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