Trailers, Lighting, Sound, Jaws

trailers

commercials for films; called this because they used to “trail” cartoons, newsreels, and other ads before films

teasers

trailers that come out long before the film

voiceover and intertitles

used during trailers to provide context and information

green band trailers

trailers that can be shown before any film, the most common

red band trailers

trailers that include adult content and can only be shown before r-rated films

the exorcist trailer

power of intertitles, excellent foley art, whopper of a montage, understated ending

whiplash trailer

sudden left turn in tone, intertitles, montage for powerful finish

adaptation trailer

universal emotions (insecurity, frustration), one piece of music, intertitles tell while shots and voiceover show

david fincher directed:

fight club, se7en, the social network, the girl with the dragon tattoo, gone girl, zodiac, house of cards, mindhunter

broadside lighting

light on area close to camera (large area)

short side lighting

light on area away from camera (small area), 95% of shots in this manner because of cinematic feeling

rembrandt lighting

creates a triangle of light under the eye, inspired by french painter who used this kind of lighting in most of his work

split light

half of subject’s face illuminated, half in the dark; usually conveys duality

rim lighting

created when the key light is the main light in the scene

cross lighting

two subjects illuminated from different angles using different light sources

chiaroscuro

italian word meaning “light and dark”; seen in The Outlaw Josey Wales

key light

main source of illumination in a scene

kick light

small light, usually used to illuminate a small area, such as an actor’s face

backlighting

shadowing a character by lighting him from behind; seen in Ctizen Kane

front lighting

lighting a character from the front; seen in The Godfather

harsh light

hard, undiffused light; seen in Marathon Man

soft light/liquid light

lit using some manner of diffusion, seen in Spiderman: No Way Home

paramount/butterfly lighting

shadow under nose, accentuates cheekbones; more feminine

loop lighting

shadow of side of nose, light source left of subject

red and blue lighting in science fiction

utilize a red and blue color scheme to heighten suspense and emotional gravity; red = villains/antagonists, blue = heroes/protagonists

2001: a space odyssey

directed by Stanley Kubrick, spacecraft computer that turns on its crew, red and blue lighting

Aliens

directed by James Cameron; red hues signaling alien attacks, blue lights accentuate the scene

The Empire Strikes Back

directed by Irving Kushner; red = Darth Vader, blue = Luke Skywalker

Absence of light

Wait Until Dark (Stephen King, theatre owners, gimmicks throughout history, Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin); based on a play: static setting; set in the basement of an apartment

Audrey Hepburn

5 time Oscar nominee for Best Actress, won for Roman Holiday

The Tingler

starring Vincent Price; directed by William Castle; great gimmicks in movie history

Munich

Directed by Steven Spielberg; lowering of sound, time expansion

ambient sound

background noise; seen in Apocalypse Now

diegetic sound

sound from the “world” of the movie

non-diegetic sound (extra diegetic sound)

sound created during the post production process

Foley

the process by which sounds are created or altered for use in a film, video, or other electronically produced work

Foley artists

sound editors, name comes from Jack ____, a Universal sound editor from the thirties

Kill Bill: Volume One

Directed by Quentin Tarantino; uses non diegetic music to create atmosphere; uses diegetic music to bring viewers into the present moment

There Will Be Blood

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Daniel Day Lewis

Get Out

Directed by Jordan Peele; starring Daniel Kaluuya

Lord of the Rings; The Two Towers

Directed by Peter Jackson; foley artists, sound editing, the Battle of Helms Deep; music composer = Howard Shore

Aliens

Music composer = James Horner

John Williams

Fifty four oscar nominations; Mr. Schaffer’s favorite composer; often works closely with Spielberg

Jaws

Directed by Steven Spielberg; edited by Verna Fields; score by John Williams; #6 score of all time; #2 thriller of all time

Brody; Quint; Hooper

Roy Schneider; Robert Shaw; Richard Dreyfuss

Yellow

Symbol of danger in Jaws; most famous use of color in a film

Symbols of the shark in Jaws

John Williams’s score; barrels; color yellow

Brody

Main character of Jaws; chief of police on Amity Island; fear of water

The crucible (in Jaws)

Chalice that holds the characters, keeps the plot going; greed, financial goals over human safety

Psychomachia

Shoulder devil and angel; mayor and Brody in Jaws

Nagra

A special swiss-made sound recording device used “on location” because of its durability and portability; used in many scenes in Jaws, especially when the film switched to the Orca (Quint’s boat)

Beach scene, Alex Kintner’s death

Motivation, music, wipes/beachgoers, taboo, wipes turning yellow, age of Mrs. Kintner, red herings, Chief “blinded” by trivialities

Split Diopter

curved half lens, allows director to keep focus on two characters in foreground and background

Hooper

Foil to Brody, establishing scene = asserts himself with ease, butts heads with Quint later on (animosity between Dreyfuss and Shaw)

Fourth of July scene

New Jersey, 1916; Peter Benchley cameo; happy music/sinister undercurrents; strategic yellow

Quint

Foil for Brody, USS Indianapolis monologue; life jackets, alcohol, treatment of women; difference in techniques; Captain Ahab in Moby Dick

Antagonist ingredients

believes their actions to justified, seems more powerful than protagonist, devoted to conflict, trapped in crucible

Monomania

A person is completely obsessed with one idea

Hubris

Believing that you’re stronger than a god or nature