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PP Lecture 2 Continuity Editing Classical Hollywood Cinema.pptx

Narrative Conventions of Classical Hollywood Cinema

David Bordwell (theorist & historian): from 1917-1960s, a distinct and homogeneous style dominated American studio filmmaking;

style remains constant across the decades;

highly specific mode of cinematic representation.

Noel Burch (1981): referred to this dominant type of representation:

Institutional Mode of Representation (IMR)

The IMR basically consists of the conventions of mise-en-scene, framing and editing;

cinematic image largely subservient to the requirements of a specific type of narrative structure;

the way that the narrative is structured calls for certain modes of narration put into effect by the editing system.

you have:

i) The narrative conventions – how the thematic issues are put together (themes and ideas)

ii) Themes and ideas are put in place through editing techniques –

referred to as the “principles of continuity editing” or sometimes referred to as “invisible” editing.

Editing – accomplishes the practical aspects of filmmaking:

i)how is shot A connected to shot B –

ii) how are shots are put together to make up a scene;

ii) many different scenes make up the entire narrative – duration of the whole film.

The plot:

refers to the ordered structure of what is narrated visually or linguistically –

it is everything we see on screen – action, drama, dialogue, camera movement etc.

all the visual elements,

the interaction and dialogue among the characters, we see what they do and how they relate to each other,

from these visual elements, we come to understand and infer what the whole story is.

The Story:

Includes all the events that include the plot,

includes whatever precedes the plot, all the little details and incidents that are not shown in the film,

and even to some extent what might follow after the film has ended;

A story is therefore what happens chronologically from A to Z – including everything that we don’t see in the film.

The story might begin in 1892, and continue into the present.

The story includes all aspects of what happens chronologically,

the story, therefore, is the whole, the underlying base, upon which the plot events lie.

a visual diagram:

^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ (plot)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (story)

1) Major plot: the overarching progression of the entire narrative;

2) The major plot will be interconnected with minor or sub-plots:

minor or sub-plots: pieces of a puzzle that tell the minor stories, they are all interconnected to each other;

3) the major and minor plot structure: all unified to form a coherent whole – the whole narrative – the film.

4) Continuity narratives have an ordered representation of meaningful actions and events;

an ordering of the events

the narrative is ordered chronologically.

anything that does not “make sense” will be edited out, and

only the narrative elements deemed to provide the “most sense” --- will be left in the narrative.

5) has an overarching structure of intelligible meaning:

--all elements of the film will be connected together to form a hermetically (or tightly) sealed whole; ( all the narrative events are impervious to external influence)

--there is little to no incoherence, – which will leave plot events incoherent or confusing;

few/no issues left dangling.

6) dramatic action: five major stages –

i) a state of equilibrium;

ii)disruption of the equilibrium by some action;

This is the stage where elements of conflict introduced–important to plot progression

iii) a recognition that there has been some disruption;

Iv) an attempt to repair the disruption/find a solution;

a reinstatement

v) climax – dramatic – shoot out – (people killing each other, things will come to a head; in a domestic situation – the woman and man will have a huge fight, to what might look like a separation).

7) After the Climax is reached, resolution or narrative closure is attained :

at the end of the film, a resolution will be arrived at;

no loose strings left hanging;

all elements will be tied together to make up a coherent story;

status quo will be established;

inherently conservative.

8) events take place in linear time;

linear time is of the immediate present;

flash backs and flash forwards:

these movements in time are used in order to further the progression of the plot – they move the narrative forward.

9) continuity narratives are causally ordered;

causes usually lead up to a crisis point or to a climax

a chain of cause and effect: XYZ.

10) presented from a particular point of view (pov):

pov typically presented is that of the hero/protagonist;

events are propelled forward through the agency of fictional individuals or characters – namely the hero;

the hero generates the human agency, by which the narrative moves forward as a whole;

he or she, are the central agents and their characterization is fairly rounded individuals, with certain personality traits, motivations, desires etc.;

Since hero is primary agent of the story,

hero’s body, or parts of his/her body –eg. face – is shown frequently in close-up shots;

close-ups show his/her facial expression, personality traits and speech (we come to know what they are thinking).

we therefore see him/her and what she/he sees – and by seeing him/her, we begin to identify with her/him.

11) action oriented:

hero/protagonist: the centre of action –

However, until the 60s, the decisions the heroes had to make and the values that they espoused were cut and dry;

Question: Ringo in Stagecoach: does he show any moral doubt or ambiguity in considering his revenge killing?

12) The narrative is efficient, well-organized and no wasteful moments:

easily understandable and rational in their approach;

everything is neatly laid out for you in a systematic way;

every scene has a goal and purpose

to present a unified and coherent story.

Critique:

conventions are highly formulaic and repeated over and over through the 100 years of Hollywood filmmaking;

these conventions changed somewhat in the 60s – with what is referred to as the New Hollywood cinema;

Bordwell: classical Hollywood cinema is “an excessively obvious cinema.”

Continuity Editing

What is the form or structure of a given film?

How is the film put together?

How is space and time ordered?

Objective of lecture: how does continuity editing give rise to the continuity narrative?

the form or the structural elements of a film, we’re considering:

i) Types of shots: What are the camera angles, what is their duration or how long are they, what is their focal length;

ii) Editing method:

How are these different shots constructed or joined together?

What are the principles of joining shots together?

Are there any standardized methods or conventions of doing this?

What is the arrangement and ordering of the shots?

Cinematic Techniques

Shot: the continuous, uninterrupted flow of the recorded image;

Cut: is what interrupts this flow.

Framing

Static framing: the camera is solidly fixed in one position;

Fluid framing: the camera moves in and through space;

Camera pan (left or right);

Camera tilt (up or down);

tracking shot: tracks are built on a set (resembling railway tracks) and the camera is moved along these tracks;

dolly shot: the camera is on wheels – say on a tripod wheels or a chair, and moves in the direction needed;

crane shot: camera is on a crane making for some very complex movements through space

hand-held shots: camera is hand-held; gives rise to a character’s subjective pov; shaky

Shots with different focal lengths

Zoom-in: zoom into an object (narrows focus to a particular object of interest)

Zoom-out: zoom out of an object (broadens attention to include a spatially larger area)

Rack-focus shot: camera’s focus switches from one object to another very quickly;

causes spectator to swiftly change attention from one object to another; shifts perspective from X to Y

Close-up: close up of a face or object of interest;

Extreme-close up: so focus on the special features of a face: eg. A twich in the eye or of the mouth; a disfigurement on a body part; object becomes enormously large and therefore places emphasis on it;

Medium-close up: head and torso shot;

American or ¾ body shot: includes head and body cut off at the knees;

Full-body shot: includes whole body.

Establishing shot

usually gives an overall perspective of the environment that the action is located in; frequently used in the film’s opening scene and also sometimes at the conclusion of a film; sometimes involves the use of helicopters: sweeping view of the city/country-scape; sometimes can be a crane shot – as in the opening sequence of Welles’ Touch of Evil, which is 3:30 mins. long.

Straight angle: the shot is positioned from a place in which objects or figures in space are solidly perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the frame; creates a sense of stability, balance and proportion in the image.

Canted angle: angle of objects or figures is not perpendicular to the horizontal axis, but is stilted or angular. These types of angular shots give a dynamism to the image: they generate a sense of imbalance, instability and movement.

High angle: the camera is placed at a high angle from the objects/subjects being recorded: crane shots, ceiling shots. Camera looks down from above.

The object/subject appears small and less significant;

Shows vulnerability of subject/character.

Eg: Hitchcock’s Rope (1948)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJo5ih2HkxE

Low-angle: camera is placed closer to the floor or at a level below the object/person.

The object/subject appears larger than normal;

Shows immensity, dominance or imposing nature of the person/character.

Editing techniques used in the continuity narrative

180-degree axis rule;

shot-reverse-shot;

establishing shots;

the sound bridge,

cutaways,

the eyeline match.

The Cut:

establishes continuity,

generates disruptions.

In continuity narratives, the cut establishes:

i) spatio-temporal continuity within a scene;

ii) temporal continuity within the whole narrative.

individual spatial fragments (inserts or cutaways) are edited together as if they are continuous in time;

however, each of these shots has been shot separately and then edited together;

each shot is spatially matched to the one that follows it, making it seem like it is flowing seamlessly in time.

Thus, continuity editing is know as “invisible editing.”

Some techniques of continuity editing

Establishing shot;

Shot-reverse-shot;

180 degree axis;

eyeline match;

crosscutting;

parallel editing.

techniques of scale: Noell Carroll

i) indexing: bringing the camera closer to the object, or tracking the actions relevant to the story;

ii) bracketing: screening out irrelevant details, objects, spaces –

this emphasizes the relevance of the selective framing;

iii) scaling: altering the scale of the object that is the focus of concern – underlining the significance of the story.

Stagecoach, John Ford (1939):

example of the classical continuity narrative.

example of the Western genre – which Ford made popular.

The frontier myth:

Within the convention of the Western, the notion of the frontier was important:

frontier myth: notion of a vast, open expanse beyond civilization;

dividing line between civilization and the wilderness;

notion of the frontier: adventure, freedom and romance;

uncharted territory, where cowboys could play out their fantasies, without acquiescing to law and order of civilization.

frontier myths: dreams that men and women hoped for, and to some extent believed could come true;

romances were born out of frontiers where the cowboys could marry, have children, and develop a new and better civilization, different from the one that they left behind in Europe.

myth of the American frontier: set the mind, spirit and the imagination soaring;

America: final mythic realm of the modern world –

a new Eden, and the New World.

The frontier therefore held out hope for the disenchanted and disenfranchised Europeans,

it was a hope for rebirth;

out of the wilderness would emerge a new civilization.

myth of the frontier in Westerns stood in sharp contrast against historical reality;

there was no wild, uncivilized country to tame;

already several civilizations who lived on this land;

this land was not free for the taking for colonial settlers.

The myth of American frontiers had been growing during the 19C,

by 1939, myth was securely in place;

John Ford encapsulated by the romantic, frontier myth;

mythic narratives undertaken by shooting them in a realistic way.

Reversal of history:

myth of the frontier in Hollywood cinema is able to successfully reverse historical factuality;

i) in Stagecoach, the Apache, who are the native people of the land, are established as “the threat”;

Question: why are they established as a threat?

they’re only defending their claim and rights to their land;

story is told from the point of view of the colonizing settlers,

who assert their rights – to settle on the land,

sense of entitlement to the land seen to be fully justified within the narrative,

trumps the rights of the Apache;

ii) reversal from history: Apache are referred to as savages by settlers and passengers,

marauding settlers are considered to be the ones who follow law and want to maintain order in the land.

Apache representation?

Robin Wood: in Ford’s Westerns of the late 30s and early 40s, the role of the Indians is relatively simple and stereotypical;

Ford is untroubled by any sense of the Apache people as being actual individual human beings.

“Indians” are presented in the stereotypical way of as screaming, destructive savages;

not a single Apache in Stagecoach has a speaking role;

treated as an abstract mass;

continually relegated to be only one thing: “the threat” to settlers;

Within the mythology of the Western, they are understood as a concept (they are a figment of the European imagination);

not represented as real people, with real issues, living in real historical conditions, or as intelligent people, with individualized characteristics.

PP Lecture 3 Continuity Editing Sept 23.pptx

Continuity Editing (part II)

shot:

continuous, uninterrupted flow of the recorded image;

each shot has a particular: angle, focal length, framing, etc.;

angle: high, low, stilted/canted/dutch angle;

focal length (distance from camera to object): extreme long-shot, long-shot, close-up, medium close-up

long-take: (duration or length of time: eg. Michaelangelo Antonioni in The Passenger [1975]: 7 min. long-take, tracking shot):

https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX2L- 6pUOQ

Shot types: extreme long-shot, long-shot, close-up, extreme close-up, etc.,

Dave Monahan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWX2L-6pUOQ

scene:

single/one location;

has multiple shots with different camera angles, focal lengths, framing etc.

a sequence: will have multiple scenes:

eg. Bank heist sequence: will have many scenes starting with:

what happens outside before entering the bank,

the entry into the bank,

inside the bank teller,

inside the main vault,

outside getaway chase scene etc.

the cut:

generates the flow of movement from one shot to the next;

establishes the association from one shot to the next;

it establishes the pacing, rhythm of a scene, sequence, entire film

it can establish continuity, or

it can create disruptions, pauses, instability, conflict etc.

eg: by juxtaposing two shots,

allows you can create irony, comedy etc.

Within the continuity editing system, the cut is used to enhance the continuous flow of images;

eg: in a scene: spatial and temporal continuity is established.

Kristen Thompson: “The continuity System,”

the filmmaker presents many disparate spaces:

all the different inside-outside locations,

Question: in Stagecoach what are these different locations?

All concrete, physical spaces that the filmmaker juxtaposes (or presents side by side):

i) by connecting these spaces together through the editing process, the filmmaker is able to guide the spectator’s understanding of the spatial relations among them;

ii) by connecting them together an overall mental geography is developed or built of the narrative space in the spectator’s mind;

Spatial unity and continuity:

i) within a single scene;

ii) among the different scenes.

Thus, the ways in which the different spaces are connected/stitched together within a single scene and also, among the different scenes;

Spatial unity presents the coherent, unified space of the whole narrative (the entire film).

Temporal continuity:

i) within a single scene;

ii) from one scene to the next (Scene 1  scene 2,  3 etc.)

In continuity narratives: the narrative is presented in continuous linear time:

i) within a single scene, and also,

ii) how the different scenes are strung together – like a beaded chain.

Principles of the continuity editing system:

Thus, what is referred to as the principles of the continuity editing system, is that:

through editing, the spatial and temporal continuity of the narrative is maintained.

As Thompson writes in her chapter:

“Continuity stood for the smoothly flowing narrative, with its technique constantly in the service of the causal chain…”

Within a single scene

how is continuity established within a single scene?

http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK2IAEO-FUI

i) establishing shot of character 1; character 2 comes in;(Master shot or establishing shot – it establishes the 2 characters);

ii) we see character 2 from the pov of character 1;

iii) we see character 1 from the pov of character 2;

iv) character 2 slides a glass of water to character 1;

v) character 1 picks up the glass of water to drink it;

Within 45 sec. the povs of the two characters have been established;

establishing shot: both characters are shown;

the entire scene has been shot from 3 different angles in separate takes:

This system is also know as the shot-reverse-shot editing:

http://www.aotg.com/index.php?page=shotreverseshot

In high-end productions: these will be shot simultaneously by 3 different cameras;

i) One camera will be the establishing or master shot in which both characters are shown;

ii) The second camera records what male-character-1 sees (pov) (image of character 2);

iii) Third camera records what female-character-2 sees (image of character 1);

Low-budget productions: when only 1 camera is available, the three different angles will have to be shot in 3 separate takes.

Fragmentation of time and space:

But as you have seen, each of these 3 single continuous shots are not shown as single takes;

instead, each single take/pov has been cut and fragmented into many different shots.

So the shot-reverse-shot editing strategy presents:

i) the establishing shot where you see both/all the characters;

then alternates:

ii) pov of character 1;

iii)pov of character 2;

iv)pov of character 1;

v)pov of character 2

etc.

this alternating movement between character 1 and 2

establishes:

i) not only the two characters’ povs;

ii) but the pacing of the scene – that is, how fast or slow you want the characters to respond to each other.

Accelerate the tempo of the dialogue (creates more witty repartee or,

slow down the dialogue – creates more reflective states).

Also, the spectator sees one continuous action, but the space has been fractured into several different shots:

This fracturing of space allows:

i) character identification and therefore,

ii) spectatorial absorption into the film’s diegesis:

Understanding is: If you show the scene only from the master shot (establishes both the characters),

you feel a little distanced or detached from the action.

The cutting between the two characters’ povs immerses and draws the spectator into the dialogue and action – you become closer and more absorbed in the action.

In complex films, you’ll see close-ups of the character’s faces—creating greater identification with the characters –

Why?

Because when the spectator is shown or given a close-up of a character’s face,

Their faces become magnified and extraordinarily large on the surface of the screen and therefore,

you are physically and mentally drawn closer to the character –

This physical magnification allows you to contemplate what they might be thinking or how she/he feels, their emotions

you might be able to see a flicker in their eye,

-- a hard glint in eye – shows ?

--a soft watery eyes – shows ?

-- lips curl – shows ?

-- lips might slightly part – shows ?

-- duck lips -- show ?

Through the gestures and qualities of the emoting face direct sensations are felt by the spectator;

these tiny, micro-movements allow the spectator to identify with the character’s desires, motivation, thoughts etc.

Inserts:

the scene calls attention to an object:

the image of the box with the wand is inserted between the two shots showing the characters’ povs.

Shows significance/importance of object to narrative.

Subjective shot:

Following this insert, we a shown an over-the-shoulder shot – this is another pov of character 1

It is what is referred to as a subjective shot – frequently, a hand-held camera is used – shaky shot – to show subjectivity;

his pov of the wand is also exactly what the spectator sees;

this pov creates further spectatorial identification with the character.

Eyeline match:

i) When a character is looking at something off-screen, the next shot shows what the character is looking at.

The spectator therefore sees what the character is seeing, from his/her pov

http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHWkpNR1bL0

ii) An eyeline match is also used to show the eye-lines of two characters in dialogue/looks;

the shot has to be framed in such a way that it looks like the two characters are directly looking at each other;

The angles of their gaze have to match;

The eye level of character 1 has to exactly match the other character’s eye level:

Eg.: 2:30-4:10 excerpt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 8xauSCz1mEk

Match-on-action

is a series of cuts that are logically edited together;

the cut blends different shots together, to show the flow of movement:

Eg: a woman entering a classroom:

this single action is broken down into several shots – follows logical continuity of space and time:

http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7GC4962cYE

i) medium frontal view shot of woman walking through a hallway;

ii) cuts to a medium CU of her as she approaches the door, framing her back;

iii) we see her arm reaching towards and door handle and pushing it;

iv) a medium CU frontal view as she enters the class room;

v) medium CP back view as she goes towards a desk in the classroom.

Thus, all these 5 different views are cut together to blend together to present a continuous flow in the movement.

180 degree axis rule:

used for spectatorial orientation – this means, that

If there are two characters, then the one on the left stays on the left and,

the one on the right, stays on the right side of the screen in subsequent shots.

(You cannot show character 1 on the left side and then switch this orientation in the next shot by having him/her on the left side –

this would be spatially confusing for the spectator – unity of space would be disrupted.)

The way that this is done is that:

Imaginary axis/line is drawn between the camera and the actors

the players always stay on one side of this axis;

the camera always stays on the other side of this axis;

this ensures that a particular actor is always on one side of the screen.

The 180 degree axis rule is used so that

the spectator doesn’t get confused with respect to the characters’ spatial orientation.

180 degree axis rule:

(excerpt from Kobayashi’s film: Harikari (3:18min.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4wX_dmh8_g

Question: Bordwell mentions (in the reading) that this rule is violated during the Apache attack in Stagecoach. How so?

Cross Cutting:

Two (or more) separate sequences are shot;

both sequences are shown alternating on screen;

used to show the relationship between two or more different sets of action

establishes tension among these actions in a single scene;

used to build suspense, frequently culminating in the climax;

these actions may have occurred simultaneously or at different times.

However, in Godfather, they are shown alternating.

For instance:

two different sets of action shown occurring simultaneously:

i) Michael getting married in church &

ii) The various killings that take place simultaneously;

both sequences are shown alternating on screen.

Crosscutting examples:

Excerpt from The Godfather:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_I82117oAw

Excerpt from The Silence of the Lambs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Ts1x6uADFtM

Question: cite an example of cross-cutting in Stagecoach.

Parallel editing /action

There is also alternating action, but this occurs in the form of dramatic scenes –

It establishes irony: (sets up the incongruity between two or more differing situations)

EG: in D.W. Griffith’s 1909 film A Corner In Wheat,

D.W. Griffith is considered a pioneer in developing parallel editing.

First scene: plight of farmers and poor people;

Second scene: see the excesses and extravagance of wealthy and powerful people;

Third scene: see the struggles of poor and disenfranchised people again.

The action occurs in the form of dramatic irony in the film.

A Corner In Wheat, D.W. Griffith (1909):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By6qokGa7FE

Conclusion:

So, all these different

types of shots: diff. angles, types of framing, different focal lengths, different durations,

are combined with

the various editing techniques: eyeline match, the match-on-action, the 180 degree axis rule, inserts etc.

the shots and the various techniques become a central means of:

i)constructing unified space and

ii)conveying narrative information in continuous linear time.

The shots are stitched together in order to construct the spatial and temporal continuity of the narrative.

Screenings:

-- conclusion of Stagecoach.

Mildred Pierce, Michael Curtiz (1945, 111 min.);

another eg. of classical Hollywood cinema.

Observe: the film’s form/structure;

types of shots and the editing techniques used in the film;

how is spatial and temporal continuity established in this film?

Any interesting shots/techniques not covered in the lecture/readings? Discuss in tutorial.

PP Lecture 1 Early Cinema (2).pptx

Early Cinema (1895-1906)

“Actuality” films: a documenting of the world “as it exists”

Single-shot films (no editing);

single roll films, 17 m long, 50 seconds in duration;

documenting of the world “as it exists”;

an “archive of the past”;

capture the raw material of the workers’ daily lives;

show that technology could reproduce the events of the world;

a record of time;

reveled in the ability to record movement in time.

“Actuality Films”

Auguste and Louis Lumière (French):

Workers leaving a Factory (1895)

Train Arriving at the Station (1895)

President McKinley at Home, Anonymous (1897)

Pack Train on Chilkoot Pass, Anonymous (1898)

Skyscrapers of New York City From North River, Anonymous (1903)

Staged Films

the staging of the events -- events are staged

for the expressed purpose of filmmaking;

Georges Méliès (French, 1861-1938):

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Edwin S. Porter (US, 1870-1941):

Great Train Robbery (1903)

Shows intentionality – a story is being written expressly to show and tell something to a spectator;

editing: introduction of many shots.

Debate concerning early cinema:

Were early films explicitly staged events? Were they made with the intention of telling a story?

around 1902-3: emergence of several shots being spliced or connected together –

In staged films: distinct scenes that are spatially and temporally different;

distinct spatio-temporalities are connected to each other seamlessly through the processes of editing to tell a linear story;

Through editing processes:

one scene follows the other, the different scenes are continuous in time.

For example: a film with 20 scenes:

different scenes are recorded at different times,

then edited together, so that they appear continuous in time in the film.

eg: scene 10 may be shot first; scene 1 shot last.

In the continuity editing system, the narrative produced through editing, presents a spatio-temporal continuity in the narrative;

scenes are edited/arranged to show a linear progression of the plot.

The linear time of a fiction film is therefore created in the editing room, in the post-production process.

Film is a construction:

a narrative emerges when various scenes are combined together (the editing process), to tell a story that is continuous in time.

[Recording of events vs the staging of events.

Early cinema: 16 to 20 frames per second

Today: 24fps  60fps]

Debate: are early films to be understood and characterized as narratives?

What is a narrative?

i) A narrative is an account of a string of events occurring in space and time –

(not a set of random events occurring);

ii) there has to be an established ordering of these events through a logic of cause and effect.

has to be a degree of conscious intentionality – with the aim of presenting a story.

Debate on early cinema

Tom Gunning (film theorist):

early cinema has traditionally been conceived under the hegemony (dominance) of the narrative;

early cinema not necessarily a narrative;

early cinema is “the cinema of attractions.”

Debate: early film a narrative form? Or, a “series of views to an audience”?

Gunning’s 3 arguments against narrative:

1) actuality films were not dominated by the narrative form;

a) Lumieres: capturing events and people without staging them;

b) single-shot films –recorded the reality of the moment as it was occurring;

c) no explicit narration – no story telling purpose;

documents of recording life “as it existed.”

Gunning’s argument (contd.)

2) early cinema was exhibitionist cinema:

a) contact of actor’s look into the camera broke with the self-enclosed fictional world of the narrative;

The Bride Retires (France, 1902);

Diegesis -- the world of the film;

Suspension of disbelief:

we make believe in the world that is given,

and what is being told to us about that world.

the spectator upholds this “suspension of disbelief” that is, he/she makes believe in the reality of the world being presented to us.

The world of the story is an illusory world – it is not the real world.

when the actor looks directly into the camera what happens?

creates a direct contact between the actor and the spectator;

therefore breaks open this illusion of a self-enclosed world;

this look between actor and spectator punctures a hole in this illusion.

Why?

because the actor shows that s/he is aware of the camera’s presence and,

such a look indicates that they are acting in a film;

audience becomes aware of the artifice of cinema.

Gunning’s argument (contd.)

3) The world of Méliès films is magical:

“trick” films -- use of editing tricks;

a series of magical displays, of magical attractions, rather than a narrative;

without a plot;

the series of transformations are strung together with little connection;

no character development (important in narrative)

story merely a frame upon which magical possibilities are strung together.

Méliès: “I can state that the scenario constructed in this manner has no importance, since I use it merely as a pretext for the ‘stage effects,’ the ‘tricks,’ or for a nicely arranged tableau.”

Edwin S. Porter: “I came to the conclusion that a picture telling a story might draw the customers back to the theatre…”

PP Lecture 4 Bazin Realism.pptx

Realism & Formalism Debates:

Realism in art:

On the one hand you have art that has a mimetic function:

(mimesis: to mimic or imitate)

Artistic styles mimic or present the likeness of the real, preserving the authentic look of the world;

mimetic art therefore visually mimics reality,

And therefore has been understood to represent reality,

It stands in for reality, it becomes reality’s double –

shows the world “as it is.”

Realism is an artistic style that mimics or presents the likeness of the real, preserving the authentic look of the world.

Through art’s mimetic function, art is a transparent vehicle, presenting the world to us in its full authenticity.

In “direct realism:”

Art comes close to the real and is able to

directly represent the world to us.

Formalism:

formalist school of thought says that the mere representation of reality is not enough;

they advocate that a distinction needs to be drawn between reality and art;

because they say, if art is the mere representation of reality, then what is art supposed to be? How is it different from reality?

In their view, art, instead, is a reshaping and a re-forming of the world – that is what differentiates art from reality.

thus, instead of preserving the world “as it is,” artists reshape and remold it.

art’s revolutionary function:

to reconceive the world;

to present new forms, new shapes, new sensations, new thoughts, new thinking about the world – to imagine a new world.

Rather than maintaining the status quo and merely representing the world “as it is,”

artists need to tear down and change the old stagnant forms and build new revolutionary ones,

thereby changing and reconstructing the dynamics of the reality that we experience.

thus the nomenclature: form-alism – you change the form

The shaping, manipulating and reimagining of what paintings, sculpture, theatre, poetry, prose, or the fine and performing arts etc. becomes key;

the experiments in form generated the great art works of the late 19th and 20th C.

i) art should mimic and represent reality, or

ii) should art become a force that changes the world – by manipulating reality in order to present new visions of the world.

In cinema:

This debate between realism and formalism, similarly, has been deliberated in cinema:

Realism: theoretical writings of André Bazin, who was very influential proponent of realism from the 40-60s;

Formalism: Rudolph Arnheim

Rudolph Arnheim

German art and film theorist (40s-90s);

our experience in the real world differs from the images that we see on screen;

Thus, our images of the world, and images on screen are distinct from each other (-- they’re not the same – do not have the same equivalency).

Thus, the commonsensical understanding that film is the mechanical reproduction of the world is untrue.

Film does not have this mimetic function;

incapable of being able to represent reality.

It fails to produce a mechanical reproduction of the world (a claim that some have made),

And this failure to mechanically reproduce or mimic the world is actually a good thing,

Why?

because then cinema can in fact become an agent for shaping and changing the world.

When cinema reshapes and remodels the world,

film becomes an art form –

the point being that film does not represent the world

but, in fact, filmmakers actually interpret the world, and thereby,

reshape and reconceive the world.

André Bazin

Bazin was a French film theorist from 40s and 50s;

a proponent of realism;

wrote that cinematic reproduction of images are such that cinema can present itself as the replica of the world;

cinema and reality have a deep continuity with each other;

it is not necessary for an artist to manipulate reality, in order for a work to be art;

how the world comes to be revealed to us through cinema, is what makes cinema art,

It is not what you add to reality, by manipulating and changing its forms, but rather,

the function of revealing a world (found in cinematic realism), is what makes cinema an art.

(Note:

Realism and continuity editing are not the same;

they are not coequivalents [cannot be interchange one for the other];

for instance: you can use continuity editing in a fantasy film, which is not realism.)

What does Bazin mean by realism?

i) first, it should be understood that there is not a single type of realism, but that there are several realisms:

in that, films made within a given period, will have their own particular techniques and aesthetics that will capture, retain, and render best what one wants from reality;

So, a given period, will produce its own understanding of what that reality is and how such a reality can come to be captured on film.

This means that how realism was shown in the 50s differs from how it appeared in the 70s, in the 80s, contemporary society, etc.

Realism differs by virtue of the different aesthetics of each given period, the techniques and technologies used.

ii) Moreover, he writes: the word “realism does not have an absolute and clear meaning”;

It indicates “a certain tendency towards the faithful rendering of reality on film.”

it is “a movement towards the real, which can take a thousand different routes”;

“realism strictly speaking, means nothing at all. The movement is valuable only insofar as it brings increased meaning to what is created.”

By this “movement towards the real,” what is he claiming?

Realism is not a particular style, or set of stylistic attributes, but a process or a mechanism.

In this sense, many different styles, from many different periods, can be said to be realist.

A film is realist insofar as it comes closest to or bears fidelity with our perceptual experience of reality.

That is, what we come to see on screen and how we perceive the events of our life are close to each other (not identical but close);

In this sense he differs quite remarkably from Arnheim, who said filmic images are distinct from the images that we experience in the world.

Bazin, instead, presents the possibility that mechanical reproduction has the potential and indeed does have the ability to bear fidelity to our perceptual experience of reality.

The primary function of realism:

i) would be to show or bring the spectator closer to the real,

ii) and filmic realism is the aesthetic equivalent of human perception.

Deep focus shot & the long-take:

Bazin’s perceptual realism therefore made him admire the use of two types of shots in particular:

The deep-focus shot;

the long-take.

Deep focus shot:

excerpt from Citizen Kane: Thompson and Susan scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDwyC7mrxBQ

excerpt from Citizen Kane: Opening scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNTJnHGnVeg

In CK, the shots are not only particularly long in duration (its recorded length of time -- the long-take),

But Bazin says that Welles takes the deep-focus shot to new heights.

In this type of shot, we see action taking place in the foreground, middleground and in the background –

all the different planes are in focus.

(shallow focus: only one plane is in focus);

In seeing all these different planes in focus, the deep-focus shot makes use of depth of field/deep space,

it brings the spectator into a relation with the image that is experienced in life – the image is perceptually similar to our experience of natural phenomena.

through shots such as these, the spectator experiences the full 3 dimensionality of life,

in that we focus on the many different things that are taking place on these different planes simultaneously;

thus, rather than drawing attention to one particular object or person, as in the insert/cutaway shot that we saw last week,

a deep-focus shot presents many characters doing many different things within a single shot;

in such shots our attention is drawn in many different directions at once – and we can choose to focus on one, or on all of these.

What this shot does is that it allows the spectator to have a more active mental attitude with respect to experiencing the image.

why would that be?

Because all 3 planes are in focus, you can move your eye and select what you want to see.

In continuity editing, on the other hand, the constant cutting and fragmenting of space, directs your eye to a particular or specific aspect:

for example to a single object, a single character speaking, another character’s reaction, etc.

-- your eye is directed only to what the filmmaker wants you to see.

The difference between the insert/cutaway and the deep-focus shot is that:

The deep-focus shot, with its deep space and long duration, allows the action to go on longer, without it being cut.

this allows the spectator to scan the image freely and to note different things happening at different times.

Thus, instead of constantly cutting and fragmenting the space, found in continuity editing,

The deep-focus shot, presents a certain ambiguity:

Why?

Because we’re not sure which part of the image to look at or when --

– because so many different things are occurring simultaneously in the same image – it is like an internal montage;

(different from external montage – the succession of shots);

there are many different characters on the different planes, doing several different things all simultaneously in the image.

Bazin writes, a deep-focus shot is similar to how we experience life;

in these types of shots, we experience the flow of objective time;

(that is, time [rhythm, pacing] is not manipulated by shot-fragmentation.)

Bazin & Editing:

The way by which reality’s essence was to be uncovered lay in a very specific style of filmmaking.

In Bazin’s view, he asked that the filmmaker neutralize their world-view

so that the world would emerge from what was being filmed.

This meant that filmmakers, rather than manipulating the film-form, should instead

refrain from interrupting the flow of the images.

Thus he called for an image that was manipulated as little as possible by the filmic process of deciding which types of shot to use,

wrote that there should be minimal editing.

He said that the reality of the events occurring should not be “violated” by filmic processes.

the shot-reverse-shot – would, in Bazin’s opinion be in violation of cinema’s realist tendencies

--because what the shot-reverse-shot does is fragment space – in its presentation of the whole.

shot of one character,

cut to the shot of the second character,

cut to the shot of the first character.

Continuity editing fragments space up into little bits – to show the world.

This is the “invisible editing” used in classical Hollywood cinema.

continuity editing schemata is not what Bazin had in mind when he was calling for realism.

He was calling for a different kind of realism.

And although continuity editing system can be naturalistic

he rejected such a system because it presents the illusion of an uninterrupted flow of images,

It is an illusion derived from tricks of editing.

In a similar vein:

He also rejects: (as we will see next week), the Russian Formalists, whose style of filmmaking is called “montage,”

in which meaning is derived through the juxtapositioning of images

(rather than the uninterrupted flow of images as in the deep-focus shot).

Bazin called for was the least amount of editing.

He called for shots in which meaning was derived from the uninterrupted flow of a single shot.

Realism in films on Bazin’s list:

Robert Flaherty, Nanook of the North (1922);

Carl Theodor Dryer, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928);

Roberto Rossellini, Paisan, (1946);

Vittorio De Sica, The Bicycle Thieves (1948);

Orson Welles, Citizen Kane (1941).

Neorealism

Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thieves (1948);

the style emerged in Italy after WWII;

Thematic elements:

Film functioned as a social document, reflecting the real conditions of life;

The stories in neorealist dramas focused on the conditions of the poor and the working underclass;

stories portray the difficult socio-economic and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy;

showed the desperation, oppression and injustices that are bred and fostered from the political conditions prevalent in Italy after WWII.

Analyze: compare Stagecoach’s historical presentation with Bicycle Thieves.

Stylistic elements:

used real locations rather than studio sets;

used local people who were non-actors;

actors improvised their scripts on site;

dialogue and sound recorded after the actual shooting in studio

(Question: does this violate realism? What does Cardullo say about this contradiction?)

Cardullo:

Three basic tenets of this new realism:

To portray real or everyday people – using non-professional actors in actual settings;

To examine socially significant themes (the real conditions and problems of living);

To promote the real flow of life (not the arbitrary manipulation of events).

PP Lecture 5 Soviet Montage_Eisenstein (1).pptx

Recap from last week:

The continuity narrative uses continuity editing techniques (egs: 180 degree axis rule; shot-reverse-shot; eyeline match);

continuity editing techniques bring about the impression of continuity in space and time, giving rise to classical Hollywood cinema.

André Bazin:

i) the mechanical reproduction of the world is such that cinema can present itself as the replica of the world;

ii) cinematic images have a deep continuity with reality;

iiii) this ability to record people, events and things in an objective way, is the best way to describe cinema’s deepest nature;

iv) one type of shot that achieves a close identity (but is not identical) with the real, is the deep-focus shot.

The deep-focus shot:

i) the deep-focus shot is usually a long-take – meaning that the length of time of each shot runs for a longer than usual period;

ii) the camera records the action without interruption;

iii) background, middle-ground and foreground are all in focus;

iv) we experience of the flow of objective time;

v) these types of shots present an experience of depth and ambiguity of perception.

Soviet Montage

Russia: feudal autocracy;

Inequality, injustice, brutal dictatorship;

Russian Czar: Nicholas II;

Czarina: Alexandra Feodorovna;

Rasputin?

1917 -- Russian Revolution

Bolsheviks/(Reds): national network of Soviets,

led by socialists, intellectuals, artists and had allegiance of lower classes and political left;

“Whites”: anti-Bolsheviks (reactionary forces; wanted to reinstate the autocratic dictatorship);

Civil war: between Reds and Whites;

Leads to formation of USSR in 1922;

Vladimir Lenin: Premier of USSR (1922-24).

Revolutionary spirit of USSR sets the stage for:

Film: Soviet Montage

Based on which political philosophy?

Marx’s: dialectic materialism

Karl Marx: Political philosopher and one of the greatest intellectuals (1850s).

Materialism: the materiality or the concrete, material basis of human life;

Materiality  human consciousness (from which changes in our material conditions can occur);

Marxism: focuses on the materiality or the concrete, material basis of human life.

Dialectics: the notion that every change results from a constant conflict between two opposite material states;

thesis and antithesis: these two opposites are in conflict with each other;

their conflict gives rise to a synthesis:

thesis + antithesis  synthesis

Eg: i)

Thesis: One

Antithesis: Many

Synthesis: Union (one union of the many)

Eg. ii)

Thesis: communal ownership + poverty

Antithesis: private ownership + wealth

Synthesis: communal ownership + wealth

Revolutionary spirit in the newly formed USSR in the early 20s;

Lenin advocated a cultural constructivist revolutionary movement in the arts;

film: “the most important art”;

many Marxist filmmakers and film theorists

promoted filmmaking through “dialectic montage”;

A different school of thought emerges in the Soviet Union in the 1920s.

Sergei M. Eisenstein (1898-1948):

Prominent Marxist filmmaker;

one basic idea informing his filmmaking and theory:

to think dialectically and therefore, through conflict (or through oppositions);

considered conflict to be the mental and artistic reflection of the process of dialectic materialism;

develops a theory of montage according to which the combination of one shot to another (in editing) has to be based on conflict, that is:

the relation between two shots is based on their

opposition, contradiction or collision to each other (and not continuity);

likens conflict/opposition between joined shots to the collision between thesis and antithesis; and,

their synthesis would be the resulting fusion in the spectator’s mind, giving rise to a new concept.

Eisenstein Influenced by Lev Kuleshov:

essence of cinema was editing, especially in the juxtaposition of one shot with another;

montage the basis of cinema;

combination of shots creates their relation to each other;

association between shots generates their meaning.

To illustrate these principle, he created the Lev Kuleshov experiment:

http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGl3LJ7vHc

A single shot of the actor (Mosjukhin) intercut with 3 meaningful images:

plate of soup: showing expression of hunger;

girl in coffin: showing expression of grief;

woman on divan: expression of desire.

Audiences in 1929 “raved about Mosjukhin’s action;

Kuleshov used the experiment to indicate the usefulness and effectiveness of film editing;

Implication: viewers brought their own emotional reactions to the sequence of images;

Viewers attributed their reactions to the actor, investing his impassive face with their own feelings;

Cinema consists of fragments and the assembly of those fragments, which are distinct from each other, creates cinema;

Concluded: it is not the actual content of the images in a film that is important, but the combination of images.

What is montage?

A montage is a composite juxtaposition of heterogeneous/different elements;

in film: it is the rapid succession of images with different types of shots, including different angles, focal lengths, movements, and different editing rhythms – all these different elements combine to form the association of an idea;

a montage therefore gives rise to a composite idea, made by combining several distinct/separate images together;

from the collision of two (or more) factors, arises a new and a higher level of a concept.

Chinese hieroglyphics:

the pictures of “things” express concepts;

the combination of two simple pictures gives rise to a concept:

a dog + mouth = (concept) “to bark”

the pictures for water + eye = (concept) “to weep”

In continuity editing: reality is constructed by presenting the illusion of continuity in space and time, through invisible editing techniques;

in Soviet montage: reality is constructed through the juxtapositions of images, by presenting conflicts/oppositions;

this means that images are not concerned with maintaining continuity in space and time.

Eisenstein’s objective:

to generate the physiological, psychological and intellectual conflict/shocks in spectators’ minds,

which will give rise to a composite idea/concept.

Formal and thematic conflicts:

Graphic conflicts (straight-line shots juxtaposed to diagonal ones);

Lighting conflicts (lightened vs. darkened shots);

Conflicts in the direction and rhythm of the motion (right to left movement cut to left to right);

Conflicts in camera distance (long-shot cut to a close-up);

Conflicts in camera angles (high-angle shot cut to low angle);

Shot-crowding (shots without people cut to crowded ones).

egs:

i) long-shots juxtaposed with close-ups;

ii) flows of people moving in one direction juxtaposed with another type of movement (crosses the 180 degree axis);

iii) different angles of the same object/person – different angles of man smashing plate, clenched fist, trumpeter, or man falling down stairs.

Odessa Steps sequence (from Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin, 1926)

Fragmentation of the action:

no single shot tells the whole story;

each shot is an incomplete part of the story, like one piece of a puzzle that contributes to an overall meaning of the sequence, through juxtaposition and accumulation of meaning.

(Each shot: a simple idea,

many shots: in various combination and associations, give rise to the

entire sequence: a composite idea/concept.)

Not concerned with spatial continuity or orientation:

the cinematic experience of emotion and meaning is more important than clear spatial orientation or temporal continuity;

juxtaposition of the characters’ emotions and reactions with the shots of the carnage is not concerned with logical continuity, but with the brutality and inhumanity of the massacre;

fragments of different space-times are edited together to tell the entire story;

breaks up continuity of shots in space and time.

Overlapping Montage, or the expansion of time

Repetition of same moment or action from many different angles expands the moment/action in time;

Eg: (at the end of the sequence): young mother is shot and collapses;

the woman’s fall is repeated and elements of her fall are overlapped in 22 separate shots;

her collapse shown from different angles, focal lengths, has different durations (lengths of time), and intercut with the action occurring around her;

extends the moment (beyond the actual time that it would have taken) and breaks the action up into many smaller details that contribute to the overall meaning of the event.

Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925)

film was based on actual events that took place during 1905.

In 1905 Russia was at war with the Japanese, and

under the brutal dictatorship of Czar Nicholas II.

Around this time in 1905 there was a lot of civil unrest.

There were radical and revolutionary movements vying for democratic change.

In one incident, the Tsar’s guards massacred 100 members of a peaceful demonstration outside his Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

This slaughter of innocent people led to years of conflict and upsurges by workers, peasants, and the intelligentsia.

By the time Eisenstein started filming in 1920s, the background was so complex and elaborate that the plot could only focus on one famous event --

a mutiny on a Russian battleship named Potemkin.

What happened was that the sailors refused to eat the meat, which was contaminated by maggots.

This resulted in an attempted repression by the officers,

which resulted in the sailors’ mutiny.

During the mutiny, a sailor was killed, along with most of the officers.

Having seized the ship, the mutineers sailed to the harbour of Odessa.

The city was in ferment, with strikes, attempted suppression by the army and simmering rebellion.

The ship’s mutineers became the focus of popular resentment brewing in Odessa,

The corpse of the dead sailor was laid in the Quay, with a notice that said:

“…Let us avenge ourselves on our oppressors. Death to them! And hurrah for freedom.”

Assignment 1 Questions and Guidelines.docx

Assignment 1

Film 1900

Assignment #1: Film 1900 – Fall 2014

This assignment is out of 30 marks (not 100%).

Please read all instructions carefully before you begin to write your first draft.

Non-compliance for each instruction below will result in the deduction of a mark. Check your assignment before you submit it as the system does not allow resubmissions.

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Include your full name and student number on the assignment’s title page. (Again, use your officially registered name, not your nickname.)

Assignment due: October 14/2014 at Noon (submit to Moodle);

Length: 1000 words (this means you will have to edit your assignment to fit this requirement. TAs will stop reading the assignment at 1,000 words);

Pagination: Include page numbers;

Font: 12 pt. Times New Roman;

Margins: Leave 1.5" on both sides;

Spacing: Double-space your work.

Please submit your assignment in Word.

Guidelines to the Assignment:

This is an analytical response paper. It is not a research paper nor an assignment where you merely give your opinion. An analytical response paper actively engages with the ideas presented in the readings and lectures, in an informed manner. You are being tested on your reading, writing and comprehension of the course material. You are therefore required to actively show that you have read the course material and are intelligently able to discuss, analyze and critique the ideas encountered in your readings and in lectures.

Introduction

i) In the introduction, present the main argument or thesis statement. (A thesis statement is the answer to your question – see link provided on how to write a good thesis statement.)

ii) Include three supporting arguments. Present a succinct outline (1-3 sentences) of three supporting arguments you will be taking up to support your main argument.

iii) Your introduction should have no more than five well-crafted and thoughtful sentences.

Body

The body of your assignment will first present and then analyze each of the three supporting arguments listed in your introduction. As much as possible, include complexity and sophistication to your supporting arguments, rather than simplifying or presenting dichotomies (either “X” or “Y”). While each supporting argument can have several paragraphs, each paragraph should be between 4-7 sentences.

If it helps, draw a diagram to map out your best supporting arguments before you start writing. This will allow you to map the logical flow of your arguments and also allow you to eliminate superfluous and unimportant detail.

Conclusion

Present a well-articulated conclusion that converges the 3 supporting arguments presented in the body of your assignment.

Example:

“That is, given X, Y and Z (the 3 supporting arguments), I conclude that …(the main argument).” Tie it all up in 4-5 well thought-out sentences.

Edit your work!

After writing your first draft, you have only accomplished half the work required! Keep in mind that well-written assignments have been edited anywhere from 3 to 5 times (if not more).

After having written your first draft, make sure you refine and edit it. Refine and rewrite all aspects of your introduction (including the thesis statement and the 3 supporting arguments), the analysis presented in the body and the conclusion. Remove all superfluity and unnecessary verbiage; make sure each word counts.

Check the mechanics: sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Sentence structure : if you have a long, convoluted sentence shorten it so that each sentence has only one subject and one object. Do not arbitrarily switch these relations in your subsequent sentences! Moreover, do not telescope one idea into another endlessly in a sentence. Convoluted, winding sentences with excessive verbiage show confusion in thought and reflect a lack of clarity in thinking.

Paragraphs : Paragraph your work. As noted above, while each supporting argument can have several paragraphs, each paragraph should be between 4-7 sentences . Take the space to explain, discuss and illustrate each point so that each point is presented comprehensively. However, do so without resorting to excessive verbiage. While presenting the important and necessary details of your argument, try to be concise (this is a short assignment, so make your points effectively and succinctly).

Logic : does the flow of your arguments make sense? Is there a good logic to what you’re arguing for? Take note that if your logic is faulty your reader will pick up on it! Is this logical flow clearly presented? Are there any contradictions in what you’re writing? How can you make it better and improve it?

Quotations : do not merely throw in a quotation without first setting it up. Set up a quote properly. For instance, if quoting, write it in the following manner:

In Bazin’s view on realism, he writes that “….”

Use quotations sparingly (not more than once or twice in a four page assignment). Use quotations only to buttress your point and not to make the actual point itself. Instead of quoting endlessly, paraphrase what the author is saying in your own words and reference that idea properly in the Endnotes/Footnotes.

Distance yourself : pretend that you’re someone else reading the assignment. Change and refine anything that does not make sense to you. Think of the person who will be reading your assignment. Will your main argument and supporting arguments make sense to him/her? Have you communicated the various points of your analysis clearly and concisely?

Edit, edit, edit!!

Bibliographic style

Pick one: footnotes, endnotes or embedded citations with endnotes.

Use: MLA or Chicago style

If you wish to use Chicago style, here’s the Quick Guide Link:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

(If you do not know what these are, go to Scott Library and ask a Reference Librarian to help you. Whichever styling format you use, please be consistent.)

Plagiarism

Any assignment found to be plagiarized in part or in whole will receive an automatic "0."

All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the following information:

· Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures http://www.yorku.ca/univsec/policies/document.php?document=69.

· Academic Integrity Website http://www.yorku.ca/academicintegrity.

Grading, Assignment Submission, Lateness Penalties and Missed Tests

Grading: The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.). Assignments and tests* will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g. A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)

For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar at

http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2013-2014/academic/grades/.

Students may take a limited number of courses for degree credit on an ungraded (pass/fail) basis. For full information on this option see Alternative Grading Option in the Faculty of Fine Arts section of the Undergraduate Calendar - http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/calendars/2013-2014/faculty_rules/FA/grading.htm.

Assignment Submission: Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time. Accordingly, assignments for this course must be received on the due date specified for the assignment. Assignments are to be handed in online, on your Moodle account.

Lateness Penalty: Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized (1% per day that assignment is late). Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be entertained by the Course Instructor but will require supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter).

Missed Tests: Students with a documented reason for missing a course test, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may request accommodation from the Course Instructor. Further extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition to the Faculty.

Questions:

Assignment 1: Film 1900 – Fall 2014

Due: Tuesday October 14, 2014 @ Noon

(Ignore the Turnitin dates when you submit your assignment to Moodle, they are for my own purpose.)

Assignment Requirements :

Discuss and analyze at least two substantive readings (more than 4 pages long) in your written assignment;

Engage with two films screened in class;

Present a well-crafted introduction with a proper thesis statement and three supporting arguments;

No outside reading material;

Use gender-neutral language;

Cite your work properly.

Select one question:

1) Bert Cardullo writes that “Bazin upheld mise en scène against editing or montage because, to him, the former represented ‘true continuity’ and reproduced situations more realistically…” (Cardullo, 7).

Compare and contrast the editing systems of classical Hollywood cinema and neorealist cinema. Present a critical assessment of the type of shots and editing techniques necessary to produce Bazin’s true continuity, which reproduces situations more realistically.

Select one scene from either Stagecoach or Mildred Pierce and another scene from Bicycle Thieves to illustrate and support your argument.

2) Two debates concerning the function of art are its mimetic and formalist functions, which Bazin and Eisenstein propounded respectively. The mimetic function of art suggests that art, in revealing the world as it exists, brings us closer to reality. The Formalist function advocates a revolutionary goal for art, in which art should change and modify our perceptual reality, in order to revision and rethink the world anew.

Incorporating Bazin and Eisenstein’s views into your argument, assess and present an informed analysis of their two perspectives, making a judgment on the debate.

Consider your argument specifically in terms of film . Select two films from the following to illustrate and support your argument: Bicycle Thieves, The Battleship Potemkin or Mildred Pierce.

3) Bert Cardullo writes that “[w]hat Bazin objected to in the work of Sergei Eisenstein was precisely how the Soviet director splintered reality into a series of isolated shots, which he reassembled through the art of montage” (Cardullo, 7).

Consider Bazin’s critique of Eisenstein’s editing with respect to Bazin’s desire for bringing the spectator closer to the real. Consider the flow of life versus the splintering of reality in Bicycle Thieves and The Battleship Potemkin to illustrate and support your argument and analysis.

5) Bert Cardullo writes, “[t]he Russians themselves had derived their methods from American movies, especially those of D.W. Griffith, and American cinema had continued in the ‘editing’ vein. In Hollywood pictures and, through their example, in most pictures everywhere, the guiding rule was to edit the film to conform to the flow of the viewer’s attention, to anticipate and control that attention” (Cardullo, 7).

Marilyn Fabe writes that the “Soviet film pioneers were deeply impressed by the emotional effects generated by D.W. Griffith’s narrative techniques – his use of the close-up, his innovative camera movements, and the way he changed camera angles (Fabe, 21).

According to Cardullo and Fabe’s statements above, they are suggesting that there are similarities between the continuity editing system of classical Hollywood cinema and Eisenstein’s Soviet Montage. If so, what are these similarities? Present an original shot by shot analysis (not taken up in lectures or readings) of a scene from either Stagecoach or Mildred Pierce and compare it to a scene from The Battleship Potemkin to illustrate and support your argument.

5) With respect to neorealism Bert Cardullo writes, “…the basic tenets of this new realism were threefold: to portray real or everyday people (using nonprofessional actors) in actual settings; to examine socially significant themes (the genuine problems of living); and to promote, not the arbitrary manipulation of events, but instead the organic development of situations (i.e. the real flow of life, in which complications are seldom resolved by coincidence, contrivance, or miracle)” (Cardullo, 22-23).

Consider Cardullo’s analysis to examine the similarities and differences between the narrative conventions of classical Hollywood cinema and neorealist cinema. Utilize Stagecoach or Mildred Pierce and Bicycle Thieves to support and illustrate your argument.