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| assemblage of film elements forms a new reality that is created in the minds of the audience. The audience becomes an active participant in the creation of the art. |
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Celebrate the raw material
Film as “recording art”
The power of the mise-en-scène |
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| a category of artistic composition |
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| the telling of the story, the progression of events that will be shown on screen. main plot |
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| a method for analyzing the deep structuring logic of cultural products and practices |
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| a comic term used to describe the final “hard-hitting” joke in a scene or act or episode. The “blow” can be a one-liner or physical action that ends a scene and often yields the biggest laugh. |
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Definition
dominance of one group over another
is an underlying consensus of ideology that serves the dominant groups in society
“Ruling Group” maintains power in two basic ways:
1. By force
2. By consent
Or by a combination of the two. |
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| is the system of ideas that make sense of society. controlled by the 'ruling power' |
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| the lifework of an artist |
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| the main plot line for a television show |
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| a secondary plot line for a television show |
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| storytelling across multiple forms of media, video games, tv, movies, theatre, etc. |
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| is the unique comic point of view of a comic artist |
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| the ability to separate ourselves from an event in order to laugh at it |
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1. a single "author" is the primary creative force behind a text
2. the body of work by that "author" expresses the author's distinctive vision of the world |
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-refers to the exchange of looks that takes place in cinema
Three looks:
- that of the camera
- that of the character
- that of the spectator |
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the object, word or stimulus itself.
"RAIN" (four letters) |
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what that object, word or stimulus represents.
"water falling from the sky" |
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| studies the way "signs communicate and the rules that govern their use" |
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A mode in which the signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified
Signify by: resemblance
Process: can see
Examples: a portrait, picture |
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A mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified but which is fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional - so that the relationship must be learnt.
Signify by: by conventions
Process: must learn
Examples: language, traffic signs
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a mode in which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way (physically or casually) to the signified - this link can be observed or inferred
Signify by: by casual connections
Process: can figure out
Examples: smoke/fire, footprints, medical symptoms |
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| a transitional sequence composed of edited images, the juxtaposition of these shots gives significance |
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| gives us the look and feel of the film, and includes all the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and makeup, actors and their movement. No editing unlike |
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| Joss Whedon: Recurring Elements |
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Definition
- Existentialist Themes: stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's actions
- Feminist Perspective: Strong Female Characters
- A Student of Genre and Narrative
- Core "Ensemble" of Actors |
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| According to Antonio Gramsci, what are the two basic ways a “ruling group” maintains power? |
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Definition
| force and consent or a combination of the two |
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| What are the benefits and cautions of the Auteur Theory? |
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Definition
Benefits - provides access to the artists life work (Oeuvre) and provides validation of commercial products potential as art
Caution - giving the director too much credit in collaborative art form |
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| What are the three “looks” of the Gaze that we explored in class? |
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Definition
| Camera, Character, Spectator |
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| According to Aristotle, what are the two purposes of art? |
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Definition
| Teach and delight (entertain) |
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| What were the first two published works of film theory? |
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Definition
| “Art of the Moving picture” and “The Photoplay of Psychological Study” |
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| What are the three categories of signs? |
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| What was the “found moment” that impacted the form of the documentary “Gimme Shelter” (1970)? |
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| When the Hell Angle guy kills the audience member at rock concert |
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| What is the key difference between expressionism and formalism? |
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• Expressionism – film as an expressive force, to guide the audience’s emotions.
– Pudovkin’s “linkage editing”, “relational editing”
• Formalism – assemblage of film elements forms a new reality that is created in the minds of the audience. The audience becomes an active participant in the creation of the art. |
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| What cinematic element was used as a formalistic tool in the sequence from Spielberg’s “Close Encounter of the Third Kind” we explored in class? |
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Definition
| Use of sound as a Formalistic Element (to condense space and time, and confuse the audience) |
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| What are the three areas of exploration we should consider when seeking to understand the oeuvre of an Auteur? |
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Definition
| An analysis of text, historical context, and biographical context. |
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Term
| During which war did the Combat Film formulate as a genre? |
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Definition
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| What are the conventions of the Combat Film? |
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The Combat Film: Semantic
• The War Machine
• The faceless, shadowy enemy
• Serve the Platoon, Squadron
• Platoon as “family”; squad leader as “father”
• Death and Resurrection
The Combat Film: Syntactic
• Celebrating glory and heroism
• The ultimate sacrifice for country
• “Us” versus “Them”
• Team vs. Individual: United we are stronger
• Through sacrifice, we can win the war!
To illustrate the conventions of the World War II Combat Film, we viewed the conclusion of “They Were Expendable” (1945) (dir. John Ford).
Dehumanization:
• The consequences:
When the face of the enemy is shown… |
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| Which critical theory was the center of debate between Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael? |
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Definition
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| "Wasp" - Two parts of a sign according to the title |
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| Signifier: wasp; Signified: danger, fear, irresponisblity |
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| Briefly, in what ways would this film be appreciated as direct cinema? |
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| Realism, believable, life-like |
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"500 Days of Summer"
Tom's perspective/Summer's Perspective/Ideologies change? |
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Definition
| Tom’s perspective is true love and destiny, and Summer’s is true love, and then their ideas on love swap with one another. |
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"500 Days of Summer"
Story's perspective - objective or subjective? |
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Definition
| Subjective perspective of Tom |
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"500 Days of Summer"
- Timeline of story |
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Definition
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"500 Days of Summer"
- Tom's two goals - childish wants & social responsibilities |
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| Childish- wants to be with summer, Social- He needs to take care of himself |
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"500 Days of Summer"
- What event is the "cute meet"? |
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| When Summer says she likes the "Smiths" in the elevator |
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"500 Days of Summer"
in what ways would Tom’s “Best Day Ever” dance sequence be appreciated as expressionistic cinema? |
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| dance manipulates the raw material and breaks the fourth wall |
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| What is the “Gilligan” at the end of the “Best Day Ever” sequence? |
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| After best day ever dance, he enters elevator as it closes, then many days go by, then elevator opens and he is sad |
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"500 Days of Summer"
in what ways would the split-screen sequence “Expectations/Reality” be appreciated as formalistic cinema? |
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| End of Act II, He finds out it is over, she is engaged, they are just friends |
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| After the “Expectations/Reality” sequence, Tom realizes a new “non-romantic” goal that takes focus. What is that goal? |
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Definition
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"500 Days of Summer"
If Tom’s central goal is to win Summer’s love, what do you believe is the first plot point (“Crossing the Threshold”) that spins the narrative from Act I to Act II? What is Plot Point II, spinning the narrative from Act II to Act III? |
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Definition
| The kiss in the copy room. When he goes into architecture because he realizes he has no chance with her. |
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| Using the two characteristics/purposes of myths as discussed in class, specifically why can “500 Days of Summer” be considered a myth? |
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| Love is somewhat of a myth, it seems achievable at times, but usually never happens |
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Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid
a. Exposition |
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Definition
| background information about characters, setting, and basic conflict. This scene/sequence ends with the Inciting Incident. |
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Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid
b. Rising Action |
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| the primary conflict develops. Secondary conflicts can provide complications. |
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Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid
c. Climax |
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| the turning point in the central action. It’s a “turning of the tide” for the protagonist’s primary conflict. |
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Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid
d. Falling Action |
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| the central conflict moves toward resolution with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. |
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Freytag's Dramatic Pyramid
e. Denouement |
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| the resolution. If a comedy, the protagonist is usually better off. If a tragedy, the protagonist is usually worse off. |
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| Syd Field’s Screenplay Structure |
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Act I: Set-Up
Act II: Complications
Act III: Resolution
Plot Point – At the end of Act I and Act II is a Plot Point, a significant event that turns the story’s action into a new direction. |
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Warner Bros. Television Writers Workshop, the Sitcom
Two-Act Structure for Sitcoms using the metaphor of a character climbing a tree. |
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Definition
Act I
a. Character establishes a goal. (The Character wants to climb the tree.)
b. Character is confronted with the first obstacle. (Climbing the tree, the character discovers a beehive.)
c. Character confronts more obstacles, making things worse. (Needing to flee the bees, the character discovers he’s stuck in the tree.)
Act II
a. Things get much worse before it gets better for the character. (Character is getting stung by the bees, and he’s allergic to bees, and now he’s stuck on a branch!)
b. Character works through the twists and turns due to the complications. (A rainstorm takes care of the bees, but the Character is now stuck on the branch getting drenched.)
c. Resolution. (Somehow, the character figures out a way to get down from the tree.) |
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Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey"
Act I: Separation |
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Definition
Act I: Separation
1. The Ordinary World
2. Call to Adventure (Catalyst, Inciting Incident)
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing of the Threshold (Plot Point I) |
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Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey”
Act IIA: Descent |
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Definition
Act IIA: Descent
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
7. Approach the Inmost Cave
8. Ordeal (1st Crisis) |
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Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey”
Act IIB: Initiation |
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Definition
Act IIB: Initiation
9. Reward
10. Road Back (2nd Crisis) |
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Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey”
Act III: Return |
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Definition
Act III: Return
11. Resurrection (Climax)
12. Return with the Elixir |
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Manipulate the raw material
Film as "plastic art"
The power of montage |
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Definition
• Formalized by French cinephiles and critics of 1940s and 1950s
• Andre Bazin, critic, co-editor of Cahiers du cinema
• Alexandre Astruc, Birth of a New Vanguard -- The Camera-Stylo (1948)
• François Truffaut, A Certain Tendency of French Cinema (1954)
• Challenged the prevailing view of the aesthetic superiority of European Cinema over American
• Focused on the artistry of Hollywood moviemaking |
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| “The Photoplay: A Psychological Study” (1916) |
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• “Outer” versus “Inner” developments of motion pictures
• Interactive relationship between film and observer |
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| Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) |
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Definition
Theorist and filmmaker
“Montage of Attractions”
• Shot as “attraction” to jolt or shock the audience
• Dialectics (thesis + antithesis = synthesis)
• Montage as a collision
• To convey a greater meaning than the sum of the shots |
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Term
| Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) |
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Definition
Formalism
Psychologist and Critical Theorist of Film
“Film as Art” (1932)
• Film’s physical limitations are its artistic strengths. |
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Term
| Siegfried Kracauer (1889-1966) |
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Definition
Realism
Sociologist, Journalist, Critical Theorist of Film
“Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality” (1960)
• Film’s kinship to Photography
• Emphasized film’s unique ability to record and reproduce reality
• Content over Form |
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| Louis Althusser (1918-90) |
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Definition
“Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes Towards an Investigation)” (1971)
• State Apparatus
• Ideological State Apparatus
• Subjects
“Ideology interpellates individuals as subjects.” |
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“A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre” (1984)
• Semantic – stresses the genre’s building blocks (signs and signification)
• Syntactic – privileges the structures into which they are arranged (relationships of the signs) |
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