fall 2010 new school academic planner

E U L O J 2 8 7 @ N E W S C H O O L . E D U

120 W. 3rd Ave. Apt 11, Roselle, NJ 07302

Film Review & Analysis

Watch & Outline Watch by Outline?

1. The Fugitive (basic structure – Action-Crime, genre) (CS) (SA1) (INSTANT) 9/9

2. The Fisher King (heroes journey) (CS) (SA2) (N) 9/16

3. Seven* (psychological thriller, genre) (CS) (SA3) (N) 9/23

4. Rear Window (CS) (N)

5. Romancing the Stone (action/romance) (DIF) (SA4) (N) R, 9/30

6. Citizen Kane (CS) (N)

7. STAND BY ME* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY) (DIF) (SA5) (INSTANT) 10/7

8. Rosemary’s Baby (DIF) (N)

9. The Last Boy Scout* (action/comedy) (CS) (SA6) (INSTANT) 10/14

10. Psycho (CS) (N12) (N)

11. Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/thriller - Character) (DIF) (SA7) (N) 10/21

12. Do the Right Thing (CS) (INSTANT)

13. Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme) (CS) (SA8) (N) 10/28

14. Touch of Evil (DIF) (N)

15. In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense) (DIF) (SA9) (INSTANT) 11/4

16. The 3rd Man (CS) (INSTANT)

17. Jerry Maguire (character/romantic comedy) (SA10) (INSTANT) 11/11

18. Peeping Tom (DIF) (INSTANT)

19. What Women Want (Romantic Comedy) (DIF) (SA11) (N) 11/18

20. Breathless (DIF) (INSTANT)

21. The Lives of Others (Foreign/Character/ Theme/Structure) (SA12) (N) 12/2

22. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (DIF) (INSTANT)

23. Rocky (Sports/Character) (SA13) (N) 12/9

(CS) = NFLM 2400: Intro to Cinema Studies | (DIF) = NFLM 3500: Developing Ideas for Film | (SA#) = NSRW 2800: Script Analysis

(N) = Film In Net flick’s DVD Que | (INSTANT) = Film In Net flick’s Instant Que

NFLM 2400: Introduction to Cinema Studies

Assignment Tracker Due Grade

FILM ANALYSIS I: Should focus on; mise-en-scene, camera movement and cinematography. (5 to 7 pages)

10/04

FILM ANALYSIS II: Should focus on; editing, sound, formalism and realism. (5 to 7 pages) 11/08

FINAL ASSIGNMENT: 10 -12 page analysis of one film, incorporating and utilizing as many of the semester’s topics as possible.

An emphasis should be placed on exploring the film beyond its narrative content or story. The film is to be chosen from the recommended list. The final assignment is due in the final class.

12/13

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT:

Write 10 film reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 of the films must be chosen from the recommended films list.

This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for the class.

I am looking for an analysis that is more informed by aesthetic and thematic concerns than by an examination of performance and story

The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). All due in the last class 12/13.

12/13

Film Review Seen Reviewed

The Fugitive (basic structure – Action-Crime, genre) (SA1) (Ni) 9/4

The Fisher King (heroes journey) (SA2) (N)

Seven* (psychological thriller, genre) (SA3) (N)

The Last Boy Scout* (action/comedy) (SA7) (Ni)

Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme) (SA9) (N)

Rear Window (N)

Citizen Kane (N)

Psycho (N)

Do the Right Thing (Ni)

The 3rd Man (Ni)

Class Assignments Due by Grade

1st Assignment Due: Film Analysis I (see above) 10/4

2nd Assignment Due: Film Analysis II (see above) 11/08

Final Assignment Due: Term Paper (see above) 12/13

Reading Assignments # of Pages

Week 03 | Film Art: Chapter 2: The Significance of Film Form (54-73) 19

Week 04 | Film Art: Chapter 6 (4): The Shot: Mise-en-Scene (112-161) 49

Week 05 | Film Art: Chapter 7 (5): The Shot: Cinematography (162-217) 55

Week 06 | Film Art: Chapter 8 (6): The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing (218-263) 45

Week 07 | Film Art: Chapter 9 (7): Sound in the Cinema (264-303) 39

Week 08 | Film Art: Chapter 11: Film Criticism: Sample Analyses (384-430) 46

Film Theory and Criticism

Week 09 | Andre Bazin: The Myth of the Total Cinema (170-173) 3

Andre Bazin: The Evolution of the Language of Film (cinema) (41-53) 12

Siegfried Kracauer: Basic Concepts (143-153) 10

Siegfried Kracauer: The Establishment of Physical Existence (303-313) 10

Week 10 | Andrew Sarris: Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962 (561-564) 3

Peter Wollen: From Signs and Meaning in the Cinema: The Auteur Theory (565-580) 15

Week 11 | Thomas Schatz: From Hollywood Genres: Film Genre and the Genre Film (691-702) 11

Robin Wood: Ideology, Genre, Auteur (717-726) 9

Week 12 | Christian Metz: Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema (65-71) 6

Christian Metz: Identification, Mirror (820-826) 6

Christian Metz: The Passion of Perceiving (827-830) 3

Week 13 | Kaja Silverman: from The Subject of Semiotics

Parker Tyler: Magic and Myth of the Movies

Week 14 | Linda Williams: Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess

Week 15 | Laura Mulvey: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (837-848) 11

Christine Gledhill: Recent Developments in Feminist Criticism

Grade

Film Analysis I

Film Analysis II

FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Term Paper

Class Attendance and Participation (20%)

Class Assignments (40%)

FINAL Assignments (40%)

Class Grade (Sans Extra Credit)

Extra Credit (10 Film Reviews)

Final Grade (with Extra Credit)

NFLM 3500: Developing Ideas for Film


FINAL PROJECT:

FILM REVIEW I: (4 to 5 pages) concentrating on the cinematic structural construction and its relationship to the development of the characters, story and themes.

12/07

FILM REVIEW II: (4 to 5 pages) Same as above. One film must be chosen from the recommended list 12/07

FINAL PROJECT The completed screenplay (1st and 2nd draft), and shooting script for a short (approx. 5 -10 minute) film.

12/07


Write 10 film reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 of the films must be chosen from the recommended films list.

This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for the class.

I am looking for an analysis that is more informed by aesthetic and thematic concerns than by an examination of performance and story

The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). All due in the last class 12/13.

12/13

Movie Selection Watched Review?

What Women Want (Romantic Comedy) (SA12) (N)

In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense) (SA10) (Ni)

Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/thriller - Character) (SA8) (N)

Romancing the Stone (action/romance) (SA5) (N)

STAND BY ME* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY) (SA6) (Ni)

Touch of Evil (N)

Peeping Tom (Ni)

Rosemary’s Baby (N)

Breathless (Ni)

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Ni)


Film Ideas: 2 film Ideas (1/2 page per idea) 5-10 min of film, make a list of stuff you have 9/07

Film Synopsis 9/21

Film Treatment 10/05

Screenplay 11/02

Shooting Scripts 11/23

FINAL PROJECT The completed screenplay (1st and 2nd draft), and shooting script for a short (approx. 5 -10 minute) film.

12/07

ALL Final Work (reviews due) 11/30 -12/07 12/07

Reading Assignments: Understanding Movies # of Pages

Week 01 | Chapter 1: Photography (1-43) 43

Week 02 | Chapter 1: Photography - -

Week 03 | Chapter 2: Mise En Scene (44-91) 47

Week 04 | Chapter 2: Mise En Scene - -

Week 05 | Chapter 3: Movement (92-130) 38

Week 06 | Chapter 9: POV (392-396) 4


Week 08 | Chapter 8: Story (330-366) 36


Week 10 | Chapter 4: Editing (131-163) 32

Week 11 | Chapter 4: Editing (164-200) 36

Week 12 | Chapter 4: Editing - -

Week 13 | Chapter 5: Sound (201-236) 35

Week 14 | Chapter 12: Synthesis: Citizen Kane (486-519) 33

Grade

Film Ideas:

Film Synopsis

Film Treatment

Screenplay

Shooting Scripts

FILM REVIEW I

FILM REVIEW II

FINAL PROJECT

Class Attendance and Participation (20%)

2 Reviews (20%)

Work (homework, final project) (60%)

Class Grade (Sans Extra Credit)

Extra Credit (10 Film Reviews)


Notes

NFLM 3715: Documentary Production Workshop


3 short documentary ideas, begin research: 9/15

Shoot 5 minutes of video material in which a subject is engaged in an activity that is revealing. The footage that you show in class next week must be pure activity and should not be part of your final documentary project.

9/22

DOC JOURNAL: Write a one- to two-page introduction to your film by documenting your experiences with your subjects. Include specifics on your locations, characters and activities, and describe the most interesting situations or details you’ve observed thus far.

9/29

LOG & CAPTURE ACTIVITY EXERCISES 10/06

Shoot your character doing an activity in 2 different locations. Use various camera angles, lighting, location and activity to reveal something about your character. What do we know about your character from his or her surroundings?

10/13

OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR FINAL FILM | INTERVIEW EXERCISE – Working in pairs, shoot a short interview with a classmate. Keep in mind appropriate composition, audio levels, lighting, choosing a location that reveals something about the character.

10/20

1. Edit Activity or Character Material 2. Pre-Production Package

10/27

Editing exercise: Edit one scene of your project to present in class. Do not exceed 2 minutes.

11/10

Read: Directing the Documentary # of pages

Pt. 1 You and Your Ideas 5

1 The Director's Role (7-26) 19

2 Defining Your Artistic Identity (27-35) 8

3 Developing Your Story Ideas (36-50) 14

4 Proposing and Pitching a Short Documentary (51-64) 13

Pt. 2 Documentaries and Film Language 65

5 Documentary Language (67-98) 31

6 Elements and Grammar (99-118) 19

Pt. 3 Preproduction

7 Research (121-131) 10

8 Developing a Crew (132-138) 6

Pt. 4 Production 139

9 Camera Equipment (141-160) 19

10 Lighting (161-173) 12

11 Location Sound (174-194) 20

12 Directing (195-204) 9

Read: Directing the Documentary (continued) # of pages

Pt. 5 Postproduction 205

13 Editing: From Start to Viewing the First Assembly (207-225) 18

14 Editing: The Process of Refinement (226-237) 11

15 Editing: From Fine Cut to Sound Mix (238-249) 11

16 Titles and Acknowledgments (250-254) 4

Pt. 6 Documentary Aesthetics 257

17 Point of View and the Storyteller (259-282) 23

18 Dramatic Development, Time, and Story Structure (283-317) 34

19 Form, Control, and Style (318-326) 18

20 Reenactment, Reconstruction, and Docudrama (327-334) 7

Pt. 7A Advanced Preproduction

21 Advanced Research (339-350) 11

22 Values, Ethics, and Choices (351-360) 9

23 Proposing an Advanced Documentary (361-369) 8

24 Preparing to Direct (370-382) 12

Pt. 7B Advanced Production 383

25 Optics (387-397) 10

26 Advanced Cameras and Equipment (398-420) 22

27 Advanced Location Sound (421-437) 16

28 Organization, Crew, and Procedures (438-448) 10

29 Advanced Directing (449-461) 12

30 Conducting and Shooting Interviews (462-481) 19

Pt. 7C Advanced Postproduction

31 Transcript to Film Script (485-491) 6

32 Creating Narration (492-503) 11

33 Using Music and Working with a Composer (504-512) 8

34 Editing: Refinements and Structural Problems (513-522) 9

Pt. 8 Education and Starting Your Career 523

35 Education (525-439) 14

36 From School to Film Industry (540-552) 12

Resources

Recommended Films Watched

Grade

3 short documentary ideas

5 minutes of video

DOC JOURNAL

LOG & CAPTURE ACTIVITY EXERCISES

Footage of character doing an activity in 2 different locations

OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR FINAL FILM | INTERVIEW EXERCISE

Edit Activity or Character Material

Pre-Production Package

Editing exercise: Edit one scene of your project to present in class.

Final Film (50%)

Assignment/Homework (30%)

Professionalism, Attendance, Class Participation (20%)


Notes

Documentary Ideas

NSRW 2800: Script Analysis


FINAL PAPER:

In depth Analysis of a film that has not been covered in class. (Get approval from instructor of film choice by 7th class.)

Assignment must include an in depth outline fully annotated reflecting the analysis and critical viewing that has been discussed during the course.

Whenever possible reference both in-class discussions from films we viewed as well as additional information from other films seen and analyzed and other text read.

12/07

Watch & Outline Watch by Outline?

The Fugitive (basic structure – Action-Crime, genre) (Ni) 9/9

The Fisher King (heroes journey) (N) 9/16

Seven* (psychological thriller, genre) (N) 9/23

Romancing the Stone (action/romance) (N) 9/30

STAND BY ME* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY) (Ni) 10/7

The Last Boy Scout* (action/comedy) (Ni) 10/14

Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/thriller - Character) (N) 10/21

Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme) (N) 10/28

In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense) (Ni) 11/4

Jerry Maguire (character/romantic comedy) (Ni) 11/11

What Women Want (Romantic Comedy) (N) 11/18

The Lives of Others (Foreign/Character/ Theme/Structure) (N) 12/2

Rocky (Sports/Character) (N) 12/9


NOTE: Select film that you want to analyze for your final paper and get ok from instructor. 10/14

Final Paper Due 12/16

Recommended Films

Resources

Watch & Outline 1 Movie Per Week.

(one line, basic beats....not super detailed) 12 outlines minimum: Grade

1. The Fugitive (Basic Structure – Action-Crime, Genre) 9/09

2. The Fisher King (Heroes Journey) 9/16

3. Seven* (Psychological Thriller, Genre) 9/23

4. Romancing the Stone (Action/Romance) 9/30

5. Stand By Me* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY) 10/07

6. The Last Boy Scout* (Action/Comedy) 10/14

7. Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/Thriller - Character) 10/21

8. Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme) 10/28

9. In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense) 11/04

10. Jerry Maguire (Character/Romantic Comedy) 11/11

11. What Women Want (Romantic Comedy) 11/18

12. The Lives of Others (Foreign/Character/ Theme/Structure) 12/02

13. Rocky (Sports/Character) 12/09

FINAL PROJECT

Attendance (25%)

Completion of Assignments In Timely Manner (25%)

Class participation (20%)

Demonstrated Understanding (through assignments,

quizzes, participation and Final Paper!) (30%)

Final Grade

Notes

Recommended Films

Name Watched Outlined?

NFLM 2400: CRN 1719 - Introduction to Cinema Studies

FALL 2010: 15 sessions. Mon., 6:00 - 10:00pm | 66 W 12th St. Instructor: John Freitas | Mobile: (201) 920 – 9698 E-mails: [email protected] & [email protected]

CLASS ASSIGNMENTS:

Write two film analyses focusing on the previous week’s topics. The first film analysis should focus on; mise-en-scene, camera movement and cinematography. The second should focus on; editing, sound, formalism and realism. The films are to be chosen from the recommended list (Please note: You may not do any films we view in class). The analyses should be approx. 5-7 pages in length. They are due on 10/04 and 11/08 respectively. Late papers will lose ½ letter grade for each week late, starting on it’s initial due date.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT:

Write a 10 -12 page analysis of one film, incorporating and utilizing as many of the semester’s topics as possible. An emphasis should be placed on exploring the film beyond its narrative content or story. The film is to be chosen from the recommended list. The final assignment is due in the final class (12/13). No extensions. FINAL GRADE: The grade is based on…

Class attendance and participation (20%),

The class assignments (40%)

And the final assignment (40%).

Note: 3 or more absences may decrease your grade by one full grade, 4 or more, failure.


Write 10 film reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 of the films must be chosen from the recommended films list. This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for the class. I am looking for an analysis that is more informed by aesthetic and thematic concerns than by an examination of performance and story (not that these things aren’t important, just not what we’re focusing on in this class). The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). All due in the last class 12/13. Have fun! All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED.

Required Text:

Film Art: An Introduction by David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson, New York – McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 8th edition on.

Highly Recommended:

Film Theory and Criticism edited by Gerald mast,

Marshall Cohen, Leo Brady New York - Oxford

University Press - newest ed.

Film, form, and Culture: The Cinema Studies DVD-ROM

by Robert Kolker McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Recommended Texts:

The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience by Vivian Sobchack Princeton - Princeton University Press - 1992

Black American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship edited by Manthia Diawara , New York - Routledge - 1993

Cinema: A Critical Dictionary: The Major Filmmakers Vol. I & II edited by Richard Roud, New York - The Viking Press - 1980

The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film edited by Barry Keith Grant, Austin - University of Texas Press - 1996

Echo and Narcissus: Women’s Voices in Classical Hollywood Cinema by Amy Lawrence - Berkeley - University of California Press Ltd. - 1991

Film Sound edited by Elisabeth Weis and John Belton, New York - Columbia University Press - 1985.

How To Read a Film by James Monaco, New York - Oxford University Press - 1981

Movies and Methods Volumes I & II edited by Bill Nichols, Berkeley - University of California Press - 1985

The Oxford Guide to Film Studies edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, Oxford - Oxford University Press - 1998

The Oxford History of World Cinema edited by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Oxford - Oxford university Press - 1996

The St. James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia: Women on the other side of the Camera - Edited by Amy L. Unterburger - MI - Visible Ink Press - 1999

Women & Film: Both Sides of the Camera by E. Ann Kaplan, New York - Methuen, Inc. 1983

mailto:[email protected]


Recommended Films:

A Nous la Liberte A Question of Silence Aguirre, The Wrath of God Alphaville & La Jetee Ashes and Diamonds Badlands Bicycle Thieves Breathless (1959) Citizen Kane Cries and Whispers Dance, Girl, Dance Daughters of the Dust Daughters of the Dust Do the Right Thing Don’t Look Now Hiroshima Mon Amour Jeanne Dielman 23 Jules and Jim Juliet of the Spirits Killer of Sheep L’Aventura La Dolce Vita La Strada Lady From Shanghai Last Tango in Paris Last Year at Marienbad Lola Lola Montes M

Man Facing Southeast Memorias Del Subdesarollo Men Meshes of the Afternoon

(Maya Deren col.) Miracle at Morgan’s Creek Murder, My Sweet My Darling Clementine Night of the Hunter Notorious Once Upon aTime in the West Orpheus Out of the Past Parallax View Peeping Tom Picnic at Hanging Rock Psycho Rashomon Rear Window riumph of the Will Roma, Open City Rosemary’s Baby Rules of the Game Solaris Stairway to Heaven Sullivan’s Travels Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss

Song The 3rd Man

The American Friend The Apu Trilogy The Best Years of our Live The Blue Angel The Burmese Harp The Conformist The Conversation The Discreet Charm of the

Bourgeoisie The Hidden Fortress The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino) The Killing The Learning Tree The Piano T The Samurai Trilogy The Searchers They Live by Night Three Women To Be or Not To Be Tokyo Story Touch of Evil Ugetsu Monogatari Vagabond Vertigo Walkabout Wild Bunch Z

NFLM 3500: CRN 1762 - Developing Ideas for Film

FALL 2010: 15 sessions. Tues., 6:00 - 7:50pm | 66 W 12th St. Instructor: John Freitas | Mobile: (201) 920 – 9698 E-mails: [email protected] & [email protected]

FINAL PROJECT

The completed screenplay (1st and 2nd draft), and shooting script for a short (approx. 5 -10 minute) film. Due by Final Class (12/07). FINAL ASSIGNMENTS

Write two film reviews (approx. 4-5 pages each in length) concentrating on the cinematic structural construction and its relationship to the development of the characters, story and themes. One film must be chosen from the recommended list. All reviews are due in the final class (12/07). FINAL GRADE The grade is based on…

class attendance and participation (20%), the 2 reviews (20%) and work (homework, final project) (60%).

Note: 3 or more absences may decrease your grade by one full grade, 4 or more, failure. All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED.


Write 10 films reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 films should be chosen from the recommended list. This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for class. I am looking for an analysis that is informed by emotion and an examination of aesthetic concerns. The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). Note: The extra credit is an all or nothing situation which means you have to do 10. All due in the last class (12/07). Have fun! All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED. Required Texts:

Understanding Movies by Louis Giannetti, New Jersey - Prentice Hall, inc., from 10th edition on.

Recommended Text:

Film, form, and Culture: The Cinema Studies DVD-ROM by Robert Kolker, McGraw-Hill Book Company. Highly Recommended!

Films scenes from which we may view in class:*

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Salaam Bombay! (1988) The Lady from Shanghai (1948) The Conformist (1971) Alexander Nevsky (1938) It’s All True (1993) Draughtman’s Contract (1982) Night of the Hunter (1955) Last Tango In Paris (1973) Vertigo (1958) Badlands (1974) Touch Of Evil (1958) Dark Passage (1947) The Conversation (1974)

In Cold Blood (1967) Strangers on a Train (1951) Othello (1952) Stairway to Heaven (1946) Wild Bunch (1969) Don’t Look Now (1973) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) La Jetee (1963) Repulsion (1965) Bicycle Thief (1948) M (1931) Kwaidan (1964) The Seventh Seal (1957)

* These may be also used for final reviews, in addition to the recommended list.



Recommended Films:

A Nous la Liberte A Question of Silence Aguirre, The Wrath of God Alphaville & La Jetee Ashes and Diamonds Badlands Bicycle Thieves Breathless (1959) Citizen Kane Cries and Whispers Dance, Girl, Dance Daughters of the Dust Do the Right Thing Don’t Look Now Hiroshima Mon Amour Husbands Jeanne Dielman 23 Jules and Jim Juliet of the Spirits Killer of Sheep L’Aventura La Dolce Vita La Strada Lady From Shanghai Last Tango in Paris Last Year at Marienbad Lola Montes M

Man Facing Southeast Maya Deren Col. Z Memorias Del Subdesarollo Men Meshes of the Afternoon Miracle at Morgan’s Creek Murder, My Sweet My Brilliant Career My Darling Clementine Night of the Hunter Once Upon a Time in the West Orpheus Out of the Past Parallax View Paths of Glory Peeping Tom Picnic at Hanging Rock Psycho Rashomon Roma, Open City Rosemary’s Baby Rules of the Game Scarlet Street Solaris Stairway to Heaven Sullivan’s Travels Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss

Song

The 3rd Man The American Friend The Apu Trilogy The Best Years of Our Lives The Blue Angel The Burmese Harp The Conformist The Conversation The Discreet Charm of the

Bourgeoisie The Hidden Fortress The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino) The Learning Tree The Piano The Samurai The Searchers They Live by Night Three Women To Be or Not To Be Tokyo Story Touch of Evil Triumph of the Will Ugetsu Monogatari Vagabond Vertigo Walkabout Wild Bunch Xala

NFLM 3715: - Documentary Production Workshop

FALL 2010: 15 Sessions. Weds, 6:00 - 8:40pm, | 55 W. 13th, 425 Leslie McCleave, Assistant Professor (PT) | [email protected]

TA: Tania Aparicio [email protected]

Overview

Students learn the essentials of shooting their own five- to seven-minute documentaries. They learn to develop their concept, research the topic, interview subjects, and create a visual strategy. Students develop their skills of location scouting, lighting, shooting and post-production. In addition the course explores the use of still photographs and stock footage. Students may work individually or in groups, and by the end of the term will have a working rough cut or fine cut, edited with Final Cut Pro. Students have access to a New School digital video camera. Students must have their own firewire drive.

Class 1 – 8: RESEARCH EXERCISES and PRODUCTION Class 9 – 14: POST-PRODUCTION Class 15: EVALUATION / SCREENING

EVALUATION AND GRADING

Students’ work will be evaluated weekly during screenings & class discussions. Each student must screen their final project in three stages, on at least three separate days: dailies, rough cut and fine cut. Adhering to production deadlines is critical to your success in this course. All written work must be typed. Work (written or video) will only be accepted one week late, late work will receive reduced credit.

GRADING CRITERIA:

50% Final Film Choice of subject, storytelling, use of camera and lighting, editing. Film conception and execution, demonstration of concepts discussed in class.

30% Assignments/Homework 20% Professionalism, Attendance, Class Participation

Respect and care for equipment, willingness to collaborate, general attitude

READINGS/ SCREENINGS:

Required Text:

Directing the Documentary, Fifth Edition (Paperback) Publisher: Focal Press by Michael Rabiger

Recommended Text:

Final Cut Pro 7: Visual QuickPro Guide, Lisa Brenneis Peachpit Press

Books are available in the textbook section of Barnes and Noble on 5th and 18th. New School Students receive a 10% discount at this location. The books are also available on Amazon etc. Drives should be firewire, MAC compatible, at least 120 gigs, spin at 7200rpm. (MOST small portable drives only spin at 5400 rpm).



Script Analysis - Syllabus Instructor Loren-Paul Caplin E-mail [email protected]

Course The New School NSRW 2800B Dates Thursday , Sept 2 – Dec 16, 8:00pm to 9:50pm

Description:

In-depth analysis of a screenplay's storyline, characters, dialogue, images and theme can reveal a wide range of narrative techniques and storytelling styles, from Hollywood to independent and everything in between. Students view successful films and analyze their scripts, learning how essential information is conveyed, how story elements are communicated through visual means, how dramatic momentum is built with cause and effect, and what makes a character credible and complex. Students end the term with the ability to critically examine a film (via its screenplay) and apply that knowledge to their own screenwriting and/or script analytical ability.

Requirements:

1. Attendance (13 class mandatory)

2. Watch and outline 1 movie per week. (one line, basic

beats....not super detailed) 12 outlines minimum.

3. Workshop/class participation.

4. Complete all assignments weekly.

(NOTE: This is key to getting this course.)

Grades based on:

25% Attendance (12 class mandatory)

25% Completion of assignments in timely manner.

20% Class participation

30% Demonstrated Understanding through

assignments, quizzes, participation and Final Paper!

Final Paper:

In depth Analysis of a film that has not been covered in class. (Get approval from instructor of film choice by 7th class.) Assignment must include an in depth outline fully annotated reflecting the analysis and critical viewing that has been discussed during the course. Whenever possible reference both in-class discussions from films we viewed as well as additional information from other films seen and analyzed and other text read.

Suggested Readings:

GOOD SCRIPTS BAD SCRIPTS, by Thomas Pope

MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT, by Linda Seger

SCREENPLAY: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by

Syd Field

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: Mythic Structures for

Storytellers & Screenwriters. By Christopher Vogler

Materials:

Additional Handouts

Films we will work on: (*read script or source material)

The Fugitive (basic structure – Action-Crime, genre)

The Fisher King (heroes journey)

Seven* Plus Original Script

(psychological thriller, genre)

Romancing the Stone (action/romance)

STAND BY ME* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY)

The Last Boy Scout* (action/comedy)

Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/thriller - Character)

Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme)

In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense)

Jerry Maguire (character/romantic comedy)

What Women Want (Romantic Comedy)

The Lives of Others (Foreign/Character/

Theme/Structure)

Rocky (Sports/Character)

NOTE: Some films may be changed

ACT I : THE SET UP The problem; the question; the task; the goal of the main character etc./characters: who they are.

Seven criteria for Act one: 1. meet major characters

2. tone/style

3. Inciting incident

4. Turning Point

5. Set up

6. Goal of main character

7. Dramatic Situation – seeds of inevitability of

future conflict

ACT II: THE DEVELOPMENT The "what happens?"; the mix-up/ characters: who they’ve been.

ACT III: THE RESOLUTION The conclusion; the "what happens then?"; the "how are they going to get out of this fix?"; getting to: "And they live/or don't- live happily ever after"/ characters: who they’ve become.)

Major Plot Points/ Turning Points: Major events or information which greatly effects (turns) the course of the story.

Basic terms. Basic script format. Create short sentence idea of what your story is

about.

CRITERIA FOR SCRIPT ANALYSIS:

MAKE TWO COPIES. Turn one in upon entering class. Keep one to make notes on during class. (If “credit” student, write © next to your name)

Required Aspects Of Analysis:

1. State basic PREMISE of script. (in one or two lines!!!)

2. State Theme(s)

3. State Character(s) Outer goal and Inner goal.

4. Semi-detailed Outline of the Major Scenes (“beats”) that tell the entire STORY of the script. (between 20 -35 beats)

The following should be in bold and/or underlined or highlighted – so as to distinguish the analysis from the outline.

a. Script Structure: Identify:

i. Act Breaks

ii. Inciting Incident

iii. Turning Points of Act 1 and 2

iv. Mid-point Shift (explain what’s happening)

b. Denote / list all 7 “act one criteria” if they appear.

c. Track Goal(s) of Character(s) through each scene of story.

d. Track how the theme plays through each scene the story

e. State time of each scene/beat

5. Draw visual DIAGRAM of script structure. There should be a line for each major character’s journey/story --- if the story has more than one major character line.

Additional Aspects of the Analysis:

1. Hero’s Journey: are any of the 12 points of the journey noticeable? State where they exist on the outline of the film.

2. Emotional Engine: Often it is connected to the inner goal of the character; this is the charged emotional quality that seems to both drive the character as well as compel the viewer to connect with him.

3. Cause and Effect: something happens, then there is a repercussion from that. It’s interesting to note that this occurs emotionally as well. (ie. Someone dies, then someone feels bad, then that person does something based upon feeling bad, etc. etc.)

4. Character MOTIVATION. This is related to cause and effect, however the emphasis here should be on the root motivation of the character: what drives him/her. (note: this is usually connected to their “Inner Goal”)

Describe the “EMOTIONAL ENGINE” I’m basically trying to get you to look at the emotion that is at the center (not the midpoint) of your story – what emotionally drives it? Often times it is simply the pain that a character feels and this translates to the audience feeling it and wanting it to be abated. Therefore we root all the more for our character to ‘feel better’ – and that desire to make it better is also the motivation for pushing the story forward – like an engine: emotional engine.

OVERVIEW:

Structure! Holy trinity: STORY, THEME & CHARACTER (-Whose story it?--inner/outer goals -- arc) DRAMATIC SITUATION!!!!! What is it?

(That situation that posits the near inevitability of future conflict) Emotional Engine Why Film Story: Images. (Every Picture tells a story) The Nature of Drama (Tension/conflict/"truck and dog") Cause and Effect Externalizing the Internal Holy Triangle: Character/Story/Theme Hero’s Journey Outlining --- approx: 20 – 35 points.

GENRES! (Expectations):

IS IT INTERESTING?

Grimms Fairy Tales. Discuss premise Plot/Subplot

September Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 1 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

NFLM 2400 Intro to Cinema Studies

Introduction to course Outline and Objectives

The Film Text - The Components of Film Study

Form – Content

Screening: Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

6:00 – 10:00 PM. 66 W 12th 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 2 – The Significance of Film Form (p54-73)

19

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Introduction: Film and Representation

Films:

Week 1 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

NFLM 3500 Developing Ideas

for Film

Introduction to course - Outline and Objectives

What is Cinematic? The Idea - Inception/Conception

6:00 – 7:50 pm.

66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: 3 Film Ideas

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 1: Photography (1-43)

43

Recommended:

Films:

Week 1 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

NFLM 3715

Documentary Production Workshop

Introductions. Equipment room and equipment policies.

WHAT IS DOCUMENTARY? Discussion Introduction to the short documentary Documentary vs. other forms of non-

fiction filmmaking PARAMETERS OF YOUR DOCUMENTARY

PROJECT

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment: 3 short documentary ideas, begin research

Read: Directing the Documentary: Chap 1 to 6 122

Ch1: The Director's Role (7-26) 19

Ch2: Defining Your Artistic Identity (27-35) 8

Ch3: Developing Your Story Ideas (36-65) 29

Ch4: Proposing and Pitching a Short Documentary (51-66)

15

Ch5: Documentary Language (67-98) 31

Ch6: Elements and Grammar (99-120) 21 Week 1 30 31 1 2 3 4 5

NSRW2800 Script Analysis

Go over syllabus. Why this class? The lens through which we’ll analyze. Analysis criteria.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: --

Watch and outline: “THE FUGITIVE” (Structure)

Read:

Question:

Total Pages: __/7= __ pg/day __/

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NFLM3500: Developing Ideas for FilmWeek#__ | Tuesday | __/__/10

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NFLM2400: Introduction to Cinema StudiesWeek#__ | Monday | __/__/10

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NFLM3715: Documentary Production WorkshopWeek#__ | Wednesday | __/__/10

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NSRW2800: Script Analysis Week#__ | Thursday | __/__/10

Notes/Ideas



NO CLASS Outline and Objectives

The Film Text - The Components of Film Study

Form – Content

Screening: Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

NO CLASS

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 2 – The Significance of Film Form (54-73)

19


Films:

Week 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


for Film

Style (Theoretical Approach) - Formalism (Expressionism) - Realism

The Primacy (Tyranny) of Content?

FILM IDEAS DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m.

66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:


43

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (NFLM 2400) (DVD) Introduction: Film and Representation

Films: Juliet of the Spirits - Bicycle Thief

Week 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

NFLM 3715


No Class

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Week 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

NSRW2800 Script Analysis basic structure and the Hero’s Journey

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “THE FUGITIVE”

Watch and outline: “THE FISHER KING” (Dramady Thematic Character)

Read:

Question:


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Construction - Deconstruction (Analysis) Recognition of Style - Aesthetic Approach Construction of Image (Mise-en-Scene) Construction of Structure (Editing)

Screening: Days of Heaven (Terence Malick, 1978)

CONSTRUCTION

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 2 – The Significance of Film Form (54-73)

19


Films:

Week 3 13 14 15 16 17 18 19


for Film

Images - Gestalt Laws of Visual Perception

Proximity – Similarity – Continuity – Closure

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 2: Mise En Scene (44-91)

47

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) The Long Take

Films: M (1931), Picnic At Hanging Rock

Week 3 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

NFLM 3715


Class 2: BRING YOUR CAMERA TO CLASS Lecture - ACTIVITY & SCENE STRUCTURE

What activities are interesting on screen? What can activity reveal about character? How best can we capture these activities? Coverage, composition, and continuity

CAMERA TECH

Camera Basics: Lenses, Exposure, Focus

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Activity

Shoot 5 minutes of video material in which a subject is engaged in an activity that is revealing.

The footage that you show in class next week must be pure activity and should not be part of your final documentary project.

No music performances please. Bring your shot, cued, footage to class on Sept. 15.

Read:

Week 3 13 14 15 16 17 18 19


Theme: the DNA of the story. Suspense – juxtapose imagery.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “THE FISHER KING”

Read: 1) Read Original script, then… http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/seven_early.html

Watch and outline: 2) Watch, outline and compare: “SEVEN”

Answer Questions:

a) What scenes are different, deleted, added?

b) How is the tone changed if at all? c) How are the characters changed if at all? d) How is the theme affected if at all?


http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/seven_early.html

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Frame Design Basic Elements & Movement

Mise En Scene: CU - MS – LS Open/Closed

Movement within Frame Horizontal - Vertical

Camera Movement Tilt – Pan – Moving Camera

Manipulation of Frame Slow Motion – Freeze Frame etc.

Screening: In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Read: Film Art: Chapter 6 (4) The Shot: Mise-en-Scene (112-161)

49

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Mise-en-Scene - Camera

Films: Rear Window, Badlands Week 4 20 21 22 23 24 25 26


for Film

Images - Frame Design and its Basic Elements

Mise en scene Close Up – Medium Shot – Long Shot

Principles of Dominant Contrast the Frame – Open and Closed

FILM SYNOPSIS DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: FILM SYNOPSIS DUE

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 2: Mise En Scene (44-91)

47

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Mise-en-Scene

Films: The Conformist, Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau) , Vagabond

Week 4 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

NFLM 3715 Documentary

Production Workshop

CLASS THREE: Screen activity footage. Lighting and sound tech. The importance of good dialogue levels

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

DOC JOURNAL

Write a one- to two-page introduction to your film by documenting your experiences with your subjects. Include specifics on your locations, characters and activities, and describe the most interesting situations or details you’ve observed thus far.

Read:

Films:

Week 4 20 21 22 23 24 25 26


Character: John Gardner, the great writer and teacher of writers, said that a great character is a “full and complex person.”

ARC or GROWTH CURVE.

Actions tell us about Character.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “SEVEN”

Watch and outline: “Romancing the Stone” (epic- action- theme- character)

Read:

Question:


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September Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 5 27 28 29 30 Oct 1 2 3


Cinematography and Light Optics and Chemicals - Film Stocks

Approaches to Lighting Flat - Three Point Dynamic - Existing Light

The Construction of High and Low Ratios Screening: Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1956)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 7 (5) The Shot: Cinematography (p162-217)

55

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Lighting

Films: Night of the Hunter, Kwaidan

Week 5 27 28 29 30 Oct 1 2 3


for Film

Images: Frame Design & its Basic Elements Cont. Movement (Within Frame and Camera)

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 3: Movement (92-130)

38

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Camera & POV

Films: Last Year at Marienbad , Lola Montes , Russian Ark

Week 5 27 28 29 30 Oct 1 2 3

NFLM 3715


CLASS FOUR BRING HARD DRIVE and miniDV tape to class FINAL CUT PRO Intro to Non-Linear Editing Logging & Capturing

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment: LOG & CAPTURE ACTIVITY EXERCISES

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 5 27 28 29 30 Oct 1 2 3


Genres: Fulfilling expectations in an original manner. Building likable characters

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “Romancing the Stone” (action/romance – showing character)

Watch and outline: 1) Watch and outline: “Stand by Me”

Read: 2) Read “The Body”

(from Stephen King’s novella “Different Seasons”)

Question:

a) What are the differences between the story and the film?

b) There is a POV shift in the film, why? c) Is there anything conveyed in the story

that couldn’t be conveyed in the film or vice versa


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October Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


Editing - Structure - Linear/Narrative vs. Non-Linear/Experimental

Approaches to Placement: Cutting to/for Continuity - Classical Cutting

(Decoupage Classique!) – Thematic Montage Form – Content

Screening: Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

1st

Assignment Due: Film

Analysis One

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: 1st Assignment Due: Film Analysis One

Read: Film Art: Chapter 8 (6) The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing (218-263)

45

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Continuity Editing and Montage

Films: Strangers on a Train, Manchurian Candidate Week 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


for Film Images Perspective and Voice Who’s telling the story? POV - 1st. Person - Omniscient Voice - 3rd.

Person – Objective

FILM TREATMENT

DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: FILM TREATMENT DUE

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 9: POV (392-396)

4

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Camera & POV

Films: Dark Passage, Out of the Past

Week 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


Production Workshop

CLASS FIVE, Oct 6

Lecture - CHOOSING CHARACTERS What makes someone an interesting doc

subject? Finding the Crucial Experience in your

subject’s life

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Shoot your character doing an activity in 2 different locations.

Use various camera angles, lighting, location and activity to reveal something about your character.

What do we know about your character from his or her surroundings?

Read:

Films:

Week 6 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Script Adaptation: From prose to film. 8:00 to 9:50 pm

65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “STAND BY ME”

Read: 1) READ http://www.movie-page.com/scripts/The-Last-Boy-Scout.pdf

Watch and outline: 2) watch and outline: “The Last Boy Scout” (action/comedy)

Question: 3) List words and phrases from the script’s description that are particularly evocative


http://www.movie-page.com/scripts/The-Last-Boy-Scout.pdf

http://www.movie-page.com/scripts/The-Last-Boy-Scout.pdf

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Sound - Aural SoundScapes - The Construction of Sound Referencing the Image

Sync/Async - Actual/Commentative

Three Basic Components of Sound: Music - Words - Noise Form – Content

Screening: The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 9 (7) Sound in the Cinema (264-303)

39

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Music

Films: Blow Out, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Week 7 11 12 13 14 15 16 17


for Film

Lighting Cinematography and Light Approaches to Lighting Flat Three Point Dynamic Environmental/Existing Light

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:


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Films: Night of the Hunter, Kwaidan, Last Tango in Paris, Do The Right Thing

Week 7 11 12 13 14 15 16 17


Production Workshop

CLASS SIX, Oct 13 Lecture - DOC STORYTELLING Structuring a short documentary film Screening / Discussion – Character

Research Students choose 2 minutes of character research material (1 minute from each location) to screen for the class. SHOOTING THE INTERVIEW

Interview Techniques Writing Interview Questions Releases

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

ASSIGNMENTS: OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR FINAL FILM

INTERVIEW EXERCISE – Working in pairs, shoot a short interview with a classmate. Keep in mind appropriate composition, audio levels, lighting, choosing a location that reveals something about the character.

Read:

Week 7 11 12 13 14 15 16 17


Genre Mash Up: action/thriller/comedy) and colorful writing.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “The Last Boy Scout”

Watch and outline: 1) Watch and outline: “Chinatown”

(Epic- Mystery/thriller – Character)

Read: 2) read script: http://www.screenplaydb.com/film/scripts/chinatown_screenplay.pdf -- notice how little description

there is and how the dialogue reveals a lot.

Question: 3) List how character is revealed by action NOTE: Select film that you want to analyze for your final paper and get ok from instructor.


http://www.screenplaydb.com/film/scripts/chinatown_screenplay.pdf

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Film Text and Film Form - Two Basic Approaches of Theoretical Construct

Part One: Formalism (Expressionism – Creationism)

Screening: Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961)

ANALYSIS

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 11 Film Criticism: Sample Analyses (384-430)

46

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism:

Rudolf Arnheim: The Complete Film (183-186) 3p /The Making of a Film (326-331) 15p

Sergei Eisenstein : The Dramaturgy of Film Form (23-40) 17p

35

Films: The Passion of Joan, Lady From Shanghai

Week 8 18 19 20 21 22 23 24


for Film

Introduction to Basic Screenplay Form: The 4 Symbiotic Components Location (Environment) Focus On/Informed by (Characters?) Story (Movement/Structure) Tone (Sound)/Mood(Light)

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 west 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 8: Story (330-366)

36

Recommended: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

Films: Notorious, Rules of the Game, The Piano

Week 8 18 19 20 21 22 23 24


Production Workshop

CLASS SEVEN, Oct 20 Screen Interview Exercises TECH Final Cut Pro – Basic Editing

Bring your hard drive to class!

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment: ASSIGNMENT: 1. Edit Activity or Character Material 2. Pre-Production Package

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 8 18 19 20 21 22 23 24


Film Noir/ grand themes, classic genre.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “Chinatown” (themes and characters)

Watch and outline: Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/ Theme)

Read:

Question:


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Film Text and Film Form Two Basic Approaches of Theoretical Construct

Part Two – Realism – The Primacy of Reality – Neo-Realism – Dogma 95

Screening: Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism Andre Bazin: The Myth of the Total

Cinema (170-173) 3p/The Evolution of the Language of Film (cinema) (41-53) 12p

Siegfried Kracauer: Basic Concepts (143-153) 10p/ The Establishment of Physical Existence (303-313) 10p

35

Films: Roma Open City, Bicycle Thief , The Celebration

Week 9 25 26 27 28 29 30 31


for Film

Lighting Cont. - Cinematography and Light The aesthetic and thematic use of color The Construction of High and Low Ratios

6:00 – 7:50 p.m.

66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:


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Films: Night of the Hunter, Kwaidan, Last Tango in Paris, Do The Right Thing

Week 9 25 26 27 28 29 30 31


Production Workshop

CLASS EIGHT, Oct 27

Class Presentations

Each student will prepare a package to present to the class including treatment, storyboards, and research material. Focus

Will be on how the director has chosen to present the material.

Screen EDITED activity or character material.

*PRE PRODUCTION PACKAGES DUE

TODAY*

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Films: Week 9 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Dialogue, character and theme.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “Network”

Watch and outline: “In The Line of Fire” (action, suspense, thriller)

Read:

Question:


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November Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Theories of Authorship and Textual Analysis Proto-Auterism Auteurism Auteur-Strulturalism Auteur-Instance of Politics and/or

Pleasure Form – Content

Screening: Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism:

Andrew Sarris: Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962 (561-564) 3p

Peter Wollen: From Signs and Meaning in the Cinema: The Auteur Theory (565-580) 15p

18

Recommended:

Films: Taxi Driver, The Searchers, Tokyo Story

Week 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7


for Film

Editing Cutting to/for Continuity Classical Cutting (Decoupage Classique!) Thematic Montage

SCREENPLAY DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: SCREENPLAY DUE

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing (131-163)

32

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Montage

Films: Strangers on a Train, Manchurian Candidate, Tokyo Story

Week 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Production Workshop

CLASS NINE, Nov 3 Lecture & discussion – EDITING Point of View in editing- Selectivity Documentary Editing Strategies and

Techniques.

TECH Editorial overview: Assembly to Rough

Cut; Fine Cutting, Audio, Titles

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment: ASSIGNMENT: Editing exercise Edit one scene of your project to present in class. Do not exceed 2 minutes

Read:

Films:

Week 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Action - Complexity – Theme – Character 8:00 to 9:50 pm

65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “In the Line of Fire”

Watch and outline:

1) Watch and outline: Jerry Maguire

(romantic comedy/drama)

2) List emotional manipulations.

Read:


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Marxism and Film – Classical Hollywood & Genre

The Capitalist Agenda – In Narrative Content – In Structural Construct Form – Content

Screening: Do the Right Thing (Spike lee, 1989)

W

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Art: Chapter 4 (9) Film Genres (318-337)

19

Recommended:

Read: Film Theory and Criticism:

Thomas Schatz: From Hollywood Genres: Film Genre and the Genre Film (691-702) 11p

Robin Wood: Ideology, Genre, Auteur (717-726) 9p

20

Films: Man with a Movie Camera , Meet John Doe , Blue Collar, Matewan

Week 11 8 9 10 11 12 13 14


for Film

Editing Cont. – The Content Curve

Specific edits and their Connotations

6:00 – 7:50 p.m.

66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing (164-200)

36

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Montage

Films: Daughters of the Dust, Breathless (original), Wild Bunch

Week 11 8 9 10 11 12 13 14


Production Workshop

CLASS TEN, Nov 10

Lecture – Structure in Editing

Beginning, Middle, End

Discussion / Screening: 2 min Scene Exercise

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment: no shooting after this week

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 11 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Romcoms : Emotional manipulation. 8:00 to 9:50 pm

65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “Jerry Maguire”

Watch and outline: 1) Watch and outline: “What Women

Want” (Romantic Comedy)

2) List comedy parts and explain why funny.

Read:

Question:


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Classical Film Theory Explored and Expanded

Christian Metz and Semiotics: The Signifier and the Signified

Screening: The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci,1970))

6:00 – 10:00pm. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism

Christian Metz: Some Points in the Semiotics of the

Cinema (65-71) 6p Identification, Mirror (820-826) 6p The Passion of Perceiving (827-830) 3p

15

Recommended:

Films: Alexander Nevsky – Alphaville –

Week 12 15 16 17 18 19 20 21


for Film

Storyboards

Environment as Character (Voice)

Locations and Logistics - Shooting Scripts

Storyboards Drawings/Photos/Video

6:00 – 7:50pm. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing (review)

-

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Continuity Editing

Films: The Draughtsman’s Contract, Don’t Look Now, Hiroshima Mon Amour

Week 12 15 16 17 18 19 20 21


Production Workshop

CLASS ELEVEN, Nov 17

Lecture - Structure in Editing II

Editing within scenes

Transition from scene to scene

Discussion / Screening: Remaining editing exercises (if any) and Screen rough cuts

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 12 15 16 17 18 19 20 21


Comedy and Supernatural device for various genres.

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “What Women Want”

Watch and outline: 1) Read and Watch and outline:

“The Lives of Others” (Foreign/Character/Theme/ Structure)

Read:

Question:


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Classical Film Theory Explored and Expanded Cont: The Denotative and the Connotative

Aspects of the Image The Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic

defined and explored Form – Content Screening: 3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism Kaja Silverman: from The Subject of

Semiotics Parker Tyler: Magic and Myth of the

Movies

Films: Alexander Nevsky – Alphaville

Week 13 22 23 24 25 26 27 28


for Film

Sound The Construction of Sound Referencing the Image Sync/Async Actual/Commentative The Three Basic Components of Sound Music - Words - Noise

SHOOTING SCRIPTS DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: SHOOTING SCRIPTS DUE

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 5: Sound (201-236)

35

Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: (DVD) Music

Films: The Conversation , Man Facing Southeast

Week 13 22 23 24 25 26 27 28


Production Workshop

NO CLASS

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 13 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

NSRW2800 Script Analysis NO CLASS 8:00 to 9:50 pm

65 W 11th 258

Analyze:

Watch and outline:

Read:

Question:


CU

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Notes/Ideas

November Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 14 29 30 Dec 1 2 3 4 5


Psychoanalysis and Film: Freud & Lacan

Biology, Desire, Language = Oedipus & Narrative Construct

Scopophilia = Voyeurism and Fetishism Form – Content

Screening: Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read: Film Theory and Criticism

Linda Williams: Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess


Films: Psycho – The Piano

Week 14 29 30 Dec 1 2 3 4 5


for Film

Synthesis: 10 things to be aware of when creating/experiencing a film.

Overview of Production Sequences:

16mm Film Production

Digital Video Production

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: All Final Work – Reviews due

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 12: Synthesis: Citizen Kane (486-519)

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Recommended:

Films: Citizen Kane, Vertigo

Week 14 29 30 Dec 1 2 3 4 5


Production Workshop

CLASS TWELVE, Dec 1 screen rough cuts

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 14 29 30 Dec 1 2 3 4 5

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Foreign Films. Insight. Intelligence. 8:00 to 9:50 pm

65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “The Lives of Others” (Foreign/Character)

Watch and outline: “Rocky” (Sports/Character)

Read:

Question:


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December Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week 15 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


Feminism and Film - The Patriarchal Construction of the Image

Subjectivity - Objectivity - and “The Look”

Screening: Sana toit ni Loi aka Vagabond (Agnes Varda, 1985)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

Read:

Film Theory and Criticism Laura Mulvey: Visual Pleasure and

Narrative Cinema Christine Gledhill: Recent Developments

in Feminist Criticism

Films: Rebecca – Daughters of the Dust

Week 15 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


for Film

Synthesis: 10 things to be aware of when creating/experiencing a film. Overview of Production Sequences: 16mm Film Production Digital Video Production

FINAL PROJECT DUE

6:00 – 7:50 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment:

FINAL ASSIGNMENTS

Write two film reviews (approx. 4-5 pages each in length) concentrating on the cinematic structural construction and its relationship to the development of the characters, story and themes. One film must be chosen from the recommended list. All reviews are due in the final class (12/07).

PROJECT:

FINAL PROJECT The completed screenplay (1st and 2nd draft), and shooting script for a short (approx. 5 -10 minute) film. Due by Final Class (12/07).

Films: Citizen Kane, Vertigo

Week 15 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


Production Workshop

CLASS THIRTEEN, Dec 8 screen rough cuts

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 15 6 7 8 9 10 11 12


emotion/manipulation /sports movie as metaphor

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258

Analyze: “Rocky”

Watch and outline: Prepare to discuss your chosen film

Read:

Question:


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Notes/Ideas

December Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Week 16 13 14 15 16 17 18 19


Feminism and Film Cont. - The Patriarchal Construction of the Image. Subjectivity - Objectivity - and “The

Look” Gender Construction - Role Playing and

Masquerade Form – Content

Screening The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)

6:00 – 10:00 p.m. 66 W 12th St. 407

Assignment: Final Assignment Due: Term Paper

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 16 13 14 15 16 17 18 19


for Film Class Finished as of 12/7

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 16 13 14 15 16 17 18 19


Production Workshop

CLASS FOURTEEN, Dec 15

screen rough cuts and fine cuts

6:00 – 8:40 pm, 55 W 13th 425

Assignment:

Read:

Recommended:

Films:

Week 16 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

NSRW2800 Script Analysis Discuss your chosen films. Final Paper Due

FINAL PAPER DUE

8:00 to 9:50 pm 65 W 11th 258


September Mon Tue Wed Thu

Week 17 20 21 22 23

NFLM 3715 Documentry

Production Workshop

CLASS FIFTEEN, Dec 20 – Please note this is a MONDAY

Final screening day, make DVDs

6:00 – 10:00 p.m.


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NFLM2400: CRN 1719 - Introduction to Cinema Studies

FALL 2010: 15 sessions. Mon., 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Instructor: John Freitas - Telephone # Cell (201) 920 - 9698 E-mails: [email protected] & [email protected] _____________________________________________________________________ 08/30 Introduction to course - Outline and Objectives The Film Text - The Components of Film Study Form - Content Screening - Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

CONSTRUCTION

09/13 Construction - Deconstruction (Analysis) Recognition of Style - Aesthetic Approach Construction of Image (Mise-en-Scene) Construction of Structure (Editing) Screening – Days of Heaven (Terence Malick, 1978) Read: Film Art: Chapter 2: The Significance of Film Form Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Introduction: Film and Representation 09/20 Frame Design - Basic Elements & Movement Mise En Scene - CU - MS – LS – Open/Closed Movement within Frame – Horizontal - Vertical Camera Movement - Tilt – Pan – Moving Camera Manipulation of Frame – Slow Motion – Freeze Frame etc. Screening – In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000) Read: Film Art: Chapter 6: The Shot: Mise-en-Scene Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Mise-en-Scene - Camera Films – Rear Window – Badlands 09/27 Cinematography and Light - Optics and Chemicals - Film Stocks Approaches to Lighting - Flat - Three Point Dynamic - Existing Light The Construction of High and Low Ratios Screening – Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1956)Read: Film Art: Chapter 7: The Shot: Cinematography Recommended: Film, form, Culture: Lighting Films – Night of the Hunter - Kwaidan





10/04 Editing - Structure - Linear/Narrative vs. Non-Linear/Experimental Approaches to Placement: Cutting to/for Continuity - Classical Cutting (Decoupage Classique!) – Thematic Montage Screening – Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) Read: Film Art: Chapter 8: The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing Recommended: Film, form, Culture: Continuity Editing and Montage Films – Strangers on a Train – Manchurian Candidate - Memento 1st Assignment Due: Film Analysis One 10/11 Sound - Aural SoundScapes - The Construction of Sound Referencing the Image Sync/Async - Actual/Commentative Three Basic Components of Sound: Music - Words - Noise Screening – The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) Read: Film Art: Chapter 9: Sound in the Cinema Recommended: Film, form, Culture: Music Films – The Conversation – Blow Out – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

ANALYSIS 10/18 Film Text and Film Form - Two Basic Approaches of Theoretical Construct Part One: Formalism (Expressionism – Creationism) Screening – Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961) Read: Film Art: Chapter 11: Film Criticism: Sample Analyses Read: Film Theory and Criticism: Rudolf Arnheim: The Complete Film/The Making of a Film Sergei Eisenstein : The Dramaturgy of Film Form Films – The Passion of Joan – Lady From Shanghai 10/25 Film Text and Film Form - Two Basic Approaches of Theoretical Construct Part Two – Realism – The Primacy of Reality – Neo-Realism – Dogma 95 Screening - Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988) Read: Film Theory and Criticism Andre Bazin: The Myth of the Total Cinema/The Evolution of the Language of Film Siegfried Kracauer: Basic Concepts/The Establishment of Physical Existence Films – Roma Open City – Bicycle Thief – The Celebration



11/01 Theories of Authorship and Textual Analysis - Proto-Auterism - Auteurism - Auteur-Strulturalism - Auteur-Instance of Politics and/or Pleasure

Screening - Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) Read: Film Theory and Criticism: Andrew Sarris: Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962 Peter Wollen: From Signs and Meaning in the Cinema: The Autuer Theory Films – Taxi Driver – The Searchers – Tokyo Story 11/08 Marxism and Film – Classical Hollywood & Genre The Capitalist Agenda – In Narrative Content – In Structural Construct Screening – Do the Right Thing (Spike lee, 1989) Read: Film Art: Chapter 4: Film Genres Read: Film Theory and Criticism: Thomas Schatz: From Hollywood Genres: Film Genre and the Genre Film Robin Wood: Ideology, Genre, Auteur Films – Man with a Movie Camera – Meet John Doe – Blue Collar - Matewan 2nd Assignment Due: Film Analysis 2 11/15 Classical Film Theory Explored and Expanded: Christian Metz and Semiotics: The Signifier and the Signified Screening – The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci,1970) Read: Film Theory and Criticism Christian Metz: Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema Identification, Mirror, The Passion of Perceiving Films – Alexander Nevsky – Alphaville – 11/22 Classical Film Theory Explored and Expanded Cont.: The Denotative and the Connotative Aspects of the Image The Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic defined and explored Screening – 3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977) Read: Film Theory and Criticism Kaja Silverman: from The Subject of Semiotics Parker Tyler: Magic and Myth of the Movies Films – Alexander Nevsky – Alphaville –



11/29 Psychoanalysis and Film: Freud & Lacan Biology, Desire, Language = Oedipus & Narrative Construct Scopophilia = Voyeurism and Fetishism Screening - Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960) Read: Film Theory and Criticism Read: Linda Williams: Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess Films – Psycho – The Piano 12/06 Feminism and Film - The Patriarchal Construction of the Image Subjectivity - Objectivity - and “The Look” Screening – Sana toit ni Loi aka Vagabond (Agnes Varda, 1985) Read: Film Theory and Criticism Laura Mulvey: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema Christine Gledhill: Recent Developments in Feminist Criticism Films - Rebecca – Daughters of the Dust 12/13 Feminism and Film Cont. - The Patriarchal Construction of the Image Subjectivity - Objectivity - and “The Look” Gender Construction - Role Playing and Masquerade Screening – The Lady Eve – (Preston Sturges, 1941) Final Assignment Due: Term Paper



CLASS ASSIGNMENTS: Write two film analyses focusing on the previous week’s topics. The first film analysis should focus on; mise-en-scene, camera movement and cinematography. The second should focus on; editing, sound, formalism and realism. The films are to be chosen from the recommended list (Please note: You may not do any films we view in class). The analyses should be approx. 5-7 pages in length. They are due on 10/04 and 11/08 respectively. Late papers will lose ½ letter grade for each week late, starting on it’s initial due date. FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Write a 10 -12 page analysis of one film, incorporating and utilizing as many of the semester’s topics as possible. An emphasis should be placed on exploring the film beyond its narrative content or story. The film is to be chosen from the recommended list. The final assignment is due in the final class (12/13). No extensions. FINAL GRADE The grade is based on class attendance and participation (20%), the class assignments (40%) and the final assignment (40%). Note: 3 or more absences may decrease your grade by one full grade, 4 or more, failure. Mandatory for all credit and certificate students. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT: Write 10 film reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 of the films must be chosen from the recommended films list. This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for the class. I am looking for an analysis that is more informed by aesthetic and thematic concerns than by an examination of performance and story (not that these things aren’t important, just not what we’re focusing on in this class). The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). All due in the last class 12/13. Have fun! All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED. Required Text: Film Art: An Introduction by David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson New York – McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 8th edition on. Highly Recommended: Film Theory and Criticism edited by Gerald mast, Marshall Cohen, Leo Brady New York - Oxford University Press - newest edition. Film, form, and Culture: The Cinema Studies DVD-ROM by Robert Kolker McGraw-Hill Book Company. “A film is difficult to explain because it is easy to understand.” Christian Metz



Recommended Texts: The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience by Vivian Sobchack Princeton - Princeton University Press - 1992 Black American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship edited by Manthia Diawara New York - Routledge - 1993 Cinema: A Critical Dictionary: The Major Filmmakers Vol. I & II edited by Richard Roud New York - The Viking Press - 1980 The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film edited by Barry Keith Grant Austin - University of Texas Press - 1996 Echo and Narcissus: Women’s Voices in Classical Hollywood Cinema by Amy Lawrence - Berkeley - University of California Press Ltd. - 1991 Film Sound edited by Elisabeth Weis and John Belton New York - Columbia University Press - 1985. How To Read a Film by James Monaco New York - Oxford University Press - 1981 Movies and Methods Volumes I & II edited by Bill Nichols Berkeley - University of California Press - 1985 The Oxford Guide to Film Studies edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson Oxford - Oxford University Press - 1998 The Oxford History of World Cinema edited by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith Oxford - Oxford university Press - 1996 The St. James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia: Women on the other side of the Camera - Edited by Amy L. Unterburger - MI - Visible Ink Press - 1999 Women & Film: Both Sides of the Camera by E. Ann Kaplan New York - Methuen, Inc. 1983



Recommended Films: Vertigo Man Facing Southeast Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren col.) Tokyo Story Don’t Look Now Lola Killer of Sheep Orpheus The Searchers The Apu Trilogy My Darling Clementine Rules of the Game The Learning Tree Jules and Jim Night of the Hunter Z Rear Window The Samurai Trilogy Daughters of the Dust Memorias Del Subdesarollo The Best Years of our Live The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie They Live by Night Breathless (1959) Psycho Hiroshima Mon Amour Lady From Shanghai Alphaville & La Jetee Dance, Girl, Dance La Strada Touch of Evil Ugetsu Monogatari Citizen Kane Bicycle Thieves The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino) La Dolce Vita Notorious L’Aventura Sullivan’s Travels Last Year at Marienbad Miracle at Morgan’s Creek The Blue Angel Picnic at Hanging Rock The Burmese Harp Do the Right Thing Ashes and Diamonds Once Upon aTime in the West Last Tango in Paris The Killing The Conformist Murder, My Sweet Men Daughters of the Dust Jeanne Dielman 23 Three Women Vagabond The 3rd Man A Question of Silence Stairway to Heaven Cries and Whispers To Be or Not To Be Solaris Walkabout A Nous la Liberte Badlands Lola Montes The Conversation Juliet of the Spirits Out of the Past Rashomon Rosemary’s Baby The American Friend The Piano Triumph of the Will Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song Roma, Open City Parallax View The Hidden Fortress Peeping Tom M Wild Bunch Aguirre, The Wrath of God

NFLM3500: CRN1762 - Developing Ideas for Film FALL2010: 15 sessions. Tues., 6:00 - 7:50 p.m. – 66 west 12th Street

Instructor: John Freitas - Telephone # Cell (201) 920-9698 E-mails: [email protected] – [email protected] _____________________________________________________________________ 08/31 Introduction to course - Outline and Objectives What is Cinematic? The Idea - Inception/Conception 09/07 Style (Theoretical Approach) - Formalism (Expressionism) - Realism

- The Primacy (Tyranny) of Content? - FILM IDEAS DUE Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 1: Photography Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Intro: Film and Representation Films: Juliet of the Spirits - Bicycle Thief 09/14 Images - Gestalt Laws of Visual Perception

- Proximity – Similarity – Continuity – Closure

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 2: Mise En Scene Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: The Long Take Films - M – Picnic At Hanging Rock 09/21 Images - Frame Design and its Basic Elements

- Mise en scene – Close Up – Medium Shot – Long Shot - Principles of Dominant Contrast – the Frame – Open and Closed

- FILM SYNOPSIS DUE Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 2: Mise En Scene Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Mise En Scene Films – The Conformist – Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau) - Vagabond 09/28 Images - Frame Design and its Basic Elements Cont.

- Movement (Within Frame and Camera) Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 3: Movement Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Camera & POV Films – Last Year at Marienbad – Lola Montes – Russian Ark




10/05 Images – Perspective and Voice – Who’s telling the story? - POV - 1st. Person - Omniscient Voice - 3rd. Person - Objective

- FILM TREATMENT DUE Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 9: POV Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Camera & POV FILMS - Dark Passage – Out of the Past 10/12 Lighting - Cinematography and Light – Approaches to Lighting - Flat -Three Point Dynamic – Environmental/Existing Light Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 1: Photography Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Lighting Films - Night of the Hunter – Kwaidan – Last Tango in Paris – Do The Right Thing 10/19 Introduction to Basic Screenplay Form:

- The 4 Symbiotic Components - Location (Environment) – Focus On/Informed by (Characters?) - Story (Movement/Structure) – Tone (Sound)/Mood(Light)

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 8: Story Recommended: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting Films – Notorious – Rules of the Game – The Piano 10/26 Lighting Cont. - Cinematography and Light – - The aesthetic and thematic use of color - The Construction of High and Low Ratios Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 1: Photography Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Lighting Films - Night of the Hunter – Kwaidan – Last Tango in Paris – Do The Right Thing 11/02 Editing - Cutting to/for Continuity - Classical Cutting (Decoupage Classique!) - Thematic Montage - SCREENPLAY DUE Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Montage Films – Strangers on a Train – Manchurian Candidate – Tokyo Story


11/09 Editing Cont. – The Content Curve - Specific edits and their Connotations

Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Montage Films – Daughters of the Dust – Breathless (original) – Wild Bunch 11/16 Storyboards - Environment as Character (Voice) - Locations and Logistics - Shooting Scripts - Storyboards Drawings/Photos/Video Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 4: Editing Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Continuity Editing Films – The Draughtsman’s Contract – Don’t Look Now – Hiroshima Mon Amour 11/23 Sound - The Construction of Sound - Referencing the Image - Sync/Async - Actual/Commentative - The Three Basic Components of Sound - Music - Words - Noise - SHOOTING SCRIPTS Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 5: Sound Recommended: Film, form, and Culture: Music Films – The Conversation – Man Facing Southeast 11/30 – 12/07 Synthesis - 10 things to be aware of when creating/experiencing a film. Overview of Production Sequences: - 16mm Film Production - Digital Video Production - All Final Work – Reviews due Read: Understanding Movies: Chapter 12: Synthesis: Citizen Kane Films – Citizen Kane – Vertigo (!)


FINAL PROJECT (Mandatory for all grade and certificate students) The completed screenplay (1st and 2nd draft), and shooting script for a short (approx. 5 -10 minute) film. Due by Final Class (12/07). FINAL ASSIGNMENTS (Mandatory for all grade and certificate students) Write two film reviews (approx. 4-5 pages each in length) concentrating on the cinematic structural construction and its relationship to the development of the characters, story and themes. One film must be chosen from the recommended list. All reviews are due in the final class (12/07). FINAL GRADE The grade is based on class attendance and participation (20%), the 2 reviews (20%) and work (homework, final project) (60%). Note: 3 or more absences may decrease your grade by one full grade, 4 or more, failure. All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT: Write 10 films reviews (or responses) 1 page in length. 5 films should be chosen from the recommended list. This should be thought of more as a cinematic diary than as “homework” or the other papers for class. I am looking for an analysis that is informed by emotion and an examination of aesthetic concerns. The extra credit will be worth an increase of one full grade (for ex. from a “B” to an “A”). Note: The extra credit is an all or nothing situation which means you have to do 10. All due in the last class (12/07). Have fun! All SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE TYPED. Required Texts: Understanding Movies by Louis Giannetti New Jersey - Prentice Hall, inc., from 10th edition on. Recommended Text: Film, form, and Culture: The Cinema Studies DVD-ROM by Robert Kolker McGraw-Hill Book Company. Highly Recommended! “A film is difficult to explain because it is easy to understand.” Christian Metz


Films scenes from which we may view in class:* MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON (1943) SALAAM BOMBAY! (1988) THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) THE CONFORMIST (1971) ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938) IT’S ALL TRUE (1993) DRAUGHTMAN’S CONTRACT (1982) NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1973) VERTIGO (1958) BADLANDS (1974) TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) DARK PASSAGE (1947) THE CONVERSATION (1974) IN COLD BLOOD (1967) STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) OTHELLO (1952) STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (1946) WILD BUNCH (1969) DON’T LOOK NOW (1973) THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) LA JETEE (1963) REPULSION (1965) BICYCLE THIEF (1948) M (1931) KWAIDAN (1964) THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)

* These may be also used for final reviews, in addition to the recommended list.


RECOMMENDED FILMS: Night of the Hunter Man Facing Southeast Daughters of the Dust Tokyo Story Don’t Look Now Xala Vertigo Orpheus The Searchers The Apu Trilogy My Darling Clementine Rules of the Game The Learning Tree Jules and Jim Meshes of the Afternoon Maya Deren Col. Z Husbands The Samurai The Best Years of Our Lives Memorias Del Subdesarollo The Piano The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie They Live by Night Breathless (1959) Psycho Hiroshima Mon Amour Lady From Shanghai Alphaville & La Jetee Dance, Girl, Dance La Strada Touch of Evil Ugetsu Monogatari Citizen Kane Bicycle Thieves The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino) La Dolce Vita My Brilliant Career L’Aventura Sullivan’s Travels Last Year at Marienbad Miracle at Morgan’s Creek The Blue Angel Picnic at Hanging Rock The Burmese Harp Killer of Sheep Ashes and Diamonds Once Upon a Time in the West Last Tango in Paris Do the Right Thing The Conformist Murder, My Sweet Men Paths of Glory Jeanne Dielman 23 Three Women Vagabond The 3rd Man A Question of Silence Stairway to Heaven Cries and Whispers To Be or Not To Be Solaris Walkabout A Nous la Liberte Badlands Lola Montes The Conversation Juliet of the Spirits Out of the Past Rashomon Rosemary’s Baby The American Friend Scarlet Street Triumph of the Will Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song Roma, Open City Parallax View The Hidden Fortress Peeping Tom M Wild Bunch Aguirre, The Wrath of God


Recommended Texts: The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience by Vivian Sobchack Princeton - Princeton University Press - 1992 Black American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship edited by Manthia Diawara New York - Routledge - 1993 Cinema: A Critical Dictionary: The Major Filmmakers Vol. I & II edited by Richard Roud New York - The Viking Press - 1980 The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film edited by Barry Keith Grant Austin - University of Texas Press - 1996 Echo and Narcissus: Women’s Voices in Classical Hollywood Cinema by Amy Lawrence - Berkeley - University of California Press Ltd. - 1991 Film Sound edited by Elisabeth Weis and John Belton New York - Columbia University Press - 1985. How To Read a Film by James Monaco New York - Oxford University Press - 1981 Movies and Methods Volumes I & II edited by Bill Nichols Berkeley - University of California Press - 1985 The Oxford Guide to Film Studies edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson Oxford - Oxford University Press - 1998 The Oxford History of World Cinema edited by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith Oxford - Oxford university Press - 1996 The St. James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia: Women on the other side of the Camera - Edited by Amy L. Unterburger - MI - Visible Ink Press - 1999 Women & Film: Both Sides of the Camera by E. Ann Kaplan New York - Methuen, Inc. 1983

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FALL 2010 Documentary Production Workshop NFLM 3715 15 Sessions. Weds, 6:00 - 8:40pm, Sept 1-Dec 20, 2010 Arnhold Hall 55 W. 13th 425

Leslie McCleave, Assistant Professor (PT) [email protected]

TA: TBA

Students learn the essentials of shooting their own five- to seven-minute documentaries. They learn to develop their concept, research the topic, interview subjects, and create a visual strategy. Students develop their skills of location scouting, lighting, shooting and post-production. In addition the course explores the use of still photographs and stock footage. Students may work individually or in groups, and by the end of the term will have a working rough cut or fine cut, edited with Final Cut Pro. Students have access to a New School digital video camera. Students must have their own firewire drive. Class 1 – 8: RESEARCH EXERCISES and PRODUCTION Class 9 – 14: POST-PRODUCTION Class 15: EVALUATION / SCREENING Note: Readings/Screenings will be assigned on a weekly basis. CLASS ONE Sep 1 Introductions. Equipment room and equipment policies.

WHAT IS DOCUMENTARY? Discussion Introduction to the short documentary Documentary vs. other forms of non-fiction filmmaking PARAMETERS OF YOUR DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

ASSIGNMENT: 3 short documentary ideas, begin research

*** NO class Sept 8 – holiday ***

CLASS TWO – BRING YOUR CAMERA TO CLASS Sep 15 Lecture - ACTIVITY & SCENE STRUCTURE What activities are interesting on screen? What can activity reveal about character? How best can we capture these activities? Coverage, composition, and continuity

CAMERA TECH Camera Basics: Lenses, Exposure, Focus

ASSIGNMENT : Activity Shoot 5 minutes of video material in which a subject is engaged in an activity that is revealing. The footage that you show in class next week must be pure activity and should not be part of your final documentary project. No music performances please. Bring your shot, cued, footage to class on Sept. 15. CLASS THREE Sep 22 Screen activity footage. Lighting and sound tech.

The importance of good dialogue levels

ASSIGNMENT: DOC JOURNAL Write a one- to two-page introduction to your film by documenting your experiences with your subjects. Include specifics on your locations, characters and activities, and describe the most interesting situations or details you’ve observed thus far.

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CLASS FOUR Sep 29 – BRING HARD DRIVE and miniDV tape to class

FINAL CUT PRO Intro to Non-Linear Editing Logging & Capturing

ASSIGNMENT: LOG & CAPTURE ACTIVITY EXERCISES

CLASS FIVE Oct 6

Lecture - CHOOSING CHARACTERS What makes someone an interesting doc subject?

Finding the Crucial Experience in your subject’s life

ASSIGNMENT: Shoot your character doing an activity in 2 different locations. Use various camera angles, lighting, location and activity to reveal something about your character. What do we know about your character from his or her surroundings?

_____________________________________________________________________________ CLASS SIX Oct 13

Lecture - DOC STORYTELLING Structuring a short documentary film Screening / Discussion – Character Research

Students choose 2 minutes of character research material (1 minute from each location) to screen for the class.

SHOOTING THE INTERVIEW Interview Techniques Writing Interview Questions Releases

ASSIGNMENTS: OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR FINAL FILM INTERVIEW EXERCISE – Working in pairs, shoot a short interview with a classmate. Keep in mind appropriate composition, audio levels, lighting, choosing a location that reveals something about the character. CLASS SEVEN Oct 20

Screen Interview Exercises TECH Final Cut Pro – Basic Editing ** Bring your hard drive to class!**

ASSIGNMENT: 1. Edit Activity or Character Material 2. Pre-Production Package

____________________________________________________________________________ CLASS EIGHT Oct 27 *PRE PRODUCTION PACKAGES DUE TODAY*

Class Presentations Each student will prepare a package to present to the class including treatment, storyboards, and research material. Focus will be on how the director has chosen to present the material. Screen EDITED activity or character material.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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CLASS NINE Nov 3

Lecture & discussion – EDITING Point of View in editing- Selectivity

Documentary Editing Strategies and Techniques TECH

Editorial overview: Assembly to Rough Cut; Fine Cutting, Audio, Titles

ASSIGNMENT: Editing exercise Edit one scene of your project to present in class. Do not exceed 2 minutes. CLASS TEN / no shooting after this week Nov 10 Lecture – Structure in Editing Beginning, Middle, End

Discussion / Screening: 2 min Scene Exercise _____________________________________________________________________________ CLASS ELEVEN Nov 17

Lecture - Structure in Editing II Editing within scenes

Transition from scene to scene Discussion / Screening: Remaining editing exercises (if any) and Screen rough cuts

*** NO class Nov 24 – holiday ***

CLASS TWELVE Dec 1 screen rough cuts CLASS THIRTEEN Dec 8 screen rough cuts CLASS FOURTEEN Dec 15 screen rough cuts and fine cuts CLASS FIFTEEN Dec 20 – Please note this is a MONDAY Final screening day, make DVDs EVALUATION AND GRADING Students’ work will be evaluated weekly during screenings & class discussions. Each student must screen their final project in three stages, on at least three separate days: dailies, rough cut and fine cut. Adhering to production deadlines is critical to your success in this course. All written work must be typed. Work (written or video) will only be accepted one week late, late work will receive reduced credit.

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GRADING CRITERIA: Final Film 50% Choice of subject, storytelling, use of camera and lighting, editing. Film conception and execution, demonstration of concepts discussed in class Assignments/Homework 30% Professionalism, Attendance, Class Participation 20% Respect and care for equipment, willingness to collaborate, general attitude

READINGS/ SCREENINGS: Required Text: Directing the Documentary, Fifth Edition (Paperback) Publisher: Focal Press by Michael Rabiger Recommended Text: Final Cut Pro 7: Visual QuickPro Guide, Lisa Brenneis Peachpit Press Books are available in the textbook section of Barnes and Noble on 5th and 18th. New School Students receive a 10% discount at this location. The books are also available on Amazon etc. Drives should be firewire, MAC compatible, at least 120 gigs, spin at 7200 rpm. (MOST small portable drives only spin at 5400 rpm) Sample firewire hard drives

G-Tech 908112-01 500GB G-Drive Combo External Hard Drive - Windows / Macintosh 7200 RPM / 16MB Cache / USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 interface / Fan-less design / Compact and sturdy all aluminum enclosure / 3-Year Warranty $149.99

LaCie 301108U 320GB d2 Quadra External Hard Drive 320 GB Capacity / External Serial ATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400 & 800 Interface / 7200 RPM / 8MB Cache / Windows & Macintosh Compatible

$114.99

Script Analysis - Syllabus

Instructor Loren-Paul Caplin E-mail [email protected]

Course The New School NSRW 2800B Dates Thursday , Sept 2 – Dec 16, 8:00pm to 9:50pm

Description:

In-depth analysis of a screenplay's storyline, characters, dialogue, images and theme can reveal a wide range of narrative techniques and storytelling styles, from Hollywood to independent and everything in between. Students view successful films and analyze their scripts, learning how essential information is conveyed, how story elements are communicated through visual means, how dramatic momentum is built with cause and effect, and what makes a character credible and complex. Students end the term with the ability to critically examine a film (via its screenplay) and apply that knowledge to their own screenwriting and/or script analytical ability.

Requirements:

1. Attendance (13 class mandatory)

2. Watch and outline 1 movie per week. (one line, basic beats....not super detailed) 12 outlines minimum.

3. Workshop/class participation.

4. Complete all assignments weekly. (NOTE: This is key to getting this course.)

Grades based on:

25% Attendance (12 class mandatory)

25% Completion of assignments in timely manner.

20% Class participation

30% Demonstrated Understanding through assignments, quizzes, participation and Final Paper!

Final Paper:

In depth Analysis of a film that has not been covered in class. (Get approval from instructor of film choice by 7th class.) Assignment must include an in depth outline fully annotated reflecting the analysis and critical viewing that has been discussed during the course. Whenever possible reference both in-class discussions from films we viewed as well as additional information from other films seen and analyzed and other text read.

Suggested Readings:

GOOD SCRIPTS BAD SCRIPTS, by Thomas Pope

MAKING A GOOD SCRIPT GREAT, by Linda Seger

SCREENPLAY: The Foundations of Screenwriting, by Syd Field

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: Mythic Structures for Storytellers & Screenwriters. By Christopher Vogler

Materials:

Additional Handouts

Films we will work on: (*read script or source material)

The Fugitive (basic structure – Action-Crime, genre)

The Fisher King (heroes journey)

Seven* Plus Original Script (psychological thriller,

genre)

Romancing the Stone (action/romance)

STAND BY ME* (Plus Original Short Story: THE BODY)

The Last Boy Scout* (action/comedy)

Chinatown* (Epic- Mystery/thriller - Character)

Network (incredible dialogue/ Character/theme)

In the Line of Fire (Drama/Suspense)

Jerry Maguire (character/romantic comedy)

What Women Want (Romantic Comedy)

The Lives of Others (Foreign/Character/

Theme/Structure)

Rocky (Sports/Character)

NOTE: Some films may be changed.

WEEK ONE (SEPT. 2)

Go over syllabus. Why this class? The lens through which we’ll analyze. Analysis criteria.

OVERVIEW:

Structure! Holy trinity: STORY, THEME & CHARACTER (-Whose story it?--inner/outer goals -- arc) DRAMATIC SITUATION!!!!! What is it?

(That situation that posits the near inevitability of future conflict) Emotional Engine Why Film Story: Images. (Every Picture tells a story) The Nature of Drama (Tension/conflict/"truck and dog") Cause and Effect Externalizing the Internal Holy Triangle: Character/Story/Theme Hero’s Journey Outlining --- approx: 20 – 35 points.

GENRES! (Expectations):

IS IT INTERESTING?

Grimms Fairy Tales.

Discuss premise

Plot/Subplot

ACT I : THE SET UP

The problem; the question; the task; the goal of the main character etc./characters: who they are.

Seven criteria for Act one:

1. meet major characters

2. tone/style

3. Inciting incident

4. Turning Point

5. Set up

6. Goal of main character

7. Dramatic Situation – seeds of inevitability of future conflict

ACT II: THE DEVELOPMENT

The "what happens?"; the mix-up/ characters: who they’ve been.

ACT III: THE RESOLUTION

the conclusion; the "what happens then?"; the "how are they going to get out of this fix?"; getting to: "And they live/or

don't- live happily ever after"/ characters: who they’ve become.)

Major Plot Points/ Turning Points:

Major events or information which greatly effects (turns) the course of the story.

Basic terms.

Basic script format.

Create short sentence idea of what your story is about

CRITERIA FOR SCRIPT ANALYSIS:

MAKE TWO COPIES. Turn one in upon entering class. Keep one to make notes on during class.

(If “credit” student, write © next to your name)

Required Aspects Of Analysis:

1. State basic PREMISE of script. (in one or two lines!!!)

2. State Theme(s)

3. State Character(s) Outer goal and Inner goal.

4. Semi-detailed Outline of the Major Scenes (“beats”) that tell the entire STORY of the script. (between 20 -35 beats)

The following should be in bold and/or underlined or highlighted – so as to distinguish the analysis from the outline.

a. Script Structure: Identify:

i. Act Breaks

ii. Inciting Incident

iii. Turning Points of Act 1 and 2

iv. Mid-point Shift (explain what’s happening)

b. Denote / list all 7 “act one criteria” if they appear.

c. Track Goal(s) of Character(s) through each scene of story.

d. Track how the theme plays through each scene the story

e. State time of each scene/beat

5. Draw visual DIAGRAM of script structure. There should be a line for each major character’s journey/story --- if the story has

more than one major character line.

Additional Aspects of the Analysis:

1. Hero’s Journey: are any of the 12 points of the journey noticeable? State where they exist on the outline of the film.

2. Emotional Engine: Often it is connected to the inner goal of the character; this is the charged emotional quality that seems

to both drive the character as well as compel the viewer to connect with him.

3. Cause and Effect: something happens, then there is a repercussion from that. It’s interesting to note that this occurs

emotionally as well. (ie. Someone dies, then someone feels bad, then that person does something based upon feeling bad,

etc. etc.)

4. Character MOTIVATION. This is related to cause and effect, however the emphasis here should be on the root motivation

of the character: what drives him/her. (note: this is usually connected to their “Inner Goal”)

Describe the “EMOTIONAL ENGINE”

I’m basically trying to get you to look at the emotion that is at the center (not the midpoint) of your story – what emotionally drives

it? Often times it is simply the pain that a character feels and this translates to the audience feeling it and wanting it to be abated.

Therefore we root all the more for our character to ‘feel better’ – and that desire to make it better is also the motivation for pushing

the story forward – like an engine: emotional engine.

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Film Analysis Worksheet: Chinatown 1. FEATURES OF THE FILM

1.1 Complete the following informative table, in order to precise the main features of the film you have just seen.

Features Information

Title of film ________________________________________________________________

Film director ________________________________________________________________

Film genre/type of film ________________________________________________________________

Main actors/cast ________________________________________________________________

Screenplay ________________________________________________________________

Music/soundtrack ________________________________________________________________

Production/film length ________________________________________________________________

1.2 Is the film-script original or has it been adapted from a literary text such as a play or a novel?

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2. THE STORY/PLOT, THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE, AND THE CHARACTERS

2.1 Briefly summarize the story/plot starting from the initial sequence (what the situation is like at the beginning of the film and how the subsequent events/scenes advance); the development (focus on the main events that link the beginning of the story to the end of the film); and the conclusion (how the film ends/final part).

Beginning

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Development

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Conclusion

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2.2 ANALYSE THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE BY FILLING IN THE FOLLOWING OUTLINE:

TIME AND CONTEXT Historical background:

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Place/location/setting/pervading atmosphere:

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Time/period:

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CHARACTERS

Main character (who he/she is, physical description, what he/she does)

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Personality (personal qualities, behaviour, feelings, etc.)

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Minor characters:

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Description (name, physical appearance, personality)

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3. GLOBAL MEANING OF THE FILM

3.1 WHAT IS THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF THE FILM?

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Decide which of the following themes are developed in the film. The list may be of some help but you can also add more:

□Love □War □Justice □Youth □Old age □Lack of communication □Quest for success □Fate □Nature □Personal

ambitions □Violence □Family life □The future □Social institutions □Work and jobs □________ □________

4. PERSONAL OPINION

4.1 Relate if you liked the film (or if you didn’t like the film) and motivate your answer, taking into consideration how the film was produced (interest in the story/plot, acting, photography, costumes, music, etc.).

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4.2 In your opinion, is the film appropriate for young people of your age? Is it worth seeing? Explain why.

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Film Analysis Worksheet: Seven 1. FEATURES OF THE FILM



Title of film ________________________________________________________________

Film director ________________________________________________________________


Main actors/cast ________________________________________________________________

Screenplay ________________________________________________________________




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Beginning

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Development

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Conclusion

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Time/period:

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CHARACTERS


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Minor characters:

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4. PERSONAL OPINION


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Film Analysis Worksheet: The Last Boy Scout 1. FEATURES OF THE FILM



Title of film ________________________________________________________________

Film director ________________________________________________________________


Main actors/cast ________________________________________________________________

Screenplay ________________________________________________________________




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Beginning

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Development

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Conclusion

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Time/period:

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CHARACTERS


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Minor characters:

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4. PERSONAL OPINION


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The Hero's Journey: Summary of the Steps Brief Explanations for Each Step of The Hero's Journey.

A. DEPARTURE 1. The Call to Adventure 2. Refusal of the Call 3. Supernatural Aid 4. The Crossing of the First

Threshold 5. The Belly of the Whale

B. INITIATION 1. The Road of Trials 2. The Meeting with the Goddess 3. Woman as the Temptress 4. Atonement with the Father 5. Apotheosis 6. The Ultimate Boon

C. RETURN 1. Refusal of the Return 2. The Magic Flight 3. The Crossing of the Return

Threshold 4. Master of the Two Worlds 5. Freedom to Live

A. DEPARTURE

1. The Call to Adventure The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not.

2. Refusal of the Call Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.

3. Supernatural Aid Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.

5. The Belly of the Whale The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.

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B. INITIATION

1. The Road of Trials The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.

2. The Meeting with the Goddess The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. It is also known as the "hieros gamos", or sacred marriage, the union of opposites, and may take place entirely within the person. In other words, the person begins to see him or herself in a non-dualistic way. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self-unification does not have to be represented by a woman.

3. Woman as the Temptress At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which as with the Meeting with the Goddess does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. For Campbell, however, this step is about the revulsion that the usually male hero may feel about his own fleshy/earthy nature, and the subsequent attachment or projection of that revulsion to women. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.

4. Atonement with the Father In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. For the transformation to take

place, the person as he or she has been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a different realm.

5. Apotheosis To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This is a god-like state; the person is in heaven and beyond all strife. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.

6. The Ultimate Boon The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.

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7. RETURN

1. Refusal of the Return So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?

2. The Magic Flight Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.

3. Rescue from Without Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon.

4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.

5. Master of the Two Worlds In myth, this step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.

6. Freedom to Live Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.

SCREENWRITING GLOSSARY

Act A sequence of scenes in a screenplay that comprises either its beginning, middle or end. (See Three-Act Structure section following.)

Ally The character who is in the best position to help the protagonist

surmount their problem or achieve what they are after. Angle On Camera direction calling specific attention to a person or thing that

otherwise might get lost in the scene. Should be used in place of other technical camera directions which are unacceptable in spec script format and are solely the choice of the film's director.

Antagonist The character who directly opposes the needs and wants of the main

character or stands in the way of him/her achieving his/her objective. A well written antagonist is one who will "bring out" the weaknesses and ultimately the strengths of your protagonist. Remember: The better the villain, the better the movie.

Backstory Everything that took place or happened to your characters before the

opening scene of your movie. The information that gives logic and understanding to the audience as to who the main character is and why s/he acts a certain way presently in your story.

Beat (1) A changing moment of human behavior. Also referred to as unit.

Also called Story Beat. Any dramatic event, scene or sequence that moves the story along it's time track.

Beat (2) A pause in action or dialogue that helps escalate tension. In

dialogue, a beat enhances realistic speech patterns (inflections). which adds to the drama of your screenplay.

Beat Sheet An outline of the screenplay according to its story beats. Bookends A way to open and close your movie with similar scenes that place

the movie as a whole in some sort of context. Example: Little Big Man, The Wizard of Oz, etc.

Catalyst A statement or physical action that provokes a change in the

progression of a story. When used at the beginning (around page 15), the catalyst is the first moment something happens in the story. Also called the Point of Attack or the Inciting Incident.

Cause and Effect Cause and effect is at work when the events of a scene must occur

because of what happened in the scene immediately preceding it. Conversely, the preceding scene's events make the events of the following scene imperative. Cause and effect serves to build dramatic momentum by interrelating the events in such a way that the story is continuously pushed forward.

Screenwriting Glossary -2-

Central Question The question raised at the end of Act I that will determine the

direction of the rest of the story. Example: "Will Martin catch the shark?" (Jaws) "Will Rose and Charlie blow up the Louisa?" (The African Queen).

Character Arc The development, change or internal movement that a character

undergoes during the course of the screenplay, particularly the protagonist. Internal movement generally refers to growth/ regression of emotional awareness.

Character Driven A screenplay story that is more motivated by a main character's inner

conflicts and problems than by external action and plot. Character The main character must go from A to B, in psychological, Transformation emotional terms, or in terms of external accomplishment, to arrive at

some increased awareness. Either the character changes in some way by learning something about the world or himself, or the audience learns something through the character's lack of knowledge. Also called character arc.

Climax The most high-pitched, exciting and/or emotional moment of the

screenplay, generally a couple of scenes before the end. Often it is the final confrontation between protagonist and antagonist, at which point the hero either succeeds or fails to achieve his/her goals.

Clock The time restriction that your protagonist is working against. In 48

Hours, Nick Nolte has Eddie Murphy for 48 hours to help solve his case before Eddie has to return to prison.

Conflict The main source of dramatic tension in the story. The circumstance

that stands in the way of the main character achieving his or her ultimate goal. Includes all the obstacles and hurdles that the character must try to overcome in order to reach his/her objective.

(Continued) A footer printed at the bottom of the page in a shooting script for

budget breakdowns. It has nothing to do with the context of the story, and should never be used in a spec script.

Culmination The high point or the low point of the story, or of the act. CUT TO: A written transition between scenes, most effectively used to add

emphasis. Current spec script format limits its use. Description The non-dialogue prose paragraphs in the screenplay. The writing

should be clear, concise and focused as it describes the setting, characters and action pertaining to a scene. It should only describe what can be seen or heard on screen. It should not include background information or character thoughts and feelings, and should not be novelistic, flowery or adjective laden. Long passages of endless description are detrimental to a script.


Dialogue Verbal exchanges between characters. Should be short and

economical. Be careful not to ramble about topics that are irrelevant to your story as it takes away the momentum of the screenplay.

DISSOLVE TO: A written transition between scenes usually indicating a lapse or

change in time has occurred. Establishing Shot A description of a wide shot that sets up the location and orients the

reader/viewer as to the overall milieu of the scene. It could be as large as a city, or as small as a room. No matter how large or small it should be visually interesting.

Exposition Dialogue that gives out background information needed to inform the

current story circumstances. Should be done in such a way that the audience is not aware they are being educated. One of the most effective ways to bring out exposition is through an argument. In all cases, the rule with exposition is "Less is more."

Exterior (EXT.) The initial indication of the scene heading which places the scene

outdoors. FADE IN: A black screen slowly brightens to a visible image. On the page, it is

used as the standard opening for a screenplay, but is not strictly necessary. It is equally acceptable to open with a standard scene heading.

FADE OUT. The on-screen image slowly fades to black. When used at the end of

the screenplay, FADE OUT indicates to your reader that your story is finished, but this indication is not strictly necessary.

Flashback A scene or sequence that reveals an important event from the past in

a character's life pertinent to their current situation. Correctly used, it helps further the story or characters. However, this technique should not be overused, unless a stylistic choice is being made to tell a non-linear story (as in Annie Hall).

Foreshadowing Giving a hint or clue to something that will come into play later in

the story. It can be metaphorical, like the use of a vicious storm to symbolize the violent climax that's to come in the end, or it can set us up for specific action that's to follow.

Format The spacing, margins, headings, capitalization and basic layout on

the page of a professional screenplay. Established writers employ some license in their format. However, a writer with no track record must adhere to the rules of standard professional format or their screenplay will not be acceptable to literary agents and studio executives.


Genre The type of story you're telling. For example, Romantic Comedy, Psychological Drama, Suspense Thriller, Action Adventure, Screwball Comedy, Political or Social Satire, Revisionist Western, etc.

High Concept A movie industry term meaning a story idea that is so commercially

viable that it is in itself sufficient to attract an audience. The story must be easily summarized in one sentence. Android from the future time travels to the present to kill the mother of a future leader (Terminator). A scientist invents a miniaturization ray that accidentally shrinks his kids to microscopic size and he must then find them and return them to normal (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids).

Inciting Incident The first moment that something happens. The event that starts the

ball rolling in the story. (Point of Attack) (Catalyst) Interior (INT.) The initial indication of the scene heading which places the scene

indoors. MacGuffin A term attributed to Hitchcock to describe the plot device that sets

the story in motion, and thereby leads the main character into the deeper thematic story. For example: In Star Wars, the MacGuffin is the rebel's stolen plans to the Death Star which Princess Lea has installed in R2D2. Luke Skywalker stumbles onto them which brings him to Obie Wan Kenobi and begins his journey toward discovering his destiny as a Jedi knight. For Hitchcock the MacGuffin was secondary to what the movie was really about--getting his characters together to see what would happen between them.

Main Character The character whose needs/desires/ objectives set the story in motion

and drive the action throughout the film. The one who we identify with and are rooting for. In most cases, the main character is the one who changes in some way by the end of the film. (Protagonist)

Main Tension What we hope for and fear the most. "Will the protagonist solve the

mystery? Or won't he?" "Will the protagonist forgive his brother? Or won't he?"

Major Reversal An event, often at the end of an act, that sends the story into a new

direction. Mid-point The scene or event halfway through the second act, and therefore

halfway through the screenplay, which gives a change in direction to the story. It can be an attempt to solve the problem which has only partial success or completely fails. The mid-point functions as a setback, reversal or turning point which sends the character in a new direction, pushes the plot into a higher gear or raises the character's commitment to another level.


Montage (1) When the story is propelled forward by condensing events and actions through a series of quickly cut scenes, usually without dialogue. Should be used sparingly.

Montage (2) Editing. The art of putting two images together to create a third

meaning. Motivation An internal element or psychological need that drives a character

into action so he or she can accomplish his/her main goal. Motivation also operates in external circumstances in a cause and effect manner (a character sees a fire break out and is motivated to leave the building).

Narration A voice-over (V.O.) interspersed throughout a screenplay which

serves to reinforce and clarify the story. While narration can be used as an effective stylistic device (e.g., Billy Wilder films such as Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity), often it is used to compensate for weaknesses in the screenplay. Therefore, it should be used carefully and sparingly.

Objective What the main character wants. Obligatory Scene The scene you have inspired in the audience's mind, that you have

lead the audience to expect. In the African Queen, the first obligatory scene is when Rose and Charlie first kiss, the second is when they attempt to blow up the Louisa. In a mystery story, the obligatory scene is when the question is answered, the solution to the puzzle is revealed.

Obstacles Serious challenges or hurdles that prevent your main character from

reaching his/her ultimate goal or objective. Without obstacles there is no conflict. Without conflict there is no story.

Off Screen (O.S.) A term added to the right of the character heading in dialogue to

indicate that the character is in the scene but not visible on the screen when speaking (e.g., in another room or outside the window).

Page One Rewrite A Hollywood phrase meaning to restructure and rewrite a script from

beginning to end. Very little of the original draft is usable. Parallel Action The film cuts back and forth between two scenes or sequences of

events that are going on simultaneously. Most often, parallel action is used to build tension. The burglar is in the process of breaking into the house as the family is in their station wagon on their way home.

Plant and Payoff A prop or piece of information is established early in the story that

will play a key role later on. Example: Thelma asks Louise to carry her gun as

they go off for the weekend, putting it in Louise's purse (plant). As Thelma is about to be raped by Harlan, Louise shows up with the gun, putting it to his head (pay off).


Plot The action driven by the main character (or, in an ensemble piece, the characters) as they pursue their goal by overcoming obstacles.

Plot Driven A story that relies on turns in the action for dramatic momentum.

American films are more often plot-driven than foreign films. Point of Attack The first moment that something happens. The event that starts the

ball rolling in the story. (Inciting Incident) Production Value How "expensive" the film will look--through great scenery,

complicated sets, exotic locations, special effects, dare devil stunts, etc.

Progressive How things get more difficult for the main character, with each Complications complication increasing in intensity from the last. Protagonist The character whose needs/desires/ objectives set the story in motion

and drive the action throughout the film. The one who we identify with, who we are rooting for. In most cases, the main character is the one who changes in some way by the end of the film. (Main Character)

Recurring Metaphoric images appearing over and over that elucidate the Symbols film's theme, underscore the meaning or give the film more depth. In

The Fisher King, the Red Knight is a symbol for Parry's fear of confronting the truth of what happened to him and his wife.

Resolution The moment where, whether things have gone as the audience

hoped, or as they feared, the issue is satisfyingly over, resolved. Reversal A "flip-flop" in the fortunes of a character (usually the protagonist)

or a change in direction of the story. Reverse The audience is lead to expect one outcome to a given situation and

the opposite happens. Rules of the The particular rules of the world of your story. In Bladerunner, Universe the rules say that technology has created perfect androids that are not

legally allowed to exist on earth and that they have a short life expectancy that can not be lengthened. In Airplane!, anything can go and normal logic does not apply. In The Age of Innocence, characters behave according to strict Victorian codes of conduct. (see also "World of the Story")

Scene (1) A story event that takes place in continuous time and continuous

location.


Scene (2) A dramatic unit of action that fulfills a purpose and resolution, irregardless of time and location. For example: A scene starts with two people arguing about which movie they are going to go see (purpose). The argument starts in the bedroom of a house, moves into the living room, jumps time and location so that they are now continuing the argument in the car as they drive down the highway and then again jumps time and location to them parking the car and finally jumps once more to them in the theater's ticket line buying the ticket for the movie they ultimately settled on (resolution). Robert McKee's definition of a scene: "An action through conflict in continuous time and space (meaning that, if tested, it could logically be played out in one place) that turns the life of the character in one primary direction."

Secondary Characters who are ancillary to your main character. They are Characters created to add logic, humor, complexity, depth and reality to a story,

while serving as a foil or reflection for the main character. Sequence A series of related scenes which tells one part of the story and has its

own beginning, middle and end. Setting The time and place of the story. Set-up Establishing the various elements that will later come into play in the

story. Shooting Script The final version of the script before actual production commences,

with numbered scenes. Short Step Sheet A one to two-page description of your screenplay indicating acts and

turning points. (Short Outline) Shot A continuous cinematic image, moving or still. Slow Reveal The story anticipates an event (such as the introduction of the main

character) for a period of time before the event is actually shown. Example: In She Done Him Wrong, all the discussion of Mae West's character (including a shot of a framed portrait) before she finally comes down the stairs.

Spec Script An uncommissioned script written to sell as a completed work or to

demonstrate the writer's ability to create original stories and rich characters.

Spine The through-line of the story that unifies character development with

the dramatic progression of the plot. The pursuit of the character's conscious and/or unconscious desire.

Step Outline A scene-by-scene description of the screenplay with each scene

being told in one or two lines.


Structure A strategic sequence of story events that enables the writer to achieve the maximum dramatic effect in the story

Subplot A secondary plot that is a variation on the theme of the story, with a

different conflict and a resolution of its own. Underscores the main action with either primary or secondary characters.

Sympathetic A protagonist with elements in his or her character that the Character audience can relate to and sympathize with. This does not mean that

the character has to be completely "good". It simply means that the audience needs to see some small part of themselves in the character--a universal weakness, a common flaw, an element of compassion, an attribute that everyone aspires to--in order for the audience to identify with the character. This identification needs to be established early in the story so that the audience's interest will be sustained through all the character's tests and trials.

Theme The larger meaning of the story that speaks to or comments on all of

human experience, but comes from the screenwriter's point of view towards the material. The underlying idea that resonates through the story and unifies the structure of the screenplay.

Treatment A detailed narrative of the screenplay. Generally one paragraph for

each scene describing everything except the dialogue and including primary and secondary characters, acts and turning points. Treatments can include indications of dialogue, but should not go into entire scenes.

Turning Point The protagonist makes a decision, or an external event happens,

which propels the story in a new direction. Voice Over (V.O.)A term added to the right of the character heading in dialogue to

indicate that the character speaking is not seen or heard by the other characters in the scene. Used as the voice of the narrator, or a character's internal thought process, or the voice of the person whose letter is being read on screen.

World of the Story The particular rules of the world of your story. In Bladerunner, the rules say that technology has created perfect androids that are not

legally allowed to exist on earth and that they have a short ife expectancy that can not be lengthened. In Airplane!, anything can go and normal logic does not apply. In The Age of Innocence, characters behave according to strict Victorian codes of conduct. (Rules of the Universe)

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