Film Theory
What is the difference between film theory and film analysis?
Give me an example of diegetic and non-diegetic sound
diegetic: something within the filmic world
non-diegetic: something outside of the filmic world (aka a music track)
How would you go about showing the audience that time has passed between two scenes?
Fade out/Fade in, dissolve, or wipes.
What's the difference between history and historiography?
Historiography refers to the study of how to study history (methodologies, frameworks, etc.). History is the actual study of temporally situated events.
What is the naturalistic and theatrical traditions of mise en scene?
naturalistic: arrangement of mise en scene that follows assumed laws of nature and society and consistently have a logical relation to each other (place looks the way its supposed to look).
Theatrical: fantastical elements that display and exult in their artificial and constructed nature. Can take on an independent life of its own that may confront or challenge characters (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
What is the difference between classical and contemporary film theory?
Classical film theory was more interested in questions about the nature of cinema and its status as an art form. Contemporary film theory was more interested in questions of how audiences receive meaning, how film represents reality, and the politics therein.
What were the two methods of putting sound into film in the mid to late 1920s?
Sound on disc (ie Warner Bros Vitaphone) and Sound on film (ie Fox's movietone)
What is the difference between a scene and a sequence?
scene: composed of one or more shots that depict a continuous space and time.
sequence: any number of shots that are unified as a coherent action or an identifiable motif, regardless of changes in time and space.
What characterized the aesthetic and ideology of German expressionist cinema?
represented a character's interiority and subjectivity through lighting, sets and costume design. Generally turned away from realist representations.
What are the four defined attributes of a shot?
Framing, depth of field, color, and movement.
How is feminist film theory and queer theory put into tension with one another?
Feminist film theory tends to automatically assume the heterosexist positionality of man's desire for the female figure Queer theory allows for more flexible ways beyond this binary opposites, such as Judith Butler's concept of gender as performativity. Feminist theory tends to uphold structuralist views on gender whereas queer theory tends to lean towards poststructuralism.
Give me an example of contrapuntal sound.
Sound which contrasts in meaning with the image that is being shown on screen. For example, a tea kettle's whistle can be replaced with an alarm bell or someone screaming.
What are the two primary functions of film editing (according to the textbook)?
1. to generate emotions and ideas through the construction of patterns of seeing
2 to move beyond normal temporal and spatial limitations
Who was the first race film director recognized in the United States?
Oscar Micheaux
What is 3 point lighting and name what each light does in this set up.
3 point lighting is a common lighting technique that uses three sources.
key light - main illumination source
fill light - generally put on the opposite side of the keylight in order to minimize harsh shadows.
fill light: used to pop acting talent out from the background.
Define symbol icon, and index.
Symbol: a signifier that has an arbitrary relationship with the referent.
Icon: a signifier that appears like its referent (ie painting)
Index: where the signifier points to a broader referent (ie. finger print, bullet hole, footprint)
This novel technology was used alongside widescreen technology to lure audiences away from television through immersive sensory experiences.
Stereophonic sound
Who is most strongly associated with the use of crosscutting/parallel editing?
D.W Griffith
Why was the Blaxploitation genre controversial?
On the one hand, supporters showed how Blaxploitation films pushed against stereotypes and encouraged the Black community to feel like they had agency; however, those who critiqued it (like the NAACP) said that the films often leaned into stereotypes (drugs, poverty, prostitution, etc.) and focused more on individual pursuits than the collective uplifting of the community.
How do focal lengths correspond with depth of field?
Define apparatus theory and elaborate upon one way we can observe apparatus theory at work.
the very mechanics on which film is based encourage spectators to take up certain ideologies that are reproduced in the viewing experience.
List the five sound continuity practices that our authors mention.
1. The relationship between image and sound and among separate sounds is motivated by dramatic action or information.
2. With the exception of background music the sources of sound are identifiable.
3. The connotations of musical accompaniments are consistent with the images
4. The soundmix emphasizes what we should pay attention to.
5. The sound mix is smooth and emphasizes clarity.
Tell me the relationship between disjunctive editing and distanciation.
Disjunctive edits like jump cuts encourages viewers to feel intellectual distance between themselves and the work, encouraging them to think critically about the messages that they are being given through the film and the various issues that it raises as a work of art.
What was the role of the Hays Code in Hollywood?
What is the difference between image as presence and image as textuality?
As presence: encourages close identification with the image's pov, an emotional and experiential response to the image.
As textuality: encourages intellectual difference and critical engagement with the content