Enoch Yee-lok Tam

FILM 2017:Introdction to Film and Media Arts

 Mise-en-scène
◦ Setting: Real location and CGI
◦ Lighting: 3-point lighting

 Cinematography
◦ Speed: Slow, fast, Freeze
◦ Depth of field: Deep focus, shallow focus, racking focus
◦ Distance: Close-up, medium shot, long shot
◦ Camera movement: Pan, tilt, track and crane
◦ Duration: long take and montage

 Editing
◦ Continuity editing: 180° system and shot/reverse shot
◦ Intellectual montage

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 All about lighting ratio and contrast

 High-key lighting
◦ Strong key light
◦ Weak fill light
◦ Creates low contrast

 Low-key lighting
◦ Weak key light
◦ High contrast
◦ Chiaroscuro effect

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 Narrative
◦ A chain of events linked by cause and effect and occurring in time and
space

 Narrative form
◦ A type of filmic organization in which the parts relate to each other
through a series of causally related events taking place in time and space.

 Narration
◦ The process through which the plot conveys or withholds story information
◦ Can be more or less restricted to character knowledge and more or less
deep in presenting character’s mental perceptions and thoughts

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 Story
◦ all the events that are presented to us or that we can infer have happened

 Plot
◦ Arrangement or construction of those events in a certain order or structure
◦ Describes everything visible and audible in the film, a summary of the
setting, relations, cause and effect.

 Story: James and I went to the beach for a swim. Then it rained
and we went home.

 Plot: James and I wanted to swim, so we went to the beach. Then

it started to rain, and because we couldn't swim comfortably any
more, we went home.

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 Can be in chronological order
◦ The Order of the events in story is the same as the order
of the events in plot
◦ （ 1-2-3-4 ）

 Can be in non-chronological order

◦ Audiences need to reconstruct the story in their mind
◦ （ 3-1-2-4 ） or other patterns

 Can be manipulated, e.g.

◦ flash-back (reinterpretation)  （ 2-3-1-4 ）
◦ flash-forward (anticipation)  （ 1-2-4-3 ）

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 Narrator
◦ specific agent who tells us the story

 Point-of-view in films
◦ Relationship the camera has to a person or action
◦ Objective (omniscient)
◦ POV shot
◦ Subjective POV shot: eye-line matching

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 Order in Narrative ︰ 6-0-6-1-6-2-3-4-6-5-6

78 Dream
Wake up in 78 78
the morning 78 78 at night
?
Seeing
the wife
in dream

2X 2X
20

Narrative time
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 Space and time
◦ Mainly set in present time

◦ Seen from outside the action

 but point-of-view shots, memories, fantasies, dreams
can be included

◦ Coherent and easily understandable depiction of

space and time

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 Characterization
◦ Story focuses on one or few distinct characters

◦ Clearly defined characterization

◦ Main characters have goal(s) to achieve

◦ Centrality of psychological motivation

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 Narrative
◦ Close and resolve all issues raised within the film
(resolution/completion/ happy ending)

◦ Clear causes and effects of actions (what happens

and why it happens must be clear)

 High production values

◦ Classical Hollywood period: 1930-1948

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 What is film genre?
◦ A set of formulas and devices which allow mass production occurs

◦ A model of narrative which provides a formal framework, within

which individual films can be produced.

 Why film genre?

◦ Efficient use of resources

◦ Easily recognizable by the mass audience, and which therefore

allows the audience to understand the film more easily.

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 Gangster film

 Musical

 Comedy

 Film noir

 Melodrama

 Horror

 Science fiction

 Etc……..

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 Film genres can be defined by
◦ Iconography and plot
◦ Setting
◦ Character
◦ Theme

 Iconography and plot

◦ Western: gun, white hat  shooting scene
◦ Musical: high wheel, colorful dress  dancing scene
◦ Wuxia (martial art): sword, costume  fighting
scene

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 Character and setting
◦ Western: gunslinger, dessert in the West
◦ Musical: beautiful women and men, dancing hall in
city
◦ Gangster film: gangster, dark corner in city
◦ Wuxia film: swordsmen and jianghu

◦ Every type of character has its own

 attitude
 style
 worldview

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 Narrative structure: resolving conflicts
◦ Western
 Individual vs. community
 City / town vs. wilderness
 Order vs. disorder

◦ Rules of Western
 Setting: in the West, originally calm and peaceful
 Stereotypical character bring in conflict (star)
 From conflict to crisis (e.g. the friend of protagonist
dies in conflict. This turns the conflict into crisis)
 Killing or removing villains to resolving the crisis (bring
out the social meaning of the genre)

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 Iconography: gun, hat, dress

 Plot: shooting scene

 Character: gunslinger (Clint Eastwood)

 Setting: wilderness in the West

◦ A Fistful of Dollars, 1964

◦ For a Few Dollars More, 1965

◦ The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, 1966

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 Orderly world

 Intervention / destruction

 Confront the villains

 Gunslinger Appear and resolve crisis

 Back to order

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 Mix with wuxia: New Dragon Gate Inn (1992)

 Mix with action: Once Upon a Time in China

and America (1997); Who am I (1998)

 Mix with gangster: The Peace Hotel (1995)

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 Cohen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men
(2007)
◦ Have genre characteristics: gun, horse, wilderness
◦ Anti-genre: no hero, gunslinger fighting for his
own good instead of that of the community …

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 Story, plot and narrative form
◦ Story: All the events
◦ Plot: Events presented in terms of order and logic
◦ Narrative: A chain of events linked by cause and
effect and occurring in time and space
◦ Narrative form: narration, order and point of view

 Classical Hollywood Narrative

◦ Narrative: Closed, all issued resolved
◦ High production values

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 Film genre
◦ What is film genre: Set of formulas and devices
◦ Why film genre: Efficient and recognizable by the mass audience

 Set of devices
◦ Iconography
◦ Plot
◦ Character
◦ Setting
◦ Narrative structure: resolving conflicts

 Genre mixing and anti-genre

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