Flim: A Painfully Short Overview

FILM

A Painfully Simplified Overview of

DAILY WRITING

What is your absolute

favorite film of all time?

Why is it your favorite?

Spend a few minutes trying

to identify what it is about

that film that calls out to

you.

HOW DO MOVIES MAKE US FEEL?

HISTORY

1888 | First Moving Film– 2.1 seconds

1893 | Single-viewer boxes debut

1896 | First dedicated movie theatres

1900 | Motion Picture Companies

1908 | Color films introduced

1927 | Sound introduced

1999 | High-Def Digital

FILM NARRATIVE

Narrative is the development of a world.

Story | Events of a narrative

Who did what, with what, to whom, and where they did

it.

Plot | Presentation of a narrative

Flashbacks, focal characters, narration, exclusion

Focalisation

TZETAN TODOROV

Stages of Narrative Equilibrium | All is Well

Middle Earth is peaceful, and Hobbits are well-fed

Disruption | Something is Not WellSauron is quietly rebuilding his evil empire

Recognition | Hey, you guys see that Unwellness?Gandalf realizes that the One Ring has been found

Repair | Let’s fix that thing Lots of walking, some fighting, Gollum acts crazy

Restoration | Back to normal (or a NEW normal) The Ring is gone, Sauron is gone, and the Elves are

leaving

VLADIMIR PROPP

7 Character Types

The Villain | Interferes with the hero

The Donor | Trains or Equips the hero

The Helper | Aids the hero (often “magical”)

The Princess | Marries the hero, often sought for

The False Hero | Seems good, turns out to be

evil

The Dispatcher | Sends the hero off

The Hero | Triumphs over villain, marries

princess

IMPORTANT SHOTS

ESTABLISHING SHOT

MASTER SHOT

OVER-THE-SHOULDER

P.O.V. SHOT

TWO-SHOT

SHOT & REVERSE

REACTION SHOT

CUT-IN SHOT

FRAMING

MONTAGE

MISE EN SCÈNE

MISE EN SCÈNE

MISE EN SCÈNE

MISE EN SCÈNE

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MISE EN SCÈNE

WHAT DO FILMS MEAN?

A Window

An Escape Hatch

A Mirror

A LOOK AT THE ANNUAL

JOURNEY OF EMPEROR

PENGUINS AS THEY MARCH --

SINGLE FILE -- TO THEIR

TRADITIONAL BREEDING

GROUND

A RELUCTANT HOBBIT, BILBO

BAGGINS, SETS OUT TO THE

LONELY MOUNTAIN WITH A

SPIRITED GROUP OF DWARVES

TO RECLAIM THEIR MOUNTAIN

HOME - AND THE GOLD WITHIN

IT - FROM THE DRAGON SMAUG

AFTER EXPERIENCING WHAT

THEY THINK ARE A SERIES OF

"BREAK-INS", A FAMILY SETS

UP SECURITY CAMERAS

AROUND THEIR HOME, ONLY TO

REALIZE THAT THE EVENTS

UNFOLDING BEFORE THEM ARE

MORE SINISTER THAN THEY

SEEM

THEORIES

Formalist The technical construction (editing, lighting, sound, set)

Auteur Distinctive styles and themes of the director

Genre Societal conventions and expectations

Psychoanalytical Film presents and becomes an object of the viewer’s desire

Marxist Promotion of the dominant ideology

Feminist A Voyeuristic Impulse drives us to consume film

SCENE 1

The opening sequence of “The Godfather”

1972, Francis Ford Coppola

Set in New York, in the 1940s and 50s

Characters

Vito Corleone, head of a powerful Mafia family

Michael Corleone, Vito’s youngest son

Sonny Corleone, Michael’s older brother

Connie, Michael’s sister

Carlo, Connie’s abusive husband

SCENE 2

The ‘Baptism’ sequence

Sonny’s brutal murder led Vito to attempt peace

with rival Mafia families. It did not go well.

After Vito dies, Michael takes over the family

“Business”

Connie’s baby is being christened;Michael is to

be the child’s Godfather

Meanwhile, the heads of the rival families are

murdered in retaliation

SCENE 3

Don’t Ask Me About My Business

Michael visits Carlo and confronts him about his

role in Sonny’s murder.

Carlo is almost immediately executed for his

betrayal.

Hysterical, Connie accuses Michale of having

her husband killed.

Michael’s wife, Kay, asks him in private if he was

involved in the killing.