Film Analysis Final Exam UIowa

Editing

The process (art and technique) by which the editor selects, arranges and assembles the visual, sound, and special effects to tell a story.

The Film Editor's duties

-Decides what shots to use and how to use them

-Organize fragmented action and events

-Create meaning through Juxtaposition

-Create spatial relationships between shots

-Create temporal relationships through shots

-Establish overall rhythm of the film

For every 20 minutes of filming...

approximately 1 minute of footage is used.

Cut

an editing transition that is a break to mark the termination/transition between two shots

Fade-out

an editing transition where the image becomes gradually less distinct until it disappears. (Fade-ins do the opposite)

Dissolve

an editing transition that briefly superimposes one shot over the next

Wipe

an editing transition that joins two images by moving a vertical, horizontal, or sometimes diagonal line across one image followed by a second image

Master Scene Technique

A method of capturing footage to construct a scene in which the action is photographed multiple times with a variety of different shot types and angles (allows editor to construct the scene using the best fitting viewpoint)

Fragmentation

the breaking up of visual and narrative information into multiple shots that provide a diversity of combinations with which to convey meaning

Coverage

Multiple shot types and angles covering the same action in a given scene

Classical cutting

selecting from the coverage, the editor constructs the scene using the viewpoint best suited for each moment

Master shot

a shot (typically wide) showing the entirety of the action frombeginning to end

Flashbacks/flash-forwards

cutting away from the present scene to a scene of past or future events

Parallel editing

two or more actions happening at the same time in different places

Crosscutting

cutting together two or more lines of action that occur simultaneously at different locations

Intercutting

editing of two or more actions that take place at different locations and/or different times but give the impression of one scene

Juxtaposition

placing two shots together in sequence

Montage editing

juxtaposing shots to create meaning

Associative editing

imparts meaning in a noticeableway by juxtaposing contrasting or incongruent images in a manner thatimplies a thematic relationshipEditing (I)

Duration of shots (in frames, seconds, or minutes)

determines the speed withwhich audiences perceive a given sequence

Content curve

the point at which we have absorbed everything we need toknow in a particular shot and are ready to see the next shot

Pace

the speed at which a shot sequence flows, accomplished by using shotsof the same general duration

Rhythm

applies to the practice of changing the pace, either gradually or suddenly, during a scene or sequence (creates larger patterns of shot duration, patterns which can be built and broken for dramatic emphasis and impact)

Spatial relationships between shots

aid viewers in developing a mental map ofthe physical space within the scene

Temporal relationships

help establish the audience's experience of time

Montage sequence

an integrated series of shots rapidly depictingmultiple related events occurring over time

Overlapping action

the repetition of parts or all of an action using multiple shots

Freeze-frame

suddenly stops a shot to hold on a single "frozen" imageof the arrested action

Jump cut

a cut that interrupts an action and, intentionally or not, creates discontinuities in the spatial or temporal development of subsequent shots

Continuity editing

each shot has a continuous relationship to the next shot

Invisible editing (another term for continuity editing)

minimizing the perception of breaks betweenshots

Establishes verisimilitude (Continuity editing)

spatial and temporal consistency

Continuity editing seeks to achieve...

logic, smoothness, sequential flow, and the temporal andspatial orientation of the viewers to the images seen onscreen

Conventions of continuity editing

-What happens on the screen makes as much narrative sense as possible

-Screen direction is consistent from shot to shot

-Graphic, spatial, and temporal relations are maintained from shot to shot

30-degree rule

the camera should shift at least 30 degrees between different shot types of the same subject (If the camera moves less than 30 degrees, the cut between shots can look like a jump cut or a mistake)

Establishing shot

generally, an initial long shot that establishes the setting andorients the viewer in space

Two-shot

a relatively close shot of two characters

Over-the-shoulder shot

Camera is behind one characters should, typically looking at another character or giving this persons POV

Reestablishing shot

returns to an initial view

180-degree rule

uses an imaginary line (called "the line," or the axis of action) drawn between the interacting characters being photographed

Conventions of the 180-degree rule

• Once the line is determined, the camera remains on the same side of the line as it moves from position to position to capture different shots

• If the camera stays within the 180-degree half-circle defined by that line, the characters on-screen will remain in the same relative spatial orientation regardless of which shots the editor chooses to use when cutting the scene

• The axis of action shifts as characters move within the frame and as the camera moves

Shot/reverse-shot

a shot of one character looking offscreen in one direction is followed by one of a second character looking back

Eyeline match

a character looks offscreen and the next shot appears to show what or whom she/he is looking

Match on action

the direction of an action is picked up when cutting to a shot depicting the continuation of that action

Graphic match

a dominant shape or line in one shot provides a visual transition to a similar shape or line in the next shot

Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” published to Screen 1975

- To demonstrate the ways in which mainstream narrative film(specifically classical Hollywood) "reflects, reveals, and even plays on the straight, socially established interpretation of sexual difference which controls images, erotic ways of looking, and spectacle"

-Feminist critique of phallocentrism

Phallocentrism

-paradoxically depends upon the image of the castrated woman to give order and meaning to its world

-Only because women supposedly desire the power of the phallus does the phallus become a structuring presence at all

Penis/Phallus

penis: literal/material

phallus: metaphorical/symbolic

Scopophilia

Pleasure derived from the act of looking

• Mainstream narrative films typically portray a "hermetically-sealed world which unwinds magically, indifferent to the presence of the audience, producing for them a sense of separation and playing on their voyeuristic phantasy"

The sexual imbalance of scopophilia

• Pleasure in looking has typically been split between active/male v. passive/female

• "In their traditional exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness"

Two potential solutions to the "Castrated Woman" problem

--Fetishistic scopophilia (less common of the two)

• "Builds up the physical beauty of the object, transforming it into something satisfying in itself "

--Voyeurism

• Has strong associations with sadism

• Pleasure lies in asserting control and subjecting the guilty person to judgment/punishment

• "This sadistic side fits in well with the narrative. Sadism demands a story, depends on making something happen, forcing a change in another person, a battle of will and strength, victory/defeat, all occurring in a linear time with a beginning and an end"

Three different cinematic looks

-The camera as it records what's in front of it

-The audience watching the final product

-Characters looking at each other

(Conventions of mainstream narrative film "deny the first two and subordinate them to the third, the conscious aim being always to eliminate intrusive camera presence and prevent a distancing awareness in the audience")

What can Film Sound do?

• Deepens viewers' perceptual engagement

• Film as an audio-visual medium

• Operates on both a physical and a psychological level

• Silence is part of the soundtrack of a film

• Provides key spatial and narrative information

• Affords its own aesthetic experiences

Sound crew

generates and controls the sound physically, manipulating its properties to produce the effects the director desires

The sounds of silent cinema (1890s-late 1920s)

Silent cinema was often accompanied by lecturers, pianists, organists, small instrumental ensembles, or even full orchestrasFilm Sound (I)

The advent of "talkies" (The transition to synchronized sound 1927-1930)

WB's The Jazz Singer (1927): credited with convincing exhibitors, critics, studios, and the American public that recorded film sound was here to stay

Dolby and surround sound

Dolby Stereo created for cinema/theatrical audios in 1970

THX

establishes technical standards for audio-video reproduction in movie theaters to create a consistent and immersive sound experience (Star Wars 1983)

Digital Sound

1990's

Double-system recording

sound is recorded on a medium separate from the picture

Dialogue is

the only type of film sound typically recorded during production

Microphones

convert sound waves into recorded electrical signals

Boom

a pole-like device that positions the microphone outside the camera frame but as close as possible to speaking actors

Sound crew includes

supervising sound editor, sound editors who focus on their specialties, sound mixers, rerecording mixers, sound-effects personnel, a boom operator, and wranglers

Perceptual characteristics of sound

• Pitch: the level of a sound; high or low; defined by frequency

• Frequency: number of sound waves per second

• Loudness: the volume or intensity of a sound; loud or soft

• Quality: the characteristic that distinguishes a sound from others of the same pitch and loudness; simple or complex

• Fidelity: a sound's faithfulness or unfaithfulness to its source

Source

where it comes from

Type

vocal or musical

Synchronous sound

has a visible onscreen source

Asynchronous sound

Sound that does not have a visible onscreen source; also referred to as offscreen sound.

Parallelism

when the soundtrack and image "say the same thing" (i.e.,

mutually reinforcing)

Contrapuntal sound:

when two different meanings are implied by thesoundtrack and imageFilm Sound (I)

Diegetic sound

has its source in the narrative world of the film (diegetic music also known as source music)

Nondiegetic sound

doesn't belong to the characters' world

On-screen sound

emanates from a source we can see

Offscreen sound

derives from an unseen source and may be either diegetic or non-diegetic

Internal sound

occurs whenever we hear what we assume are the thoughts of a character within a scene

Interior monologue

a variation on the mental, subjective point o fview of an individual character that allows us to see the characte rand hear his or her thoughts in their own voice, even though teh character's lips don't move•

External sound

External sound: comes from a place within the diegesis and we assume that it is heard by the characters in that world

Sound perspective

the apparent distance of a sound source

Overlapping dialogue

mixing characters' speech simultaneously

Voice-off

a voice that can be seen to originate from an onscreen speaker, or from a speaker who can be inferred to be present in the scene, but who is not currently visible (implies the mise-en-scene goes beyond the screen)

Voiceover

characters within the diegesis cannot hear (typically narrator)

Synchronization

the visible coordination of the voice with the bod yfrom which it is emanatingFilm Sound (II)

Documentary

a film that aims to inform viewers about "truths" or "facts"

Documentaries operate

according to an "economics of information"

• Relies on different sources of funding and different venues for exhibition

Actualities (early documentaries)

moving nonfiction snapshots of real people and events

Scenics (early documentaries)

offered exotic or remarkable images of nature or foreign lands

Topicals (early documentaries)

captured or re-created historical or newsworthy events

Nonfiction films

present (presumed) factual descriptions of actual events, persons, or places

Non-narrative films

de-emphasize stories and narratives, instead employing other forms like lists, repetition, or contrasts as their organizational structure

Cumulative organization

present a catalog of images or sounds throughout the course of a film

Contrastive organizations

present a series of contrasts or oppositions meant to indicate different points of view on a subject

Developmental organizations

places, objects, individuals, or experiences are presented through a pattern that has a non-narrative logic or structure but still follows a logic of change or progression

Explorative positions

announces or suggests that the film's driving perspective is a scientific search into particular social, psychological, or physical phenomena

Interrogative/analytical positions

structures a film in a way that identifies its subject as being under investigation

Persuasive/propaganda positions

articulates a personal or social position using emotions or beliefs, aiming to persuade viewers to feel and see in a certain way

Reflexive/performative positions

calls attention to the filmmaking process or perspective of the filmmaker (often deeply emotional) in determining or shaping the material being presented

Documentaries can...

-Reveal new or ignored realities

-Confront assumptions and/or alter opinions

-Serve as a social, cultural, and/or personal lens

Social documentaries

examine and present both familiar and unfamiliar peoples and cultures as social activities

documentaries goals

• Authenticity in representing how people live and interact

• Discovery in representing unknown environments and cultures