Film Studies

  Films are generally constructed to provide the spectator with a particular viewing position, most often aligning the spectator with a specific character or point of view. Spectatorship theory therefore looks at how films address individual spectators through, for example, particular shots, editing, music and performance as well as narrative and genre to engage their interest and emotion. Spectators can be 'passive' or 'active' in their responses to film. Passive Theories:  the audiences for films respond in a fixed way that has been created by the techniques of the filmmakers. The Frankfurt school   (1920-30's Germany)  said cinema created the illusion of  proximity  -  the combination of sound and a very large moving image, experienced in a darkened room, with attention focused on the screen made the audience feel they were in the scene and accept all the storyline as told. Christopher Metz   (1975)   said the reason people enjoyed fi...

  Themes Representation Contrasts Audience/Spectator Oppression Wikus (start of the film) Technology (Alien technology vs Human Technology   Corruption Wikus (end of the film) Human power vs Alien power   Aliens/Alien invasion  MNU (representing non-governmental organisations, NGO) Humans vs Humans (infighting, every man for themselves)   Human forces Nigerian gangsters     Integration       Gang warfare        

 Hurt Locker Conflicts: Inner conflicts - guilt from protagonist Inner Personal between JR + AM Iraq civil war International War Wars are known to cause PTSD from seeing death all around you &  life-changing traumas of a war zone, which is explored in The Hurt Locker.  Do I like the  soldier?: Yes: - Brave & courageous - Intelligent - Humorous in dangerous situations No: - Suspicious of all Iraq people - Pointing guns and shouting at innocent random people Hurt locker mixes Staged & directed footage with documentary style footage, when the Iraq man holding the phone is filmed with grainy low quality. "He's Down" scene: This scene shows that the soldiers all care about each other and ensuring they are all healthy together. The capri-sun is a metaphor for the soldiers regaining their innocence.  The scene is paced differently to make it more serious and show the suffering conditions they had to work in to protect...

 Film form: - Mise-en-scene - Cinematography - Editing - Performance - Sound Gold rush: - Static cameras as cameras were huge and heavy - Extreme long shots were made using miniature models - Close ups for intimate scenes (bread dancing scene)          Used to exaggerate emotions -Ignored by society because he is poor and cant afford new and expensive clothes and wears a bag on his foot. - Jack wears a uniform to convey toughness and is very tall. - Proxemics between Tramp and Jack shows the distance between the low class and high class people. Vertigo: - Dolly zoon connotes confusion - Scotty's nightmare sequence looks unnerving as it is composed in the center with lines all pointing to his head - Green is conveyed with madeilline. Judy is blacked out as it shows that maddeleine is the only one that Scotty cares about. - Montage is put together to convey different meanings such as everything Scotty is worrying about - Red= lust, love, passion. When Scotty ...

Key theme throughout all 3 films is conflict. Film form Cinematography Mise-en-scne Camera work     - Shot types     - Movements     - Angles Cinematic technique of freezing to create dramatic effect Sound     Realism from diegetic sound     After the bombing, the director wanted you to feel sorry for Algerians by using non-diegetic sound. The film is new-real style as it shows the events after the bombing and the rioting. Battle of Algiers     The films is about political and social struggles. Saadi Yacef was the Algerian revolutionary leader who fought for his countries liberation from French colonial rule. French were known for not being kind to Algerians. Saadi also helped Gillo to create the 'Battle of Algiers'. Yacef starred as the revolutionary character. The film explores anti-colonial struggles from freedom fighters as Algeria did not want to be controlled by Colonized government. Algerian people are controlled by Fren...

Naturalism (Realism): - Its focus is on everyday aspects of life that are are mundane, boring or unspectacular. - Shots are more objective - Camera usually reflects human behaviour and movements by being placed at eye-level - Shots are often static on a tripod or with little movement - Lighting and composition feels open and random without added flair - Locations are usually real  - Focus of editing is on continuity - Music and audio is diegetic (coming from the story world) - Realism is a fundamental approach to filmmaking Italian Neo-realism:         No easy moral judgements         Not easily plotted         Documentary visual style         Exterior locations         Natural lighting         Conversational speech         Constructed to create a truth Formalism: - Considered classic Hollywood style. - Crea...

  AO2: Sound used to create aesthetic effects Film aesthetics Sound (parallel and contrapuntal), talk about connotations. Creating aesthetics using cinematography, mise-en-scene and editing Lighting Camera angles Camera shots Continuity editing Non-continuity editing Meaning: Genre Narrative Representation Spectator preferred or oppositional reading

GOTG approaches arteurism Viewing conditions impacts the spectators experience Male Protagonist Genre & themes of Pride  Police brutality Homophobia Solidairty Marginalisation  I will explore the narrative structure of Pride and Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) with reference to the critical approaches of auteurism and genre.  The auteur theory states that the director has a specific style and has become a major critical approach to how films communicate to their spectators. 

Do now: A documentary is footage compiled together to investigate a chosen topic. It explores the realism of events that happened.  Documentary Film, television, radio or internet product using pictures and/or interviews with people involved in real events provide a factual report on a subject. Documentary= 35 mark question     - Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of element of film (15 marks)     - Applying knowledge and understanding of film elements through analysis                          and use of critical approach (20 marks) Debate the claims naturalism and realism and the formalist and structuralist conception of film narrative in relation to documentary. 40 minutes per 35 mark question Cutaways, Pictures, Captions, Old footage (cut aways), Bloopers, Interviews, Non-diegetic sound, Close-ups, Panning cameras, Static camera,  - Real locations - Real people - Na...

Stories we tell analysis Relations of Diane Polley and Michael Polley Affair between Diane Polley and Harry Gulkin Exploration of truth and how Sarah Polley approaches the truth in her vision Uses 8mm camera for cutaways Reliability of the documentary is questionable  Sarah starts the recounting of the candid interviews with a raw approach, where the audience don't know what words might be true. People question the documentary as she has nothing to gain by lying. "Different reactions to different events" Editing can knock the truth as the it turns the story into something completely different. Sarah's vision may differ to everyone elses. As time passes, truth matters less. The emotions and memories people leave behind are far more important.

35 marks Up to 5 levels 15 mark for AO1 (Film form and Film terminology)          -  Are you actually answering the question?     - narrative     - structure     - film techniques 20 marks for critical approach (debating)     - Context     - Respresentation of characters     - Arteurism  Genre      - how is society represented Arteurism      - Do either films have an  auteur stamp? Technology     - How does technology shape a viewer response     - Does technology have an impact on how we view characters     - Does it impact narrative Pride: Bulmer and Katz(1959) Uses and gratis factions: Audiences actively select media to use for their own benefits (as opposed tp being passively manipulated). They identified a range of different uses that offered specific pleasures (gratisfactions) - Education/ inform - Personal identif...

  Auteur: A director with a specific style. Common theme: Red Hitchcock always uses red as an auteur:     - Blood     - Murder     - Love Religious views Hitchcock attended a catholic school as a child, his films occasionally include religious iconography Hitchcock started making films in the silent era which allowed him to develop the importance of Cinema Pur (French term: means pure cinema) He spent time working in Germany and was influenced by German expressionism. The films were known for surrealism, psychological, warped style and expressionist set designs. (mise-en-scene and cinematography) He was influenced by the Soviet montage movement including the Kuleshov effect and Eisensteinien montages (Intellectual montages). Hitchcock cinematic style:     - Cinema Pur: Henri Chomette     - Meticulous design     - Perfectly balanced compositions     - Perfect editing     - Surrealism     ...

 Key scenes - The starvation scene in where The Tramp eats a boiled shoe with Big Jim Mckay. - The Tramps cabin-mate hallucinates and sees The Tramp as a huge chicken.  - Chaplins fantasized new years eve party where he waits for a girl who never turns up P E A L P E E Structure: POINT - Editing EXAMPLE - What is going on in the film EXPLAIN - Link the meaning for spectator Introduction: Gold Rush 1925 as the film is a silent film, Chaplin relies heavily on impressive visuals to create meanings Scene -  jim and the prspector are deprived of food as they are stuck in a winter storm. they resort to boiling and eating his leather shoe. Big Jim also imagines TLP as a giant chicken through delirium due to lack of food. 1989, Bordwell and Thompson -  'Continuity Editing relies upon matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations shot to shot...' Paragraph 1: P:  180 degree rule  - line of action through the centre of the action and the camer...

  Film are not like plays as plays are filmed from beginning to end but films arent filmed in continuity order. Continuity editing is the name given to the classical style of editing that is the standard language of cinema.  David Bordwell & Kristen Thompson - Continuity editing is a system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative ac ton. It relies on matching screen direction, position and temporal relation from shot to shot. The key to continuity editing is that it flows always directing the spectators attention to where it needs to be without spectator noticing. It is supposes to be invisible. Continuity editing:      - 180 degree rule An imaginary line of axis drawn through the centre of the action The camera must stay on one side and should never cross the line This prevents subjects from switching sides of the screen, which could confuse the audience Faster editing in mo...

  L ea rn er resource 2 – Film fact file - Film research task   Introduction   The following are prompts to help you explore the institutional and social, political, and historical context of the set films you are studying.   Institutional c ontext   Production Company   Distributor   Director   Cinematographer   Composer   Editor   Stars   Other notable personnel   Notable related films (director, franchise, institution etc. )   Production notes (how the film was made, use of digital technologies etc.)   Production Company – Marvel Studios   Distributor – Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture   Director – James Gunn   Cinematographer – Ben Davis   Composer – Tyler Bates   Editor – Fred Raskin   Stars – Chris Pratt , Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana.   Notable Personnel – Fred Raskin (Editor), Hughes Winbourne (Editor)   James Gunn is the main writer ...