Establishing Theme - The Godfather

Week 3 - Instructor Guidance

The focus this week is sound design and the use of aesthetic choices.  

Begin your week reading Chapters 7 and 8 in your textbook. 

Chapter 7 focuses on Editing while Chapter 8 encompasses Sound and Music.  

 

The Editor

 

The editor is the individual responsible for editing the film.  Many times, this job can encompass as much creative input as the job of the director.  A good editor can take mediocre footage and, by artful cutting, intercutting and with the addition of a moving soundtrack, can turn it into an exciting piece of film.  It is not uncommon, these days, for an editor and assistant editor to begin work on a picture during pre-production and to begin assembling dailies during production.  If the picture is not complicated, a rough cut can be completed within four to six weeks after principal photography ends.

 

Editing is the process of selecting, arranging and assembling a film and its sound track into a logical, rhythmic story progression.  The stages of editing are: rough cut (the first logical assembly of the chosen footage), fine cut (a more intricately worked version), final cut (the version to which the negative will be conformed and from which release prints will be struck).  However, it should be noted that the editing process evolves rather than being comprised of finite stages.

 

As you read about the Editor and begin to apply the information to film, ask yourself:

            Which types of shots did they use?

            In what order do the shots appear?

            How long are the shots on the screen?

This is a good way to begin your analysis. 

 

Figure 7.1 Editing Transitions Chart is a wonderful, condensed chart defining direct-cuts, fade-outs and fade-ins, dissolves, wipes, irises and jump-cuts.  These are terms you will want to use in Discussion 1.

 

Discussion 1:

To successfully complete this week’s discussion “Cinematography and Editing Options,” explore movie clips from the  Movieclips website or IMDB. Choose a clip that you wish to analyze. The clip you choose must be from a film (preferably from a film with which you are familiar) – not a film trailer or a mash-up. After you have chosen a clip, write a discussion post about the following:

  In your discussion, analyze at least three elements of cinematography and editing by evaluating the dramatic impact of the scene. Interpret the scene based on your analysis. In your view, what mood, symbolism, or meaning results from the scene’s creative editing and cinematography?  Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references After watching the movie clips reviewed by your classmates, compare how the scenes would be different had the editors or cinematographers chosen other options. Each response should be a minimum of 125 words

 

Sound

There are three categories of sound: 1.  Dialogue Dialogue refers to the written, printed or spoken conversation between two or more individuals; in a script, dialogue means any one or more spoken lines, even by an actor appearing in a scene alone.  

If you’ve never looked at an actual film script, you will be amazed at not only the detail regarding visual elements, but also the limited amount of dialogue.  Here is a link to the full movie script for Django Unchained.  Check out the use of dialogue! 2.  Sound Effects This includes all artificially-created or natural sounds (other than music or  dialogue).  These sounds, such as a door opening Creaky door, a bird  chirping Robin chirping glass breaking Glass breaking, are recorded separately (wild sound) or transferred from a library of sound effects. 

The foley artist is the individual who specializes in creating ordinary, synchronized sound effects, such as footsteps, door slamming, keys jingling, glasses clinking, etc., in a soundproofed foley studio.  The studio is equipped with various types of sound-effects producing materials and a large screen fro watching the necessary film tracks.  These types of sound effects, called foleys, are named after Jack Foley (1891-1967), inventor of this process of custom-designing sound effects in a specially equipped sound studio.

3.  Music When we discuss the “music” of a film, we are referring to the score and the soundtrack.  The score refers to all the music heard in a film, TV show or stage play.  As a verb, to score the film, means to compose or provide a score. 

 

A little survey for film score fanatics. I wonder how many of the following you would agree with, it makes interesting reading!

 

In 2005, A jury of over 500 film artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians selected John Williams’ iconic score from the classic film STAR WARS as the most memorable film score of all time. John Williams is additionally noteworthy as the most represented composer on the list with three scores making the top 25.

 

The full nominations of 100 film scores can be viewed  100 Years of Film Scores 

 

An interesting top 25 was chosen, the most modern score being from ‘The Mission’ (1986) Ennio Morricone. I wonder if the same survey was done today if any more modern scores would creep in to the top 25.

 

The top 25 scores voted for were:

#	FILM	YEAR	STUDIO	COMPOSER
1	STAR WARS	1977	Twentieth Century Fox	John Williams
2	GONE WITH THE WIND	1939	MGM	Max Steiner
3	LAWRENCE OF ARABIA	1962	Columbia	Maurice Jarre
4	PSYCHO	1960	Paramount	Bernard Herrmann
5	THE GODFATHER	1972	Paramount	Nino Rota
6	JAWS	1975	Universal	John Williams
7	LAURA	1944	Twentieth Century Fox	David Raksin
8	THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN	1960	United Artists	Elmer Bernstein
9	CHINATOWN	1974	Paramount	Jerry Goldsmith
10	HIGH NOON	1952	United Artists	Dimitri Tiomkin
11	THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD	1938	Warner Bros.	Erich Wolfgang Korngold
12	VERTIGO	1958	Paramount	Bernard Herrmann
13	KING KONG	1933	RKO	Max Steiner
14	E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL	1982	Universal	John Williams
15	OUT OF AFRICA	1985	Universal	John Barry
16	SUNSET BLVD.	1950	Paramount	Franz Waxman
17	TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD	1962	Universal	Elmer Bernstein
18	PLANET OF THE APES	1968	Twentieth Century Fox	Jerry Goldsmith
19	A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE	1951	Warner Bros.	Alex North
20	THE PINK PANTHER	1964	United Artists	Henry Mancini
21	BEN-HUR	1959	MGM	Miklos Rozsa
22	ON THE WATERFRONT	1954	Columbia	Leonard Bernstein
23	THE MISSION	1986	Warner Bros.	Ennio Morricone
24	ON GOLDEN POND	1981	Universal	Dave Grusin
25	HOW THE WEST WAS WON	1962	MGM, Cinerama Releasing	Alfred Newman

 

The soundtrack is the audio portion of a film divided into three or four separate tracks or channels:  dialogue, music, effects and a spillover track for additional sounds.  An optical sound track is made from the mixed tracks before it is printed onto the side of the film in the lab.   It is not uncommon for many separate units (there can be hundreds) to be individually edited and then mixed, to produce the final sound track.  The soundtrack can also refer to the recorded version of a film’s musical score,  available to purchase. 

Discussions:

The Impact of Cinematography and Editing Options In your first discussion, begin by exploring movie clips from the  Movieclips website or  IMDb. Analyze at least three elements of cinematography and editing (e.g., lighting, color, shots, focus, transitions, and types of cuts) by evaluating the dramatic impact of the scene. Interpret the scene based on your analysis. In your view, what mood, symbolism, or meaning results from the scene’s creative editing and cinematography?

Categories and Functions of Sound This week's second discussion will consider different types of sound at work in film and assess how they contribute to the overall sense of meaning in a film. There are many types of sound in a film. Some are diegetic (sounds that are represented as coming from within the world of the film); others are non-diegetic (sounds that come from outside the world of the film). Using specific examples from your chosen film, construct a blog post in which you:

a. Describe each of the three basic categories of sound (dialogue, sound effects, and music).

b. Explain how the different categories of sound are being used in your chosen film.

c. Assess the impact of sound in establishing the theme.

d. Assess how the scene or sequence would play differently if you changed or removed a key category of sound.

You must use at least two outside sources, in any combination of embedded video clips, still photos, or scholarly sources. All sources should be documented in APA style, as outlined by the Ashford Writing Center.

 Assignment

Establishing Theme Select a movie from AFI's 10 Top 10 List and explain how three cinematic techniques and/or design elements have helped establish a major theme in that film. In 800 to 1200 words:

Describe a major theme of the movie you have selected using evidence from the movie itself as well as course resources and other scholarly sources to support your position.

a. Identify at least three techniques (cinematography, lighting, acting style, or direction) and/or design elements (set design, costuming, or hair and makeup), and explain how these techniques and/or design elements contribute to the establishment of the theme. Reference particular scenes or sequences in your explanations.

b. State your opinion regarding the mise-en-scène, including:

· How do the elements work together?

· How congruent the design elements are with the theme of the movie?

· Whether or not other techniques would be as effective (Explain your reasoning).

Self Check and Quiz Don't forget these!

Have a productive week.  I look forward to reading your posts!

References:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From Watching to Seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Harmon, R. (1998). Film directing: Killer style & cutting edge technique. Los Angeles, CA: Lone Eagle Publishing Company.

http://musicatthemovies.wordpress.com/category/music/page/2/

http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/technology/foley.htm