CLASS NOTES

WEEK ONE-TWO

COURSE OVERVIEW There are many different ways that we can consider and study film Literary -- plot, character, mise en scène/setting, theme Sensory -- how a film looks, sounds, color, gimmicks Technical -- cinematography, camera--shots, film processing, lighting, editing, sound Production -- producers, directors, writers, editors, stars, designs, set, costume Genre Theoretical cultural theory nationalisms critical theory gender/queer theory identity theory Audiences Art -- negative space, design, sets, costumes HISTORY Hollywood Europe German Expressionism MISE EN SCÈNE Setting, subject & composition of an image SETTING Place where action occurs Physical location Production moves to a different location (San Francisco, Rome, Paris) Soundstage Limbo set Imaginary Time Setting as mood/protagonist Function -- is an indication of a place, time Shots/framing Expressionistic (Dr. Caligari) SUBJECT Action/appearance Actions reveal character/characterization Physical characteristics  Gestures Body language Facial expressions Costumes Makeup Hairstyles May change over course of the film Reveal characters inner workings Indicator of internal and external changes, conflicts  Now Voyager Charly Character/Acting Actions, language reveal Flat vs. multi-dimensional characters Types of actors Play to type (Stallone, Sandler) Character actors (can be star or supporting) Method actors (Brando, Hoffman) Cameo appearances Casting Against type Performance GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM (approximately 1919-1924) Definition of expressionism American Heritage Dictionary (Bartleby.com) Columbia Encyclopedia (Bartleby.com)   How is expressionism displayed in films? SCREENED FILMS CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI All Movie Guide Internet Movie Database Produced in late 1919 Original director, Fritz Lang added framing story Director Robert Weine hired 3 prominent expressionist artists, Hermann Warm, Walter Rohrig and Walter Reimann to design and paint the sets. Embodied tortured states of the narrator's psyche Exaggerated dimensions and spatial relations Used light and shadow in painting to convey dramatic lighting effects due to electricity shortage and rationing in post-war Germany Psychological elements Focus on morbid psychological states and troubled dreams Use of decor & lighting as an expression of  disturbed mental and emotional states of the characters portrayed Deliberate attempt to portray subjective realities in objective terms -- narratives, states of mind, moods and atmosphere shown through photographic images German expressionism attempted to express interior realities through the means of exterior realities Traditional narrative, innovations in staging, decor METROPOLIS All Movie Guide Internet Movie Database Director Fritz Lang Stylized architectural composition as opposed to purely graphical expressionism 21st Century totalitarian society-- futuristic architecture and technology NOSFERATU All Movie Guide Internet Movie Database Director: Murnau Uses purely cinematic techniques to convey expressionism -- camera angles, lighting & editing rather than production, design Nosferatu shot through extremely low angle, rendering him gigantic, monstrous, sinister on screen Naturalness Composition of frame -- action sharply in focus in foreground, middle ground, background simultaneously "Composition in depth" Forests of Dracula's castle -- negative footage Vampires strength is illustrated through stop motion photography (Notes derived from Cook, David.  A History of Narrative Film; Maltby, Richard and Ian Craven.  Hollywood Cinema.; and Phillips, William H. Film:  An Introduction. )  RELATED RESOURCES The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Script Classic Movie Scripts http://geocities.com/classicmoviescripts/script/qCALIGARI.htm Film Art: An Introduction: Chapter 2 Film Form David Bordwell McGraw-Hill http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/art-film/bordwell_6_filmart/student/olc/chap02obj.mhtml Film Art: An Introduction: Chapter 6 The Shot Mise en Scène David Bordwell McGraw-Hill http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/art-film/bordwell_6_filmart/student/olc/chap06obj.mhtml

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