AnnouncementsSu13

(7/18/2013) Note how this [|review of the movie The Conjuring] refers to genre conventions, the history of the genre, the cultural values reflected in the movie, and the style of the film's director. All four approaches to genre in one review.
 * Is //The Conjuring// a woman-hating horror movie?**

**The Sounds of Violence** (7/14/2013)

[|An article from The Wall Street Journal on the music in Psycho.]

**//The Birds// with music** (7/12/2013)

Two excerpts from a full symphonic score written by Marc Parella in 1992 and performed by the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra directed by Henry Charles Smith.

Foley Sounds
(7/12/2013)


 * [|A video demonstrating the recording of foley sounds.]
 * [|Sound design in WALL-E]

(7/10/2013) Alfred Hitchcock explains the Kuleshov effect and the power of editing.
 * Hitchcock on Pure Cinema **

**Watching //Psycho//** (7/9/2013)
 * When do you notice shifts in perspective? When are we aligned with a particular character? When are we limited in our information to what a single character knows? When do we know more than some characters?
 * Listen to the movie. Hitchcock said that "a third" of the movie's impact is due to the music. What do you notice about the movie's use of sound?

**Surprise (Mystery) vs. Suspense**
 * [|Alfred Hitchcock on mystery vs. suspense]
 * [|Alfred Hitchcock on surprise vs. suspense]

**Storyboards** (7/8/2013)
 * [|Storyboard examples]

**Intercutting/Associational Editing** (7/8/2013)
 * [|The Godfather]

**Cutaway/Associational Editing** (7/8/2013)
 * [|Modern Times]

**Jump Cut** (7/8/2013)
 * [|Breathless]
 * [|Erin Brockovich]

Match Cuts
(7/5/2013) See LM pp. 364-367 for definitions.
 * [|Lawrence of Arabia]

Graphic Match Cuts

 * [|2001]
 * [|Come On Rangers]
 * [|stoplight to sun (unknown movie)]

Match on Action

 * [|His Girl Friday] (walking through the door)
 * [|His Girl Friday (gangster turning his head in last two shots)]
 * [|His Girl Friday](Hildy standing up)

Eyeline Match

 * [|The Stendahl Syndrome] (also an example of POV editing)
 * [|Casablanca] (note the way Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman appear to be looking at each other in their alternating closeups)

//The Passion of Joan of Arc//
(7/3/2013) Here is the movie that we will be discussing on Friday. It is a silent film, and the director, Carl Th. Dreyer, orginally wanted it to play without musical accompaniment. So don't feel you have to listen to the soundtrack. It might help to know a little bit about [|Joan of Arc], though the film doesn't require much background knowledge. The film is famous for its use of close ups and for the performance of Renee Jeanne Falconetti as Joan. We are going to look at the way it disregards the "rules" of continuity editing (especially in the way it refuses to allow viewers to get a coherent sense of space) and its use of montage.

Watching //His Girl Friday//
(7/2/2013) We will use // His Girl Friday // to introduce some concepts related to editing. For now, you can think about the concepts we've already been studying: narrative, mise-en-scene, and cinematography.
 * In what ways is the style of comedy in this film similar to or different from what you expect from contemporary comedy?
 * What do you think the film suggests about changing gender relations between men and women? Does the film tell us anything about Hollywood's view of "the modern woman" in 1940?
 * //His Girl Friday// is dialogue-driven. In what ways is the film cinematic?
 * How does mise-en-scene contribute to our understanding of the characters? Consider setting/decor, costume, and performance.
 * Whose goals drive the narrative? What are the main conflicts?

Cinematography Examples
(7/1/2013) The Yale Film Studies website has a long list of helpful examples of concepts related to cinematography. The examples include still images and clips.
 * [|Cinematography examples]

Clips from //Casablanca// and //Citizen Kane// papers
(6/30/2013) Read sample student papers
 * On Casablanca Kane (Brett)
 * On Casablanca (Tori)
 * On Citizen Kane (Cristina)

Watching //Atonement//
(6/27/2013) With // Atonement //, we are going to continue our attention to visual style as we focus on cinematography in addition to mise-en-scene. As you watch the film, consider how images tell the story and express meaning. You might pay particular attention to scenes with little or no dialogue.

// Atonement // is adapted from a novel (by Ian McEwen), and it is narrated in three sections (plus an epilogue). Pay attention to differences in mise-en-scene between sections. Does each section have a different look and feel? Are lighting and color used differently? Does the camera move differently?

Powerpoints
(6/26/2013) Don't forget that the powerpoints I've shown in class are available on the Handouts and Powerpoints page. The powerpoint on Framing complements the // Looking at Movies // video on "Composing the Frame," while the powerpoint on // The Searchers // complements the video, "Lighting and Familiar Image in // The Night of the Hunter // ."

Watching //The Searchers//
(6/25/2013) Some questions to consider as you watch the movie:
 * What drives Ethan? Why does he hate Indians so much? How do you explain his actions at the end of the film?
 * What elements of **mise-en-scene** seem important? What settings or locations seem important? What props draw your attention? What elements of costume and makeup help establish character or indicate changes in character? Do you notice any dramatic lighting effects? In general, do you notice any moments when visual elements communicate story information or suggest meaning that is not conveyed through dialogue?
 * The first and last shots of //The Searchers// are an example of **familiar image**. Do you notice any other shots in the film that look similar?
 * **The landscape** has always been an important feature of the Western genre. What role does the landscape play in //The Searchers//, beyond its obvious function as the backdrop for the narrative? Do you notice any patterns in the way the landscape is represented or framed?
 * Richard Slotkin argues that the maintenance of **borders** is one of the most crucial concerns in stories about the American West. In what ways is //The Searchers// also a film about borders? What boundaries are being violated and protected? (Think not only about boundaries between geographical spaces, but also between people who represent distinct social and racial groups, between men and women, and between “civilization” and what lies beyond civilization.)

Watching //Citizen Kane//
(6/20/2013) As you watch the movie, as we did with // Pan's Labyrinth //, try to note details that stand out to you. Do you notice any motifs or parallels?

With // Citizen Kane //, we will be trying to understand its complex narrative structure. How would you describe the way the film orders events? How does it use flashbacks? How does it begin and end? In terms of character and desire, how does the reporter's desire (or goal) shape the film? What is Kane's desire and how does it shape the film? Does his desire lead him into conflict? What are the primary conflicts at the center of // Citizen Kane // ?

The March of Time
(6/20/2013) // Citizen Kane // includes a fake newsreel that parodies // The March of Time // videos produced by // Time // magazine. Here is an [|example], from 1935, on Hitler's rise.

Motifs, Parallels, and Structure
(6/18/2013)

As you watch // Pan's Labyrinth //, look out for details that stand out to you, that seem to demand your attention.
 * **Motifs** - any detail that gains significance through repetition. For example, Dorothy's ruby red slippers in //The Wizard of Oz//, the repetition of "My Heart Will Go On" at different points in //Titanic//, the repetition of a similar visual composition.
 * **Parallels** - when a comparison is made or suggested between two characters, events, or locations. For example, the parallel between Mrs Gulch and the Wicked Witch in //The Wizard of Oz,// the parallel between Obi Wan and Darth Vader as good and bad father figures in //Star Wars//.
 * **Structure** - the way a film begins and ends, and the way it unfolds in sections. For example, //The Wizard of Oz// beginning and ending in Kansas in black and white, and the parallel encounter scenes with the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion.