SOME BASIC CONCEPTS

A.  Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality

B.  Cultural influences & effects: 1.  Positive

▪a. Consensus narratives▪b. Reaffirmations of social values, ideals, etc.

2. Negative ▪ a. Anti-social & amoral behaviors (violence, sex, etc.)

▪ b. Poor role modeling C. Movies fulfill several functions:

1. Entertainment 2. Information about various

subjects 3. Understanding of life and others

A.  Provide story information (plot, exposition, characters, etc.)

B.  Enhance mood & emotion (a cathartic effect, etc.)

C.  Provide “visual pleasure” (enjoyment)

D.  Teach us about social-cultural ideas, attitudes, & values (via subtexts, themes, ideas, etc.)

E. Critique social-cultural ideas, attitudes, & values

F. Filmmakers favor stories & themes that reinforce viewers’ shared belief systems (Cultural invisibility)

G. Films are polysemic—that is, different people will have different ideas as to what a film means, an idea we’ll be returning to throughout the semester.

Juno (2007) upholds cultural values

[See p. 308 in text for similar information, stated a bit differently]

A.  Individual characters acting in a cause-effect narrative

B.  "Objective" narration: present & external

C.  Characters motivated by desire (goal-seeking); desire requires change

D.  Obstacles (natural, persons, psychological, etc.) prevent change

E.  Characters (esp. protagonists) must overcome obstacles

F.  Strong degree of closure at the end (usually happy, but not always)

We’ll be using these ideas all semester

A. The visual vocabulary of film B. Composed of myriad

integrated techniques & concepts

C. Connects the viewer to the story while deliberately concealing the means by which it does so

a. Movies rely heavily on largely invisible techniques that convey meaning intuitively

b. Shots – unbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture camera 1) Many different types of shots 2) For example:

▪ a) Low-angle shot – viewers associate power with figures that they must literally look up to

▪ b) high-angle shot—viewers associate a diminished figure with loss of power

3) However, shots must be viewed in context

Juno (2007) low angle shot showing her new freedom

c. Editing – the joining together of discrete shots 1) With each transition from one shot to

another, a movie is able to move the viewer through time and space

2) Some examples:▪ a) Fade-in / Fade-out – viewers understand

that significant story time has elapsed▪ b) Cutting on action – common editing

technique designed to hide the instantaneous & potentially jarring shift from one camera viewpoint to another

1. Viewers harbor essential expectations concerning a film’s form & organization

2. Viewers must be alerted to these expected patterns in order to fully appreciate the significance of deviations

3. Form – the means by which a subject is expressed

4. Every element in every frame is there for a reason

1. Recognize the many tools and principles that filmmakers employ to tell stories, convey information & meaning, and influence emotions & ideas.

2. Understand movies as narrative, as artistic expression, and as a reflection of the cultures that produce & consume them

3. Understand the ideas of cinematic language & cultural invisibility

Sweeney Todd, the play

Sweeney Todd (2007) the film—opens up action

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1. Analysis – the act of taking something complicated apart to figure out what it is made of and how it all fits together. a. Step 1 – Identify the tools &

techniques within a scene, sequence, or movie

b. Step 2 – Investigate the function & potential effect of that combination

2. Evaluation—the use of criteria or standards to assess a film

A.  Populist measures 1.  Box office grosses, esp. opening

day 2.  Academy awards (peer based) 3. Other awards (esp. audience

based) B.  Quality measures

1.   Movie reviews/criticism--journalistic opinions with some knowledge of film; reviewers often praise films audiences don’t like.

2.  Scholarly or objective analysis (the type we'll be doing during the semester): a.  creates an argument with evidence b.  based on criteria or standards c. standards vary depending on film

theory, perspective, etc. d. Common analytical & evaluative

standards are listed next

Some general criteria (a non-exhaustive list)—we’ll be using these all semester: Realism or Plausibility Coherence Aesthetic appeal Ethical themes Relevance Complexity and Originality