06film Studies

Film Studies Week Six Post Production. Editing. SFX. Mechanical Distortions. Classical Cutting. Subjective Editing. Montage. Crosscutting. Graphic, Spatial and Temporal Continuity and Discontinuity. Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1926) (USSR, Drama) Lola Rennt (Tom Tykwer, 1998) (Germany, Drama)

Discussion from last class A Dr. Strangelove de-brief We can choose to discuss Dr Strangelove in terms of: 1. Script Structure. (covered in the exam). 2. Symbolic motifs, including music. (let’s keep this in mind for next week) 3. Production design. (Next slide) 4. Camera movement. What is Kubrick’s predisposition? (Watch for more dynamic pans, tilts, dolly shots in Lola Rennt .) 5. Thematic consideration. How does this manifest itself from Point #1? (Or even something else of your choice.)

Production Design, The Setting

Exterior or interior? If an exterior, how does nature play a role?

Style? Realistic and lifelike? Or stylized and distorted?

Studio or Location? If location, what does it say about the characters?

Period? What era does the set represent.

Class. What is apparent income level?

Size? Rich people lots of space. Poor people cramped.

Set decoration. Oddities of taste? Status symbols?

Symbolic Functions. What kind of overall image does the set and its furnishings project?

Review

Mechanical Distortions Mechanical Distortions

Animation: Each frame photographed separately at 24 fps. Watch for this in Lola.

Fast Motion: Events photographed at slower speed than 24fps or manipulated in post-production -- humourous effect.

Slow Motion: Events photographed at faster speed than 24fps or manipulated in post -- tragic/languid effect. Watch for this in Lola.

Reverse Motion

Freeze Frame.

Film Aesthetics -- “Movement” in Post Production. Giannetti pg. 171 - 179.

Duration of the Image -- Sequence Shot Sequence Shots contain no editing. Early cinema relied entirely on “long-take” shot. “ Long Take” is not the same as “long shot.” A “take” is one run of the camera that records a single shot. Usually filmmakers use the long take selectively. One scene will rely heavily on editing, another will be a long take. This permits the director to associate certain aspects of narrative form with different stylistic options (usually doco). Before we get into “EDITING” let’s review …

Editing Styles REALISM CLASSICISM FORMALISM Gentlemen Prefer Blondes styles Sequence Shot (Long Take) Run Lola Run (+ Cutting to discontinuity!) Cutting to Continuity The Birth of a Nation Classical Cutting Battleship Potemkin Thematic Montage Un Chien Andalou Abstract Cutting

Continuity Editing “Cutting to Continuity” tries to preserve the fluidity of an event without literally showing all of it. For example, a 45-minute action might take ten seconds of screen time yet nothing essential is left out. “Unobtrusive condensation.” Cause and effect relationships are clearly set forth. Watch Run Lola Run for her running scenes. Editing Styles -- Barsam Page 250

Dis-Continuity Editing Spatial and Temporal Discontinuity Might take on several subplots as does television. Case study, soap operas or CSI. Film sequencing can jump around in time. (Lola) Spatial discontinuity (all the rage on TV) suggests a letting go of the 180 degree system. Violation of continuity can come from a nondiegetic insert ie symbolic shot inserted into space and time of the narrative. (Examples?) Throwing a Monkeywrench in the mix

Classical Editing -- DW Griffiths Classical editing involves editing for dramatic intensity and emotional emphasis rather than purely physical reasons. In Birth of a Nation, by carefully selecting and juxtaposing long, medium, and close shots, Griffiths constantly shifted the spectator’s point of view -- consolidating, connecting, contrasting, paralleling and so on. The space and time continuum is radically altered “Thematic montage” that stress the association of ideas. Also perfected the conventions of the chase making use of parallel editing-- alternation of shots of one scene with a different location. Editing Styles

Vocabulary of Editing

Please read over Barsam pg 256 - 269 for an understanding of:

Shot/Reverse Shot

Match Cuts

Parallel Editing

Shot Transitions

Freeze Frame

Split Screen

Montage “to assemble” Soviet formalist filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein was interested in exploring general principles that could be applied to a variety of apparently different forms of creative activity. He believed the function of artists is to capture a dynamic collision of opposites -- to incorporate dialectical conflicts not only in the subject matter of art but its techniques and forms. He felt cinema was most comprehensive of the arts — incorporates visual conflicts of painting and photography, the kinetic conflicts of dance, the tonal conflicts of music, the verbal conflicts of language, and character and action conflicts of fiction and drama. He placed special emphasis on the art of editing. Battleship Potemkin was conceived as an editing construction and it is most famous for “The Odessa Steps” scene. Editing Styles -- Giannetti, Pages 184 - 186

Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Lola Rennt (Tom Tykwer, 1998) Writing credits Tom Tykwer Film Editing: Mathilde Bonnefoy Genre: Drama / Thriller / Crime / Romance Plot Outline: Lola runs. To save her boyfriend's life. Cast overview, first billed only: Franka Potente .... Lola Moritz Bleibtreu .... Manni Herbert Knaup .... Vater Nina Petri .... Frau Hansen From imdb