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    17 views35 pages

    Corrigan

    Uploaded by

    Pilar Espitia

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 35
    Timo Bm BEGINNING TO THINK, PREPARING TO WATCH, AND STARTING TO WRITE OF the several difcuuies in wating about fim, one of the mos prominent is getting handle onan experience that has 2o many dt ferent layers. Put simply: What should you choose to analyze and to vite about? The story? The acting? The editing? Watching alm in volves everything from the place where we see it and the price we pay o the ste ofthe seeen, the pace of the sory andthe kind of Imusic used ae the background for that story. In jean Cocteas's words, "The cinema muse is too veh.” As the frst sep to an intel gent viewing, spectators need to breke the abit of watching fms out of the conzers of thei ees,” as Cocteau puss it (217), This is where analysis begins, ‘Certainly our primary experience of a movie isthe singular and perhaps private one of watching i forthe fist time—involved snd enjoying it, one hopes, but possibly annoyed yet sil somewhat involved. As the director in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1984 film Fst Name (Carmen (played by Godard himself) writes, "Sadly seen badly sai seeing.a movie with al your atention isthe only way 0 begin writ Jing about a flm—even one you don’ like. Either as preparation be fore the screening or shorty afterward, however, you, asthe writer, red to sor out that personal and primary experience slong man- ageat 3 this sorting out should become the groundwork foryour analysis ofthe move. Should you talk about the characters? 20 Cormagan A dios Gude te Ulin beng abbpact ihn, NY: Lengaiex., A001 - aig oink Preparing Wah, daring Wie 24 About technological imovations? About the film's effet onan aud fence? Where should you start to direct your stention and your analysis, so that you donot give yourself the impossible tack of wr ing abou the whole movie? Since the movies you see on the scree, are a product of many diferent forces —wtters, prediction de ‘mana’, che cou of technology, and hundreds of athers—wehich fm sense precede the images you"are watching, i s necessary to 3) proach those movies wath sensitivity to some of these base que tons influence, and problems. tn the movies, mize energy an ‘ume goes ito “preproducson’ activity when directors and produc rs outline and prepare serpts and filming sirtegies, and you analysis willbe better if you stnlarly spend at least some tine o> some general preininary questions. AS far a possible, preper yourself for movie; even before stars, ask questions abot i ans} ‘bout your.o¥m potential interest be. § 1, As an a fore, che movies involve literature, the pletor and plastic ans, music, dance, theater, and even archite: ture, The student interested in axchiecture might thus re spond keenly to an Eisenstein or Antonioni movle, fhe © she can direct chat interest to hovt these Gimmakers uses chatectral space wo add ro the drama that they aze presen ‘ng. A music or erate student might be drawn to cera anor experimental films suchas Berlin: Symphony of a Ci (1927) or to the musical or lerary features of a movle (Fig ture 2), Ask yourself which art forms most inert you a which you know the most about, Could you use your knowledge ofiteratue or panting asa guide wo a partial film? What might be behind the large number of recent adaptations of nineteenth-century novels like the movie ‘version of Portrait «Lady (1996) othe many recent fl made fom Jane Austen novels? Might your interest in pop ‘lar oF classical music suggest chat you lak fora top i movies like Holiday frm (1942), West Sie Story (L961) ‘Amadeus (1984), or Trathor Dare (1991)? Pring Wd Sag Wr Seger (1988) Whi she ean fe Bl ‘ginal non? What hs been ada? What ae he mt igs changes How does his eso oft try compte ws ey teens 2. The film industry depends on and responds quickly to changes in technology. Having grown. used to contempo rary Hollywood movies, mos of us find that we react dir cently toa silent movie orto ane in black and white—an ob ious example of how the early technology thet produced ‘these movies determines how we view them. Many other tools of the tride—various sound technologies, eolat stocks, or special effeets—can likewise become the sasting Point for a revealing analysis, Whether a movie is made for large scren ofr television screen can say great deal about the story (note how epic movies lke The Ten Com mandments (1956 just don’ seem the same on television) ‘$5 some commentators have suggested, the technology be- ingen, Prprig Watcha Staring Wete 23, hind The Matric (1999) may be the mos interesting toe concerning that movi. Ifyou ae inerested in technology, prepare to note features of the movie and ie story that ‘night depend on technology. Does the director male spe cial use of Black-and-white film stacks? Why? Does sound technology seem to play a large part in the mavie? Is the rmoverent (or lck of movernent) of the camera related to the kind of camera used (ike the hand-held cameras of the French New Wave, which conveyed a sense of on-the-spot realism)? Usually, these intial quesxons wil require some later research and thinking to be answered adequately and to become related to an analysis of the movie, Bu dhe stu dent with some intial interest inthe industrial and techno logical side ofthe movies wil often find good material fr a ‘srong essay i he or she approsehes movies on the lookout forthe role technology plays n them. Fim echnelogy, production, and distribution are commer- cial end economic enterprises. ti crucial to keep this tn mind when approaching any movie. If, for nsince, a viewer i going to see a low-budget, independent fm (sich 28 Michael Snow's Wavelegih[1966-67) atthe local at house, the expectations about that movie wil and should be differen fom those about a glossy mulemillion-dollar Dlockbuster (such as The Siath Sense [1999]) ata showease ‘inema, No fl is necessary good or bad because of its ‘commercial or economic constrains and fresdoms, but the ability to adjust one’s expecutions does allow a viewer to more accurately asses the achievements of falures of a ‘movie. Thus, for Third World films fom South America or Africa, the often rough and unpolished look not only is an unavoidable by-product of financial constrains but, in some cases, s also a conscious polities sign used to distin- suish them from the glossy products of Hollywood, At the ‘other end ofthe economic sae ae the masive Hollywood productions whose gargancuan budgets mean they must 24 CUITER2 Binge Tk Ppring Wa nd Sig re capture the laigest posible audience and so mus take very few risks that might alienate part of that audience. Al ‘ough this sor of angle on a movie wall require some re- ch if 1s to develop ino an essay, an awareness of or Sensitivity tothe economic and commercial determinans behind any movie can prepare you for a more intelligent and complex response 10 the images on the sereen. Be open-minded and suspicious: if i looks like a move that was made inexpensively, does this educed cos allow it 2o and say things tht a big-budget movie onghe not be sble to? Conversely, how do some Hollywood movies tke advantage of a big budget or make creative use ofa stall budget? Where is much of the money directed? The stars? ‘The special effets? The promotion? And why? Does the film seem especialy earthy or commercial o does it ty to reach a compromise berween the two? Why? Whois the in. tended audience forthe film: teenagers? The middle class? Inellectuals? Men? Wore Having these and other preparatory questions in mind as you sit down to watch a movie wil sharpen and direct your analyteal abilities. These questions ca hea crucial guide through a fist. ing, that dificult time when you are trying to determine what is worth writing about and what is not. After seing D. W. Gallth’s The Bich ofa Natio (1915) forthe fs ime, one stadent dismissed tas a "primitive and racist story with ot of old-fashioned images ‘nother student simply ccepeed it as “almost a documentary about the Civil War and the Reconstruction.” David Cook’s analysis, how. ever, is influenced by a sense of the historical complications and imitation of dhe movie, as wells a sense ofthe presumptions of a ‘modem audience watching it many years later: nts onus nts concentration upon cud moment in ‘Ameren istry is ts mec stot on iveed cheaters. is conse naratveeavementbetnen thee | Subic Materand Mowing 25 nd ost signa in ts clingy acute son ofan Amaia Socket priate on ae, Th Bik Nato proound America, tie We can tau Gest for badly dong the Historia facts of econstuction, fr uneonaconaly sterestping the Aca Arai fseethartoo or brite snafor log tors xgnation Ue ce lon, bur we cant quar wih ns asic assumption that Ame ity wa, adi profundly ash he enderee ae encourages ‘his eltuaton aot than condemns ts propery elon to cote {iw ou smut occu ot om cate emer then we tao th ce mst a nif neta, mot rove Gok he pesaby hat tegen ron mot one mens {enue me le aor iin ur ow ey Sete thse son oanene ‘Susject MATTER AND MEANING “These preliminary ques shold end yo th the mae yo teenth produ ein fences and Condon, it he tord sen rough fame, The movie ot us bow sujet Tethered of ti get or prt reasons ado ee me or aay of i they ae lo what Joa Berg hailed“ Sry af sco” clemes nove Ayn at ny pit Tisory mi ese» yx tcf Pewee me, pote ways are how nde srs they ash para nyc vary gral Tes tons, though which Sits ena pce memig or enrng aw ng prt of tha aly concerned wth Wy es the aide who di mises The th oft Nation nes hal The ee utr 97, Cir fm abou a war icrng races “ne of he Des ves ther sade? Te sj ste stl, bot 8 meng hs hanged sigue or at std “Fo wrte a itges, pepe anof be ove and canner movies you ts be pepe ose eC Scvetdacoig to ea rms an ies aise on any 2 Cuvee 2m Denns wT, Prony Wald a String We fre biscorcl influences. Tiss what analysis ofthe movies is fundamentally sbout; examining how a subject has been formed to ‘can somthing specific trough the power of ar, technology and commerce. Be prepared 1 respond to those infences that most in eres ou, Be prepared with # questioning mind from the beginning SILENT DiaLocut TO THE Movies : TALKING BACK One move ans, optima ques sa ene more and mare speci regeding the move you te Wahi hat iisebow and howitwemstuced i re of the mow plenum repaint wien ia boo ete sou srg of marl commen est 1 tex the undeining we do, o sly the question thse tne dif psp Noone approaches «baker woe sv al he nse or even lth esos Pathe ete tent in viewing o eadig sling work comes fom the auesion it proves, Toss De Guys the Koon a the Gate in Nabe ergites ina specie qusion that De ine asked msl ar secing production oe Frm sy boyish das ad away fe eat perl om oe pi Mach ic wsthe The kong oe pe whch sce ft some of Dancan produced to ny helag an ee or wh neecold au (8), Wha essed Hl ried hat ete) From that vey specie question and esa ene came one of the best essays ever written on Shakespeare, ’ Thi kind of questing nd neon soe of theses way sare an ants of mov, cone oer, ever, the special probern with fm is thatthe images are constantly ‘moving so an analytic spectator must develop the habit of looking for key moments, pattems, or images within the flto—even ding second or thied viewing Silene Tali Bate Mas 27 4s you watch more filme and grow more aware of dferences and simulates, the right questions come more readily, At fist though, owo guidelines may help ininae this dalogue witha movie f+ Note which elements of the move se you ss unfamiliar cor perplexing = Nore which elements ae repeated to emphasize a point ora perception Every movie uses pattems of repetition that are contased with striking singular moment, Recognizing these pattems and deci pherng why they ate important sa first step toward analyzing the ing ofa movie. Why, for instance, do so many scenes in Rete! ‘Without a Cause (1956) ake place the family homes ofthe chara ters? Why, in George Cukor’ The Women (1939), is black-and- hice used forall the scenes except the fashion show? Even if you do not detemmine the answers to these questions while you a ‘watching the movie, asking them isthe key toa good analysis. These «questions can be as elementary a: f= What does the title mean n relation to the ory? f= Why does the movie stat dhe way it does? + When was the film made? ‘© Why are the opening credits presented in such @ manner guns this particular backgroud? ‘= Why does the film conclude on dis image? s+ How is this movi similar to or differen from the Hollywoed movies Ihave seen recently or from those of an elder gener 1 Does this fit resemble any foreign films L know? 28 Chaenes2 meng Tink, Port Wack, nd tring re ‘1s thee a pattem of strking camera movement, perhaps long shots or dissolves or abrupt arsitons (Gee pp. 6-83) 1» Which thee or four sequences ar the most portant? ‘When Andrew Sass, a enc forthe Vilage Voie, saw Martin Scorsese's fier Hows (1985), be found the opening sequence not only bizare but partly inexplicable; to some extent, his review evolved from that experience. On seeing Howatd Hawke’ His Gir Friday (2940) for the firs time, most contemporary auchences ‘would probably ream, and perhaps have dificalty wit, the rap lity of the dialogue, and following up this simple observation with ‘more careful chinking could bring some of the billance of this movie ito focus, Spike Jonze's film Being John Malkovich (1999) is constructed through seis of swange images, characters, and sit ations, provoking questions about what is happening and why. Sooner o later viewers must deal with these implicit questions if they are to make sense ofthe fm: What does st mean that actor John Malkovich plays himself? What does it mean that puppeteer Craig Schwartz works on the 7 floor ofa building where the eell- {ngs are only four fet high? How would one desetbe the relation- ship between Craig and his seductive co-worker Maxine? Is this ‘movie meant to be a serious comment on identity o simply a goofy spoof of obsession with sas? The number and nature of your ques tions—both about what you see and how i is showm—could vary {infinitely depending on the movie or movies being discussed, Poten- tilly, any and every aspect of the film is important. Talking about You Only Live Once (2937), Fritz Lang noted, for instance, a sem- ingly minor detail that, ifthe sii had allowed it to remain, would Ihave focused on a cena here in the film: "I wanted to ave a ind of ionic touch when Fonda and Sidney fe from the law and she goes and buys him some cares, which ultimately provide the zens of his betrayal. [wanted her to buy Luly Stile cigaetes to stress the irony ofthe ad Tuck they bring hin.” Leas to jot down Sin Dis Taing Bac eves 29 ‘information about props, costumes, camera postions, and so on, even during 2 fist screening, and then choose the mos tli evi= dence. These are the fist steps in developing a strong and percep- tive argument, Nove how one student used his questions about wo striking features of The Women to focus a short analysis of tha lm: ‘By most counts, Tha Nomen seems to be a standard ‘hore sze, though, tno od tints to the aovie Shae should catch ampody's eye: fst, thexe te not a of this black-end-wh fashion show sequence in full color. way these twists, and are they soucthing sore than gimmicks? ‘The wonan at the heart of this aovie sve sn sone ways independent ane resourceful. Their Lives are not, though, "Liberated" in any nodern sene, for men’ are constantly being dlacussed and intuoncing the Sehavior of all the woasa, The hysicel absence of all the men from the screen Consequently becones an izeaie way of suggesting of wonen, For the wanen in this novie, even when men are not there they are there sane idea, The sete, the costumes, and the actresses $8 Zhe Mnsn are eli stunning, and che female charectere all seem concerned with how they and heir surroundings appece especially to man. Waat sould be a nore accurate and appropriate centerpiece for the movie then a fashion show of yoran showing other vomen how te eppear and what to wear? wae could be a nore effective way to underline the Snpartance of this sonent in the fll than by mcg Ae the only color sequence in the movie? ‘The tan was made in 1939 by the sane studio ‘hae produced The lizard at oz the cane year. In ‘The-ionan, owwver, the ight Lato color coer not 50 CharncR2 mpg Pring Wa, Sing Wie Takinc Notes Good film essays requie more than one viewing, either ofthe film itself or of the usually mare available videotape version (see pp. 51152), With one viewing, itis nearly impossible to see all the and completes in @ movie and, at the same tie, to take notes on this information, Ideally, in fact, a frst viewing can be a ess note-fce viewing in wiich you enjoy the fm on is most immediate li re, Wh the second serening, you can begin to take more careful and detailed notes, (en, though, that needed second or thitd sereening may aot be possible, especialy ifthe fim is elder, foreign, or not n wide dis- tribution. In such cases, despite the difcultyin taking your eyes off the screen momentarily, itis important to take notes of sorte sort during the fst and only viewing, If more than one sereening i pos- sible, notes canbe increasingly detailed and complete. Preliminary notes ean be simply a shorthand version of the questions and dialogue a mowe generates in your mind, No one ‘an ot wants to note everything that appears, especially since taking notes takes your eyes away from other information om the screen The tick is to leam to make economical use of your time and to recognize key sequences, shots, or narrative facts. (One wselulexer- self to noting, with as much detail as possible, sider the three or four most important scenes, shots, lor sequences ina flim.) Depending on our interests, we all respond afferent points or figures in a move (atleast on one level). but st films offer recognizable dramatic momenis or major themes that signal an zudience to ated to what i happening: the opening sequence in Ciizen Kane (2941) when “Rosebud” is frst proe nounced; the climactic death ofthe father in Douglas Siok’s Waten on the Wind (1957); the use of sound in Lang's M (1931), the dra- ‘matic impact of isolated soenes between Bogart and Bacal in pra cally any of ther movies; or the explosive moment when Mookie Drea the window ofthe piza parlor In Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (2986). Even when a flm denies or parodies these dramatic moments or themes—as in Chantel Akerman’ Jeame Diginann (4977) and many Antonioni flas—thosevaelatons from the norma nay be the centtal point tha a viewer should note and aitempt to nae sense of Te noting this kind of information, be as specific and concrete ss possible; record not only the figures and objects inthe fame Che content), but aso how the frame self end is photographic qualities (the form) are used to define hat content through eamera an lghiing the use of depts and surface, and editing techniques. A person preparing to write about Meet Me in St. Lows (1944) night note the father's ole inthis fanly of women or the add, macabre scenes with the youngest daughter, Too, With practice however, chat writer would also be abe 10 jot down information about the theatrical use of space in specific scenes ofthe spectacular use of bright color. Similarly, even a student new to R. W, Fassbinder’s ‘lms would probably catch some of the major motifs or salient mo- rents in the tory of The Mariage of Maria Braun (1979): the mu ‘merous ionic tr in sexta relations tat seem so bound up with financial matters orth confusion about whether, tthe conclasion, the heroine does ot does not commit suicide. bie more advanced ewer, however, might also remark on the careful overlapping and disunctions between the sound track and the images: perhaps the sadent wil desribe the subtle but powerful sone in which Oswald ‘casually plays. concerto measuse on a piano that ltemates with the same phrase inthe sound tack’s background musi, or perhaps he or she will now how, during that melodramatic closing sequence, the radio in the background blates a World Cup championship match “Most writers develop & shorthand system for technic fore Imation: pov for “point of view sho” oF for “long, shot” (a shot that 92 Carman? mapa i Tink PrpwasWath on String Wie shows, for example, the whole of a figure from a distance, as op: posed to closeup ofa fice ; J2ed abbreviations that are easy to lea and use when taking notes (the abbreviations do no, of course, appear than). Some ofthese are sand this form in your f= ‘a1 dlose-up (Showing ony the characte’ hed, for ample) close-up (showing perhaps a det oft head, such asthe eyes) zs medium shot Gomewhere between a close-up and a fall shot, showing most but not al of x fgure) _fllot long shot (revealing the character's entire body ‘n ce Frsme) 348 three-quarter shot (showing only about three- quarers of the characters’ bodies) PS pan shot (he point of view pivots from lft ight, ‘or vice verse, But without changing its vertal sais) sits shovreverse shot patter (the point of view shows, forexample, person looking at someane and then shows the indivcival being looked at) tc when the flim changes fom one image to ‘ther) Te Tong take (he film does not cut to another mage for an unusually long tne) 685 crane shot (the point of view films an outdoor scene from high above) UWS tnicing shot (che entire pont of view ma ‘racks ora dolly, following, fr instance, a walking igure). You can indicate the direction thatthe catera tacks by using arrows fo S$ Teg Nees 38 1a low angle (the point of view islow, sted upward) ha hlgh angle (ihe point of ew is above ted downward) the exact angle can be made clearer by the use of arrows. ‘Uimacely, each individual develops a personal shorthand and other abbreviations to record accurately the deus ofa scene ar se quence, (These and other terms aze more fully defined in Chapeer 3.) Often, for annotations on sound or dialogue, a key phrase or word may be whar allows you to give a more precise description of {he scene of sequence later, Sometimes, these annotations may even tke the form of a quick sketch, as with this student's attempt to note how, with these five shots (Figures 3-7) from the "Odessa Steps" sequence in Potemban (1925), Fisensen's eitng ofthe sol- wm Figure3 34 Charres2 mL anti Prong Wat a Sere tite fms 6 vs { ies auack on s mother and child works to create confles inthe movement within each shot No one wil exhaustively annotate an entire fm. Anticipating a specfc angument and essay, everyone wil focus on diferent kinds of tnformation, from themes and characters to technical elements and ediang structures. If a vnier wishes to analyze the famous shower sequence in lited Hitchcock's Pycho (1060), for instance, some preliminary notes migh lok something ike ths: (1) mis Mar jon and Norman, mped space, “app,” birds, eyes, sexual tem. 2) classical painting/peephole; (3) 9 pow N at ng M: (4) shower, tight space; (5) murder: quick cus, c's kai, fee, flesh, M's pov, (6) M clawing curtain, et drain, cu eve his i « quick sketch that needs to be filled im late, If second iewing is posible, more dalogue or details can be added, Yet, be | 1 i | i 36 Cure 2 myn Thin, rig Wh ent String We inning with these notes, a weiter could develop a fitly sophis ‘ated and rigorous reading of this key soene, ‘VISUAL MEMORY AND REFLECTION Preliminary notes and sketches wil frm the basis fora good argo ment, however, only ifthe weter elaborates om them shorty after seeing the movie by filing in the shorthand with more carefully Teasured descriptions, Jean Mitry, the renowned French fis histo "an, once said his most important asset was an unusually precse vic sual memory. The best writers about Bln either come equipped vwth or sre able to develop a sharp auditory and visual memory, ‘hich allows them to remember detalls about a mor (Remember ‘Armemory can be tained and developed; no one shoul seek to jus ‘iy careless viewing and annotation by claiming a "baal memory “The sooner one can go back to these preliminary notes, the bene, for then the memory can he triggered to add more specifies and place images inthe content ofthe lager story and other nareaiveis- ‘sags, Returing o hs notes on Psycho, that writer might reall her ‘mages that emphasize eyes in the movie and make consections be ‘ween the hole inthe wall and the close-up ofthe shower drain oF ‘berween the ramped space of Norman's den and that ofthe shower Ue or she might realize that the sequence is remarkably balanced and frighteningly logical im being extended as i¢ is unc dhe fnal close-ups of the dark drsn and the dead Mason's open eye. On fur- ther reflection, cht writer might decide that, based on the opening shot of te fm, Pych is about “looking” and the seal of en ‘ered implicadons of looking, ‘When you've reviewed yous ots, dhe shape and direction of ‘yous argument may begin to appear in aa ees of what you wish to ‘say about dis movie, Whether ot not you are prepared befor a fist, viewing, passble arguments and topics should begin to present themzevce as you begin to add to and develop chose preliminary notes, While going over notes on The Marriage of Maria Braun, one student discovered that her intel perception of she movie xs a ‘lossy raelodratna was complicated by those strnge technical ma corded in her notes: her neers with the sound tac that she hid say then discussed the ways in which the soundtrack sgnated the splits ad divisions between the matin characte’ private, emotional Ife and her public, social ife (Figure 8). Using the shorthand nots on Fisensten’sPatomin showin earlier, that student started a shot ‘bya analyse which moved ftom those notes ta clr verbal de seription of those images, Note how a precise description ofthis sor «an fascson slone as the foundation for cca analysis Coren 2 mB WT, Poping Waeh nd String We The Marge of Mara Bam: Asncodema made camped end waa by te camer fig sit of the soldiers, we see them fre U | oul Nemary and Recon 38 Finally, the writer on Pao begins to focus an essay on looking and sesuality with the central shower sequence: Psycho becomes a film bout the violence impli inthe sexual and gendered dynamics of ren and women looking at each other, and Marion's murder be: ‘comes the most dramatic example of people tapped inthe violence and horor oftheir exualty.Or as Donald Sposa refined his notes ‘The pega sock of the sequence, wee, ries fom the fact thatthe character wh whom wena ent as ren Batali nated We ve et er stnton, hoped she wel escape the pall enjoyed he nose teasing of Norman sted he ease of release at ‘he cision to make amends and expences the fist moments oat ceasing shar Aad, though Hits lant deo, we have felt her ious psn, oe he nblty oad the persistent abs = he tr around nthe some, The caning wer tums ooo. ne followed ever step the my in er desceerm the banal othe ele, Now, sing her last sgh though er ees, we watch ern and lol hang own hele na list ater "seach acl” as Noman has put ut of this showerturecotin She slow ts fc, leaning agit the wall with er It rea sides down into ‘eat, Sh sats, wth rodualy closing lk, then eachos obt—fotve ut me pull eck so she mb the shows curtain for ial support, ing em the oaks she alls frwa and over th geo the ub ‘ne more ence athe deansing ave. fom a point unde the shower ‘ead then in ne ofthe nt lat ages in any ata fo ne oon ter spaling doen te sy, In an erode ap esol we emengs fm the dries ofthe ain out om abl her ‘7, open ad stil death The Jury isto the depts ofthe "oe ‘apes fas en in tage. he were of normaly har been ‘hated a bar and our pel. A he closeup othe ee inks ws by Sssocaton wit Nonnars je ding the pxpng sane eater, ond with our aunt houghout peeping Tr Ath characters oe Sin andes one career opel toaon the veo aersting able ve camer techn, tat chatacters the nisl ewer (372-76 Few of usa inclined to work back through notes immediately ae seeing a movie. Yet a prompt review of one's notes is exremely use fal and could make the difference between a dal ind hazy response toa film and a compelling and subtle one. Methodieal notes allow a viewer to map aceutately what happens ina movie, to record deals bout the subject and its meaning that would otherwise soon ade fiom memory, Unless one has continual access to the film or & scrip, ts ficult to retal dhese fats, and without them, anything you have to say will probably appear much too impressionist ‘When you go over the film and the key sequences in your notes, eas begin to take shape. When you can suppor choc ideas with concrete descriptions ftom the movie, an argument becomes dae matically more convincing Exercises 1 Before you have seen a particular lm, write one oF ewo parr pinpointing your expectations about. What do you already know about it? The country and historical period ofits origin? About the decor? What wll probably be che mos imporcant features ofthe film? Specic chatacters? The sound? Do these expectations lad youto look for ceain themes or ypes of ares? 2. Choose a single short sequence fm a film and annotate it as precisely as you can. Describe those annotations in clear, precise prose, Ave there any conlusions you ean drew or nerptetaton you would make about the sequence? FILM TERMS AND TOPICS FOR FILM ANALYSIS AND WRITING images and waking Developing a sense of how to question mov notes on them goes hend in and with an ability to direct those questions toward specific topics fa analysis, Questions and notes should lead to mote questions and partial or fll answers. This path leads to an essay focused on paricular themes and tech- ues im a movie, A malor part of this process is developing & vocabulary with which to ask those questions properly, to describe what you see and think, and io help you focus and orga- nize your analysis. Being able 0 notice and then comment on a significant “shot/revese shot” pattern in American Beauty (1999) orto deseribe the “narrative structure” in Eyes Wide Shu (1999) is ‘not just good for classroom conversation; it allows a good witer to make finer, mote accurate diserimnations and evaluations and to situate a film within the larger tradition of film history and analysis, These kinds of discriminations should Begin to point you toward a paper topic. Every discipline has ls own special language or use of words, which allows ict discus is subject with precision and subtlety. A literary entic, for example, needs co distinguish berween a metaphor and a sini, since these terms describe different rhetor- teal figures, which, in tar, refer to different soxts of perceptions To write “My love i ikea ved, red rose (simile) is different from "My love isthe red rose of lif" (metaphor), and the person who can appreciate that difference will read and interpret those lines Ks Fl lyse wring beuer. Similarly, « knowledgeable basketall fan will be able 10 summarize quickly and evaluate the action ofa game if he or she knows a speciahzed vocabulary that includes terms like jump shot ick, aft break, ‘With Ble, 100, extical vocabulary allows you to view a tore accurately and to formulate your perceptions more easly Consider the term frame. tn writing about film, frame refers 1 le tha contains the image: the feme of the movie screen f, which does not change during movie, and, more imp ‘andy, the eam ame, which is regularly changing ts relationship to the objects being filmed. Being aware of this term and uses ‘means you will be more senltve to how the camera free controls ‘what you see and how you see it You wil be able to note, far instance, that the camera frame may include certain actions aid exclude others, and thatthe angle at which i placed or its di tance froma person ads considerably co what the filmmaker i try into say. As one student observed of a recent movie, Although the scene seems to be atypical fanily gathering, the viewer becomes ware that something is wrong of unsetled because the camera frame is slightly sited and unusually crowded with characiers a furniture.” What may sometimes go unnoticed is brought to light Uhrough the accurste use of term, ‘THEMES Going over your nots, your first step may be tying to identify the smajor themes of the movie, which often comes down to stepping back and asking what chis film is “about the eriumph of geod over evil in Star Wars (1977), for example, or reluctanc heroism before unimaginable brutality in Schindler's List (1993). These themes, in many cases, become the foundation for st analysis, since they point tothe main ideas in a movie, They are not, stl spealang, the "moral" or message of the movie; they are the large and the sal ideas that help explain the actions and evens in it ‘al, for example 1» Who are the central characters? ‘= What do they represent in themselves and in relation to each ‘other? The importance of individualiy of society? ‘srengih or human compasion? 1+ How do thelr actions crest «story with some meanings or constellation of meanings? ss Does the story emphasize the benefits of change or endurance? 1 What kind of life or what actions does the film wish you value or ericize, and why? 1 Ifthere is nota coberent message o story, wy not? 1 How does the movie make you fel at the end? Happy? Depressed? Confused? And why? Having sketched some major and minor themes in fil, the writer needs to refine these in terms of the specif situation aid sims of the movie, The more sensve wrter’s vocabulary, the more refined the perception and argument wil be. Thus, alienation ruay very well describe the broadest thematic Lines of Chale Chap Lin's Cty Lights (1931), Franke Capra's You Cant Take le with You (0938), Bemardo Bertolucets The Conformist (1970), and. Barry Levinson Libery Heigts (2000). Although this may bea good start, however, a sharp analysis demands thatthe writer make fine dis- Hntions about the historia, sylistic, and structural presentations ofthat theme in each move, Does the alienation ster ineviabe, oF pethaps even desisble? Does it lead o new knowlege, or iit dis- aster that eould have been avoided? Is it preseated asa tragic o & comic problem in the movie? Wiriting about The Conforms, a si 29 lt a ps oF Ana nd ng den: migh rice the tee of aeration hy oben hat Bere ‘elas 0 the proaeniss sly a he sat prod in tod tt, uke te fet two tes Gnd to sone ent, the fea) the mone neve realy sso is alton, shoe ight farther ape and ey ta rpmet by desert fw pe min chara telly seas enrpped tnd Sled the "gros aig of he came Pig 9) sd Wyte many aes win the image we (or fame, ww tes.) Nowe, howeer tht ind fete feat in Te Co rt des ot tepid aed ep ‘Me moral One canoe, in Te Cnomist which oom the chase oe “he fumes wi te rang Te Cas ‘While identifying themes provides an important foundation for your analysis, wring about the mavies involves « wide range of specal terms that will help you organize and clay your topic The remainder of this chapter discusses the most important of these terms as they are used 10 discuss four dimensions of the 1. The connections between the movies and other artiste = ditions, such as bterature and painting 2, The theatrical dimension ofthe fl image, oof ies mise enseene 3. The composition of the movie, achieved through camera postions and editing 4. The use of sound in the fm Depending on your topic, any or all of these dimensions and their vocabulary may be central to your essay FILM AND THE OTHER ARTS Although the movies are one of the youngest of the as, they have absorbed the trucures and forms of many older ars. Not surpis- lngly, therefore, weiing about flim requires some ofthe eval lan guage of thee other Iterary and visual ans: we speak of pot and ‘harater in bods fils and novels, and terms wach as point of ew ste port ofthe enitcal vocabulary of painting, ltezanue, and the es, Bortowed terminology allows a eric to make important ction with ther fields; it alo demancl tha writer be sens sve to how terms and structures change when they are applied to film, Here we will look atthe related terms tht film studies share with the bterary and visual ants narrative, characters, and pont of 46 Canoren3 msi Tens and Tp Fl Anand Wing Narrative ‘When most of us refer to the movies, we ate refering to narrative ‘movies alone, not documentaries or experimental fins. & narrate an be divided ino diferent components 1 The story isall che event that a pr can le have happened emied to vs or that we 1 The plots the arangement or construction of those events Thus, al ls ut sketch the life of Napoleon would tel the same story his birt, tus ie to power, the French Revolution, ak ‘ath, and his exile to Elba. The plots in these diferent movies may however, be structured and arranged in vanious ways: one could begin with Napoleon's lst days at Elba and tell his story through a sens of ashbacks (showing evens that occurred eater than the ‘ones just shown), another could star with his birth and move chronologally chrough his lie Always ask yourself how the naraive of the film you watching Is constructed, li, fist ofall, movie with a story line? I no Is the story told chronologically, or does the plot rearrange events in ar unusual temporal one that particular plot structure? What in the story s lef out ia the ‘scmal plot construction? Are there reason for including some mate- al and omiting other material? Does the way the sory ts tld become prominent feature of thefts, thus a central fer in an analysis of? How do you recognize the naraive struct: Is chere a vice-over, in which a chanacer’s voice is head describing events and thus makes ic clear that be o she is organizing the plot? Are there technical elements that give dramatic indications abou hhow the sony is structured, such as the change from black-ande ite to color in The Wizard of Ox ar Abel Gance’s use of thre cf ferent screens in his Napoleor (1927)? ls the move especially cor there a reason for ‘cemed with questions of time and history which may in rar influ tence how the plot's constructed, as in Bac to the Future (1985) ‘What propels the stog: A mystery as in The Big Sleep (1946)? A deste to each a gel, a8 in The Wierd of Oz? Or, ist dificult say, a6 In some madern moves in which the plot seems to have no definite direcxion? : The various relationships beewoen a sor, splot anda area sve style are mumerous. When most of ws tink of 2 narative film, however, we probably have in rind what is often called a clasical narrative (Figure 10), To discuss any lind of fin narrative, 1s wse- wm Figure 10 rave of Clon 194) empl any fhe ear of asl are sie a pl pops owl cnt char gaa Rica ee Peston een, nd ites of lone aU aed Rick once Wt Toe fra reser pa oo 48 conven mm Terman Top fr fn a ad Wg ful wo have some sense ofthis important narrative fo lesa narrative bas Usually, a 1. A plot development in which there 1 a logical relation Becween one event and another 2, Asense of closure at the end (a happy ora tragic ending, fr example) 3. Stores chat are forused on characters 4. Anarrative syle that tempts to be more-or-less objective Not al clasical narratives ere the same, of course, and many fine essays ave about the variations and innovations within this model One student, for example, began his paper ot Howard Hawke's The ig Sleep by observing: Tn the following paragraphs, Gerald Mast looks tthe narrative séructute as it applies to many Hawks fle (such a8 To Have and ‘Have Not [1944) and Bs Gil Friday). Note ow Mat frst places his alysis in the lterary tradition of narrative and then moves to a dis cussion of plots constricted around the notion of “sorpnsing inevitability.” ‘Whats a god soy? Ft, thee the consrclon ah aeton-—nct ust enumerating a string ot events but oes tose ett i 4 k coherent and powell shape the consuucion cf a naratve action Felis ona ver tterestng atador, of whch Hvis was well svar, On ‘theone bana the events ins rarative ms com 6 flow potanecuy the other band the events n'a arate mist be propre fr mot theone fata eveything hat happens o King Lease surisa On the tater, everting Is the pley proceeds fom Kents command in the tegoning to See bt, Ler ls urpesng that Ena Woodhouse Ascovers tat ts ar Kp whom she eal must mary: yt every covery. The prado of native constuction thal It yess the ‘scolds of matre—utich seem rncom—and he pattems of oe ‘ich are ed the outcome of events multeneouiy nebo ‘rplsingto the eaderorvewer when he nestable ont The at fhe that sae spomancous and suring is ama coe erped as conived,overploed, unatral and sled the naratve ‘at sinnaftcey patterned ism condemned a anc, ering sible and omnes How does Hovis’ story construction relate 1 this paradox of supasing nerabity? In over ory years of nmaing. collaborating seth ver dose major writers, Howard Has buds eee sow in ah Veal fourpar stucture The fist paris 2 pecogue that eta (I ‘sublishes the conf n pastor present dese rlacrship ofthe Flor charter hi isthe url pattern of San Hecht fo ents) or 2 nts confit bythe cllson af two spparerely oF ste characters upon thar ntl meeting (his the usual Furthan- Faulkner pattern The second ad third prt develop the cetal can- fer eablihed inthe fst, exher by leting one ofthe eonficing Character rie ses dominate in the second par. then the other in the thd ry leting ane of the charactrs wor alae the seat at, ten bth of them zgater I he thn. Ad the fourth section resolves the cet conic. fen by 3 eur to the ona! physi ting oth relegue, bu in ich sting te waning characte now fee themseies and one another ina new ght. Occasionally Haws besloning,Whatere ele one an say abou ths nate struct, eves a evke sr the fines of shape, the elegans, economy, nd syamaty tha allow suprising events to transpire mihi he re ope nd structure of conte pate (30-31) 50 Conran’ ml Tens ad psf Fim Anas and Wing Notall movies ate classical narativs or even naratives, Some movies are nonnarative; that 18, they donot tell stoves, For ‘ntance, there are experimental fms that avoid stories and investi= gate questions unrelated to narrative (such as the abstract paters of light and shadow on film). There are documersar films that may’ presen real events, such as atypical day ata factory or the religious ual ofa Naive American tribe, without organizing those events as A.sioy, In addon, many moviss create narratives the classical tradition oF that may intentionally tion inorder to el thelr stores distinctively ‘When you watch # movie cht seems wo avokd # tradonal story line or that seems to ellis stony in an usual or perhaps con- fusing way, ask yourself how the movi is organizing its plot and ‘narration and What iti tying a achiev, Does the story sem illogi- cal, as in some surrealist films in which events flow the logle of dream? Does the narative sem to be telling Seo of more sores that are dificult to connect, a in Hioshima Mon Armou (1959), in ‘which the story of women and her Naci lover is told slongsie the story ofthe bombing of Hiroshima? Does the movie have @confis- ing beginning or an unresolved conclusion? Why? How do these oF ier narrative strategies relate to the stoves being told? About ivoshima Mon Amour, weiter might, ater some thot, begin by ‘observing tht both sores concern World War It and wo nevly met lover; the dificult i the narrative str then be related 10 the woman's pain in organizing and comruniat- ing her memones to someone from @ completely diferent clare ‘but witha simula historical crisis. Once you lave learned to recog- nize clasial narrative forms, you shouldbe more aware ofthe van ety of ways in which stories can be tld ont th traci- Characters CCharacers ate another common topic for analysis in berarre, rama, and film, They ae the individuals who populate naraive mmnaratve films. Whether they ate the main characters of rnonmally focus the action and often the themes of a move (Fguze 11), Often, a diseussion of film concen tenes exclusively on what happens 0 the characters or how they change. My Dinner with André (1981), which films che dinner con ‘ersaton berween two men, could more accurately be desenbed a6 being about two charecers telling stoves than as being story about two characters, Bot traditional movies, lke The Hurviane (2000), and untradtional ones, like Crumb (1994), focus thir narratives almost exclusively on the biography of their main character, boxer Horscane Carter (in the fist ease) and underground cartoonist Robert Crumb (jn the second). Keep tn mind that an analysis of in he Wad f0£(1938) Dooly dey te etal ‘erro and dens hel trogh er ertion wth he eaepion che ‘eth Screctow, he Hema, sath Lon, 4 ; 52 Charen Fin Toms en Tt or Fm Aas nd Wing ‘haracers in movie can be boring or seem simpleminded if you approach them as if they are merely reflections of real people or if you blur the difeence Beewesn the ral historical person, the ator playing the vole, and the character. Yet, if you remain atuned to the ‘rariory in charter types and constructions, you can begin to ste subtleties and complications in how characters function and what they mean in diffrent films, As an exerelse, choose three diferent cbaractere—those ponmayed by Lillsa Gish in Broken Blossoms (919), Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep, and Holly Hunter in The Piano (1993), for examnple—and try to describe how and why those characters ae so ifn. ‘You can begin an analysis of characters by aeking yourelf sf ‘hose characters seem or are meant to seem realistic. What makes them realisc? Are they defined by thelr lathes, thelr conversation, for something elze? If they ate aot realistic, why nos, and why are ‘hey meant to seem strange or fantastic? Do the characters seem to fi the setting of the stony? Does the movie focus mainly on one oF «eo characters (as in The Bg Sleep) or on many (a in Nash, in ‘which there doesn’ seem tobe a cental character? Do the charac- ters change and, io, in what ways? What values do the characters seem to represent: What do they say about such matters as indepen- ence, sexuality, and politcal belief? Normally, we tke chareciers for grated, and these ae a sampling of the kinds of questions you can begin to direct at characters to make more sease of them and to determine why they are imporeant. Point of View [Like narrative, point of view ia tere lm shates withthe Literary and visual ans. In the broadest sense, refers to the position from which something is seen and, by implication, the way that point of view ‘determines what you see. I the simplest sense, the pont of view is purely physical. My point of view regarding a house across the street ‘wll, for example, be very clifeent i Tam looking fom the oofiop of my house or frm the basement window. In a mote sophisticated inant otras 53 sense, point of view canbe psychological or cultural For example, child’ point of view regarding a dentist’ olfice will probably not be the sme as an adule. In the same way, we can tall about the point of view thatthe ‘camera has in relationship o @ person or ation or ever the point of view that a narrative directs ats subject. Usually, movies use an objective point of view, so that most of wiat is shown is not confined to any one person's perspective. In Gone with the Wind (2999) or Gandhi (1982), the audience sees scenes and events (the ‘atte of Aclanta, epic encounters in India) that are supposedly objective in their scope and accuracy, beyond the knowledge or perspective of any one person. In specific soenes, however, that audience may be aware that they are seeing another character only through Rhet’s or Gandhi's eyes, and im these cases, the camera is re-creating that individual's more subjective point of view. Some movies experiment with the possibilities of point of ‘view in Apocalypse Now (1979), we seem to see the whole story fom Captain Willard’ (Martin Sheen's) point of view; be intro- ‘duces the story as something that has already happened to him, but despite this indication of historical objectivity, many of the scenes re- ite Kansas, Many ofthe fils by Wir Wenders (uch as Wings of Desie {1987)) use stark black-and-white tones because he feels those tones provide more realism than color. Woody Allen in Ze (1983) tells sory with fntensionaly grainy black-and-white tones to mitke pants of his moders movie look like an old documentary, and in Schindler's List Steven Spielberg occasionally disrupts ahor- ‘ic sory in blakeand-white with the festing glimpse of a chi’ bright sed coat, Ase ifthe colors are realistic. Ino, why not? Is there-a pater in the way Blm wses a panicular color or group of colors? Does the film use colors symbolialy, as Bergman uses red in Cres and Whispers (1973) to suggest both violence and pasion? If the movie is in blick-andvwhit, how does the black-and-white ad to the movie, especially ifthe flmmaker could have used colo? ow do the colors and tones relate to the themes ofthe film? Bm sped isthe rate at which dhe fl is shot: tis most obvi- cvs im intances of low oF fst mexion, Action insiow ot fst motion | tsualy indicates a change im the nature of what happening or how the audience is supposed wo perceive what is happening, Sometimes, slow motion ie ust (o indicate dat the action i parc of a character’ reat; sometimes, fast mation is away of commenting comically ‘8 seene—when, for mance, action or an assembly line sucdenly ‘moves a superhuman speed, Ii easy to note wher the speed ofthe fiim is no longer normal; be prepared to examine why these moments are singled out by the filmmaker. in Nagisa Oshima’s ‘Merry Chinas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), David Bowie conionts his (68 usenet BT ot Ts ls sso Wg Japanese adversary with two Kisses, which ave filmed in slow ‘motion itis lear tha chis is Oshima’s way of underining this shat tering climax in thelr selatonship. Keep ia mind, however, tht ‘many older silent movies were flmed and printed at the mate of sx teen frames per second, and their action may look faster when shown at the modem standard of twenty-four frames per second ‘The perspective of fers to the kind of spatial rla- ‘onship an image establishes berween the diffrent objects and ig ures it 1s photographing. These different relationships are the products of diferent kinds of lenses and che way those lenses are Used. Thus, one movie may constantly present scenes with a great deal of depth or dep focus, so that the audience can see characters in the background as sharply as it sees characters in the fore sround. Another movie (often an older one) may wish to isolate or light only certain characters or events i the image, and it con sequently uses a sallow focus that wil clesly show only one plane inthe image, such asthe man with a gun who stands in the fore- ground apart fom the blurry crowd inthe background, Mich less ‘commonly seen is the odd moment of rac focus, when the fous s ‘quickly changed, or pulled, from one figure or object to another ‘within the same shor, as when the image switches foes from the face of a man talking to a piano falling out she window im the Deckground Sul other kinds of perspective relationships can be used in ‘eating an image, ba even while you are learning these other tech ical tems, you cant begin to analyze perspective relationships by asking the basic questions: Who or what iin foes in an image nd why? Do the images create a world with dep, or does that world seem unusually flat? How would you describe the pace ina particu lar image? Is it crowded? Open? Wide? Distoed? When a specific ‘wide-screen mage drowns the characters in space, what does this sy about chem and their world? Make the power of the image in ‘self come alive in your writing. Make che subject of your essays not just what you see, but how the image makes you see people and "ings in a centsin way and in a certain relauonship to one another. Compson one ingr 69 Here san example in wich the student belly looks a clo and spatial relations it Nicholas Roeg’s Don Lak Now (1973) ek Lak tie 0970) fe a move abou aoe ng Fainoott the aaughter nas wearng when she died, staines-giaen windows, pisces of of sed which we amd be have cone fo Adancsty with FO Cuaern3 mm Tron oir ile spa Wing Snpossible to miss and more Eagcsnating because it fs always vanishing inte exe depeha. The shock of the Gna acena, wen we and the father nally ‘color, auagesta that we have bee The frame of the movie image forms its border and contains the mise-envscéne. Many movies, such as Jean Renole’s Grand il son (1937) and Alfred Hlcheock’s Rear Window (1954), ill theit ‘mise-enctne withthe internal frames of windows or dooriays ot stage sets to call atention to the importance of fames and point of lew inthe story Almost every film, though, mst taintan a ex tain consciousness about the frame of the movie screen and the frame ofthe camera (Figure 16). A wide-screen frame i espectally suited to catching the open spaces of a western of the vast stelar Figure 16 ‘What mes ts to tm Te Barat (197 dng) | | compton ante age 71 spaces of scifi lms, The smaller siandatd fame is pethaps best sulted to more personal interior dramas or genes lke the melo- ‘drama, to which a small frame can contibute a sense of anything ftom domestic cotfort and closeness 10 caustophobia, Through the course of fin, there wil bea numberof other more pacular ‘questions to ak shout the framing f= What is the angle at which the camera fame repeseits the action? Does i create a high ange, viewing ts subject fom above, or alow arg, viewing the action from below? When, ‘conversation between two people is shot through a group of stemating high angles and low angles, i could mean tht ‘one characteris tall and the ther is short; It could also say ‘that one of the two isthe more dominant personality Does the height ofthe frame correspond to a normal rela. Lonship tothe people and objects before the carers; hat is are they at eye level, more-or-less? Or does the camera seem tbe placed at an odd height, to0 high oF too low? At the Degining of Rebel Wiou a Cause, fr instance, the camera ‘s positioned a ground level to capture jure Dean's desper ste and pathetic embrace of smal toy 2s he crumbles tothe round, 1 Does the camers frame ever seem unbalanced in relation to he space and action (called cared frame)? Iso, why does ‘his cosa when t does I it e-cresting the perspective of a chharacierToolng atthe action ftom an odd angle, so thet, the buildings appear diagonal rather than vertical? Is it ‘meant to re-create the perspective ofa drunk, oF might it be a more subtle way of commenting, for instance, on a com- ‘munity that lacks harmony and balance? ‘= Whar kind of distance does the frame mainain fom its ub- ec? Does the film use many close-ups for instance, show= ing just the character’ faces), medium shots (showing most 72 CavpreR3 Rin Ts ois fo Fm asd Wri cof 8 characters body), or long shots (showing full bodies froma distance)? Perbaps a scene uses a series ofthese shots, beginning with a tong shot of a man on the street, chen showing a medium shot of him looking ina store window, and concluding with a close-up of his surprised face as he sees something in the window. Does the movie develop a more elaborate combination of these that might be inter- preted according to some meaningful pater: close-ups for love scenes and fong shots for atte soenes, for Insane? 1 Besides describing and containing the action, does the fame ‘suggest other action or space outside ts borders? Do mpor- tant events or sounds occur outside the borders of the Frame—in offscreen space? What isthe significance ofthis offscreen space or ls relation to what 16 seen within the fame? Ts off-screen space used for comic elect, asin a ‘Baster Keaton movie in which we discover that the wheel he ‘string on is part ofa train located outside the frame and is about 19 movel Or does it have a serous mening, as in Robert Bresson’ films, in which offscreen space suggests & ‘typeof spiritual realty his characters are unable to grasp ot understand because it literally beyond the frame of thet world? ‘Within one seene, any ofthese compositions may change a3 the camera creates a moving frame by altering its postion in relation to the object being filmed. A romantic close-up of rwo lovers whis- pering for example, may suddenly change its meaning ifthe camera fame moves backoaed and makes team par of «long shot fll of spectators: what was at first romantic has become, dhough the movement ofthe frame, comic. This kind of framing action, called reframing, canbe done in ways that rely entirely on he movernent of the fame, not on the editing of images through cuts ee pp. 74-80). ‘When the ftame mavts to high, overtead crane sats, which look down on the scion, we all realize there has been a dramatic Campton on etnage 73 change tn perspective: the fm may be emphasizing the smallness of ‘the character in celation to the rest of his or her space ot may be revealing other action, such asthe approach of the cavalry on the other side of the mountain range. When the fame moves up and down, ting fom one poston, i may simply be fllowing he point of view ofa character who is looking up and down, but it may also bbe a way of making a statement about high and low objets (about, for instance, the tourist who feels overwhelmed by the skyscrapers of New York City). Another kind of mobile frame is the pan, in which the frame moves from side to side without a change inthe position of the camera or the point fom which te sone is viewee surveying the sueet before him, x character may look slowly from lef o right, and the camera may pan to re-create the contimuons rmovernent of his gaze. In contrast, a tracking or dolly shot snot sta tlonary but follows or inzudes onthe action by moving the position ofthe camera (often on small tracks) and thus taking the frame for- ward, backward, or around the subject, During a cocktail paty scene, the fm may re-create the roving nkimacy ofthe gathering by ‘using dolly shot tat follows a charter thzough the exowd, If this action is achieved bya hand-held shot, in which the camera i camied by the camera operatr, the shot may be jerkier (and may in some ways seem more realist), ‘Since frames imply a perspective on the world or on certain character, ther mobility or lack of i can point co the very founda- ton of the world you stein those frames. Is tan active word you are seeing or ane that seems rigid and static? The complexities of that world is often revealed asthe frames move and change, and the sore exaaly you can note these fames, the more incisive your analysis will be. Try, at some poi, to base your analysis ofa chat- ‘acter oF situation exclusively onthe framing action that describes ‘hem. What patterns can you see? Does this character always look at the world through close-ups that ack through crowds and situa tions, without ever geting 2 larger perspective on them? Does that consistent way of framing the action suggest chat he paritpaes but never relly sees the whole plete? 76 Curren mb Tem an Ts Fl Ans and Wing Remember that frames and their actions have no universal meaning, Just as colors do not have unchanging sjmbolle value, ‘camer anges and movemens do not have to mean the sime thing ‘im dillerent movies. Low-angle shots do not always signiy dam nance, nor do highangle shots always suggest oppression (ass sometimes thought). Although ia one movie a Tow-ange shot may nind the viewer that weak characer Is being looked at by a stronger, more dangerous person, in another movie that low-angle shot may be used to desenibe the wonder ofa child loking ét a per- son sbe loves. Ifyou begin by noting visual deta carefully, you can reflect on how particular framing setions work in specfc fms and on how they provoke certain questions about chose fils and the themes, An endless seies of close-ups means one thing in a movie made for American television, where it may undedine the iy tance ofthe individual character, and another thing in a Europes ati, where it may suggest che unknowable quality of the butnan face, In an Oza fim, the love height ofthe directors fame may be meant to suggest the more relaxed, meditative perspective of a Japanese looking atthe world from the floor of atta root, but the Belgian filmmaker Chantel Akerman claims thatthe low height of her frames occurs because she is short] The lesson should be lear Dont simply describe technical details and expect thet tobe self-explanatory. Rather, put them to wor to convey an idea about the various ways frames and their points af view operate and what they mean In specific films, in specific cultures, and st specifi The Edited tmage Inthe simples sense eating is he linking of two diferent pieces of film (ewo diferent stots). Usually, the editing follows some lage of evelopment (an image ofa woman ard then the objec she is lok Inga, for example) or is meant to make s statement of some sor (an ‘mage ofan egoisticalcear and then one of a peacock), Recall the cowboy atthe bar wien 3 long shot shows hit at de bat and then slowly tacks in closer to capture him close up, this is reaming ‘within a single shot. Bu for tha frst sage the camera stops and moves to another posiion (aye alow ange on the other side of ‘the bat), that relramed long shot bas now been edited into «wo shows, The break between the two images i acu, ‘A shot can be held on the screen for any length of ute, the result being certain etng pace oF rythm. Since the pace ofthe editing is relative, we should ty to note why and how a film or part, ‘ofa fil is edited according toa certain rhythm. We expecta chase scene to be rapidly edited (with lot of quick cuts and brief sho), bru to make us comically aware of our expectations about eting, that chase scene could be edited with very slow rhythms and few cats. As an exercise, observe exactly how long a single image remains on the screen in any movie, and then reflect on why the filmmaker cus 10 another angle or image at that point. Does the director use mostly long takes, shots that remain ona scene or abject for an wnusually long time (as Terrence Malik did tn Thin Red ine 3999] when he held the image on grassy fields or the branches of| tsees for mystcally long periods)? Or does the Sm eu rpily fom, ne mage to another, as in chase sequences in The Terminator (1984) Does the pace of the editing change withthe scene, for sample, by using quick cuts on the sets and slow, long takes inside the home? inthe larger sense, editing refers to how shots are bulit into lasger pices of a movie and hence larger units of meaning A series of shots ean thus be carefully joined co create a single scene, which is usually an acion confined to one place and time: for example, in Jane Campions The Plano (1993), the scene when Ada (Holly Hunter) arrives on 2 remote beach in ninereenth-century New Zealand ox, in Poteitn,the scene in which the officers inspect the rotten meat, The later begins with «group of angry sailors gathered, ‘on deck around a piece of maggot-infeted meat; the ship's surgeon Inspects the meat, which is shown in close-up, and announces that, ‘he maggots ae simply dead fies; the seene ends as anther officer disperses the outraged sailors 7 comren’3 a Fn Tosa Tops fr ile asd Wing ‘When these shots describe significantly more action and more time and more than one location, te interwoven and waited group of shots or scenes that results often called a sequence, n The Plo, the beach scene becomes part of larger arial sequence when Ada ‘is met and led through the jungle 1 her future home; in Potenin, the scenes that dramatize the slots mounting discontent make those scenes part of «complicated sequence leading to their ebel- lon, As pat of the previous exercise, soe if you can now mat of sections of film that show how shots can be edited into cotplen relationships that crete unified scenes or sequences ‘ost of us pay ie conscious atenion to editing because we know and enjoy most the continuity eating of classical cinema, This cating ye is appropriately called invisle ating because the flm- maker, not wanting the editing to distract from the story, avoids cuts and transitions berween images that would be 100 abvious. Through various means, the filmmaker stempts to hide the fm citing so that we view the images asa condnvous pictate. Thus ven though The Maltese Falcon (1941) is avery skilfully and sy ish edited movie—caeflly balancing Sam Spade’ enrances and and his Keen method of naleing the details in a room—wve view it s continuous action in which cbtrusive eus would seem out of place. ‘Yet, continuity editing depends on some highly crafted editing techniques, techniques that, when analyzed, revel important points about the characters and stony. Establishing shot, for instance, are those shots Una begin a scene or sequence as « way of locating a scene cleanly ina certain place before dividing that sequence inta more detailed shots. Casablanca (1942) begins with a series of estab- lishing shots that deste the cy onthe map, the kind of people in the city, and, finally, the ouside of Rick's cabaret, Only then does the film move inside to begin ts story sbou Rick. The shteverse- shot, or shoveountershr, pater is also a fundamental part of cont- nuity editing, With this technique, an exchange be co har aciers (ora character and an objet) i edited to appear logeal and natura, by cuting fom the person speaking or Tooking tothe object, ‘or persan that is being adresse or seen; for instance, # shot shows Humphrey Bogart asking Ingrid Bergman a question and then cuts her responding, When considering a film that uses continuty citing, a writer can begin, as with realism self, by questioning the Dasic purposes ofthe techniques used ery inthe “comunity” Is of a logical or safe word? indicate tha dhe chars rs (ad the audien they are and should fel at home? Does the continuity help ‘exablsh, asm The Phladlpha Stary (1940), a sense of log cal inevitably, a feng tat events and relationships have to move tovard a natutal conclusion, that Hepburn and Gea wil rae? as che continuity editing been adjusted wo fit genre or to create cerain emotional responses? Do road movies have fewer cuts and more long takes? In westems, do shovteverse-shot pattems involve people and things more than people andl ether people? = When the editing presents a fundamentally continuous and unified world, are there times when that continuity fs di rupted? If 40, why? tn The Lady from Shangha (1948), for ‘since, Orson Wells regularly disrupts the viewer’ se ‘of space and dime through the questionable vlabilty of the ‘narrator, OHara, or trough visual distortions such ain the hall of mirrors atthe end ofthe movie. In this case, the di rupting images and editing imply the collapse of a world incapable of maintaining old certainties. Docs the shovreverse-shot potter in a panicular sequence cll you anything about the characters involved or how they 70 CoAmeR Sm Tera Tp Fim An end Wing see the world and each other? Are considerably more shots given Co one person or the other? Does the editing create a Patern in which one character's eyes never meet the other's? ‘+ How would you distinguish between the continuity editing ofan alder, classical movie ee Ren Hur (1925) and tht of ‘more modem Hollywood film lke Men tn Back (1997? Does one use more long takes and the other more quick cuts? How would you differeniate between the continuity editing in a European movie ike Rules ofthe Game (1939) and an Amerlean movie like The Grapes of Wrath (1940)? Does the fs ely more on a moving fate to emphasize the world around the charscers and the second more on stoct ‘editing techniques that emphasize the characters themselves? Continuity eating can also use more nosceable and styied methods, which ae often associated with oder movies. These inclide: Faden oF fade t: An image is darkened or lightened so that ic appeas or disappears, 1 isn orrs-ou: The new image appeats as an expanding ct clei the mile of the old image ov he ol image becomes contracting circle that disappears into te new image. f= Whe: A line moves across an image to gradually clear one shot and introduce anche f Disoive: A new sh ola shot. {s briefly superimposed on the facing When these techniques are used in @ movie, ask what they are meant to achieve. Used in older moves, they create logkcal transi tions from one time or place to another, Ina D. W. Grif fi, lace might be saying, “Late that same day," as the shot reveals the 3g: wipe could sugges, “Tn another svhen the intelor of the coure house is wiped off | | Cmptinantenaae 79 by alline across the image and a Chinese opium den sppeats onthe other side of the line. When watching an older film, ask if one technique is used for one Kind of linkage (a wipe connecting dif- ferent places, for example) and another technique for other situa tions (@ dissolve indicating changes in ime). When analyzing adem movies, ask why the editor would choose these older con- tunulty devices. Does Woody Allen use irises just for a humorous effet, since they ate so unusual ina contemporary movie? In The Cit Cinb (1984), ate the wipes simply a reference tothe 1920s, when the story takes place, or ate they @ dramatic meas of emphasizing the passage of me and history—one of the malt, "hemes ofthe fm? Besides recognizing the techniques of continuity editing, you should leam wo recognize, make sense of, and analyze how Blas ‘undermine or challenge your expectations about cosimaty eating, Especially in more contemporary fils, begin to notice wien afm breaks with the standards of continuity editing and begin to ask questions such as these © Why ae there so few esublishing shots in a parcalar movie? Is i difcnk co say where an action takes pla because the scene begins with 2 close-up of a character oF ‘inside an unidensied room? Do the charicters seem 10 shave our disorientation? Is this dsorletation related tothe hemes ofthe il? Why isthe temporal continuity within afl broken up sa such a confusing fashion? Does the editing use a number of Jump cus, in which a continsous shot is suddenly broken, ‘nd the image jumps to new fgutes or another background or even the same background ut ata different time? As a character discuses her if, for instance, the monologue may he broken in places, wile the light in the room changes ‘wih each jump cat to indicate the passage of time, Is the flimmaker tying to make us more aware ofthe passage of hae or she commenting roncaly on this chara 's boring ile story? f= Why is here no point of view we can identify with? Does this have something ro do withthe lack of shotleverse-shot scenes that would allow us to identify with ofa character? Does the lama, as Werner Herzog often oes in his fis, force his audience to the ordinary people and to identify sain detached from stead with apimals, Funai, or dwarfs? Does the fl contain images that sem to have no place in the story? A movie abo ‘war may inex 1 ine agsin, plicably cu to an image of Ista symbol? leit par of ry tee ts character's meraory? Why is the continuity ofthe sction broken by this unexplained image? In these cases, the editing calls attention to itself and the trade-off for tha cbtrusvenes i a snitalconfasion about why the editing usec the usual perception of the world. When that confusion Jeads to larger questions (and, perbaps, to answers) about the ‘hemes and the hstorieal to sketch a paper topic ext ofthe film the writer is begining, ter thinking abost the Herzog move, one student realized tus paper would discuss how Heesog’s unconven- tional editing, paniculary his undermining of a shot/reverse-shot exchange, is pat ofan efor co mave the audience ouside the log cal pauems that have ditionally placed Fuimarisclery atthe cen ter of the world, pare of Herzog’ wsion of a natural wor that i more important than individual men and women When examining eding suategies and che relationships between shots, begin with these general guidelines about what t Yok for, But adap: them to del with concrete and spe ‘varlatons i eac lm, ist, observe how the editing of the sh fe uses and cstablishes cenain relationships Between the objects and actions. Does the elting estab- lish comnections or oppostions among the people, things, and sections being shown? In The Last ugh (1924), the doorman is fe= Compstin dtieinage 8h {quely linked othe image of the revolving door, and she identifica. ion of the two predicis the reversal ofthe man’s good fortune. In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), a prehistorc ape tosses a bone into the ‘az, which chen becomes the image of 2 spaceship. This famous Inath-o-action we images being edited together as parle! actions or motions—crytallizes thousands of yeas of human development propelled by violeace and the need to conquer people and terior. Second, accustom yourself to noticing more sbetract relation ships between images. This is a more dffeult practice, but, a8 the example fom Eisenstein’ Poem shows (pp. 33-38), these more abstract aspects of editing can be brilianuly used for cerain effects Does the diction and movement of the figures in the differen: images match when these shots are connected, creating for exam- ple, a kind of visul and emotional force driving in a single direc: tion? Are graphic contrasts or similarities created through the use of space in the diffrent shots, for example, by aerating large and saa spaces? Does the editing set up cerain rhythms by stietly controlling the length ofeach shot? (Although most of us know bes the accelerated dyths of «chase sequence, the editing can fashion sony other Kinds of thythms) Remember these formal pattems ‘have no final and universe meaning in themselves, and thei evolu tion through film history is not independent of other historical ‘questions. Although editing can be seen asa formal way of organi ing images in time and space, more than jus formal or technical issues ae usually involved, Lock precisely a editing, but Itt lead you to think mare about haw and what fms mean, Tn the following student essay, the write examined avery short sequence in Cltizen Kane and related the editing and the compostion ofthe image to a specific theme: ike one of his statues, the faze bepins to (CeArER Sl Tm ad Tp Fm Amn nd Wig citizen rane. reinforced by a shot/reverse-ahor exchange of then she complains about ite having to Leave for change hie appeintsente. that exchange 18 followed ruspicious aad severe. The conversetions are president, ‘sewepaper. By the Rfth, he Le not Sand 08 (Ghetamirex)? she, the viva (ihe- Chron ‘he real tine that this seqvence describes ie consequently becones ® nan alvays alienated in the Sounp ew of us ave leaned to listen to the movies. What this common falure means to new and curious students ofthe movies is that ‘any topics and problems having to do with fn sound have only recently begun tobe addressed anda waiting for good eas to take ‘hem up. students with an interest in musi and sound direct and concentrate that interest on 2 movie or a specific group of movies, ‘hey will cll some original an provocative material In theory, sound can be used and edited with as much com plexty and intelligence as images can. Certainly, sound hes many dimensions and uses in film it can be described according 0 pitch, loudness, or timbre; It can figure ita film as dret sound (aecorded when the image is being shot) or postdubbed sound (sound and dialogue added later in the studio), Movie sound can, take the form of dialogue, music, or noise (thunder, or & cat 84 Coueren 2 terms and Topo Fin An ond Wiig hing to a hal), any or all ofthese sounds being naturally or ieially produced. Film sound can have a mulsitude of rela: tions co the image and the narrative: it can be background must; ins source may be on- or off-screen; and itcan even precede ofl low dhe image i inked to (as when a character’ remark Forms « bridge into the next image) Throughout lm history, one ean find movies in which the sound alone would make a majo topic for analysis. A well-known san-Marie Strub and Daniele Hull's The Chronide of ‘Anna Magdalena Bach (2068), ses up a complex opposition berseen the grceful music of Bich on the soundinic« and the tormented sory of Bach's physical and financial troubles “Fran's Coppolss The Conversation (1873) recounts the story of man who specializes fn sound survellnce, who tries to discover the uth through sound alone, and who filly loss all thin the vival world, Some ofthe ‘ft fascinating and provocative uses of sound ate found in ins of the early 1930s, when sound was fst being snroduced into the movies. In one early sound film, The Thiny-Nine Steps (1935), Fitcheock employs sound ass cental element inthe plot: at a er cal moment, he crates a dramatic sound match by connecting & ‘woman's scream and the whistle ofa locomotive co link disparate ‘mages Figures 17 and 18). To write about sound, one rust fist lea to attend to sound —tuly fo listen. This does not meen that the more obviows ot

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