...A director’s job is a crucial one: to tell a story that will captivate an audience while conveying a message. If a movie is directed effectively, the audience will receive a message while being simultaneously entertained. There are many techniques used by directors for this goal to be accomplished, one of the most important techniques being editing. Through editing techniques, a director can present information in many different ways, controlling when and how the audience receives the information. In one of the most iconic films in history, 2001: A space Odyssey, director Stanley Kubrick uses editing as a tool to complete a task and convey a message, much like the Apes do with bones at the beginning of his film. Many religious themes can be...
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...the Universe Film Analysis Alisha Liboma English 225: Intro to Film Professor Denise Orpustan-Love July 30, 2012 The Beatles were one of the worlds most influential and iconic bands who evolved in the 1960’s from Liverpool, England. For years people have found refuge in their lyrics that calm, inspire, and awe us to this day. Across the Universe not only provides the audience with a more in-depth look at the Beatles’ lyrical explorations, but also incorporates the use of filming techniques such as, cinematography, editing and sound techniques. It also gives us a closer look at the Vietnam War, struggling singers, love and life during a revolutionary period in U.S history that would prove to be unforgettable. This review will encompass topics such as “mise en scène,” (Goodykoontz, 2011), storytelling, cinematography techniques and the meanings behind the directors actions in a film. The names of the characters in Across the Universe, with the exception of the character “Max,” played by Joe Anderson, were all derived from original Beatles songs. For example there is a character named “Jude,” from the song, “Hey Jude,” who’s character is played by Jim Sturgess, as well as a character named “Lucie,” played by Evan Rachel Wood, and, “Prudence”, played by T.V Carpio. In any part of the movie you see, you can find a character of a Beatle’s song. Using the Beatles’ music to create a flow to the movie allows for all types of audience members to connect to the film. While some may...
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...Mullen Video editing is a career path of creativity and treating yourself as a business; knowing that your skills are needed somewhere somehow. Video editors get to create a story, editors take raw footage from a director, or a creator, or whoever they work for, and they get to make a story out of it. The video editor makes the tough, small decisions to make the story the best that it can possibly be. Video editors are generally people who are interested in technology and how to use technology to be able to create. The job can be stressful, although if editors love it enough, when the final product is created, all of their hard work will be acknowledged for. Although the film industry is made of many components, video editing may be one...
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...companion, a local doctor, appears to have fled the scene and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission assume that Tessa's widowed husband, Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), will leave the matter to their discretion. Determined to clear his wife's name and "finish what she started", Justin embarks on a crash course to learn about the pharmaceutical industry, whose crimes Tessa was on the verge of uncovering. The film involves drug companies who test their products on the poor of the Third World and are willing to accept the deaths that may occur because, after all, those people don't count. Why not you might ask, no one is there to count them. Film editing could be called 'film construction' and has been regarded by many as the 'invisible' art behind some of the greatest motion picture sequences of all time. Film editing is a skilled art - the selection and integration of a sequence of shots taken from thousands of feet of film to establish a structure, tempo, mood, or style. Editing a films emotional intention of a scene is not realized: you don't laugh at what was intended to be funny, or you laugh at a scene where you were supposed to cry; the audience lacks information necessary to understand the relations between the characters or the action; or the narrative creates expectations that are not fulfilled by the story as it evolves. There is a scene where Ralph Fiennes is on the computer and he sees an e-mail which suggests that his wife...
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...In this essay, I will be analysing two sequences from two different films. The first sequence is the last scene from the movie “Apocalypse now” directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie depicts the story of war, not as much the war between Vietnamese but the war within us. At first, movie appears very realistic and formalist and by the end, it is appearing symbolic as during the final scene Benjamin Willard finally killed colonel Kurtz and On the other hand ceremony of slaughtering the buffalo was happening at the same time which illustrate both scenes as one symbolic event. There are few editing techniques that worked well in this film are Sergei Eisenstein’s creative editing techniques who is a famous Soviet filmmaker. Eisenstein’s discovered three types of montage that is Rhythmic montage, Tonal Montage and intellectual montage which is also called conceptual or thematic montage. Eisenstein’s philosophy of intellectual montage which explain a way of editing that could form relation and symbols to two different shots created from juxtaposition. At the end, these two images of shooting and killing of Colonel Kurtz while Villagers were performing the ritual of slaughtering the water buffalo combined to make the connection between the viewers signifying the execution of civilian was more like a vulnerable slaughter. Another editing technique that greatly worked in this film is Rhythmic montage which is editing on the basis of rhythm. The Cloud bursting and shrieking of villagers...
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...essay focuses more on the political influence on Vertov's works. As Feldman essay's title indicates, the major topic of his essay is to explore Vertov's formalism, which gradually leads to shape his value on film production and essence of movies. Vertov did not regard films simply as recordings, or a collection of traces (which actually contradicts to my former understanding of documentary films), and he, as...
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...Classical Hollywood and Soviet Montage have laid the framework for directing and editing in the past and created a big effect on the movies being made today. The documentary film “Cutting Edge” provides a great in depth view on how these two styles have influenced movie making. Directors and editors from the film offer great insight on what style and why they use it in a particular movie. For Classical Hollywood was the first style of direction used to fully put editing into effect. Classical Hollywood first came into effect in the 1920’s by D.W. Griffith. In Hollywood Griffith was the first director to fully have an understanding of editing. In classical Hollywood continuity editing was a new technique used for editing. For example, a person...
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...in hell, the dead will walk the Earth (Romero, 1978). From shuffling corpses to gallons of fake blood, the 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" and its 2004 counterpart, demonstrate the vast difference in horror films of today and those of the 1970's. While the original was a catalyst for a paradigm shift in the world of horror cinema, the 2004 remake is a bold reminder of how far the genre has come. While sharing a title and an overall basic plotline, the similarities stop there. Separated by more than two decades, these two films are a prime example of the speed at which technology and society are advancing. If horror films have said anything about society, it is that society’s fascination with violence and gore transcends generations. When George Romero released his sequel to his classic “Night of the Living Dead” in 1978, it was considered extremely graphic and horrifying to audiences, to the point of controversy (Triggs, 2006-2012). Today, the original film does not have the same effect on viewers and is thought of as campy and almost funny. The 2004 film shows that as time moves on, the same techniques used in the original will no longer captivate the imaginations of audiences. With the rapid advancement of technology and how readily available it is, movie-goers expect more from films. Movies as a whole have become extremely violent and graphic. This shows a change in what society considers acceptable entertainment. The horror genre as a whole has shifted towards visually frightening...
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...All Quiet on the Western Front Like the cover of a book, we often judge a movie based on its opening scene. If it is too dull or bland, we immediately lose interest in the film and can often have difficulty regaining the focus needed to enjoy the remainder of the movie. For films that deal with such emotional and controversial ideas, such as war, it is important for the film director to create a powerful and captivating opening sequence. Lewis Milestone was faced with these problems while he was directing the 1930’s film, All Quiet on the Western Front. Through his strong sound, filming and editing techniques, along with inspiration from Sergei Eisenstein, Milestone was able to draw in the audience right from the beginning of the film. Like most films during that time period, All Quiet on the Western Front begins with a dramatic orchestral performance as the credits are shown on the screen. The use of snare drum and brass instruments give the piece a very patriotic and wartime feel. The audience does not need to recognize whether the piece is German or American, they all just feel the same sense of urgency to act upon their patriotic duties and go to war. As the march reaches its climax and falls to a close, the preface of the novel is shown as a slide on the screen. These words are used to show both the reader and the audience that this war, World War I, should not be glorified. It is a reminder that war devastates and destroys all. As the opening scene truly begins...
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...Introduction to Film History, Module 2 Homework taught by Directions: Using word processing software to save and submit your work, please answer the following short answer questions. All responses to questions should be one to two paragraphs, composed of five to seven sentences, in length. Your responses should include examples from the reading assignments. 1. Perhaps the most important artistic trend of the early twentieth century was labeled modernism. Summarize some of the principal tenets of modernism, and specify how these ideas influenced the development of the French Impressionism (or German Expressionist [Ch. 5] or Soviet Montage [Ch. 6]) movement in film. It signaled a major shift in cultural attitudes that arose largely as a response to modern life, the late phases of the industrial revolution, especially the new modes of transportation and communication that were swiftly transforming people’s lives. Telephones, automobiles, and airplanes were considered great advances, yet they also seemed threatening, especially in their capacity to be used in warfare. 2. What created the problems confronting French film production between 1918 and 1928? Identify the three primary factors as identified in the text, and summarize the effects of each of these causes. One of the problems that was getting in the way of French film production was all of the imported films pouring into the country, of all the films coming into the country were American films. The French...
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...Two years ago, I made my first film. It was called “Freelance” and I wanted to make a more realistic-looking film. I don’t like quick cutting or jump cuts. So, I wanted to have longer takes, pans, and medium shots. I would only use close-ups only when it was necessary. I always felt that having too much cutting in a film, jump cuts, and too many close-ups took away from the viewer. I felt that it wouldn’t leave any room for development and give the audience an unsatisfied understanding of the characters’ development. Too much cutting would still allow you to watch the whole story, however it would not let you question any motives or even allow you breathing space to compile all the things you just saw. I can’t and don’t like that at all. It hurt my head and eyes. I need to think and question. Between 1967 and 1971, a man named André Bazin created “What is Cinema?” in which he focused on editing and cinematography. André Bazin is a Realist and he argued that what he saw in film what he called “objective reality". He saw neo-realism and other genres later on become more realistic looking. These directors would become known as invisible. You “look through” not at the film. André Bazin admired “Orson Welles,” who used deep focus in “Citizen Kane”. Myself and Bazin both advocate the use of deep focus, wide shots and shot-in-depth. Bazin referred to those three as "true continuity" through mise-en-scène. I love seeing everything in the frame. As film progressed through experimental...
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...Film Form and Analysis Cinematography Cinematography describes the process by which a film strip is exposed to light to create an image. It encompasses many factors: the camera’s distance from the action, camera angle and direction, type of lens, camera movement, and lighting, among others. The art of cinematography also includes mise-en-scène—the arrangement of objects and movements in the frame. Shot Types The amount of visual information included in the image depends on the distance of the camera from the action and on the focal length of the camera lens. Throughout the history of cinema, filmmakers have favored certain combinations of camera distance and focal length, or shot types. * Extreme long shot: Captures a scene in its entirety; used for establishing location in exterior shots. Used frequently in epic genres such as westerns and war films, it reduces human beings to mere dots on the screen. * Long shot: Accommodates at least the entire bodies of figures (if that is all the shot includes, it is called a full shot). Captures movement, background, and broad gestures and expressions. * Medium shot: Contains a figure from the waist or knees up. It is a functional shot, favored in classical Hollywood editing, often used for scenes with dialogue. * Close-up: Includes very little if any background, concentrating on an object or, if an extreme close-up, a fragment of an object, such as the human face. Close-ups often accord great significance and symbolic...
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...Film Essay Essay Question: In visual texts, characters are developed through aspects such as set, props, positioning and movement of actors, costume/makeup, framing, lighting, camera techniques and sound. Analyze how a character is developed in a visual text you have studied. In the film The Prestige directed by Christopher Nolan, the combined use of film techniques such as costume and mis-en-scene, camera movement, extensive use of close up, and editing show the character development of Robert Angier. The main theme is magic and illusion but there is a sub theme which involves obsession, deceit and jealousy arising from the professional magician rivalry between Angier and Borden. The destructive power of obsession and secrecy fuels the battle as both magicians contribute their fair share to a deadly duel of one-upmanship, with disastrous results. This leads either Borden or his twin being hanged and a duplicated copy of Angier shot at the end of the film. The bullet catch scene, Angier’s “The new transported man” trick and the meeting of Lord Caldlow and Jess at Borden’s cell are three key moments in the film that show the way the character of Angier develops. The director uses costume and mis-en-scene to create the complex character of Angier. At the bullet catch scene, Borden is performing the bullet catch when Angier comes in disguise. The director uses close up focusing on the gun which Angier is holding in his hands. The gun dominates. The camera tilts up to show...
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...Constantine Constantine is a horror movie that rest on supernatural concepts. The film is about a chain smoking psychic, John Constantine, who exorcises demons and has a disdain for life. He teams up with another psychic, Angela, who has lost her twin sister, Isabel, to suicide. Together they find out her motives of suicide tie into a large sinister plot to get Satan’s son to rule the earth. They decide to try and thwart these plans but end up getting mixed up in them, particularly Angela. Constantine makes an effort to save her, and temporarily succeeds, but faces an unlikely foe (the archangel Gabriel) and his plans are derailed. Finally, he attempts to sacrifice his life for Angela and the world and, because of this, is redeemed. This movie is chock full of scary and creepy looking demons and cold half demons (“half breeds”). It is a horror movie in every sense, but is also a supernatural film. The editing in this film was appropriate to the story that was being told. The types of editing techniques used were specific to the horror genre. There are a few examples that show what type of editing was used. Match cuts, eye-line match cut, and fast cutting are just a few editing techniques that were used in this film. They contribute to the overall feeling of the film. For example, eye-line match cut was used a few times which increase the suspense of the movie. Eye line match cut was used at the beginning of the film to introduce the dagger and the man who found it. Suspense was enhanced...
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...contrast, the following shot has a cooler tone. It is a view of the bedroom with the dock station in it. This wide shot shows the mise-en-scene. The room design is classic European style. Then there are two more shots of different angles of the same scene. The next shot repeats the extreme close-up of David, which appears earlier. The David’s breath gets heavier. Then, it is cut to the shot that is shown at the very beginning of the Room sequence, but this time David himself stands beside the bathroom in red spacesuit. The red color is in a sharp contrast with the room color. Following that, the film is cut to medium shot of David, and then cut to close-up of David’s wrinkled face. Next is a wide shot that shows David crosses the room along a diagonal line. In the following shot, David walks in the bathroom, which does not show the continuity of the spacing. In other words, the editing does not follow the continuity of the character’s movement. Then, the camera pans from left to right in the bathroom. The camera angle is high, as if David looks down, to show the bathtub, floor, etc. After a close-up of David, there is an aperture-framing shot, in which, David looks at himself through a mirror in the bathroom. Then, David turns away from the mirror. Coming up is a tracking shot of the bedroom from the bathroom followed by a medium tracking shot of David. Next is a tracking shot of the bedroom. When the camera focuses on an old men’s back, the...
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