1. FILM TERMINOLOGY REVIEW Literature, Film, and Social Issues

2. Realism/Realistic Realism – a style of filmmaking that attempts to duplicate the look of objective reality as it’s commonly perceived, with emphasis on authentic locations and details. There should be a lot of long shots. There should be a lot of lengthy takes. There should be a minimum of distortion techniques, i.e.. Color filters, telephoto lenses, etc.

3. Example of Realism Philadelphia with Tom Hanks American Gangster with Denzel Washington

4. Supersize Me Documentary – at its most extreme, most documentaries are realistic movies. These are the movies that usually try to relay social messages or concerns.

5. Formalism/Formalistic Formalism – a style of filmmaking in which aesthetic forms take precedence over the subject matter as content. Time and space are ordinarily distorted. Emphasis is on the essential, symbolic characteristics of objects and people, not necessarily on their superficial appearance. Often lyrical or poetic, calling attention to the art of moviemaking.

6. Hero with Jet Li Examples of Formalistic Movies

7. Sin City with Bruce Willis Examples of Formalistic Movies

8. Film Noir o Film Noir – a French term – literally Black cinema – referring to kind of urban American Genre that sprang up after WWII. o Has its roots in German Expressionistic film o Emphasizes a fatalistic, despairing universe where there is little to no escape from mean city street, loneliness, and death. o Stylistically, noir emphasizes low key lighting with a few high key contrasts, complex compositions, and a atmosphere of dread and paranoia. o Often has a femme fatale.

9. The Big Combo (1955)

10. Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman

11. Stanley Kubrick A Clockwork Orange Avante garde – from the French meaning “in the front ranks”. Those minority artists whose works are characterized by an unconventional daring and by obscure, controversial, or highly personal ideas. These movies ore often experimental. These are movies in which a director is “cutting edge” and maybe ahead of his/her time.

12. Classical cinema Most movies fall into this category that were made between the 1910’s and the 1960’s. Typically, these are movies that are strong in story, star, and production values, with a high level of technical achievement. The visual style is functional and rarely distracts from the characters in action. Movies in this style are usually narratives with a clearly defined conflict, rising action, and resolution that is a formal closure.

13. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with Jimmy Stewart

14. Cinematic Techniques Shots – the images that are recorded continuously from the time the camera starts until it stops. Extreme long shot – a panoramic view of an outside location, photographed from an extreme distance. Used to establish setting. Bridge to Terabithia

15. The Prestige Long shot – A shot that includes an areas within the image that would resemble what one would see in live theater. A full shot is a type of long shot that includes the human body in full with the head near the top and the feet near the bottom of the screen.

16. P. S. I Love You Medium Shot – a relatively close-up shot, revealing the human figure from the knees or the waist up to the head. Usually good for dialogue with one to three figure on the screen.

17. Sweeny Todd Close-up - a detailed view of a person or object. A close-up of an actor usually includes only his or her head or face.

18. Psycho Extreme Close- up – a minutely detailed view of an object or person. An extreme close- up of an actor generally includes only his or her eyes or mouth.

19. Angles Angle- the camera’s angle or slant relative to the subject being photographed. A high angle shot is photographed from above. A low angle shot is photographed from below. Camera angle is probably telling us something about the character, subtle characterization.

20. The Ring Birds-eye angle – a shot when the camera takes a photograph from directly overhead.

21. I am Legend Another Birds-eye angle.

22. The Dark Knight Eye-Level Shot- the placement of the camera approximately 5 to 6 feet from the ground, corresponding to the height of an average observer on the scene.

23. Clash of the Titans High angle shot- a shot in which the subject is photographed from above. Often designed to make the subject appear to be weak or small or powerless.

24. Twilight Low Angle – a shot in which the subject is photographed from below. Often makes character or subject seem powerful or frightening. Extreme low angle – would be when the camera is placed directly below an object. This is rarely used. Maybe only in superhero flicks.

25. Titanic Is this really an oblique angle? Oblique Angle – often called a tilt shot because the camera is tilted to take this shot. The end result is a off kilter screen. These are best used for drug or drunken scenes, or scenes of confusion.

26. Cloverfield

27. Some New Terms Over-the-shoulder shot – usually contains 2 figures, one with his/her back to the camera, the other facing the camera. Reaction shot – a cut to a character’s reaction to something that someone just said or did.

28. Color Color wasn’t widely used in film until the 1940’s. Color tends to be a subconscious element in film, however, it can be very symbolic. Cool colors (blue, green, violet) tend to suggest tranquility, aloofness, and serenity. Warm colors (red, yellow, orange) tend to suggest aggression, violence, and stimulation. Color can also suggest the opposite. Such as red suggesting passion. Blue suggesting mystery, etc.

29. The Golden Compass Interesting use of the color blue.

30. Batman Begins What color is being used here? What might it mean?

31. Lenses and filters Some of the most striking effects in a movie image can be achieved through the distortions of the photographic process itself. Realistic filmmakers tend to use normal or standard lenses to minimize distortion. Formalistic filmmakers use lenses and filters to intensify or suppress certain qualities. Three categories of lenses: standard, telephoto, and wide angle. Lenses and filters can also be used for cosmetic purposes.

32. Lenses and Filters cont. Telephoto lenses are used to get close-ups from extreme distances. They focus on only one plane, so other things will be blurry or out of focus, hence they become less important on the screen. Wide angle lenses, or short lenses are used in deep- focus shots, so they produce very vivid, detailed scenes. Think Citizen Kane.

33. Citizen Kane

34. The Mist

35. Sound Terms Remember – sound is usually not something that we are conscious of when we watch a movie. Diegetic sound – sound that the characters can hear that are actually part of a movie. Synchronous or synchronized sound – the agreement or correspondence between image and sound, which are recorded simultaneously, or seem so in the finished prin. Synchronous sounds appear to come from a source within the image.

36. Amadeus Obviously in a movie about music, such as this one, there will be a lot of diegetic sound and synchronous sound.

37. Hairspray Musical have diegetic or synchronous sound. Although it is interesting that sometimes, characters start singing and then the music comes in, such as the next clip.

38. Singing in the Rain Across the Universe

39. Sound Terms continued Nondiegetic sound – the source of the sound is not within the image, also called scored music. Nonsynchronous sound - sound and image that are not recorded simultaneously, or sound that is detached from its source in the film image. Music is usually nonsynchronous in a movie, providing background and atmosphere.

40. Jaws Da da,- da da, …..

41. Sleepless in Seattle

42. Sound terms continued Voice-over – a non-synchronous commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character’s thought or memories. Kind of like a narration. Subtext – a term used in drama and film to signify the dramatic implications beneath the language of a play or movie. Often, the subtext concerns ideas and emotions that are totally independent of the language of a text.

43. Shawshank Redemption

44. Turn and Talk What are some good movies that really use sound well? What are some good movies that use voice-overs and narration? Could it have been done differently.

45. Mis en Scene Mis En Scene- literally “placing on stage” refers to arrangemnt of all the visual elements of a theatrical production within a given playing area- the stage. And has 4 formal elements: 1. The physical setting and décor, 2. The staging of the action, 3. The manner in which these elements are framed. 4. The manner in which they are photographed

46. The 15 points of Mis en Scene p. 96 Dominant – where is our eye attracted first? Lighting key – Shot and camera proxemics Angle Color Values (does not apply to Black and White) Lens/filter/stock Susidiary contrast – what are the eye-stops after taking in the dominant. The second and third thing that catches your eye.

47. Mis en Scene cont. Density – How much texture and detail is packed in the image. Stark, moderate, highly detailed Compostition – how is the 2-D space organized and arranged and what is the underlying design? Form Framing Depth Character Placement – where are the characters placed in the frame? Staging Positions Character Proxemics

48. Boyz in the Hood