THE FILE EXPERIENCE: AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)
Why Study Film?
By studying film, a person can not only gain knowledge about the film-making industry, but also gain insight into the human condition. There are so many great stories that have been told using this media and many more great stories still waiting to be told. Before looking at the Top 100 Films of the 21st Century, I thought I had seen a lot of movies in my life, I now realize that there are so many more movies I have not seen, but would like to see in the future.
Films have changed so much since the inception of the film-making process began. From silent black and white films, to film with sound, 3-D movies, and the ever-popular action-packed block busters that are riddled with special effects of today. Not only has the media itself changed, but the way in which we experience movies has changed as well. As we all know, there are many different ways to view a movie. You can go to a mega-plex theater and become totally engulfed in sight and sound, you can go to your local multi-plex where you have a wide variety of different choices in films to see, you can still go to a drive-in movie (even though they are few and far between) to see a couple of movies in one night, or you can stay home and watch a movie from the comfort and privacy of your own home.
The way in which films are promoted has also changed. From colorful posters, newspaper and TV advertisements, preview trailers at the theater, the Internet and, now, digital downloads to your home TV, computer, laptop, or even your cell phone. The way in which a movie is promoted is directly connected to the size of the budget the producers of the film have to work with. Big-budget films are better able to reach the public. Whereas, independent films, with small budgets, do not have the resources to dedicate to that type of advertising. Most of their budget is used to actually getting the movie made.
With "big-budget" films, the amount of people involved in the films production is staggering. If you look at the credits at the end of one of these films, you will see hundreds of people listed. From producers, directors, actors, cameramen, make-up artists, costume designers, set designers, location scouts, song writers, and video production crews, just to name a few.
Widely used during WWII for reporting and documenting events, the 16mm camera, which was light in weight, quickly became the favorite vehicle for artists wanting a more hands-on way to capture images. Maya Deren adopted this type of film and use of camera in her films. This type of film gives a more home movie effect to the action. In Meshes In The Afternoon (1943), Maya Deren uses this form of film making to explores female subjectivity and the trappings of domesticity along with domestic violence being perpetrated against women.
Aspects of avant garde and experimental film making has made it into the more traditional main stream narrative films and also into theatrical films as well. The use of the Internet and YouTube have made it easier for filmmakers to have their work viewed by millions of people. Work that, in the past, may never have been view at all. The use of digital editing has also made it easier to incorporate and combined many different types of media and speeds of film along with still and digital photography as well. With all of the new types of media technology, including special effects, that are available today, filmmakers have few limitations. If you can think of a concept, you can create it on film.
The evnironment in which a person finds themselves serves as the mise-en-scene. Whether it is outside, in a public building, a church, or in a private home, these places define the activities that happens within that space. The place also dictates the type of clothing that is appropriate for that place. We respond to our environment depending on the feeling that space evokes. What an actor wears or how they look evokes different responses and expectations from the audience. The audience can share the feelings or perspectives of an actor portraying a character.
The external boundaries describes the limitations that human beings are faced with, therefore, creates the context in which they can live within those set boundaries. Whether it is a natural environment, a social context, or a spectacular artificially-created world, each has its own limitations and depending on the context of the situation, the characters act accordingly. Making meaning out of the world in which a character finds itself, is an important aspect of mise-en-scene.
We use our sight to navigate through this world. Whether we are looking at something up close, seeing something from afar, or watching a moving object, we need our vision to help give us perspective and determine the context in which we live. We use sight to examine our surroundings. What we see on the silver screen is a reflection of life. As an audience, we share the movie viewing experience with others as well as ourselves.
Going to the movies gives us the feeling of being connected with others. We can see other people's perspectives about life up there on the screen. We can relate to the experiences we see through the characters performance. Movies use actors to help tell the story. As the story progresses, we begin to see things from that character's perspective. As we get into the story, we forget that we are watching a movie, we are transfixed. We get inside the character's mind. We are emotionally drawn in. For a couple of hours, we are invested in the movie we are watching. That is the magic of the movies. While watching a movie, we are able to shut out the world and escape our everyday lives. This is pure escapism at its best.
The image is seen as the primary form of conveyance in the film industry. But, without sound these images cannot convey everything that is necessary to provide a multi-level and richly textual experience to the viewing audience. Musical soundtracks have become extremely popular. The songs that are chosen to be played throughout the film serve to help bring both meaning and emotion to the viewer through the music. Now, you can go out, after seeing a movie, and buy the musical soundtrack. This has become big business. The movie industry and the music industry have joined forces to make billions of dollars off of these soundtracks.
One of the newest ways for people to experience movies is called Audio Description (AD). It is a narration of all the visual elements-action, costumes, settings, images-of theater, television/film, museum exhibitions, and other events. Visually impaired patrons experience all the visually engaging elements of cultural events, the rich variety of colors, lighting effects, levels, gestures, and facial expressions that others often take for granted; critical bits of information that a person who has low vision formerly could only experience through the whispers from a sighted companion. Using words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative, properly trained describers convey the visual image that otherwise is not fully accessible to 10 million blind or low vision Americans and not fully realized by the rest of us, sighted folks who see but who may not observe (audiodescribe.com).
Visually impaired moviegoers can now ask for a headset that will tap into an AD system. Like wheelchair accessibility, AD is yet another way to accommodate the handicapped and visually impaired patrons allowing them to enjoy the movie going experience along with the rest of the viewing pubic.
If you like giant screens and loud special effects, the best way to see a movie would be at an IMAX theater. The screens are immense. The movie Avatar (2009) was the all-time highest grossing IMAX film. The movie brought in over $220 million dollars worldwide.
Most people when they hear the word "genre," when referring to films, think of a particular category of films that they are partial to. For example, a "slasher film," a "horror movie," or a "chic flick." By putting films in categories, the viewer will go into one of these movies with a preconceived notion of what they can expect based on that genre. By having this prior knowledge and expectation, the film makers have to work hard to satisfy certain criteria in the film in order to meet viewer expectations.
Because today's moviegoers are more sophisticated and knowledgeable, many films are advertised based on the merits of a particular director. Also, because directors are individuals, they bring with them, to the film-making process, their own personal views. They are influenced by their upbringing, religious beliefs, morals and values, along with their political point of view, just to name a few.
Our prior knowledge about a particular genre gives us the intertextuality needed to recognize which genre category a film fits into. Film makers rely on the use of formulas when meeting the criteria for a particular genre. The meaning placed on a film is determined by the prior experience of its audience.
While watching a movie, people have a way of convincing themselves that an image on the movie screen is real. Even though, intellectually, they know it is "only a movie." We have all identified with characters in a movie for one reason or another. Because of the way that movies are filmed, we often are seeing the world through the eyes of one or more of the characters in a movie. It is easy to get lost in that character's world. Also, we see a lot of ourselves in many of the characters we see on the silver screen. Many of our own characteristics are reflected back to us through them. Sometimes you can be watching a movie and you could swear that the movie was made just for you.
Women have historically been objectified in film. Women have also been portrayed as the weaker sex. They have been sexualized in pornography since film making began. Many leading ladies of the past, if they were of strong character, often suffered because of those very qualities. After WWII, women had left the home to go out and work to support the war efforts. When they came back to their "real lives," they were dissatisfied. The movie industry reflected these feelings back to its female audiences. Women in movies began to explore their options in life. Women began to see that they had a choice. The female characters being portrayed in the movies could step out of the box that society had placed them in.
With the ever-changing advancements in technology being employed in the movie-making industry today, the way in which movies are viewed and critiqued will also change. Because many movies are being produced digitally, most images are no longer being recorded on actual film. Images recorded on film have a different quality than images that are recorded digitally. Recording movies digitally is great for film preservation, but by not using actual film, the "art" of film making has lost something. Digital editing is much easier than actually splicing film together, as was done in the past. No one knows where technology will take the movie-making industry, but it will be interesting to see what people once thought to be impossible to do in films is now coming to fruition. Take James Cameron's movie Avitar (2009) for instance. The visuals in that movie were incredible. As a moviegoer, it seems the possibilities are endless.
Because today's moviegoers are more sophisticated and knowledgeable, many films are advertised based on the merits of a particular director. Also, because directors are individuals, they bring with them, to the film-making process, their own personal views. They are influenced by their upbringing, religious beliefs, morals and values, along with their political point of view, just to name a few.
Our prior knowledge about a particular genre gives us the intertextuality needed to recognize which genre category a film fits into. Film makers rely on the use of formulas when meeting the criteria for a particular genre. The meaning placed on a film is determined by the prior experience of its audience.
While watching a movie, people have a way of convincing themselves that an image on the movie screen is real. Even though, intellectually, they know it is "only a movie." We have all identified with characters in a movie for one reason or another. Because of the way that movies are filmed, we often are seeing the world through the eyes of one or more of the characters in a movie. It is easy to get lost in that character's world. Also, we see a lot of ourselves in many of the characters we see on the silver screen. Many of our own characteristics are reflected back to us through them. Sometimes you can be watching a movie and you could swear that the movie was made just for you.
Women have historically been objectified in film. Women have also been portrayed as the weaker sex. They have been sexualized in pornography since film making began. Many leading ladies of the past, if they were of strong character, often suffered because of those very qualities. After WWII, women had left the home to go out and work to support the war efforts. When they came back to their "real lives," they were dissatisfied. The movie industry reflected these feelings back to its female audiences. Women in movies began to explore their options in life. Women began to see that they had a choice. The female characters being portrayed in the movies could step out of the box that society had placed them in.
With the ever-changing advancements in technology being employed in the movie-making industry today, the way in which movies are viewed and critiqued will also change. Because many movies are being produced digitally, most images are no longer being recorded on actual film. Images recorded on film have a different quality than images that are recorded digitally. Recording movies digitally is great for film preservation, but by not using actual film, the "art" of film making has lost something. Digital editing is much easier than actually splicing film together, as was done in the past. No one knows where technology will take the movie-making industry, but it will be interesting to see what people once thought to be impossible to do in films is now coming to fruition. Take James Cameron's movie Avitar (2009) for instance. The visuals in that movie were incredible. As a moviegoer, it seems the possibilities are endless.
Works Cited
"Audio Description Associates: What Is Audio Description?" Audio Description Associates: Welcome. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.
"Avatar (2009) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 05 Apr. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/>.
