By: Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie
Chapters 4-10
Microcosm- "the world in little," in which the human activity in a small and limited area is represented of human behavior or the human condition in the world as a whole (104)
Director Cameron Crowe shot a dream sequence for Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise for several hours in a completely deserted Times Square.
In the opening cave scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford is running away from a huge boulder (in a cave set built in England), and emerges from the cave into an exterior in Hawaii. Clearly, they had a budget.
On camerawork: "Technique must not become an end in itself; any special technique must have some underlying purpose related to the purpose of the film as a whole" (123).
Unique about film: the rhythm and free of continuous motion, two-dimensional but creating an illusion of depth on what is essentially a two-dimensional screen
Four points of view: objective (camera as a sideline observer), subjective (camera as participant in the action), indirect-subjective (intimately close to the action), director's interpretive
Vertical lines suggest strength, authority, and dignity.
Diagonal lines crossing the frame suggest action and dynamic movement--the power to overcome obstacles.
Curved lines denote fluidity and sensuality, creating feelings of joy.
"V.I. Pudovkin believed that editing is 'the foundation of the film art' and observed that 'the expression that the film is "shot" is entirely false and should disappear from the language. The film is not shot, but built, built up from separate strips of celluloid that are its raw material'" (165).
Pudovkin was a contemporary of Eisenstein. We're watching two of his films, I think. Storm Over Asia, at least.
Editing tip: If a scene sustains itself, let it play.
Outside/in- (editing patterns) follows a logical sequence and concentrates on orienting us to the new setting
Inside/out- the opposite
Glancing rhythms- the built-in sense of excitement or boredom created by fast or slow editing
Important historic uses of black and white: (most recently) The Artist, Schindler's List, Wizard of Oz, Pleasantville
Golden hour- the hour before sunset, when the lighting is nice and soft
Three sounds of a film: sound effects, dialogue, musical score
Foley artist- film sound technician who is responsible for adding visible sounds (walking, fighting, falling) to enhance a soundtrack after the primary production has been completed
Citizen Kane (1941) is considered the first modern sound film.
Sound links- bridges between scenes or sequences (changes in place or time), are created through the use of similar or identical sounds in both sequences
In reference to the score: "A good film is really just ballet with dialogue" (266).
Mickey Mousing- the calculated dovetailing of music and action. The rhythm of the music matches the rhythm of the objects on the screen. Think Looney Tunes.
Generalized score- no attempt to match music and movement
Peter-and-the-wolfing- scoring in which certain musical instruments and types of music represent and signal the presence of certain characters
The intro scene from Saturday Night Fever represents using music as a base for choreographed action.
Goal of the actor: to make us believe completely
The main difference between stage and film action: the distance between the performer and the spectator.
Star system- an approach to filmmaking based on the assumption that the average moviegoer is interested more in personalities that in great stores.
Type casting- consigns an actor to a narrow range of almost identical roles
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