted Viewers must make connections

The Associative Sequence

Scenes linked by an object or a series of objects

http://mcel.pacificu.edu/JAHC/JAHCV2/ARTICLES/david/david.html

Montage Sequence

A series of shots arranged in a particular order for a particular purpose

Rapid succession telescoping an event or several events

American Montage: 30s & 40s Collapses time as shots blend

together, wipe each other away or are superimposed

Calendar pages, headlines, etc.

Montage Sequence

Feature of both linear and associative sequence

Can be unified by images http://www.vsmu.sk/rybarova/

unit_7.doc

Cuts

Verb—terminate a shot Noun—a strip of film

Film stages: rough cut director’s cut final cut

Cuts

Joining of two separate shots Straight cut—one image replaces

another Contrast cut—images are dissimilar Crosscut (Parallel)—2 actions

occurring simultaneously Jump cut—break in continuity Form cut—a cut from one object to

another of similar shape Match cut—one shot complements or

“matches” the other, following smoothly without any break in continuity of time and space

Transitions—Bridge Scenes

The Fade: Fade-out & Fade-in Denotes demarcation—the end

of a narrative sequence The Dissolve

denotes continuity by the gradual replacement of one shot by another

No sooner said than done

Transitions

Synecdoche or metonymy: Two images blend in such a way

that their union constitutes a symbolic equation

However, the result is a metaphorical dissolve

A sign replaces the signified http://afronord.tripod.com/theory

.html

Transitions

Form Dissolve—merging two images with the same shape or contours Easy on the eyes Can relate to plot

The Wipe—Line traveling vertically across the scene More fluid than a cut and faster

than a dissolve Ideal for presenting a series of

events in quick succession

The Iris

Masking Shot or Iris Shot—everything blacked out except what is to be seen telescopically

Irising In/Irising Out

Editing

Selecting and arranging the shots based on Their place within the narrative Their contribution to the mood of a

particular scene or to the film as a whole

Their enhancement of the film’s rhythm

their elucidation of the film’s deeper meaning

their fulfillment of the filmmaker’s purpose

Continuity Editing

Assembling shots so that they follow each other smoothly without interruption

Preserves the illusion of an ongoing narrative

Eisenstein’s Theory of Montage

Based on contrast and conflict http://www.sensesofcinema.co

m/contents/directors/04/eisenstein.html

http://afronord.tripod.com/~afronord/eisen.html

Continuity Editing

Rhythm—variations in speed, movement, and pace

Time—parallel cutting depicts two concurrent actions

Space—parallel cutting affects sense of space as well

Tone—primarily light, shade and color

Theme—juxtaposing contrasting shots can deepen a film’s theme

Role of the Editor

Takes what has been shot and improves on it

The director’s alter ego Controls the rhythm and tone Primary purpose is to bring to

completion an artistic work already in progress

Mise-en-Scène

French phrase used to describe the staging of a play

In film—composing a shot or a sequence with the same attention to detail (set, lighting, costumes, makeup, positioning of actors within the frame, etc) that a state director lavishes on a play

A form of framing—the art of composing a shot

http://www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/Teaching_mise_en_scene.htm

Framing

Frame—strip of celluloid on which the image is captured

Shots can be framed In terms of horizontal, vertical

and diagonal lines Geometrically Iconographically In deep or shallow focus From a high or low angle In a frame that has been masked

or doubled

Framing

Tight framing Subject appears to be confined

withing the horizontal and vertical borders of the frame

Not a hint of offscreen space Gives a feeling of oppression

Canted shot—frame looks lopsided

Geometrical compositions can be symbolic as well as visually interesting

Iconography

Framing a shot to imitate a painting or sculpture

Focus

Deep Focus foreground, middle ground and

background are equally visible Conveys a greater sense of depth Minimizes the need to cut from one

shot to another Brings out meanings that otherwise

not be apparent Shallow Focus

Foreground is more distinct than background

Takes

Long take A shot that lasts more than a

minute Steadicam

Color & Lighting

Color palettes and lighting sets tone and mood

Lighting has a direct bearing on the way an image is perceived

http://www.fis.ie/

Special Effects/Visual Effects

“Art never improves, but . . . The material of art is never quite the same.”

--T. S. Eliot

Film Genres The Musical The Western The Crime Film Film Noir Combat Film Comedies

Romantic Comedy

Screwball Comedy

Farce Satire

The Reflexive Film The Woman’s

Film The Documentary The Horror Film Science-Fiction

Subtext

Infranarrative A complex structure beneath the

narrative consisting of the various associations the narrative evokes in us

Film’s dual nature Level of meanings found in

Symbols Image patterns References/allusions Reading critically

Mythic Associations

Operates on an unconscious level, presenting us with

Characters questers the enchanted and

the enchanter ogres scapegoats monsters talking animals Apparitions

Themes The homeward

journey The quest Ancestral curses Revenge Patricide Matricide

Settings Caves Wastelands Subterranean rivers Enchanted islands Flat-topped

mountains Ominous castles Desolate moors Lost worlds

Myths

Tap into our collective memory Themes of myth are universal

Return of the hero The desire for forbidden knowledge The quest for identity Coming of age Rebellion against tyranny

Transcends time and place Ultimate truths about life and

death, fate and nature, gods and humans

Film and Myth

Speak the same language—picture language

Both are oral and visual Both are intimately associated

with dreams Making a mythic association

involves remembering a pattern of experience that is universal.

Mythic Types

The quester The convert The foundling The exile The knight-errant The blessed damsel The earth mother The lost child The eternal child The alien The shadow self—doppelganger The liberator

Mythic Themes

The descent to the underworld The quest for the grail, sword, ring,

or chalice The journey into the unknown The homeward journey The birth of the hero The life force versus the force of

reason Wilderness versus civilization The transformation myth The savior myth Good versus evil

Visual/Iconic Associations

Icon’s dual nature Depicts not just a person but a

person who stands out from the ordinary

Icons

Definition: http://www.bartleby.com/65/ic/iconogra.html

Greek Icons: http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/info/attributes.html

Australian Icons: http://www.jintaart.com.au/iconography/iconhmpg.htm

Christian Icons: http://www.traditionaliconography.com/

Cemetery Iconography: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~txcemeteries/symbol.htm

Intellectual Associations

We relate the film as a whole—not just one aspect of it—to history, to another medium such as literature or opera, to another film, or even to an earlier version of itself.

Intertextuality

Musical Associations

Music has 2 main functions Advances narrative

plot device not subtextual

Enhances narrative functions as subtext Deepens the narrative by bringing

it to another level of interpretation

Music

Capable of forging ethnic and national connections

Has the power to reinforce stereotypes

Can evoke certain associations Classical music can constitute

the entire subtext

The Film Director

The Auteur—director as primary creative force behind a film

May collaborate with a screenwriter, a cinematographer, a composer, an actor, an editor, a producer, or a studio

Literary Techniques

Flashback Flash-forward

Dramatic foreshadowing Point-of-view

Omniscient narrator Implied author

Film Adaptation

Analyzing Films

1. What techniques did the filmmaker use to create the feeling of a complete film rather than a mere collection of scenes?

2. Could it have been anything other than a film—a novel, a short story, a play, for example—and still have been as effective; or was film the medium in which it reached its level of excellence?

Analyzing Films

3. How much of the film is told through images or camera movement, without recourse to dialogue?

4. Does the use of film deepen or enhance the story being told?

Analyzing Film

5. Do the camera and the script work together, each doing what it does best, so that word and image are allies rather than enemies?

6. What is the subtext, or infranarrative? How does it enrich the film?

Rebel Without a Cause

The Director: Nicholas Ray talks about heros:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZU1WYfzJY

Natalie Wood interview—how she got role:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY9Lf_7o-94&feature=related

Credits

Material taken from Bernard F. Dick’s Anatomy of Film, Fifth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.

Presentation by Patricia Burgey

On-line Guides

Readfilm.com http://www.readfilm.com/HTRBook/HTR3.pdf

Yale Film Studies http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/

http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~hogan/fall04/FilmAnalysis.doc

http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html Film Terms

http://homepage.newschool.edu/~schlemoj/film_courses/glossary_of_film_terms/glossary.html

http://www.psu.edu/dept/inart10_110/inart10/film.html