Tuesday, February 26, 2008

CT205: JOURNAL FOUR

JOURNAL FOUR: DUE MARCH 06TH
EDITING (chapter four)

Night of the Living Dead - George Romero, 1968

Refer to the cubing exercise you began in class, concentrating on a single, edited sequence from Night of the Living Dead. What style of editing does the sequence use? How is the time and space of the action condensed or elongated? What are the emotional or dramatic impacts of editing the sequence in this way? Outline an alternative editing method. How would this change the film's meaning?

Watch the entire film here.

CT205: ESSAY TWO

PRINCIPLES OF THE MOVING IMAGE
ESSAY 2: DUE MARCH 11th

Battleship Potemkin - Sergei Eisenstein, 1925

Requirements
  1. 3 to 5 pages, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font.
  2. A minimum of three outside sources should be used. Use APA style.
  3. Include images and/or transcriptions of the film you are analyzing.
  4. Due 3/11. An in-class writing workshop will be held on this day.
  5. ESSAY TOPIC: Explain, analyze and critique technical aspects of film.
Select ONE technical aspect from the following:
  • Movement: narrative kinetics, camera movement or mechanical distortion
  • Editing: sequence shots, cutting to continuity, thematic montage or classical editing
Select ONE film to discuss in depth.

Consider the following questions:
  1. How was the technique developed? Discuss why/how it evolved.
  2. Is this technique closely connected to another technique?
  3. Why is the technique important to the development of movies? Compare its early uses to more contemporary ones.
  4. How is the technique used to create meaning? Give classic and alt uses.
  5. What responses does the technique evoke in the viewer?
  6. Is the technique associated with specific movements, authors or styles? Some techniques are connected to social and/or political movements.
  7. Give an in-depth analysis of the technique as it appears in 1 film.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

CT 205: JOURNAL THREE

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb - Dave Borthwick, 1993


JOURNAL THREE: DUE FEBRUARY 26TH

MOVEMENT (chapter three)

The representation of movement can have a huge impact upon the style and meaning of a film. A death scene shot in slow-motion will convey very different intentions from one shot in fast-motion. Select any scene from a film you consider formalist. Propose an alternative way to represent movement in the scene. (Hint: If the scene is in slow-motion, shoot it at regular speed. If it uses close-up shots, re-frame it with a telephoto lens.) How has your “take” altered the meaning, mood or style of the scene? Has it impacted the film overall? How?

Watch Tony vs. Paul, an amazing YouTube video using pixelation.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

CT205: ESSAY ONE

PRINCIPLES OF THE MOVING IMAGE
ESSAY 1: DUE FEBRUARY 21st

Requirements
  1. 3 to 5 pages, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font.
  2. A minimum of three outside sources should be used. Use APA style.
  3. Include images and/or transcriptions of the film you are analyzing.
  4. Due 2/21. An in-class writing workshop will be held on this day.
  5. ESSAY TOPIC: Explain, analyze and critique technical aspects of film.
Select ONE technical aspect from the following:
  • Photography: lighting, color, framing (shots & angles), film stock, focus
  • Movement: camera movement, narrative movement, projection (fPS)
  • Mise en scene: dialogue, setting (décor, etc.), space, story (symbolic)
Select ONE film to discuss in depth.

Consider the following questions:
  1. How was the technique developed? Discuss why/how it evolved.
  2. Is this technique closely connected to another technique?
  3. Why is the technique important to the development of movies? Compare its early uses to more contemporary ones.
  4. How is the technique used to create meaning? Give classic and alt uses.
  5. What responses does the technique evoke in the viewer?
  6. Is the technique associated with specific movements, authors or styles? Some techniques are connected to social and/or political movements.
  7. Give an in-depth analysis of the technique as it appears in 1 film.

CT205: JOURNAL TWO

JOURNAL TWO: DUE FEBRUARY 14th
MISE EN SCENE (chapter two)

Once Upon a Time in the West - Sergei Leone, 1968
Imagine that you have just completed your debut film – a western shot in widescreen (aspect ratio). The distributor, however, has decided to release your film print in standard aspect ratio. What implications will this have for your original mise en scene? Why do you think the distributor made this decision?