Media Arts 2 Final

• a) SCHOOL OF THOUGHT LOOKS AT HUMAN
• MIND AND BEHAVIOR AS WHOLE

b) MAX WERTHEIMER (1924)

• cognitive process of recognizing
• parts and the whole

1.  FIGURE/GROUND

2. SIMILARITY

3.  PROXIMITY

4.  CLOSURE

5.  CONTIUITY

6.  SYMMETRY

1830-1904

a) Science of animal locomotion (dudes riding horses and shit)

b) Early photo animation: image sequence construction through series

mind’s eye creates illusion of continuity

Pioneers of early cinema

early motion picture camera to record movement

a) SEQUENCE SHOTS- long take or continuous recording in time

• b) SEQUENCE EDIT- combined sequence
• shots that no edits or cuts at all

• c) Early Cinema started with LONG
• SHOTS IN ONE TAKE. Shot length and Duration were the same

• d) BASIC STORIES COULD BE TOLD
• USING THE SHOT AS BASIC UNIT OF FILM CONSTRUCTION

• a) CUTTING TO CONTIUITY: type of
• editing shorthand that tries to show fluidity of event without literally
• showing it at all. It condenses action without leaving anything essential out.

• b) CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS
• must clearly be set forth with screen direction, action etc..

• c) CLASSICAL CUTTING: interprets an
• action by emphasizing certain details over others. It involves cutting for
• dramatic intensity and emotional emphasis.

• a) THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN
• (1903)

• b) THE GREAT TRAIN
• ROBBERY (1903)

• 1) 1ST AMERICAN
• DOCUMENTARY/DOCUDRAMA/FICTIONALIZED BIOPIC REALISTIC NARRATIVE FILM: COMBINES
• DREAM SEQU WITH RE-ENACTMENT AND DOC. STOCK FOOTAGE OF ACTUAL FIRE SCENES.

2) NON-LINEARCONTINUITY:DRAMATICEDITING/INTERCUTTING

• 1) ONE OF EARLIEST
• (WESTERN) NARRATIVE FILMS TO:

• a) BE SHOT OUT OF
• CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

• b) USED PARALLEL (CROSS-CUTTING)
• EDITING TO SHOW ACTION IN 2 LOCATIONS

• c) SIMULTANEOUSLY
• AND EVOLVED FILM EDITING TECHNIQUE

• d) EFFECTIVELY
• USE REAR PROJECTION IN A SCENE; 2 PANNING SHOT

• e) BE A SMASH HIT FINANCIALLY:
• VIABILITY OF COMMERCIAL MOTION PICTURE SUCCESS FOR WIDE AUDIENCE

• a) AS A STYLE, Director manipulates
• space and time to create an emotion that may not be tied to linear narrative.

• b) THEMATIC MONTAGE-Argues a
• thesis- the shots are connected in a relatively SUBJECTIVE manner

• c) ABSTRACT CUTTING- is purely
• formalistic and divorced from any recognizable subject matter.

• d) Filmmakers of this era invented
• a more SUBJECTIVE time, that’s determined by the duration of the shots – NOT by
• an actual occurrence.

a) SILENTFILMSNEVERREALLY“SILENT”

b) LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT

• c) FOREIGN FILMS OFTEN HAD A “LIVE
• NARRATOR”

• d) THE JAZZ SINGER: SYNC-SOUND:
• VITAPHONE

• 1) PHONOGRAPH
• TECHNOLOGY: LIP SYNCH

a) ISSUES WITH TECHNOLOGY:

• 1) MICROPHONES AND
• PLACEMENT

• 2) NOISY CAMERA:
• BAD QUALITY ìì  SCREENWRITING:

• b) SCENARISTS HAD TO CONSIDER
• DIALOGUE!

• 1) IMPORT OF
• LITERARY TYPES IN HOLLYWOOD

• a) DOROTHY PARKER, ROBERT
• BENCHLEY, WILLIAM FAULKNER, ERNEST HEMINGWAY FOR EXAMPLE

c) ACTING AND GENRE:

• 1) PANTOMIME PLUS
• FLUENCY/ARTICULATION OF SPEECH

• 2) COMEDY:
• SLAPSTICK/VAUDEVILLE/SCREWBALL

• a) MARX BROTHERS, JACK BENNY, BOB
• HOPE, GEORGE BURNS

• 3) THE MUSICAL:
• BACKSTAGE MUSICAL OF 20’S

• a) FRED
• ASTAIRE/GINGER ROGERS/GENE KELLY

a) EARLY DOCUMENTARY:

• 1) “ACTUALITIES”/
• SCIENCE FILMS (TEACHING TOOLS)

• 2) TRAVELOGUES:
• “SCENICS” /CITY SYMPHONIES:

• a) FRANK HURLEY’S
• SOUTH (1919)
• 3) ROMANTICISM: FLAHERTY AND NANOOK OF THE NORTH

• a) FEATURE LENGTH
• DOC

a) GREIRSON COINS TERM DOCUMENTARY

• 1) CREATIVE
• TREATMENT OF ACTUALITY

• a)NIGHT MAIL
• (1936)

• a) NEWSREELS:
• STAGED/RE-ENACTMENTS

b) PROPAGANDA

• 1) LENI
• RIEFENSTAHL

• a) 1946: MAYA DEREN- (ETHNOGRAPHIC
• DOCUMENTARY)

• 1) SHOOTS 16MM AND
• RECORDS WITH Just available:

• 2)WIRE AUDIO
• RECORDER ON LOCATION

a) voice //dialogue

b) space // location

c) music // compositions

d) Foley // effects

• a) Voices of
• characters

• b) Sounds made by objects in the
• story: and/or like heart beats of a person

• c) Source Music: represented as
• coming from instruments in the story space.

• d)Basic sound effects: e.g. dog
• barking, car passing; as it is in the scene

• e) Music coming from reproducSon
• devices such as record players, radios, tape players etc.

• a) its source is neither visible on
• the screen, nor has been implied to be present in the action.

b) Narrator's commentary;

c) Voice of God;

• d) Sound effect, which is added for
• dramatic effect;

• e) Mood music; and FILM
• SCORE

• 1)
• DIEGETIC/NON-DIEGETIC

• b) ‘Rocky
• theme’-(non-diegetic)exists outside of story but signals/follows Rocky’s
• training process

• c) ‘Do-Re-Mi’{Sound of
• Music}-(diegetic)Characters sing this song throughout film.

• Sound FX, design, music, score that channels cultural codes
• to reflect/inspire specific emotional response from viewer through image
• association Including, character, plot...

• Sound FX, design, music, score that effectively “ignores” (AN-empathy)
• onscreen image; indifference of character and backdrop-thus intensifying
• juxtaposed relationship.

• Number of repetitions per unit of time: determines PITCH A Hertz (Hz) is
• one cycle in one second

• The range of frequencies that are
• reproducible by a speaker or audio component

• Intensity of the sound (pressure) Decibel (dB) is a referential unit,
• therefore dimensionless.

• defines the number of samples per unit of time (seconds) taken from a
• continuous signal to make a discrete signal. Determines highest frequency that
• can be reproduced.

• Determines Dynamic Range (difference between largest and smallest signal
• a system can reproduce)

a) SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO

• 1) Distance to
• Source

• 2) Overall
• Background

• 3) Noise
• Reverberation of the Room

b) FREQUENCY RESPONSE Axis

• c) LEVELS AND DYNAMICS (DYNAMIC
• RANGE)

investigating how films make meaning

a) Mis en Scene (people, props, sets, location)

• b) Cinematography (how the film is
• shot)

c) Sound (what we hear)

• d) Editing (how the shots are put
• together)

investigating what meanings are made by films

a) Story

b) Character

c) Theme

d) Philosophy

e) Emotional Content

a) What should the story world look like?

• b) Who are the actors and how are
• they blocked?

c) What is the color palette?

d) What is the wardrobe like?

e) What props are being used?

f) Where are the locations/sets?

g) How is time period indicated?

a) How the film is shot:

• 1) Recording
• material (film vs. video)

2) Framing

3) Lens choice

4) Camera movement

• 5) Quality of
• camera movement (handheld vs. dolly etc...)

a) How should the shots be put together?

• b) How can the shots best propel
• the story/ narrative?

c) Who should we see when?

d) How long should each shot last?

• e) What is the pace or rhythm of
• the scene/ film?

a) Sets built in studio

• b) Sets/Props clearly constructed
• for the film
• c)Heightened sense of color

primary source on subject Often the motivated source

“fills” in the shadows to regulate Contrast.

• Puts light on back of subject, used to separate
• figure from background.

• THE APPARENT SOURCE OF THE LIGHT IS CLEAR AND DEFINED IN THE FILM.
• OFTEN THE APPARENT SOURCE IS SEEN IN A SHOT

high contrast between dark and light. Heavy shadows.

not many shadows. Lots of visibility

1:33:1 (Academy Ratio)

SELF-CONTAINED /SELF-REFERENTIAL

WORLD EXTENDED BEYOND THE CONFINES OF FRAME: WHAT WE (AUDIENCE) CANNOT SEE

a) Third person (as in literature)

• b) From narrator’s or audience’s
• point of view

a) First person

b) From a character’s point of view

• c) Often called a Point of View
• (POV) shot

a) Objects appear on human scale.

b) No noticeable distortion

c) short focal length

a) Minimizes camera shake

• b) Deepest depth of field (most in
• focus)

c) Expands illusion of depth

• d) Objects move more slowly on x-y
• axis

• a) Exaggerates camera shake,
• flattens space

• b) Flattens space (longer to
• navigate z axis)

c) Objects pass quickly on x-y axis

d) long focal length

OVERALL QUANTITY OF LIGHT RECEIVED BY FILM OR SENSOR

controls the amount of light entering the lens

most light

least light

• •  Lev Kuleshov, circa 1920: intercut an actor’s face with unrelated footage taken later.
• •  Audiences interpreted emotional responses on the actor’s face based on the juxtaposition of images.
• •  Whilst much of the moving image we see uses this effect, it does not usually draw attention to it.

‘constructing a film by taking shots in sequence, with no subsequent editing’ (Burn and Durran)

• •  ‘make sure that the production is the required length or time;
• •  to remove unwanted material or mistakes; •  to alter if necessary the way or the sequence in which events will be portrayed;
• •  to establish the particular style and character of a production.’ (O’Sullivan, Dutton and Rayner)

• Graphic Relations
• Rhythmic Relations
• Temporal Relations
• Spatial Relations
• Thematic Relations

A graphic match is achieved by joining two shots that have a similarity in terms of light/dark, line or shape, volume or depth, movement or stasis.

A graphically discontinuous edit creates a clash of visual content by joining two shots that are dissimilar in terms of one or more of the above visual principles.

• § Straight cut
• § Fade-out
• § Fade-in
• § Dissolve
• § Wipe
• § Flip frame
• § Jump cut

To speed up time, editors make use oftechniques such as

• Ø Transitional devices
• Ø Empty frames
• Ø Cutaway shots

To slow down time, editors make use of  techniques such as

• Ø overlapping
• Ø repetition

The standard pattern for editing a scene in a narrative film includes the following:

• Ø Establishing shot
• Ø Shot/Reverse-shot
• Ø Eyeline match (POV shot)
• Ø Re-establishing shot

• Multiple camera technique
• Axis of Action (180-degree line)
• Match on Action
• Cheat Cut
• The Kuleshov Effect

Editors have at their disposal two very powerful techniques for manipulating the perceiver’s place in the hierarchy of knowledge, and therefore affecting our thematic understanding of the film:

• Montage sequences
• Crosscut/Parallel editing

Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality

• NARRATIVE
• DOCUMENTARY
• EXPERIMENTAL
• ANIMATION
• HYBRIDS

Edward Branigan: Narrative is a way of organizing spatial and temporal data into a cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, middle and end, that embodies a judgment about the nature of those events.

Can apply to both fact and fiction.

Both media and non-media have stories.

• OFTEN USED IN SOAP OPERA OR ONGOING SERIAL TELEVISION
• •  Raises more questions than answers, offers various possibilities for conclusion
• •  Employs narrative devices- eg: “cliffhanger”

OFTEN FOUND IN FILMS/MOVIES- ALSO IN EPISODIC TV.

•  Self-contained storyline with Beginning, middle and End

•  Answers all questions raised in narrative with little chance for alternative ending

The plot of a film is everything that happens to the characters in chronological order

•  WHAT HAPPENS?The series of events in sequential order

What happens 1st , 2nd, 3rd and so on

The PLOT centers on at least one major problem called a CONFLICT

The narrative of a film is the coherence or organization given to the sequence of events.

•  WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Poetic

Expository

Observational

Participatory

Reflexive

Performative

reassembling fragments of the world', a transformation of historical material into a more abstract, lyrical form, usually associated with 1920s and modernist ideas

Access to inner truth through poetic manipulation

•  Emphasizes visual associations and formal organization (associated with avant-guard)

•  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Truth is a subjective interpretation, to access it we should move away from rhetoric

• •  Identified by the Voice Over, which works as “Voice of God”
• •  Emphasizes verbal comment and argumentative logic through direct address
• •  Documentary as an educational tool
• •  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Truth exists and it is accessible and explainable through and argument

• •  Fly on the Wall attitude
• •  Emerge out of technological developments that made film equipment smaller and portable
• •  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Objective Reality exists, and can be observed and transmitted to an audience

• •  Acknowledges the impact of the filmmaker in the world she is observing (ethnography)
• •  Embraces the relationship between filmmaker and subject
• •  Gives access to past events through witnesses
• •  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Objective Reality exists, but we need to be true to our influences and bias

• •  Acknowledges the process of documenting and tries to deal with its implications
• •  Self-aware
• •  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Conventions of representations are problematic and ethically questionable. Truth is a “construct”
• EX: personal essay films

• •  Raises questions about knowledge
• •  Knowledge through personal experience
• •  IDEOLOGY BEHIND: Conventions of representations are problematic and ethically questionable. Truth cannot be transmitted, needs to be experienced

• •  INTERVIEWS/PRIMARY FOOTAGE
• •  Ask leading questions (not yes/no)
• •  Respond with your head not your voice (nod)
• •  Get out from behind the camera
• •  Don’t interfere with the process

• SECONDARY FOOTAGE
• •  ENVIRONMENT
• •  Establishing shots and variations
• •  Abstracted / related material
• •  (on location) can be used underneath sound or as a bridge

• Don’t always want 1:1 relationship
• •  Imagine that you can’t record sound at the same time…
• •  How do you AUGMENT meaning ? Make conscious choices?

• Easy to roll “tape” when shooting video
• •  Compose your shots ahead of time, find the best angle
• •  WIDE / CU multi-angles
• •  Cover the lens when moving place to place
• •  Leave running only if capturing audio

• OUTSIDE TRADITIONAL / CONVENTIONAL CINEMATIC PRACTICE (COMMERCIAL)
• •  ARTISTIC PRACTICE ENGAGED IN DIALOGUE BETWEEN VISUAL ART AND CINEMA
• •  Movements: avante guard, Structural film
• •  ABSTRACTION/ NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE
• •  ACTIVE SPECTATORSHIP
• •  VISCERAL

• THAUMATROPE
• ZOETROPE
• FLIPBOOKS

• STRUCTURAL CINEMA / AVANTE GUARDE TRADITION
• •  FILM AS A “CANVAS”
• •  CLEAR FILM: SUPER 8MM / 16MM / 35MM AND 70MM
• •  CELL “CANVAS” AREA INCREASES,
• •  DRAW/PAINT DIRECTLY ON SURFACE STAN BRAKHAGE: MOTHLIGHT
• •  EXPOSED FILM: SUPER 8MM / 16MM / 35MM AND 70MM
• •  ALTERING AND RECONTEXTUALIZING
• •  SCRATCHING/REMOVING NAOMI UMAN: REMOVED

The process of first drawing each frame of animation onto paper, then transferring these to transparent acetate sheets (cels, short for celluloid). Colour is then added on the reverse of the cel. Layers are built up to create dimension.

the process of tracing live action footage and turning it into cel animation. This is a technique to achieve realistic animation and used greatly by Disney and contemporary filmmakers

any animation (2D, 3D) that has been created with the aid of computer software.

• •  Created using bitmap or vector graphics
• •  Used for flash animation and PowerPoint animation as well as some 2D cartoons

• •  Objects are made by first creating a “rigging mesh”
• • As well as this the animator uses gravity, particle and texture simulations to create realistic animations
• •  Actors can also wear suits with sensors on which copies their movements to computer

the process of animating physical objects as opposed to images.