Film’s Coming of Age Story

HUM 3343: WWII in Europe through History, Literature and Film

Dr. PerdigaoSummer 2014May 19, 2014

my.fit.edu/~lperdiga

Measuring time• Early Cinema (1895-1913)

• Classical Cinema (1917-1945)– Silent films (1917-1927)– Sound films, golden age of Hollywood (1927-1945)

• Postwar Cinema (1946-1965)

• Contemporary Cinema (post-1965)

Classical Cinema (1917-1945)• Silent and sound films

• Effects of World War I on American culture, represented in film

• “energetic optimism” and “trembling fear”

• Developments in early twentieth century (1910-1920): standardization of film production, establishment of the feature film, and cultural and economic expansion (Corrigan and White 359)

• Normalized running time of 100 minutes for narrative film

• Characteristics: full development of narrative realism and the integration of viewer’s perspective into editing and narrative action (Corrigan and White 359)

• (Corrigan and White, The Film Experience 358-361)

Classical Cinema (1917-1945)• New developments: representation of simultaneous actions, complex spatial

geographies, and psychological interaction of characters through narrative (Corrigan and White 359)

• Point-of-view shots developed placing viewers within characters’ perspectives

• 1926: Warner Bros. introduced the Vitaphone system, synchronized sound with images

• Introduction of sound in 1927, with The Jazz Singer premiering on October 6

• 1930s-1940s developments in sound: synchronous sound to show reality; asynchronous sound to communicate psychological realities

• 1930s and improvement of Technicolor

Classical Cinema (1917-1945)• Elaboration of movie dialogue, emphasis on characterization; emergence of

generic formulas for narratives

• Screenwriters—from novels to films (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

• Hays Office and Production Code

Violations• Motion Picture Production Code, Hays Code

• Established by Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), later Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

• Adopted in 1930, enforced in 1934, maintained until 1968

• Attempts to “clean up” film industry, after moves toward censorship in film

• “The Formula” developed by Will Hays, hired as president of the MPPDA in 1922

• Follows 1915 Supreme Court ruling that free speech did not extend to film (Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio)

• Promoting “traditional values,” protecting children, establishing standards of good taste

Coding• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93301189• http://www.artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code.html • http://www.mpaa.org/ratings/ratings-history

Postwar Cinema (1945-1965)• (Corrigan and White 364-366)

• World War II contexts and aftermath

• Doubts about human nature, social progress—ideas about what art can do

• Deterioration of American family, fears of the “other” as extension of Cold War culture

• Civil Rights movement in the 1950s

• Spread of television in 1950s

• 1948 Paramount decision, 1968 relaxation of codes and introduction of ratings system

• United States v. Paramount, antitrust laws violation, separation of production companies and theaters that arose with vertical integration (Corrigan and White 365)

• More experimentation in film, testing boundaries, 3-D format developed in 1950s

Contemporary Cinema (1965-present)• (Corrigan and White 369-371)

• Vietnam War—anger and confusion, fragmentation in American culture, idea of national identity

• Revolutionary 1960s, 1970s—ideas about sexuality

• New Hollywood, influence of European cinema

• VCRs (and Beta players!), cable, dvds, dvrs

• Changing modes of production, dissemination

• Multiple perspectives, opportunities to watch again, put together puzzles

• Characteristics: image spectacles and special effects and fragmentation and reflexivity of narrative constructions (Corrigan and White 370)

• Mid-1960s, Dolby sound reduces noise and enriches sound

Key shots• From Anatomy of Film:• Close-up• Extreme close-up• Medium close-up: Character’s head and shoulders, in conversation scenes• Medium shot: middle ground, human body from waist or hips up• Medium long shot: 3/4 view of character, from knees up• Long shot /full shot• Extreme long shot: greater distance between camera and person or object,

space dwarfs objects• Establishing shot• Two-shot• Three-shot• Shot/reverse shot• Over-the-shoulder shot• High angle shot (or God’s eye shot or bird’s eye shot): camera positioned

above subject, makes subject appear smaller• Low angle shot: camera positioned below, makes subject appear larger

Perspectives• Objective shot: what the camera sees• Subjective camera: what the character sees• Point-of-view shot: point of view of the character• Often paired but distinction in presenting character’s thoughts through

subjective camera, a “one-sided take on reality” (Anatomy of Film 56)• Pan• Swish pan, “momentary blur” indicating “sudden change or transformation”

(60)• Tracking shot/dolly shot/crane shot (depending on device) • Zoom• Focal length as “distance from the center of the lens to the point where the

image is in focus” (63)• Zoom in or zoom out• Freeze frame representing stasis (63)

Measuring time• From Anatomy of Film:• Scene can be one shot or many shots, one unit of action (Anatomy of Film 64)• Sequence as “group of shots forming a self-contained segment of the film”

(64)• Difference is there can be scenes within a sequence but not sequences

between scenes (64)• Linear sequence offers connections between incidents as “links in a chain”

(65)• Elliptical linear sequence when details are omitted to force viewers to make

connections (66)• Associate sequence links scenes by an object or series of objects (67)• Montage as series of shots• American montage from 1930s and 1940s films where “time is collapsed as

shots blend together, wipe each other away, or are superimposed on each other” (68), uses dissolves

Splicing• From Anatomy of Film:• Cuts• Rough cut/director’s cut/final cut• Straight cut (“one image instantaneously replaces another” [Anatomy of Film

69])• Contrast cut (“images replacing each other are dissimilar in nature” [69])• Parallel cutting/crosscutting/intercutting (“presents two actions occurring

simultaneously” [70])• Jump cut (“break in continuity that leaves a gap in the action” [70])• Form cut (“cut from one object to another that is similarly shaped” [70])• Match cut (“one shot complements or ‘matches’ the other,” establishing

continuity [70])

Transitioning• From Anatomy of Film:• Transitions bridge scenes• Fade-out (light decreases)• Fade-in (light increases)• Dissolve (“gradual replacement of one shot by another,” establishing

continuity [Anatomy of Film 72])• Form dissolve (“merge two images with the same shape or contours” [74])• Wipe (used in movies in 1930s and 1940s, 1970s and 1980s in television

news programs; similar to curtain dropping in theatre [75])• Masking shot/iris shot (“everything is blacked out except what is to be seen

telescopically” [76])• Irising in (“opening up the darkened frame” [76])• Irising out (“darkness seeping into the frame” [76])• Editing• Continuity editing

Establishing shots• Mise-en-scène (“staging of a play” or film [Anatomy of Film 86])• Framing• Tight framing (“subject appears to be confined within the horizontal and

vertical borders of the frame, so that there is not even a hint of offscreen space,” feeling of oppression [88])

• Canted shot (“frame looks lopsided” [88])• Deep focus (“foreground, middle ground, and background” are “equally

visible” [93])• Shallow focus (“foreground is more distinct than the background” [93])• Rack focus (background is a blur and foreground sharp and then switches, a

way to “conceal a character’s identity until the filmmaker is ready to reveal it” ([93])

• Long take (“shot that lasts more than a minute” [95])• Steadicam, handheld camera

The Coming of Age Story• Bildungsroman

adolescent matures into adulthood; coming-of-age novels • Entwicklungsroman

adolescent character grows; novels of growth or development (Trites 9)• Onscreen, subjective camera, point of view shots• Voiceover narration• Retrospective narration

• Contrast to Prelude to War documentary style• Propaganda vs. introspective journey• Public vs. private• Nostalgia

The Coming of Age Story• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rulebritannia.asp#Land%20of%20Hope

%20and%20Glory