CCC Film 100 - Lecture 01 Review: Introduction to Film Analysis
Film 100 - Lecture 01 Review: Foundations of Film Analysis
1. Introduction to Film Comparison: West Side Story (1961 vs. 2021)
We commenced the course by analyzing two prominent adaptations of the 1957 Broadway Musical, West Side Story:
1961 Version: Directed by Robert Wise, this film garnered Academy Award nominations and won an impressive . Cited by Lin-Manuel Miranda as a key inspiration for his career.
2021 Version: Directed by Steven Spielberg, this more recent adaptation received nominations and secured Oscar win. Notably, Lin-Manuel Miranda also produced this version.
The Foundational Principle of Film Analysis
Before engaging in interpretation or evaluation of a film, it is crucial to responsibly describe precisely what we SEE and HEAR. We approach films as if they were a "text" requiring a specialized "vocabulary" and an inherent "grammar" to be effectively "read" and understood.
Categories for Film Comparison and Analysis
To facilitate a structured analysis, we utilize specific categories for comparing films. These elements contribute to the filmmaker's Mise-en-scène, forming the distinct visual and aural language that constructs meaning:
Genre: A category or type of film defined by shared narrative conventions, visual styles, thematic concerns, and audience expectations (e.g., musical, horror, comedy, action). Musicals, such as West Side Story, uniquely address social problems indirectly, allowing audiences to engage without feeling directly lectured.
Era/Time Period: The specific historical period in which a film is set or produced, influencing its social norms, cultural references, political climate, and technological limitations. The setting of West Side Story on San Juan Hill in New York City, for example, grounds the narrative in a specific historical and geographical context of urban development and social change.
Setting: The time and geographical place where the film's story unfolds. This encompasses both the physical location and the socio-cultural environment. Analysis includes the distinction between Staged vs. Naturalistic settings, where Naturalistic settings often reveal injustices in real time.
Set Design: The creation and arrangement of the physical environment in which the action of a film takes place. This includes scenery, props, and overall visual aesthetic, often utilizing elements like different overall colour palettes to convey mood, theme, or character information.
Casting: The critical process of selecting actors for specific roles in a film. This choice profoundly impacts character portrayal, audience connection, and can carry significant social implications, such as the problematic use of "brown-face" makeup for the majority of actors in the 1961 West Side Story.
Makeup: Cosmetics, prosthetics, or other substances applied to actors' faces and bodies to enhance their appearance, age them, simulate injuries, or transform them into specific characters. The use of "brown-face" in the 1961 West Side Story is a historical example of ethnically inaccurate casting and makeup.
Costuming: The clothes and accessories worn by actors in a film, meticulously designed to help define characters, reflect the film's setting and era, and contribute to the overall visual storytelling and thematic expression.
Cinematography: The art and technique of motion-picture photography. This encompasses elements like framing (what is included within the shot's boundaries), camera movement (how the camera moves during a shot), angle (the position of the camera relative to the subject), lens choice (the type of lens used to capture the image, influencing depth of field and perspective), and composition (the arrangement of visual elements within the frame), all of which contribute to visual storytelling and mood.
Screenplay: The written script of a film, which includes dialogue, character actions, and detailed scene descriptions. It serves as the fundamental blueprint for the film's narrative and visual execution. Both West Side Story films are adaptations of the 1957 stage play, which itself was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Staging: The overall arrangement of actors and elements within the film frame, including how characters move, interact, and relate to their environment. It works in conjunction with blocking to create visual meaning and emphasis.
Blocking: The precise staging of actors within a scene, detailing their positions, movements, and interactions to ensure optimal performance, facilitate camera angles, and convey narrative or emotional information. In musicals, blocking often integrates choreography.
Sound: All auditory elements within a film, including dialogue, music, and sound effects. Sound can be broadly categorized as diegetic or non-diegetic. We observed in a clip from West Side Story (2021) - The Mixer how music can be diegetic.
Diegetic Sound: Sound originating from a source within the film's narrative world, audible to characters and the audience (e.g., characters' dialogue, sounds from objects in the scene, music played by an on-screen band or radio).
Non-Diegetic Sound: Sound whose source is not visible on the screen and is not implied to be present in the story world, added for audience experience only (e.g., the film's orchestral score, voice-over narration, sound effects added for dramatic effect not literally part of the scene).
Post-Production Elements for Meaning Creation
Beyond what is captured directly on set, significant meaning is shaped during post-production:
Editing: The process by which individual shots are selected, arranged, and joined together to form the final sequence of a film. Editing profoundly influences pacing, rhythm, narrative structure, and emotional impact.
Post Sound (Sound Design): The comprehensive process of creating, selecting, and blending all non-dialogue audio elements after filming is complete. This includes music, sound effects (SFX), and Foley, meticulously crafted to enhance the narrative, emotional depth, and immersive experience of a film.
VFX (Visual Effects): Digital or optical manipulations of images used to create environments, objects, creatures, or phenomena that would be impractical, costly, or impossible to film live. These are typically added in post-production.
SFX (Special Effects): Practical effects created on set during filming, such as explosions, rain, wind, or prosthetic makeup, designed to be captured by the camera in real-time. The term can also broadly encompass any sound effect, both practical and post-produced.
Intertextual Analysis
There is considerable value in placing two "texts," such as films, in "dialogue" with each other. This Intertextual analysis helps us comprehend the commonalities and differences in the sociological context influencing both films, offering a richer, more nuanced understanding of each.
2. Unveiling Deeper Meaning: The Mr. Robot Case Study
We examined a compelling scene from the acclaimed television series, Mr. Robot (2014-2019), specifically a scene involving the protagonist and his therapist. This analysis highlighted crucial aspects of deciphering meaning in visual media.
Beneath the Surface: Mining for Intent
The meaning embedded within a scene frequently lies beneath its surface; viewers must "mine" the scene to discover the characters' true intentions and underlying motivations.
According to Mr. Robot's production team, "there's always a purpose and reason for it," emphasizing the deliberate nature of filmmaking choices.
Visual Style and Framing: The Language of Film
A critical observation is that while we "watch (or consume) a lot of media," we often "see very little," implying a passive viewership rather than active analysis.
Great filmmakers master the language of film, using elements such as framing, lighting, camera angle, editing, and sound to provide subtle clues about what is really transpiring in a scene. This extends beyond merely how characters interact and delves into their actual thoughts and feelings.
The Significance of Subtext
The subtext of a scene (the implicit, unstated meaning) is typically more profound and important than the explicit, on-screen drama.
Grasping this subtext allows us to understand the deeper emotional and psychological currents driving a scene. When executed consistently and skillfully, subtext can point directly to the central thematic question of the film's overarching narrative.
3. Why Study Cinema? An Introduction to Film Studies
We posed the fundamental question: Is cinema still worth studying? Chapter one of Film: A Critical Introduction provides several compelling observations:
i. Unique Art Form: Cinema stands as a unique art form where the dynamic interplay between light and shadow possesses the power to transport audiences into fascinating new worlds. As Maxim Gorky remarked in 1896 after attending his first film screening, "Last night I was in the Kingdom of Shadows."
ii. Enduring Relevance: Despite occasional claims that cinema is a "dying art form," it continues its relentless evolution, adapting and staying profoundly relevant. Its cultural significance remains undiminished.
iii. Societal Interconnection: Cinema, in its multifaceted roles as an art form, a technological apparatus, and a vast industry, is deeply intertwined with society, and more specifically, with the pervasive "image culture" that characterizes contemporary life.
iv. Creative Innovation: Artists and entrepreneurs, driven by both aesthetic ideals and economic motivations, persistently develop innovative methods to encourage people to interact creatively with images, whether through an immersive IMAX feature or a short series on YouTube.
An Approach to Film Studies: Bridging Academia and Industry
Our class will explore an approach to Film Studies that is deliberately both academic and industry-informed.
Limitations of Purely Academic Approaches: While traditional academic perspectives offer valuable insights, they often have limitations. Many scholars and critics, for example, have not directly participated in the practical aspects of filmmaking—from developing and producing to distributing or exhibiting a motion picture. This scenario is akin to expecting a music teacher to understand only how to read music without knowing how to play an instrument.
Value of Practical Experience: Even fewer academics have created recognized works of artistic or cultural merit, such as films honored at major festivals like Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, or Sundance. Analogously, when learning piano, one would likely value a teacher who has publicly performed in addition to studying musical theory.
Integrating Theory and Practice for Deeper Understanding
This perspective does not dismiss academic approaches but recognizes that without some practical knowledge of filmmaking, analysis can be significantly limited.
A truly deeper understanding of film emerges when theoretical frameworks and practical filmmaking experience mutually inform each other.
Class Objective: In this course, we will actively learn filmmaking techniques. This practical engagement serves as a means to sharpen our ability to "read" films. By studying the language of film "from the inside," we aim to strengthen our skills in both interpretation and critical engagement with cinematic works.
4. Concluding Insights: Lessons from Charlie Chaplin
We concluded our introductory lecture by watching a pivotal scene from Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece, The Gold Rush (1925, approximately at minutes into the film). Great film directors, such as Chaplin, will serve as our guides throughout the course, illuminating the artistry and craft of cinema.