#11 - CONVENTIONAL FILM HISTORY

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Chapter 11:  Convential Film History:  Evolutions, Masterpieces, and Periodization (pgs. 368 - 403)

"Special effects __ methods of manipulating or adding new dimesions to the film image __ have always been a part of the evolution of movies as entertainment (pg. 379)."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049833/

          The Ten Commandments (1956) was an epic historical reinactment of the biblical story of Moses, an Egyptian prince who finds that he was really born into a poor jewish family but was given up by his mother and sent down the river Nile in an attempt to save his life.  Once he learns of his true identify, he becomes a slave and he is bound and determined to help set his people free.  All throughout this movie there are special effects that depict the power of GOD; from the column of fire that held back the Egyptian chariots to the parting of the Sea allowing the newly freed slaves to pass unharmed.  The Ten Commandments was filmed in Technicolor.  This film was made during a time when the big studios put on these elaborate productions using their most famous actors that they had under contract. It, like Cleopatra, is one of many big budget epic films made for the silver screen.  Audiences loved the grand scale of these epic films along with the eloborate sets, exotic locations, and glamorous costumes.  This genre of films is still very popular today.

"Special effects and new formats __ from wide screen formats like Cinema Scope to 3-D images __ became increasingly important in distinguishing film from the newly arrived and more modest medium of television (379)."

              http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventors/a/Walt_Disney.htm



          Walt Disney was a great innovator of the use of special effects.  He invented and pattented a multi-planed camera, called the "art of animation" which allowed added depth and dimension to whatever scene that was being shot.  As the camera panned through the tiers, it gave the illusion of a 3-D effect.  It was a low-tech technique that resulted in what looked like a high tech effect.  Because the backgrounds could be saved and used over and over, this device also saved hundreds if not thousands of hours of man power used to create these backgrounds.  The Disney movies of today incorporate all types of special effects and sound effects.  The most popular of these techniques is the use of 3-D images.  When my husband and I took our two children to Epcot Center in 2000 for the Millenium Celebration at Disney World in Florida, we saw a 3-D Shrek (2001) exhibition in addition to the movie A Bug's Life (1998).  While watching the movie, at different points in the story, we were sprayed with water and compressed air.  These added effects made this movie going experience unique.  The kids loved it.  We did too. 

          

"From Griffith's The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance through Kind Vidor's The Big Parade (1925) and Buster Keaton's The General, narrative films learned to explore simultaneous actions, complex spatial geographies, and the psychological interaction of characters through narrative (pg. 396)."



 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/

          In Buster Keaton's The General (1926), the train was the vehicle that literally moved the story along the storyline.  Amazing for that time period, the trains were actually used as props in this film.  Buster Keaton was brilliant in his physical comedy and the way he could convey emotion without facial expressions was genius.  He was referred to as The Great Stone Face.  Without the use of sound, Keaton let his physical antics tell the story.  His use of the underdog as the hero was the over-arching theme in this film.  His uncanny ability to overcome the physical obsticles that were constantly put in front of him was astounding.  At the end of The General, Keaton's character, Johnnie Grey, saves the girl, warns the military about an impending attack, and gets his beloved General back.  This film was very entertaining and the physical stunts by Keaton were amazing.

Works Cited

"The Ten Commandments (1956) - Filming Locations." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

"Shrek (2001) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

"A Bug's Life (1998) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

"The General (1926) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 25 Apr. 2011. 

#10 LISTENING TO THE CINEMA: FILM SOUND

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Chapter 6:  Listening to the Cinema:  Film Sound (pgs. 184 - 220)

"Too often given secondary status, sound engages viewers perceptually, gives key spatial and story information, and affords an aesthetic experience of its own (pg. 186)."

          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.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saalGKY7ifU

          For example, the soundtrack for the movie Titanic (1997) was one of the most successful soundtracks ever sold.  The theme song is My Heart Will Go On sung by Celine Dion.  She will forever be associated with that song and that movie.  Even though the soundtrack for Titanic was successful, the most popular soundtrack was from the movie The Bodyguard (1992).  It sold over 16 million copies after its release.

"Listening to movies, just as much as watching them, defines the film going experience and with the advent of advanced technologies, sound has helped to make that experience even more immersive (pg. 186)."

          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 whispered asides 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.  While listening to the descriptions through the headset, the person can picture in their mind what everyone else is seeing.  It started out as a small pilot project funded by the American Council for the Blind.  President Obama employed AD at his Inaugural Speech.  AD has been used for many years but is just now being used in the movie theaters.  These services are now available nationwide with the help of Audio Description Associates, LLC in Maryland.  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.  No one has advocated for AD more than Joel Snyder.  He is a pioneer in the Audio Description industry.  He has worked tirelessly to bring culture to blind and low-vision patrons of movies and the arts, as well as, public television documentaries.  He has also become internationally renowned in this field.

http://www.audiodescribe.com/about/snyder.php

"Although cinemas mimetic capacity to reproduce images and sounds from the natural world is one of its strongest appeals, the perpetual quest for images and sounds that are bigger, louder, and better indicates that part of cinema's appeal is its ability to provide a heightened sensory experience that intensifies the ordinary (pg. 190)."

          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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdxXPV9GNQ

          Personally, I cannot watch a movie in that type of an environment.  I get sensory overload and I have to cover my ears.  It is too much.  Some people love it, not me.  Although I did enjoy going to the Boston Science Museum when I was a teenager.  They were playing a movie in the Planetarium about space.  The movie was set to Pink Floyd music.  Me and my friends thought this was so cool.  The music went so well with the magnificent images of space.  The images along with the music transported you up into space.  You felt like you were there.  They also had a laser light show to go along with it.  It was amazing.  We had never experienced anything like that before.  We thought that was pretty high tech at the time.  For some reason, at that time, I did not get overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of that experience.  If I ever get a chance to see something like that again, I will definitely give it a try again.  Never say never.

Works Cited

"Titanic (1997) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 23 Apr. 2011.

Dion, Celine. "My Heart Will Go On." Let's Talk About Love. 550 Music, 1997.


"YouTube - 'Titanic' Theme Song." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.

"The Bodyguard (1992) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 23 Apr. 2011.


"Audio Description Associates: What Is Audio Description?" Audio Description Associates: Welcome. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.


"Avatar (2009) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 23 Apr. 2011.


"YouTube - Avatar Trailer The Movie (New Extended HD Trailer)." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.

         

         

#9 - RELATING IMAGES: EDITING

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Chapter 5:  Relating Images: Editing (pgs. 134 - 183)

"Sequences of shots or scenes may describe the linear movement of time forward as one event follows another in temporal order.  Often human activity directs the selection and ordering of events in this way (pg. 155)."

          In The Seventh Seal (1957), from the beginning of the movie the main character, played by Max von Sydow, a Crusader who is on a quest to find the truth, wants to know if there really is a GOD.  The sequence of events follow this character on his journey to discover the truth.  After meeting Death, played by Bengt Ekerot, playing a game of chess, and ultimately winning that game, he bargains with Death not to take him yet, he wants more time to find the answers he has been seeking.  Death agrees.  The Crusader and the squire, played by, Björnstrand Jöns, after being on a ten-year quest and finding no answers, go out to live amongst the poor in a near-by village. 

          Each event they encounter serves to help the story progress along the storyline.  Because of the order in which the scenes are placed, the viewer can follow the story and begin to discern what might happen next based on information provided in the previous scenes.  For example, when one of the jugglers slips off with one of the villager's wives, you, as the viewer, know that, at some point, the juggler is going to get caught.  These sequence of events and the subsequent scenes that follow, carry the story and characters along in a logical order as the story progresses.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/

          

"The editing styles we have discussed so far are not simply neutral ways of telling stories or conveying information; applied in different context __ Hollywood or the avant-garde each style conveys different perspective on art and realism (pg. 166)."

          The editing techniques employed in The Seven Seals (1957), were much fewer in numbers than the editing techniques used in today's films.  Considering that it was made in 1957, and the lack of complex editing techniques at that time, this film does a fine job of setting the mood, creating drama, and conveying emotion.  Also, because the film was shot in black and white, the limited editing that was used for that time really helped to make the scenes more powerful.  The use of fade-in and fade-out shots were used quite a bit in this film.  This helped the viewer transition from the present to the past and back again.

          This film can be divided into segments.  The crusader and the squire seeking religious truth __ the juggling troupe wandering the countryside trying to eek out a meager living __ the villagers struggling with good and evil along with sexual temptations __ and the priests with the female prisoner that they accused of being possessed by the Devil __ and Death himself.  Each segment plays its individual role in the film, but when put together to tell the whole story, they give the story much more depth and contrast.  Each needs the other to help tell the story in its entirety.

"Editing leads viewers to experience images through particular emotions and ideas and it remains one of the most effective ways to create meanings from shots (pg. 182)."

          In the film The Seven Seals (1957), some of the emotions that are evoked are fear of the unknown.  No knowing if there really is a GOD.  Not knowing if what we do here on earth really matters.  Not knowing if when we die we will have to atone for our sins.  The other emotions evoked in this film are the simple joy of being alive.  Just being able to wake up and see the sun shine can bring such joy to those that can appreciate the simple things in life.  The contrast between the juggler named Jof, played by Nils Poppe, who only sees the brighter side of life and the Crusader, played by Max von Sydow, who has tunnel vision and cannot live in the moment.  He can only think about his quest.  There is one point in the movie where he stops to think about that moment in time when he is having a pleasant meal with the juggler and his family.  It makes him think about the life he had before.  A life where he was happy and he was in love with his wife.  Unfortunately, there are so many people who live this way.  They only think about the future or they dwell regrettably in the past.  They are not able to live in the moment and appreciate what they have while they have it. 

      

Works Cited

"The Seventh Seal (1957) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 18 Apr. 2011. 

"Google Images." Google. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?

#8 - SEEING THROUGH THE IMAGE: CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Chapter 4:  Seeing Through the Image:  Cinematography (pgs. 94 - 133)

"Visual stimuli determine a significant part of our experience of the world around us:  we look left and right for cars before we cross a busy street, we watch sunsets in the distance, and we focus on a face across the room (pg. 96)."

          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.

"We go to movies to enjoy stimulating sights, share other people's perspectives on the world, and explore that world through the details contained in a film image (pg. 96)."

          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.  The setting and plot help to support the context in which the character finds himself/herself: this is referred to as the mise-en-scene.  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.

"Color profoundly affects our experience and understanding of a film shot, and black-and-white films also use contrast and graduations to create atmosphere or emphasize certain motifs (pg. 114)."



          When I was a child and saw The Wizard of OZ (1939) on a colored television for the first time, I was amazed when Dorothy's house landed in Munchkin Land.  When she opens the door, for the first time, the movie goes from black and white to bright vivid color.  I was amazed at the transformation.  I had never seen anything like it.  It was magical.  To this day, The Wizard of OZ (1939) is still one of my favorite movies of all time.  The other significant use of color in that movie is the use of the color red.  The ruby slippers are a key component in that film.  The slippers have magical powers.  They can transport Dorothy back home to Kansas.  Home, the place she had been searching for throughout the whole movie. 

          In the movie The Book of Eli (2010), sepia tone was used to set the tone and create a post-apocalyptic mood.  There was very little color used in that movie at all.  When color was introduced, the colors were muted.  This technique was very effective in this particular movie.

"Our visual experience is not just naturalistic; it is also fantastical, composed of pictures from our dreams and imaginations (pg. 120)."

          In the movie Avatar (2009), when humans go into the machines to be transported telepathically, into the avatar on the other side that was created specifically for them, they are in a dream-like state.  Scientists have somehow been able to tap into the subconscious minds of these individuals.  They are transported to a fantastical world filled with amazing creatures.  While there, the characters are captivated by the shear beauty of the place.  We, as the audience, get to experience this world through these characters.  In our minds, we are transported to this magical place, too.

Works Cited

"The Wizard of Oz (1939) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 05 Apr. 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/.

"The Book of Eli (2010) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 05 Apr. 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/.

"Avatar (2009) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 05 Apr. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/>.

#7 - EXPLORING A MATERIAL WORLD: MISE-EN-SCENE

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Chapter 3:  Exploring a Material World:  Mise-En-Scene (pgs. 58 - 93)

"The mise-en-scene contains the scene elements of a movie, including actors, aspects of lighting, sets, and setting, costumes, make-up, and other features of the image that exists independently of the camera and the processes of filming and editing (pg. 62)."

          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.  For example, if you go to court or to church you would dress more formally.  On the other hand, if you were at the park or hanging out with friends, you would dress more casually.  The same would apply to hair styles and , for a women, whether make-up would be required or appropriate.  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.

"A prop (short for property) is an object that functions as part of the set or as a tool used by the actors (pg. 69)."

          Props used to tell the story in a movie take on greater significance when they are relatable to a character who gives that prop meaning.  Props can have cultural significance depending on how it is used related to that particular culture.  The color of a prop may hold significance as well.  Like the red phones in the movie The American (2010).  The color may represent freedom to the main character, Jack (played by George Clooney).  Freedom from the life of an assassin.  Jack tells his connection over the phone that this job is his last.  He wants to retire.  Every time he makes a phone call on the red phone it brings him that much closer to getting out for good.  Or so he thinks.

"Movie spectaculars are films in which the magnitude and intricacy of the mise-en-scene share equal emphasis with or even outshine the story, the actors, and other traditional focal points for a movie (pg. 89)."

                                       

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdxXPV9GNQ

          Like in the movie Avatar (2009), the avatars themselves, along with the spectacular planet on which they live, take on more significance than the human actors in the movie.  Audiences that enjoy these larger-than-life movies want to be transported to another world and want to be awed by the magnificent creatures that inhabit that world.  The special effects in Avatar (2009) creates just this type of world.  The world created by director, James Cameron, is so spectacular that you get lost in this imaginary world and forget that it is not real, it is only a movie.  That is the beauty of this form of escapism.  You are magically transported from this world into another.

"The most fundamental value of mise-en-scene is that it defines our location in the material world:  the physical settings and objects that surround us indicate our place in the world (pg. 85)."

          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.

          In the movie The American (2010), Jack, the assassin, finds himself in a remote mountain village in Italy after a job that went wrong in Sweden. Even though he tries to fit in, everyone in the village knows about the American photographer.  There is no where to hide.  This is the mise-en-scene that this character finds himself in during this movie.

Works Cited

"The American (2010) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 03 Apr. 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440728/.

"YouTube - Avatar Trailer The Movie (New Extended HD Trailer)." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdxXPV9GNQ>.



#6 - EXPERIMENTAL SCREENS: AVANT GARDE FILM, VIDEO ART, AND NEW MEDIA

"For what its worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.  There's no time limit, stop whenever you want.  You can change or stay the same; there are no rules to this thing.  We can make the best or the worst of it.  I hope you make the best of it.  And I hope you see things that startle you.  I hope you feel things you never felt before.  I hope you meet people with a different point of view.  I hope you live a life you're proud of.  If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

                         __ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/

THE FILE EXPERIENCE:  AN INTRODUCTION (SECOND EDITION)

Experimental Screens: Avant Garde Film, Video Art, and New Media

Chapter 9:  (pgs. 300-329)

"Over the past century, many adventurous filmmakers have used film to go outside the bounds of traditional narrative and documentary forms, combining images of the seemingly mundane, the usual, and even the bizarre in order to address and challenge their audiences in fascinating ways (pg. 302)."

          In Maya Deren's Mishes In The Afternoon (1943), she uses everyday utilitarian objects in a constant repetitive manner throughout the film.  This technique serves to give these objects greater significance.  Some of the objects of significance used in this film are:  a flower, a key, a knife, a mirror, and a telephone.  All of these images when strung together force the audience to look for a deeper meaning.  Also, the use of black and white film gives it an erie almost other-worldly feel.  There is no dialog, but there is a musical soundtrack that was added to set the tone and mood.  This avant garde movie allows the viewer to use their own personal perspective to interpret what is being conveyed.  There a dark sinister underbelly is revealed as the audience turns these images over in their minds. This genre of film making is considered a form of art, therefore, leaving it open to interpretation.         

"Most historians consider Meshes In The Afternoon (1943) by Russian-born Maya Deren and her Czech husband, Alexander Hammid, the beginning of the American avant garde's historical prominence (pg. 307)."

          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.

"Outside of North America, experimental film impulses have often been incorporated into narrative film making and theatrical exhibitions rather than confined exclusively to autonomous avant garde circles (pg. 309)."

          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. 

"While filmmakers continue to experiment using Super 8 and 16mm (and Super 16) formats, a radical shift to use and interrogate new technologies was driven by the introduction of consumer video formats (pg. 310)."

          Video technology became available in the 1960's with the introduction of the Sony Portapak.  As the cost of video production came down and this media became widely available, activists, video producers, and home movie buffs took advantage of this new and more affordable media.  Music videos became hugely popular and were used to launch stations on cable networks like MTV and VH1.  As the use of computers and video production merged, the film making industry exploded.  The Internet has taken video viewing to a whole new level with the introduction of YouTube.  As a result, millions of people have instant access to video clips, movie trailers, movies from  film archives, documentaries, still photography and sound bites.  The viewing public can now be active participants in the multi-media revolution.  Also, teachers, who want to make learning a richer and more diverse experience, can introduce multi-media into their classrooms for a more interesting experience for both the teacher and the students. 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4002812108181388236#

Works Cited

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 02 Apr. 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/.

"Meshes of the Afternoon." Google Videos. Web. 02 Apr. 2011. <http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4002812108181388236#>.