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SOME BASIC CONCEPTS
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SOME BASIC CONCEPTS. A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality B. Cultural influences & effects: 1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Dec 28, 2015

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Baldwin Harmon
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Page 1: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

SOME BASIC CONCEPTS

Page 2: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

A.  Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality

B.  Cultural influences & effects: 1.  Positive

▪a. Consensus narratives▪b. Reaffirmations of social values, ideals, etc.

Page 3: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

2. Negative ▪ a. Anti-social & amoral behaviors (violence, sex, etc.)

▪ b. Poor role modeling C. Movies fulfill several functions:

1. Entertainment 2. Information about various

subjects 3. Understanding of life and others

Page 4: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

A.  Provide story information (plot, exposition, characters, etc.)

B.  Enhance mood & emotion (a cathartic effect, etc.)

C.  Provide “visual pleasure” (enjoyment)

D.  Teach us about social-cultural ideas, attitudes, & values (via subtexts, themes, ideas, etc.)

Page 5: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

E. Critique social-cultural ideas, attitudes, & values

F. Filmmakers favor stories & themes that reinforce viewers’ shared belief systems (Cultural invisibility)

G. Films are polysemic—that is, different people will have different ideas as to what a film means, an idea we’ll be returning to throughout the semester.

Page 6: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Juno (2007) upholds cultural values

Page 7: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

[See p. 308 in text for similar information, stated a bit differently]

A.  Individual characters acting in a cause-effect narrative

B.  "Objective" narration: present & external

C.  Characters motivated by desire (goal-seeking); desire requires change

Page 8: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

D.  Obstacles (natural, persons, psychological, etc.) prevent change

E.  Characters (esp. protagonists) must overcome obstacles

F.  Strong degree of closure at the end (usually happy, but not always)

We’ll be using these ideas all semester

Page 9: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

A. The visual vocabulary of film B. Composed of myriad

integrated techniques & concepts

C. Connects the viewer to the story while deliberately concealing the means by which it does so

Page 10: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

a. Movies rely heavily on largely invisible techniques that convey meaning intuitively

b. Shots – unbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture camera 1) Many different types of shots 2) For example:

▪ a) Low-angle shot – viewers associate power with figures that they must literally look up to

▪ b) high-angle shot—viewers associate a diminished figure with loss of power

3) However, shots must be viewed in context

Page 11: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Juno (2007) low angle shot showing her new freedom

Page 12: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

c. Editing – the joining together of discrete shots 1) With each transition from one shot to

another, a movie is able to move the viewer through time and space

2) Some examples:▪ a) Fade-in / Fade-out – viewers understand

that significant story time has elapsed▪ b) Cutting on action – common editing

technique designed to hide the instantaneous & potentially jarring shift from one camera viewpoint to another

Page 13: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

1. Viewers harbor essential expectations concerning a film’s form & organization

2. Viewers must be alerted to these expected patterns in order to fully appreciate the significance of deviations

3. Form – the means by which a subject is expressed

4. Every element in every frame is there for a reason

Page 14: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

1. Recognize the many tools and principles that filmmakers employ to tell stories, convey information & meaning, and influence emotions & ideas.

2. Understand movies as narrative, as artistic expression, and as a reflection of the cultures that produce & consume them

3. Understand the ideas of cinematic language & cultural invisibility

Page 15: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Sweeney Todd, the play

Page 16: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Sweeney Todd (2007) the film—opens up action

Page 17: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

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1. Analysis – the act of taking something complicated apart to figure out what it is made of and how it all fits together. a. Step 1 – Identify the tools &

techniques within a scene, sequence, or movie

b. Step 2 – Investigate the function & potential effect of that combination

2. Evaluation—the use of criteria or standards to assess a film

Page 18: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

A.  Populist measures 1.  Box office grosses, esp. opening

day 2.  Academy awards (peer based) 3. Other awards (esp. audience

based) B.  Quality measures

1.   Movie reviews/criticism--journalistic opinions with some knowledge of film; reviewers often praise films audiences don’t like.

Page 19: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

2.  Scholarly or objective analysis (the type we'll be doing during the semester): a.  creates an argument with evidence b.  based on criteria or standards c. standards vary depending on film

theory, perspective, etc. d. Common analytical & evaluative

standards are listed next

Page 20: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS.  A. Overwhelming experience; Movies shape our perceptions about reality  B. Cultural influences & effects:  1. Positive ▪ a. Consensus.

Some general criteria (a non-exhaustive list)—we’ll be using these all semester: Realism or Plausibility Coherence Aesthetic appeal Ethical themes Relevance Complexity and Originality