...essential image in the landscape of New Zealand filmmaking when he co-directed Cinema of Unease in 1996 with filmmaker Judy Rymer. Over the years talented scriptwriters, directors and producers have travelled this road. Today New Zealand cinema has moved far from its uneasy beginnings. It has become an international thoroughfare where the cinemas of the world, including Hollywood and Bollywood, come to tell stories using New Zealand’s production and post-production facilities, employing local actors, crew and other technical staff. The study of Film makes it possible to consider the diversity in New Zealand cinema and in all cinemas of the world. The disciplined approach to studying these cinemas allows students to better understand not only how cinema itself functions, but also how New Zealand cinema contributes to the global cinematic tapestry. play? How do filmmakers contribute to culture and influence societal attitudes? How can other disciplines, such as psychology, help us to better understand film? Film explores the breadth and depth of motion picture making from the early days of cinema to the multiplex era we now live in, giving graduates the knowledge they need to decide how they wish to work within the film industry. The focus of Film at university is on the theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. There are also practical components designed to foster creativity and enhance understanding of filmmaking. The creative and technical aspects of film production...
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...Sleight of Mind Orson Welles' F for Fake and the Art of the Cinematic Con Orson Welles' 1974 "film essay" F for Fake opens with a scene of Welles, in the role of a magician, performing a sleight of hand trick with a young child, "transforming" the key the young boy has presented him into a coin and then showing how the young boy had the key all the time in his pocket. The magic was the perfect illustration of Welles' purpose in the film. F for Fake was a film about fraud and deceit, about how the makers of art (and, in particular, film) use "trickery" to fool their intended audience into believing something that is not true. The film focuses on three known "charlatans" (Elmyr de Hory, Clifford Irving, and Welles himself) who used their talents to produce such magnificent forgeries that they were able to fool everyone (even so-called "experts") into believing in the truth of their claims. Despite the status of this film as one of Welles' "minor" films from late in his life (it was one of the last films he completed prior to his death in 1985), it has had a tremendous impact on filmmaking, both in a technical sense (the film's complex editing of various film stocks and styles) and in a textual sense. Welles' identification of the ways in which an audience can be manipulated into believing anything as long as it has the "air" of authenticity has had a tremendous impact on current filmmaking, especially in the realm of horror filmmaking with the current crop of "found-footage" films...
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...artistic forms of self-expression. Movies we see at theatres, on television, or home video are typically narrative films. They tell stories about characters going through experiences. But what are they really about? What is the content of a film? DIGGING DEEPER: FOUR LEVELS OF MEANING Recounting the plot of a movie, telling what happens, is the simplest way to explain it to someone else. But this is neither a film review nor a film analysis. It’s merely a synopsis that anyone else who sees or has seen the movie will likely agree with. This level of content may be called the referential content, since it refers directly to things that happen in the plot and possibly to some aspects of the story that are merely implied by the plot. In John Boorman’s Deliverance (1972), four men from the city go on a weekend canoe trip that unexpectedly becomes a life or death struggle for survival of man against man and man against nature. Some characters survive, others don’t. Most films can be analyzed more thoroughly to reveal deeper levels of meaning. A review (perhaps 400-1200 words) typically includes personal impressions and evaluations of a movie’s content and techniques. A good review may be subjective, yet still touch superficially on topics that might be explored in more detail in a longer formal analysis. An analysis (perhaps 1200-12,000 words) attempts to determine how the film actually uses various cinematic techniques and elements of film or narrative form to make...
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...that distinguish movies from other forms of art. ✔ understand how and why most of the formal mechanisms of a movie remain invisible to casual viewers. ✔ understand the relationship between viewers’ expectations and filmmakers’ decisions about the form and style of their movies. ✔ explain how shared belief systems contribute to hidden movie meaning. ✔ explain the difference between implicit and explicit meaning, and understand how the different levels of movie meaning contribute to interpretive analysis. medium. With so much experience, no one could blame you for wondering why you need a course or this book to tell you how to look at movies. After all, you might say, “It’s just a movie.” For most of us most of the time, movies are a break from our daily obligations—a form of escape, entertainment, and pleasure. Motion pictures had been popular for fifty years before even most filmmakers, much less scholars, considered movies worthy of serious study. But motion pictures are much more than entertainment. The movies we see shape the way we view the world around us and our place in that world. What’s more, a close analysis of any particular movie can tell us a great deal about the artist, society, or industry that created it. Surely any art form with that kind of influence and insight is worth understanding on the deepest possible level. ✔ understand the differences between formal analysis and the types of analysis that explore the relationship between...
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...interpretations of Red Desert, this essay will provide an analysis and interpretation of the film’s cinematography –specifically its colours and editing– from a phenomenological point of view. Phenomenology maintains that experience is both passive –seeing, hearing, and so on– and active –walking, running, touching, and so on. One describes experience and interprets experience by relating it to a context, which is usually social or linguistic. The word phenomenology originates with the Greek word phainomenon, which means ‘appearance.’ Phenomenology is, then, the study of appearances rather than the study of reality. In the eighteenth century, thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and Johann Fichte began to seriously consider phenomenology as a theory of appearances, and to consider it essential to acquiring knowledge. Phenomenology has its origins, certainly, with debates regarding what exists in reality and what is an illusion. John Locke believed that qualities such as colors, sounds, smells, and so on were subjective, and were not indigenous to objects that produced those qualities. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel stated that nothing in the world was entirely real save the whole of the world. According to Hegel, the world was not a collection of small things, but a large organism. To perceive a single part of the world, then, was to perceive something that was not real (Russell, 1972, pp. 712-713, 731). The form of phenomenological...
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...influence on film has been as profound and enduring as that of surrealism or cubism on painting, the French New Wave (or Le Nouvelle Vague) made its first splashes as a movement shot through with youthful exuberance and a brisk reinvigoration of the filmmaking process. Most agree that the French New Wave was at its peak between 1958 and 1964, but it continued to ripple on afterwards, with many of the tendencies and styles introduced by the movement still in practice today… French New Wave The New Wave (French: La Nouvelle Vague) was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and their spirit of youthful iconoclasm. "New Wave" is an example of European art cinema. Many also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical experiments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general break with the conservative paradigm. Using portable equipment and requiring little or no set up time, the New Wave way of filmmaking presented a documentary type style. The films exhibited direct sounds on film stock that required less light. Filming techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes. The combination of objective realism, subjective realism, and...
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...relies on the technology used in filmmaking, with the quality of the sound effects being the aspect that matters the most. Furthermore, advancement in technology will sometimes guarantee an improvement on both the sound and visual effects and the overall quality of a horror film as well. I. Technology and horror film’s history A. Brief background about horror films 1. First years of horror 2. Horror’s increasing popularity B. Introduction to the technologies used in making a film in general 1. Differences between CGI and practical effects & the use of 3D 2. Sound effects as a plot device 3. Introduction to study II. Students’ opinions regarding the technological aspects of a horror film. A. Opinions of students to the visual effects present in a horror film 1 How visuals improved the “horror factor” of a horror film according to the students 2. Comparison between male and female student’s responses 3. Researcher’s analysis and interpretation B. Opinions of students to the sound effects utilized in horror film 1. How sounds improved the “horror factor” of a horror film according to the students 2. Comparison between male and female student’s responses 3. Researcher’s analysis and interpretation C. Comparison between the visuals and the sound effects & the relation of advancement of technology to quality filmmaking 1. Quality of sound effects...
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... Film has properties that set it apart from painting, sculpture, novels, and plays and it is a storytelling medium that shares various elements with short stories and novels (Boggs and Petrie, 2008). While the actors themselves may be the most visible elements on the screen, a number of other craftsmen had to perform many other functions in order to get that finished film in front of an audience. If you are interested in analyzing why one movie succeeds and another fails, it is necessary to understand how much of a collaborative effort filmmaking truly is. Here are some elements that should be considered when preparing to analyze a film (Pollick, 2007). To Analyze a Film Completely First, consider the effectiveness of the dialogue and storyline. Professional screenwriters are the true architects of a movie, though many of them do not get the same attention as the actors or directors of a film. Screenwriters may adapt a book into script form, or they may create their own original stories for the screen. Either way, you should be able to sense an attention to detail in the dialogue and plotlines. A successful movie script uses authentic dialogue and scenarios that the actors can handle with ease. A less successful script places characters in situations that feel artificial or contrived. The language of...
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...How you got interested in film making? When I was ten years old and i have been youngest of five. I got interested in the activities they were doing and I eventually noticed that I am capturing their moment on my camera and viewing it externally. I was making scripts for my friends and brothers and we were playing this game and I would divide the members based on their characters and would make them understand their role. It was very interesting and at the same time very fun to do so. Then I begin to write scripts stories about different events about Afghanistan. How do you describe your experience so far? The best thing is about been the variety of work and 21 years in studio doing TV shows for Tolo and I direct TV shows for them. Film directors work full time, often with long hours on evening,weekends and holidays traveling to various locations for shoots. I have 21 years of experience in this field and I have also been closely working with cinematographer and actors. The nature of the film requires one to understand the knowledge of the film production process. Working in Afghanistan is very challenging with shooting and security because we cannot travel to provinces and beautiful cities in Afghanistan. So far It has been an exciting journey and I enjoy working in this field. What does the future look like for this profession? It has really bright future in Afghanistan, since its newly established and there is a lot of room for improvements. Youth have shown much...
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...FILM 3759G Dr. Christopher J Mitchell Chengdong Hu Analysis of Cultural Denotation and Humanity in Ang Lee’s Films Ang Lee’s film works, not only in the business, but in artistic level won the world audience recognition. He grew up in a traditional Chinese family and study in the United States. The differences between eastern and western culture took a sharp collision in his heart, and it revealed without hiding in his movie and finally become his own unique aesthetic features. This article try to read Lee’s creative thought and artistic style through analysis and research of Lee’s special culture background master’s creative ideas, and learn more about the human temperament of the director which is full glory of human nature. First, this article will introduce about Ang Lee’s growing environment and studying experiences, in order to analysis the formation of his Chinese and Western characteristics. Secondly, through multiple films, the article would analysis of the impact of the East-West cultural collision and merger. Furthermore, a comprehensive interpretation of Ang’s unique film elements and the traits would be expounded. Abstract Ang Lee, Taiwan filmmaker, however, doesn’t have the same characteristics with other Taiwan film makers. He is like a movie ranger, with no specific cultural identity, however, simultaneously, it could be find a certain kind of familiar cultural identity on him, especially in his...
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...Question 1 Why have American films been so successful over the last half century? Outline what you consider to be key success factors for a film (type of story and genre; actors; directors, pace, music, and so on). Was the fascination for the American culture and way of life the prominent reason for that success? What was the contribution of the American melting pot with its huge diversity of migrants’ origins to the creativity and global outlook of the American movie industry? There are several reasons for the success of American movies: the budget, the Hollywood brand, the directors and the universal themes that appeal to a broad public. When the production can cover most of its costs by the local profit, it allows for a relatively low selling price to the foreign distributors. A large budget also makes it possible to use expensive actors with a recognized name that attracts visitors, as well as developing an efficient distribution system. The US has the most prominent country-brand equity in the world, which has without a doubt contributed to the Hollywood success. Therefore one might say that the fascination for American culture has helped their movie industry, but there are too many other factors to say that this is the main reason for its success. Several of the well renowned Hollywood directors have origins outside of the US. This knowledge of more than one culture might have contributed to a more international touch to their films, appealing to many different cultures...
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...Reflections on The Cultural Value of Film Statistics can be used to show that Britain’s film industry is now the third biggest in the world and a prime destination for inward investment. This success story was heralded by James Purnell, new Minister for the Creative Industries, in a speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research in June this year.[1] But what is the relation of this economic success to the vibrancy and breadth of our film culture? A further look at the statistics provided by the UK Film Council for 2004 shows that last year domestic production fell from 44 films to 27, where domestic is taken to be films made by a UK production company shot wholly or partly in the UK. In 1997, the year when the government set up the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, UK production had been at a record high, and 84 domestic productions were registered. In terms of what UK audiences could see in 2004, beyond American features and American co-productions, the rest of the world share of the market in UK and Ireland was just 2.7%, a figure which betrays the failure of film policy to encourage interest and understanding in the stories of what goes on beyond our shores. Last year also saw the consolidation of companies operating in the exhibition sector and a series of momentous deals which changed the landscape of UK exhibition. In August 2004, Terra Firma acquired both the Odeon and UCI cinema circuits for a total of 580 million pounds, acquiring a 35% share of...
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...angles, striking film noir–style lighting, nonlinear storytelling, montages, and long deep-focus shots were considered technically innovative for the era. Over time, Citizen Kane became revered as a masterpiece, and in 1997 the American Film Institute named it the Greatest American Movie of All Time. “Citizen Kane is more than a great movie; it is a gathering of all the lessons of the emerging era of sound,” film critic Roger Ebert wrote.1 CHAPTER 6 ○ MOVIES 185 (c) Bedford/St. Martin's bedfordstmartins.com 1-457-62096-0 / 978-1-457-62096-6 MOVIES A generation later, the space epic Star Wars (1977) changed the culture of the movie industry. Star Wars, produced, written, and directed by George Lucas, departed from the personal filmmaking of the early 1970s and spawned a blockbuster mentality that formed a new primary audience for Hollywood— teenagers. It had all of the now–typical blockbuster characteristics like massive promotion and lucrative merchandising...
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...CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of The Study Every individual has problems in their life. The problem that appears is complex. Most of them related to human psychological condition. One of the basic problems of individual is feeling inferiority. This emerges as the result of psychological and social weakness. Inferiority feeling also arises for imperfection in doing something. Those feelings include subjective feeling, which is experienced by people because of their social disabilities. Thus, human beings try to compensate for their inferiority feeling by striving to overcome their feeling. Inferiority feeling influences human being life style. In other words, inferiority determines life style involving how people attempt to defeat their weakness. Commonly, individual applies their inferiority in social life. However, they tend to be motivated to overcome feeling of inferiority by building relationship with others to get their life’s goal. Sometimes, the goal of life will become difficult thing to be reached since there are many problems in human life. The problems in human life cannot be separated from thinking, feeling, and acting. Those are actually bringing up influence for the literary work. Therefore, literature closely related to psychology in human being including experiences facing the life. A work of literature is created not only to entertain but also to convey values and meanings to human life which can be discovered in the problem...
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...Russia 1. General Information: St. Petersburg, Russia is the country’s second largest city and is located in the Northwest Federal District. It is approximately 1400 square kilometers in size and has a population of 4.6 million people (as of 2005). The time zone is +3 GMT and +8 from the east coast of the United States. The government of St. Petersburg includes a governor, a city administration and a single-chamber legislative body, the City Legislative Assembly. In 2006, the governorship became an appointed position. The current governor, Valentina Matviyenko, was elected to the position in 2003, and then appointed by the President of the Russian Federation in 2006. The main airport servicing St. Petersburg is Pulkovo International Airport. If traveling by train, St Petersburg has five railway terminals – Baltiysky, Finlyandsky, Ladozhsky, Moskovsky and Vitebsky – within its borders. St. Petersburg features an extensive public transportation system consisting of an underground metro, trams and buses. The underground metro system, the most efficient of the options, opened in 1955 and features five color-coded lines. The fare for the underground transport system is always the same, no matter the distance traveled, and can be paid by token or metro pass. 2. Recent foreign investment: In 2009, the top five countries investing in St. Petersburg (categorized by percentage of total investment volume) were Belarus (15.8 percent), Switzerland (14.7...
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