...Courtesy Everett Collection Section 4.1 The “Look” of a Scene CHAPTER 4 Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, students should: • Have a working knowledge of the cinematographer’s job • Understand the difference between cinematography and mise en scène and recognize the importance of each • Understand the importance of color and lighting and how they affect the tone and feel of a film • Be familiar with different methods of photographing a film, and with terms such as panning, tilting, tracking shots, deep focus, and aspect ratios • Understand how different focal length lenses affect the look of a shot • Recognize what special effects can do for a movie—and what they can’t do 4.1 The “Look” of a Scene W hen we are first introduced to Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather, played by Marlon Brando, the Mafia boss is sitting in the study of his home. Along with his consigliore, or adviser, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), Corleone is listening to a line of people requesting favors on the day of his daughter’s wedding. Corleone is immensely powerful, as we learn by the scope of the favors he is asked to grant, which in one case includes the desire of a singer to be cast in a film to revive his musical career, and Corleone’s ability to grant them. However, it is not just what Corleone says in the scene, which introduces us to all that will follow, that makes us aware of his power. It is also how the scene looks, how it is shot, and how color and light are combined...
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... since the combined form of all those elements are the source of the beauty and depth in his movies. For example the movie ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ would not retain the atmospheric intensity of the ballade if the music playing was ascend, which was a reversed version of a Romanian Liturgy. However, there must be a key element that distinguishes Kubrick from his contemporaries. Perhaps a secret formula? In my opinion a pattern of his style can be observed throughout his movies which is essentially staging to both convey an ambiguous narrative through visuals and add an overall visual aesthetic and beauty. This can also be identified as mise-en-scene. We can see that Kubrick was so keen on the on staging of the film that his movies took many shots until the perfect and satisfactory result was achieved by Kubrick. As one of the special photographic effects designer Douglas Trumbull in the movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ indicates in his essay: “One of the most serious problem that plagued us throughout the production was simply keeping track of all the ideas, shots, and changes and constantly re-evaluating and updating designs, storyboards and script itself.” (158) Kubrick was so tedious and perfectionist in the production of his movies that his cast was often frustrated. The shooting of ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ for example took four hundred days, which is an all-time high in the film history. This shows Kubrick’s dedication to the staging and performance of the...
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...mirror. Hitchcock intends to create a sense of repetition and a cyclical nature to the life of the characters in the film; following Scottie (James Stewart) through his descent and ascent into madness deals significantly with themes of duality and obsession. Furthermore, the use of film as a mirror onto ourselves is made very clear in the audience's relation to Scottie throughout Vertigo. In this paper, three instances of the film as mirror will be detailed in Vertigo, as well as how they inform the concept of film as mirror through their existence and varying properties. Metz describes film as a mirror in that "the cinema involves us in the imaginary: it drums up all perception, but to switch it immediately over into its own absence, which is nonetheless the only signifier present" (p. 250). The audience, like a child, sees themselves as an other; by identifying itself with its 'other' other, it can separate itself from that subject and look at the mirror objectively. In the case of Vertigo, the 'other' is Scottie, and look at his visage on the screen as a mirror unto itself. Thus, we can project our own feelings and insecurities onto Scottie, which helps us relate to his desperation and madness. The first scene in Vertigo that demonstrates film's ability to hold a mirror to the individual watching it, and elicit the emotions of the character in the audience, is the first scene of the film itself. The very first shot of the film is a pair of hands desperately grasping a ladder...
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...ENGLISH RESPONDING TO VISUAL TEXTS Unit Description | This unit of learning involves responding to visual forms of literature; understanding meaning and analyzing intended purposes and messages of directors. | NCEA Level | Curriculum Level | Allocated time period | 3 | 8 | 5-6 weeks | Opportunities for assessment | Standard | Standard title | Internal / External | Credit Value | 91473914759147691478 | Respond critically to specified aspects of visual texts studied.Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops, sustains and structures ideas.Create and deliver a fluent and coherent oral textRespond critically to significant connections across texts | ExternalInternalInternalInternal | 46 (part of portfolio)3 4 (part of portfolio) | Key Content Areas | Learning intentions and outcomes | In studying visual texts, students will cover: * Director’s intentions and purposes * Stylistic conventions and their impact on meaning * Contextualization of literature * Key literary aspects such as characterization, setting, structure, film techniques and cinematography * Analytical and creative writing | By the end of this unit, students will be able to: * Develop ideas in a coherent and sophisticated manner * Critically analyse a visual text * Appreciate the different understandings that viewers can bring to a text * Understand and appreciate the director’s craft and its impact upon readers. * Collect and use evidence to support...
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...technical skills, while building strong relationships with trust, and following the personal vision of the director who serves as a master facilitator in editing and on the set. All of these people help the director to form the story in the film. A countless amount of time is put into a film’s analysis which observes the filmmaking techniques, in turn helps the audience to understand the style of the film. A film's style is a dependable on the cinematic methods that include the mise en scène, cinematography, editing, sound, and overall structure (Goodykoontz & Jacobs 2014). Filmmaker’s styles have advanced so much over many years in Hollywood, and they have incorporated many elements of all sorts of technical effects while developing distinctive approaches to making a movie. Director Cameron Crowe offers an inspiring thematic trio in the movie Jerry Maguire, it is filled with drama, comedy, and romance as it relates to a genre film. Cameron Crowe did his homework before he began to develop the character Jerry Maguire. He talked to a businessmen and interviewed him for about a year in order to develop the script for the movie. His role as the director is very important in the making of a movie, he is the storyteller who needs people, equipment for the set, and an imagination with a lot of planning to bring his story to the audience. He is also considered the artist as he is the one who holds the vision for the movie, deals with different personalities from the actors, uncooperative...
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...Composer’s use their power to represent varying perspectives on the way society can neglect and misinterpret the individual. On the other hand, society can accept, welcome and even provide the individual with a new sense of belonging. The way in which society treats the individual can influence whether or not they belong. In ‘I Had Been Hungry All the Years’, Emily Dickinson uses her power to represent the persona’s perception that society has neglected them. This perception is further displayed in ‘This Is My Letter to the World’ where Dickinson suggests that society is ignorant towards the persona leading them to feel neglected. However in ‘A Word Dropped Careless on a Page’, Dickinson explains that society has misinterpreted poets’ and artists’ intentions and works. In contrast,Contrasting is Gabriel Axel’s 1987 Danish film ‘Babette’s Feast’ which affirms commitment and ultimately through acceptance gives the individuals’ a new sense of belonging. Continuing the theme of acceptance is Edmond Jabes transcript of interviews, ‘God Book Desert’, in which portrays a society is portrayed as influencing an individual without intending to, ultimately expanding their sense of belonging, knowledge and carving a new way of perceiving the world. Initially in ‘I Had Been Hungry All the Years’, Emily Dickinson shapes society to welcome the persona when she/he explains “my noon had come to dine”. However the alliteration of “trembling drew the table near” exposes that the persona has...
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...Haggis wrote and directed the award winning drama Crash about various intertwining experiences involving racial relations and the socioeconomic status levels of the diverse cast of characters. This film addresses how humans being deal with real life circumstances and addresses how racial stereotypes and prejudices impact our society by causing a separation of customs, ignoring human and civil rights, and demonstrating how racism can cause moral, cultural and economical suffering. This detailed essay will address the cinematic elements employed throughout the movie, and provide a critical analysis on the various components and techniques used to create this compelling and powerful film. Crash is a movie that involves several different stories and plots that all manage to somehow connect the characters to each other in a series of events that take place during two days in California. America’s ever-growing melting pot is distinctly represented in the film as the audience is introduced to a black LAPD detective, two black mischievous car thieves, a white district attorney and his prejudice wife, a white racist beat cop and his neophyte partner, a black Hollywood director and his wife, an irate Persian shop owner and his family, and a blue-collar Hispanic man and his young impressionable daughter. The characters unrelated yet intertwining stories was a very unique and effective technique used to tell this story in a provocative and very engaging manner. Everyone involved in the creation...
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...well as Scottie's... the effect of the dream is intensified by Hitchcock's use of camera” (Wood, 4). Hitchcock is known for his creativity in his use of mise-en-scene to convey a message. For instance, Hitchcock's use of staging is shown in the scene where Madeleine is repeatedly shown in front of a fireplace, creating a more romantic scene with the use of lighting. Hitchcock also deliberately had the background of the restaurant red, and Madeline in a contrasting dress forcing the audience to look at her as an object of beauty. By doing this he is forcing the audience to look at Madeline through a man’s gaze; Hitchcock purposely uses the character Madeline in a sexual image representing his belief of women’s main purpose in life is to visually satisfy men, therefore claiming women only exist to assist a man’s world. On the contrary, Midge, Scotties, is an artist who is portrayed in a completely different manner than the sexualized Madeline, being more manly and motherly. She portrays Hitchcock’s belief on how females should not be as opposed to Madeline, how he believes women should be. Karen Hollinger supports this argument by saying “Midge is presented as an odd combination of too much boyishness and a too motherly attitude to Scottie.” (Hollinger, 21). Because she lacks the necessary female qualities, Scottie is not attracted to her. Hitchcock is clearly describing what he believes a female should and should not be. Hitchcock's last female character Judy is unsophisticated...
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...involves the lives of six families in today’s modern day dilemmas of racism, discrimination, drug abuse, and criminal actions and how they deal with it. The plot of this movie (for myself) is unclear. This movie has many scenes with different interactions with the characters and one must pay extra close attention to every scene to understand and follow along. This movie is all over the place, and it is not until close to the end that we can see how the characters have affected one other for better or worst. In this movie we have several different mise-en-scene. Most take place in the moment or as a flashback. In the opening scene we are outdoors at night in a car with what appears to be snow or rain coming down. The inside of the window is foggy; outside the car an accident has just taken place with flashing lights, police, and people all around. We also have bright daylight scenes, like when the police begin a car chase with what they believe to be a car-jacking suspect. We have several scenes in a police station, a mom and pop store, in a drug addict’s home and in Detective Waters bedroom. The entire movie involves dead, terrified, angry people who do not know what or how to feel. In the movie there is plenty of genuine emotions in the scenes, and this give the movie cause however; because of the intertwined storylines, it is not a continuous flow it makes the movie difficult to follow. The editing in this movie was well done however; we do not see how...
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...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 and conflict. The psychological type discussed about the psychology, focusing about the development of personality by Sigmund Freud. A work contains of symbols of idea, symbols of image, describes the action that can be done in real life, it can also contains of psychological portrayal of mood or personality character. A work of literature always contains the psychological side...
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...As Patricia Pisters (2003) asserts in her study of Deleuze and film theory The Matrix of Visual Culture, the Wachowski brothers’ film can be read from number of different theoretical perspectives. It invites readings via Lacanian psychoanalysis, Platonic notions of the cave and the disparity between the two strata of perception and also as a “New Age” (Pisters, 2003: 11) quasi-religious evocation of the second coming. However, here I would like to place the film’s visual sense and diegesis into a context of postmodern philosophy; drawing inferences and theoretical connections between the film and the work of Jean Baudrillard, Walter Benjamin and the neo-Marxists of the Frankfurt School, most notably Adorno and Horkheimer in Dialectic of Enlightenment (1979). The importance of postmodern philosophy and cyber culture to the visual sense of The Matrix is declared from its very opening titles. Random strings of green neon data are scrolled against a black background imbuing the viewer with a sense of the virtual and the cybernetic and this is concretised and given definite focus later on as Neo (Keanu Reeves) hides the two thousand dollars given to him by Anthony in a copy of Simulacra and Simulation by Baudrillard. This reference however is more than a mere visual joke it is a signifier for a number of the film’s sub-textual tropes and motifs. For Baudrillard, the notion of the simulacra was central to an understanding of the modern capitalist society. In his essay “The Precession...
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...Cinema of France From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia See also: French comedy films Cinema of France | Gaumont palace in Paris, c.1914 | Number ofscreens | 5,653 (2014)[1] | Main distributors | Twentieth Century Fox(14.6%) Warner Bros. (9.8%) UGC (6.9%)[1] | Produced feature films (2014)[1][2] | Total | 258 | Animated | 9 (3.49%) | Documentary | 37 (14.34%) | Number of admissions (2014)[1][2] | Total | 208.9768 million | National films | 91.26 million (44.4%) | Gross box office (2014)[1][2] | Total | €1.33 billion | National films | €563.01 million (43.1%) | Cinema of France refers to the film industry based in France. The French cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad. France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its significant contributions to the art form and the film-making process itself.[3] Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, began in the country. It is noted for having a particularly strong film industry, due in part to protections afforded by the French government.[3] Apart from its strong and innovative film tradition, France has also been a gathering spot for artists from across Europe and the world. For this reason, French cinema is sometimes intertwined with the cinema of foreign nations. Directors from nations such as Poland (Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Andrzej Żuławski), Argentina(Gaspar...
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...“Bring Back the Sun”: The Historical Significance of the Castrati Chuck Harris Music 425 Dr. HM Lewis December 15, 2009 The Castrato has long been a subject shrouded in controversy and mystery. Castration has been used in many cultures and religions since the dawn of time (Eunuchs). We don’t know exactly when castration started to be used specifically for the voice but we have records dating back to the 16th century. These documents hint towards it being done because of Christianity. This paper will look at one Castrato in particular, Carlo Broschi more commonly known as, Farinelli. I will use the film Farinelli and other historical and educational articles and books to help discuss this paper. One of the final scenes of Farinelli, Il Castrato, dir. Gerard Corbiau (Sony Pictures Classics, 1994), shows a solar eclipse witnessed, eighteenth-century style, by members of the court of Philip V of Spain around 1740. Restless spectators squint through pieces of tinted glass prepared in the smoke of a small fire. It is a precious visual detail, a jolt of history in this sumptuously though often inaccurately detailed film that offsets the melodrama to follow. Without warning, a wind, helped along by corny, time-lapse photography, ushers in a sea of Goya-like clouds. A murmur passes through the entourage; eerie blackness falls on the court. The King is shrouded in another kind of darkness: his famous, chronic melancholy (we would call it 'clinical depression'). He pronounces...
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...Elements of Drama by: Christina Sheryl L. Sianghio Character Most simply a character is one of the persons who appears in the play, one of the dramatis personae (literally, the persons of the play). In another sense of the term, the treatment of the character is the basic part of the playwright's work. Conventions of the period and the author's personal vision will affect the treatment of character. Most plays contain major characters and minor characters. The delineation and development of major characters is essential to the play; the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius depends upon the character of each. A minor character like Marcellus serves a specific function, to inform Hamlet of the appearance of his father's ghost. Once, that is done, he can depart in peace, for we need not know what sort of person he is or what happens to him. The distinction between major and minor characters is one of degree, as the character of Horatio might illustrate. The distinction between heroes (or heroines) and villains, between good guys and bad guys, between virtue and vice is useful in dealing with certain types of plays, but in many modern plays (and some not so modern) it is difficult to make. Is Gregers Werle in The Wild Duck, for example, a hero or a villain? Another common term in drama is protagonist. Etymologically, it means the first contestant. In the Greek drama, where the term arose, all the parts were played by one, two, or three actors (the more actors, the later the...
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...PROJET PROFESSIONNEL PERSONNALISÉ (P.P.P.) E1P AN5 (1 ECTS) 5 5 6 8 10 13 SEMESTRE 2 CULTURE DES PAYS ANGLOPHONES 2 E21 AN5 (5 ECTS) LANGUE 2 E22 AN5 (4 ECTS) LITTÉRATURE BRITANNIQUE 2 E 23 AN5 (4 ECTS) CIVILISATION BRITANNIQUE 2 ET TRADUCTION (VERSION) 2 E24 AN5 (5 ECTS) PROJET PROFESSIONNEL PERSONNALISÉ (P.P.P.) E2P AN5 (1 ECTS) 14 15 17 18 20 2 L2—DEUXIEME ANNÉE SEMESTRE 3 LANGUE 3 E31 AN5 (6 ECTS) CIVILISATION AMÉRICAINE 3 E32 AN5 (5 ETCS) LITTÉRATURE BRITANNIQUE 3 E33 AN5 (5 ECTS) TRADUCTION (VERSION) 3 ET PRISE DE PAROLE EN CONTINU 3 E34 AN5 (6 ECTS) PREPROFESSIONNALISATION : MÉTIERS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DES LANGUES VIVANTES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES 3 21 21 23 24 26 29 E3PF12L5 (6 ECTS) SEMESTRE 4 LANGUE 4 E41 AN5 (5 ECTS) CIVILISATION BRITANNIQUE 4 E42 AN5 (6 ECTS) LITTÉRATURE AMÉRICAINE 4 E43 AN5 (5 ECTS) TRADUCTION (VERSION) 4 ET PRISE DE PAROLE EN CONTINU 4 E44 AN5 (6 ECTS) PREPROFESSIONNALISATION : MÉTIERS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DES LANGUES VIVANTES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES 4 30 32 34 36 39 E4PF12L5 (6 ECTS) 3 L3—TROISIEME ANNÉE SEMESTRE 5 LANGUE 5 E51 AN5 (4 ECTS) CIVILISATION AMÉRICAINE 5 E52 AN5 (4 ECTS) LITTÉRATURE 5 E53 AN5 (6 ECTS) TRADUCTION THÈME-VERSION 5 E54 AN5 (4 ECTS) ERASMUS ET PROGRAMMES ANGLOPHONES. TRANSLATION. E54 AN5 (4 ECTS) APPROFONDISSEMENT 5 E55 AN5 (4 ECTS) PREPROFESSIONNALISATION : MÉTIERS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DES LANGUES VIVANTES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES 5 41 ...
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