Andreas Feininger was a German American photographer known for his dynamic black-and-white scenes of Manhattan. He became famous for his photographs of New York City, which featured towering skyscrapers, broad roads, and geometric perfection. Feininger wrote comprehensive manuals about photography techniques, and received several prestigious awards for his work, including from the American Society of Media Photographers and the International Center of Photography. Through his trained eye, Feininger's photos revealed the beauty and intricacies of both natural and man-made structures in New York City.
Matt Writtle is a London-based photographer with 15 years of experience, notably in feature press work. He became interested in photography after his brother got a job at The Shropshire Star in 1990, and Matt later took a similar job there in 1992. He has since worked for major newspaper groups and agencies, covering news stories and events. Matt began his career at The Shropshire Star in 1992 before moving to newspapers in Sydney and Hong Kong, returning to London in 2002 where he now works freelance for publications like The Times and The Guardian.
Martin Parr was born in 1952 in England. He is a British documentary photographer known for critically examining modern society through projects on consumerism, travel, and family relationships using color photography and macro lenses. Parr cites his grandfather as an early influence and studied photography in college. He began his career in the 1970s and is now a member of Magnum Photos, known for critiquing British culture and society in a humorous yet exaggerated style through his unique perspective.
Mario Testino is a Peruvian photographer born in 1954. He is known for photographing celebrities and royalty, including his iconic 1997 photos of Princess Diana for Vanity Fair magazine. Testino had an early career beginning in London in the 1970s and is now one of the most successful fashion and celebrity photographers working. He continues to shoot campaigns for major brands like Burberry and contribute portraits of famous figures.
Man Ray was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was known for his innovative photography techniques like photograms, which involved placing objects on photographic paper and exposing it to light without using a camera, creating surreal images. Man Ray married three times over his career first to poet Adon Lacroix, then photographer Lee Miller, and finally dancer Juliet Browner. He educated himself by frequenting art museums and pursued photography after studying architecture.
This document provides biographical information about photographer Lindsay Adler and discusses why her style is relevant. Adler is a fashion and portrait photographer based in New York who realized her passion at age 13. She specializes in capturing portraits that emphasize eyes. While Adler photographs people, the document discusses how her style can be adapted to photograph clothing stuffed and propped without human models. Her use of color, texture and backgrounds that influence poses are noted as aspects that could suit the goals of the person reviewing her work.
Joel Meyerowitz is a renowned street photographer born in 1938 in New York. He began taking color photos in 1962 when color photography was facing resistance as a serious art form. Meyerowitz photographed Ground Zero after 9/11 and was the only photographer allowed in the restricted area immediately following the attack. His work has been displayed in over 350 galleries and museums worldwide and he has authored over 15 photography books that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Jerry Uelsmann is an American photographer known for his surrealist work created through darkroom manipulation. In the 1960s, when Uelsmann was producing his photographs, he was considered a master for his ability to combine multiple negatives into composite images using numerous enlargers in the darkroom. While modern photographers can recreate Uelsmann's style using digital editing, he continues developing his work through analog techniques in the darkroom that he feels are intrinsically linked to his creative process.
Andreas Feininger was a German American photographer known for his dynamic black-and-white scenes of Manhattan. He became famous for his photographs of New York City, which featured towering skyscrapers, broad roads, and geometric perfection. Feininger wrote comprehensive manuals about photography techniques, and received several prestigious awards for his work, including from the American Society of Media Photographers and the International Center of Photography. Through his trained eye, Feininger's photos revealed the beauty and intricacies of both natural and man-made structures in New York City.
Matt Writtle is a London-based photographer with 15 years of experience, notably in feature press work. He became interested in photography after his brother got a job at The Shropshire Star in 1990, and Matt later took a similar job there in 1992. He has since worked for major newspaper groups and agencies, covering news stories and events. Matt began his career at The Shropshire Star in 1992 before moving to newspapers in Sydney and Hong Kong, returning to London in 2002 where he now works freelance for publications like The Times and The Guardian.
Martin Parr was born in 1952 in England. He is a British documentary photographer known for critically examining modern society through projects on consumerism, travel, and family relationships using color photography and macro lenses. Parr cites his grandfather as an early influence and studied photography in college. He began his career in the 1970s and is now a member of Magnum Photos, known for critiquing British culture and society in a humorous yet exaggerated style through his unique perspective.
Mario Testino is a Peruvian photographer born in 1954. He is known for photographing celebrities and royalty, including his iconic 1997 photos of Princess Diana for Vanity Fair magazine. Testino had an early career beginning in London in the 1970s and is now one of the most successful fashion and celebrity photographers working. He continues to shoot campaigns for major brands like Burberry and contribute portraits of famous figures.
Man Ray was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was known for his innovative photography techniques like photograms, which involved placing objects on photographic paper and exposing it to light without using a camera, creating surreal images. Man Ray married three times over his career first to poet Adon Lacroix, then photographer Lee Miller, and finally dancer Juliet Browner. He educated himself by frequenting art museums and pursued photography after studying architecture.
This document provides biographical information about photographer Lindsay Adler and discusses why her style is relevant. Adler is a fashion and portrait photographer based in New York who realized her passion at age 13. She specializes in capturing portraits that emphasize eyes. While Adler photographs people, the document discusses how her style can be adapted to photograph clothing stuffed and propped without human models. Her use of color, texture and backgrounds that influence poses are noted as aspects that could suit the goals of the person reviewing her work.
Joel Meyerowitz is a renowned street photographer born in 1938 in New York. He began taking color photos in 1962 when color photography was facing resistance as a serious art form. Meyerowitz photographed Ground Zero after 9/11 and was the only photographer allowed in the restricted area immediately following the attack. His work has been displayed in over 350 galleries and museums worldwide and he has authored over 15 photography books that have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Jerry Uelsmann is an American photographer known for his surrealist work created through darkroom manipulation. In the 1960s, when Uelsmann was producing his photographs, he was considered a master for his ability to combine multiple negatives into composite images using numerous enlargers in the darkroom. While modern photographers can recreate Uelsmann's style using digital editing, he continues developing his work through analog techniques in the darkroom that he feels are intrinsically linked to his creative process.
Jeff Wall is a Canadian photographer born in 1946 who is known for his large-scale backlit photographs. He lives and works in Vancouver where he is influenced by the city's natural and industrial landscapes. Wall received his MA from the University of British Columbia and has won numerous prestigious awards for photography, including the Hasselblad Award and being made an Officer of the Order of Canada. His photographic tableaux often depict scenes from Vancouver and are meant to be experienced like "prose poems" rather than simply documenting images.
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer born in 1883 who was known for her photography of botanicals, nudes, and industry. She had three children with her husband Roi Partridge between 1915 and 1920 before divorcing in 1934. Cunningham was influential as a teacher and continued taking photographs until her death in 1976 at age 93.
Harold Edgerton was an American engineer and photographer known for inventing the stroboscope in the 1930s. This device allowed him to capture extremely fast movements through strobe photography. Some of his most famous photos include milk droplets forming corona shapes and the exact moment of a football impacting a player's foot. Throughout his career, Edgerton received many honors for his technical innovations and artistic contributions to photography.
Guy le Querrec is a French photographer and filmmaker born in 1941 in Brittany, France. He started his career in the late 1950s focusing on jazz musicians in London. Le Querrec joined Magnum Photos in 1976 and has devoted much of his work to photographing jazz festivals, clubs, and tours over 25 African countries. His background in jazz influences his photography, where he sees everyday scenes as musical scores and sunlight as trumpet calls.
Garry Winogrand was born in 1928 in the Bronx, New York. He developed a habit of wandering city streets from a young age due to his family's crowded apartment. Winogrand studied photography in college and made photos throughout his life capturing everyday life and social realities in America. He took over 300,000 photos in his career but died in 1984 at age 56, leaving many photos unedited. Winogrand is known for his candid street photography style that depicted American life in the 1960s and caught odd coincidental moments between strangers.
Ernst Haas was an influential Austrian-American photographer and photojournalist known for his innovations in color photography. He was born in 1921 in Vienna and died in 1986 in New York. Haas originally studied medicine but became interested in photography. In 1947, he began working for a German magazine, where his photo essay of prisoners of war returning to Vienna led to an offer to join Magnum Photos. Haas is renowned for his deliberately blurred photographs that create strong visual effects, influenced by abstract art. He believed photography created a new visual language to express reality.
Duane Michals was born in 1932 in Pennsylvania. He studied at the University of Denver and Parsons School of Design. Michals has worked as a commercial photographer for magazines like Esquire and Mademoiselle. He is known for portraits taken of subjects in their natural environments rather than a studio. Michals' work often addresses gay themes though he was not actively involved in civil rights.
David LaChapelle is an American photographer and film director known for his surreal and unique style. He studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts and School of Visual Arts. LaChapelle became one of the most in-demand fashion and commercial photographers in the early 21st century, photographing celebrities for magazines such as Vanity Fair and Interview. He has also directed advertisements and music videos, including for Elton John's Red Piano show in Las Vegas. LaChapelle's work is characterized by surrealism, humor, and exaggerated portrayals of celebrity personalities.
David Hockney is an English artist born in 1937 who works in painting, printmaking, photography, and stage design. He was part of the pop art movement in the 1960s and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Hockney studied at Bradford College and the Royal College of Art. He is known for his paintings of swimming pools in Los Angeles and portraits of friends, as well as stage designs for theaters. Hockney often uses photo collages to create abstract gridded images by taking many tiny photos of objects and places and combining them.
David was born in 1946 in New York and graduated from Boston University in 1970. He has photographed over 60 stories for National Geographic magazine, winning awards such as the Lennart Nilsson. He has a daughter named Emily studying at Oberlin College and has authored books on underwater photography including Fish Face and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
David Bailey is a renowned British photographer born in 1938 known for his portraits. He began his career in the 1950s after leaving school and the RAF, becoming a photographic assistant. In 1960 he was hired by Vogue magazine, boosting his popularity through portraits focusing on makeup, nudity and unconventional styles. Over decades, Bailey explored themes like glamour and deception through portraits of celebrities for magazines, developing a distinctive cropping style where subjects' heads were cut off. Now in his 70s, Bailey continues photography with a passion that began when viewing Life magazine in his youth.
Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 in New York City. She is an American photographer known for using herself as a model to challenge images in popular culture and examine how women are viewed by society. Her early work featured herself in various costumes, but she later explored themes like pornography, Old Master paintings, and fairy tales. Sherman worked with photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano and produced the disturbing yet funny Sex series in 1989 using medical dummies.
After graduating and cancelling his PhD, he began wildlife photography and filmmaking. His photography career continued with exhibitions and competitions, but he shifted to television presenting, starting with the award-winning 'Really Wild Show' in 1986. Since then he has presented many nature shows for BBC and Discovery Channel, often with 'wild' in the title, such as 'Wildshots' and 'Wild Watch'.
Charlie Waite is a renowned English landscape photographer born in 1949. He began his career in theatre and television but found his passion in landscape photography, fascinated by how light and shade can reveal landscapes. Waite has published 27 photography books and held numerous exhibitions around the world. He is known for his landscape photography and shares his passion through photographic tours and lectures.
Cecil Beaton was a famous British photographer born in 1904. He launched his career in 1926 with an exhibition in London that won him a contract with Vogue magazine, where he worked for 30 years photographing fashion. In 1937 he became the royal family's official photographer. Beaton was also a successful theatre designer, working on productions like My Fair Lady. He photographed many famous people including the Queen, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. Beaton focused on glamorous vintage fashion portraits throughout his five decades as one of the world's most renowned portrait and fashion photographers.
Arnold Newman was an American portrait photographer born in 1918. He is known for his environmental portraits that captured subjects in settings representative of their professions and personalities. Some of his most famous black and white portraits included Igor Stravinsky at his grand piano and Alfried Krupp at one of the Krupp factories. Over his career, Newman photographed many famous people and received several awards recognizing his achievements in portrait photography before passing away in 2006.
Ansel Adams was an American photographer born in 1902 who was best known for his landscape photographs of Yosemite National Park and the American West. He taught himself piano at age 12 after being pulled from school due to behavioral issues. Adams spent his early life studying photography and gave up music to focus on photography, finding it provided structure. Some of his most famous photographs include "Moon and Half Dome" and images of Yosemite. His work between 1929-1942 matured and helped establish him as a landscape photographer known for his black and white images of national parks before tourism.
Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer born in 1949. She began her career in 1970 working for Rolling Stone magazine, where she became known for her intimate celebrity photos. Leibovitz had a famous photo shoot with John Lennon hours before his death. She has since photographed for Vanity Fair and had a controversial photo of Miley Cyrus at age 15.
Andreas Feininger was a German-American photographer born in 1906 in Paris. He was educated as an architect in Germany like his father, but went on to focus on photography, moving to Sweden in 1936. In 1943, he joined Life magazine where he worked for 19 years, producing over 430 photographic projects focused on New York City, science, and nature. Feininger is renowned for his modernist style that featured horizontal and vertical lines to capture architecture and the built environment.
This document provides information and guidance for Unit 3 of an A2 Photography course, called the Personal Investigation. It explains that students will work on this unit from June to January, choosing a personal theme to inspire their work. Students will produce a sketchbook and final pieces. Fifteen theme options are given as starting points, such as architecture, urban, objects, photo collage, documentary, contemporary fashion, and more. Related photographers are listed under each theme to provide examples.
A Visual Guide to 1 Samuel | A Tale of Two HeartsSteve Thomason
These slides walk through the story of 1 Samuel. Samuel is the last judge of Israel. The people reject God and want a king. Saul is anointed as the first king, but he is not a good king. David, the shepherd boy is anointed and Saul is envious of him. David shows honor while Saul continues to self destruct.
Jeff Wall is a Canadian photographer born in 1946 who is known for his large-scale backlit photographs. He lives and works in Vancouver where he is influenced by the city's natural and industrial landscapes. Wall received his MA from the University of British Columbia and has won numerous prestigious awards for photography, including the Hasselblad Award and being made an Officer of the Order of Canada. His photographic tableaux often depict scenes from Vancouver and are meant to be experienced like "prose poems" rather than simply documenting images.
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer born in 1883 who was known for her photography of botanicals, nudes, and industry. She had three children with her husband Roi Partridge between 1915 and 1920 before divorcing in 1934. Cunningham was influential as a teacher and continued taking photographs until her death in 1976 at age 93.
Harold Edgerton was an American engineer and photographer known for inventing the stroboscope in the 1930s. This device allowed him to capture extremely fast movements through strobe photography. Some of his most famous photos include milk droplets forming corona shapes and the exact moment of a football impacting a player's foot. Throughout his career, Edgerton received many honors for his technical innovations and artistic contributions to photography.
Guy le Querrec is a French photographer and filmmaker born in 1941 in Brittany, France. He started his career in the late 1950s focusing on jazz musicians in London. Le Querrec joined Magnum Photos in 1976 and has devoted much of his work to photographing jazz festivals, clubs, and tours over 25 African countries. His background in jazz influences his photography, where he sees everyday scenes as musical scores and sunlight as trumpet calls.
Garry Winogrand was born in 1928 in the Bronx, New York. He developed a habit of wandering city streets from a young age due to his family's crowded apartment. Winogrand studied photography in college and made photos throughout his life capturing everyday life and social realities in America. He took over 300,000 photos in his career but died in 1984 at age 56, leaving many photos unedited. Winogrand is known for his candid street photography style that depicted American life in the 1960s and caught odd coincidental moments between strangers.
Ernst Haas was an influential Austrian-American photographer and photojournalist known for his innovations in color photography. He was born in 1921 in Vienna and died in 1986 in New York. Haas originally studied medicine but became interested in photography. In 1947, he began working for a German magazine, where his photo essay of prisoners of war returning to Vienna led to an offer to join Magnum Photos. Haas is renowned for his deliberately blurred photographs that create strong visual effects, influenced by abstract art. He believed photography created a new visual language to express reality.
Duane Michals was born in 1932 in Pennsylvania. He studied at the University of Denver and Parsons School of Design. Michals has worked as a commercial photographer for magazines like Esquire and Mademoiselle. He is known for portraits taken of subjects in their natural environments rather than a studio. Michals' work often addresses gay themes though he was not actively involved in civil rights.
David LaChapelle is an American photographer and film director known for his surreal and unique style. He studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts and School of Visual Arts. LaChapelle became one of the most in-demand fashion and commercial photographers in the early 21st century, photographing celebrities for magazines such as Vanity Fair and Interview. He has also directed advertisements and music videos, including for Elton John's Red Piano show in Las Vegas. LaChapelle's work is characterized by surrealism, humor, and exaggerated portrayals of celebrity personalities.
David Hockney is an English artist born in 1937 who works in painting, printmaking, photography, and stage design. He was part of the pop art movement in the 1960s and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Hockney studied at Bradford College and the Royal College of Art. He is known for his paintings of swimming pools in Los Angeles and portraits of friends, as well as stage designs for theaters. Hockney often uses photo collages to create abstract gridded images by taking many tiny photos of objects and places and combining them.
David was born in 1946 in New York and graduated from Boston University in 1970. He has photographed over 60 stories for National Geographic magazine, winning awards such as the Lennart Nilsson. He has a daughter named Emily studying at Oberlin College and has authored books on underwater photography including Fish Face and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
David Bailey is a renowned British photographer born in 1938 known for his portraits. He began his career in the 1950s after leaving school and the RAF, becoming a photographic assistant. In 1960 he was hired by Vogue magazine, boosting his popularity through portraits focusing on makeup, nudity and unconventional styles. Over decades, Bailey explored themes like glamour and deception through portraits of celebrities for magazines, developing a distinctive cropping style where subjects' heads were cut off. Now in his 70s, Bailey continues photography with a passion that began when viewing Life magazine in his youth.
Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 in New York City. She is an American photographer known for using herself as a model to challenge images in popular culture and examine how women are viewed by society. Her early work featured herself in various costumes, but she later explored themes like pornography, Old Master paintings, and fairy tales. Sherman worked with photographers Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano and produced the disturbing yet funny Sex series in 1989 using medical dummies.
After graduating and cancelling his PhD, he began wildlife photography and filmmaking. His photography career continued with exhibitions and competitions, but he shifted to television presenting, starting with the award-winning 'Really Wild Show' in 1986. Since then he has presented many nature shows for BBC and Discovery Channel, often with 'wild' in the title, such as 'Wildshots' and 'Wild Watch'.
Charlie Waite is a renowned English landscape photographer born in 1949. He began his career in theatre and television but found his passion in landscape photography, fascinated by how light and shade can reveal landscapes. Waite has published 27 photography books and held numerous exhibitions around the world. He is known for his landscape photography and shares his passion through photographic tours and lectures.
Cecil Beaton was a famous British photographer born in 1904. He launched his career in 1926 with an exhibition in London that won him a contract with Vogue magazine, where he worked for 30 years photographing fashion. In 1937 he became the royal family's official photographer. Beaton was also a successful theatre designer, working on productions like My Fair Lady. He photographed many famous people including the Queen, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. Beaton focused on glamorous vintage fashion portraits throughout his five decades as one of the world's most renowned portrait and fashion photographers.
Arnold Newman was an American portrait photographer born in 1918. He is known for his environmental portraits that captured subjects in settings representative of their professions and personalities. Some of his most famous black and white portraits included Igor Stravinsky at his grand piano and Alfried Krupp at one of the Krupp factories. Over his career, Newman photographed many famous people and received several awards recognizing his achievements in portrait photography before passing away in 2006.
Ansel Adams was an American photographer born in 1902 who was best known for his landscape photographs of Yosemite National Park and the American West. He taught himself piano at age 12 after being pulled from school due to behavioral issues. Adams spent his early life studying photography and gave up music to focus on photography, finding it provided structure. Some of his most famous photographs include "Moon and Half Dome" and images of Yosemite. His work between 1929-1942 matured and helped establish him as a landscape photographer known for his black and white images of national parks before tourism.
Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer born in 1949. She began her career in 1970 working for Rolling Stone magazine, where she became known for her intimate celebrity photos. Leibovitz had a famous photo shoot with John Lennon hours before his death. She has since photographed for Vanity Fair and had a controversial photo of Miley Cyrus at age 15.
Andreas Feininger was a German-American photographer born in 1906 in Paris. He was educated as an architect in Germany like his father, but went on to focus on photography, moving to Sweden in 1936. In 1943, he joined Life magazine where he worked for 19 years, producing over 430 photographic projects focused on New York City, science, and nature. Feininger is renowned for his modernist style that featured horizontal and vertical lines to capture architecture and the built environment.
This document provides information and guidance for Unit 3 of an A2 Photography course, called the Personal Investigation. It explains that students will work on this unit from June to January, choosing a personal theme to inspire their work. Students will produce a sketchbook and final pieces. Fifteen theme options are given as starting points, such as architecture, urban, objects, photo collage, documentary, contemporary fashion, and more. Related photographers are listed under each theme to provide examples.
A Visual Guide to 1 Samuel | A Tale of Two HeartsSteve Thomason
These slides walk through the story of 1 Samuel. Samuel is the last judge of Israel. The people reject God and want a king. Saul is anointed as the first king, but he is not a good king. David, the shepherd boy is anointed and Saul is envious of him. David shows honor while Saul continues to self destruct.
Andreas Schleicher presents PISA 2022 Volume III - Creative Thinking - 18 Jun...EduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills at the OECD presents at the launch of PISA 2022 Volume III - Creative Minds, Creative Schools on 18 June 2024.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
إضغ بين إيديكم من أقوى الملازم التي صممتها
ملزمة تشريح الجهاز الهيكلي (نظري 3)
💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
تتميز هذهِ الملزمة بعِدة مُميزات :
1- مُترجمة ترجمة تُناسب جميع المستويات
2- تحتوي على 78 رسم توضيحي لكل كلمة موجودة بالملزمة (لكل كلمة !!!!)
#فهم_ماكو_درخ
3- دقة الكتابة والصور عالية جداً جداً جداً
4- هُنالك بعض المعلومات تم توضيحها بشكل تفصيلي جداً (تُعتبر لدى الطالب أو الطالبة بإنها معلومات مُبهمة ومع ذلك تم توضيح هذهِ المعلومات المُبهمة بشكل تفصيلي جداً
5- الملزمة تشرح نفسها ب نفسها بس تكلك تعال اقراني
6- تحتوي الملزمة في اول سلايد على خارطة تتضمن جميع تفرُعات معلومات الجهاز الهيكلي المذكورة في هذهِ الملزمة
واخيراً هذهِ الملزمة حلالٌ عليكم وإتمنى منكم إن تدعولي بالخير والصحة والعافية فقط
كل التوفيق زملائي وزميلاتي ، زميلكم محمد الذهبي 💊💊
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
2. Basic structure of the Classic Hollywood Narrative
Beginning – Includes main characters and the
actual place it is set in. Introduces central
characters and expresses personalities. Sets the
scene and the problem (disequilibrium).
Middle – In depth conceptualisation of problem.
Attempt to restore equilibrium.
Ending – Restoration of equilibrium/original state
of order
3. HOLLYWOOD AND THE STUDIO SYSTEM
•The terms ‘Hollywood’ and ‘studio system’ had their
origins in the 1920s and matured within the 1930s.
•The studio system was a mature oligopoly (a few large
organisations dominating the market) of vertically
integrated companies who produced films in a manner
similar to the production lines of Henry Ford.
•Through the division of labour, studios were able to
organised their workers to perform more efficiently in
that they could concentrate on one or two skilled or
semi-skilled tasks as opposed to a wide range of
specialist tasks.
•In some studios, units were set up within the system so
that the producer got to work with the same director,
stars and crew over several films.
4. A picture (main feature) = 90 mins or more run time, a
budget of $500,000.
B picture = under 90 mins, budget $200,000.
Films are conceived as individual products which are
put together by a producer as a ‘package’ of a story,
stars and a director and crew. There are a number of
ways in which a the package can by financed, but for
big budget films the deal will nearly always involve on
of the major studios.
During the 1930s, Hollywood was dominated by 5
studios:
· Paramount
· MGM
· Twentieth Century Fox
· Warner Bros
· RKO
5. These companies were known as the majors or the
‘big five’. Universal and Columbia were the
minors. An eighth studio of note was United Artists
who owned no facilities and was effectively a
financier and distributor.
Q How many of the companies do you recognise?
To what extent do you think the majors and
minors have changed over the decades since the
1930s?
There were a number of other smaller studios and
distributors (Disney, Republic and Monogram are
the best known) but the industry recognised the 8
majors and minors as dominant because they could
guarantee access to ‘first-run’ cinemas (those who
took new films only) for all their product. The
majors made their money from exhibiting their own
films in their own cinemas.
6. STUDIOS BECAME RECOGNISABLE THROUGH:
The genre – downbeat and gritty for Warner's,
glamorous and glossy for MGM.
The style that went with the genre: low-key
lighting for Warner; high-key for MGM.
The contract stars – Gable and Garbo for MGM,
Cagney and Davis for Warner. The directors and other
creative personnel would also be recognisable; Michael
Curtiz or William Wellman at Warner, George Cukor or
King Vidor at MGM.
An important feature of the studio system was the
development of particular narrative styles and
techniques which are commonly defined as continuity
editing and the classic Hollywood narrative.
7. THE CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE
From the 1930s the cinematic image was subservient to
the requirements of a specific type of narrative
structure. The structure of events were commonly
organised around enigma (problem or puzzle) and
resolution.
The film works through:
• Attempting to restore ‘order’ through resolution of the
world of fiction.
Therefore:
• Events are subject to order of cause and effect, logical
whereby each event of narrative is linked to the next.
• Reinforcing or supporting dominant values that are
held within society.
8. REALIST ASPECTS CREATED BY:
1) Construction of verisimilitude (something that is
true to life, has an authentic look or feel within the
fictional world). Creating an understandable
world for audience in terms of time, space and
place.
2) Events are pushed forward by believable characters
(e.g. narrative agents).
• CHN is defined by a high degree of narrative
closure
• An ideal narrative is a story with a Beginning,
middle and an end with every Question
answered.
9. COMMON FEATURES OF THE CHN:
1. Propel narrative from beginning to end.
2. Casual link of events is clear.
3. Construction of credible, fictional world.
4. Characters that are established and sustained
throughout the narrative.
5. Conforms to continuity system.
10. WHAT DO WE EXPECT TO SEE IN CHN?
• Motivated by a narrative agent
• Falls into a particular genre
• Title sequence that establishes genre, narrative and
characterisation
• Equilibrium
• Films moved forward through cause and effect.
11. THE NARRATIVE AGENT/PROTAGONIST
• Character that moves story along. The story
develops through them and he/she tells the story.
• Presented as a hero/heroine supporting initial
equilibrium.
• Those who oppose their actions are
villains/antagonists and are given characteristics that
audiences disapprove of.
• Stars often establish themselves as a certain role e.g.
villain or hero creating an association with these
characters and roles.
12. Meaning is created for narrative agents by:
• Dress
• Speech
• Behaviour/action
• Relationships
• NVC
• Lighting
• Camera work (type of shots, angles).
In the studio system, each studio had a contractor
‘roster’ of stars, chosen and then groomed to fit the
genres and styles of that studio. Stars today are
largely controlled by agents and managers though
still find themselves confined to certain genres and
roles e.g. Hugh Grant is the unlikely British hero.
13. IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHN
• Passive audience led from beginning to end to
inevitable conclusion already sketched in their
mind.
• Preferred Reading – film organised to support a
particular viewing
• One truth dominated the story – all conflicts shown
as falsehoods, cannot exist.
• Predominance of male NA that ensures women
are rarely allowed to motivate a story.
• Individuality is favoured over group unity – Hero
symbolise triumphant authority, law and order
and stable set of values.
• Attempts to hide the ‘construction’ of the text –
camera is hidden, flow is seamless. We enter the
film world and accept all messages.
14. Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium
Tzvetan Todorov simplified the idea of narrative
theory whilst also allowing a more complex
interpretation of film texts with his theory of
Equilibrium and Disequilibrium.
The theory is simply this:
• The fictional environment begins with a state of
equilibrium(everything is as it should be)
• It then suffers some disruption (disequilibrium)
• New equilibrium is produced at the end of the
narrative
15. Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium
There are five stages the narrative can progress
through:
1) A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)
2) A disruption of that order by an event
3) A recognition that the disorder has occurred
4) An attempt to repair the damage of the
disruption
5) A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium
16. Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium
• Here narrative is not seen as a linear structure but
a circular one.
• The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the
equilibrium.
• However, the equilibrium attained at the end of
the story is not identical to the initial equilibrium.
• Todorov argues that narrative involves a
transformation. The characters or the situations are
transformed through the progress of the disruption.
• The disruption itself usually takes place outside the
normal social framework, outside the ‘normal’ social
events.
• E.g. a murder happens and people are terrified
Someone vanishes and the characters have to solve
the mystery
17. Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium
So, remember:
• Narratives don’t need to be linear.
• The progression from initial equilibrium to
restoration always involves a transformation.
• The middle period of a narrative can depict actions
that transgress everyday habits and routines.
• There can be many disruptions whilst seeking a
new equilibrium (horror relies on this
technique).
18. Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes believed a text is like a tangled ball
of threads which needs unravelling so we can
separate out the colours.
Once we start to unravel a text, we encounter an
absolute plurality of potential meanings.
In basic terms, Barthes states that texts may be
'open' (ie unravelled in a lot of different ways) or
'closed' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on).
Barthes theory is based on the solving of a
problem/enigma as a focus of the narrative
19. Roland Barthes
Barthes work also focused on the use of codes that
interweave within narratives to create suspense.
These codes are split into 2 categories:
• The hermeneutic code or ENIGMA CODE
• The proairetic code or ACTION CODE
20. Roland Barthes
The hermeneutic code or ENIGMA CODE:
• Refers to any element in a story that is not
explained and, therefore, exists as an enigma for the
reader, raising questions that demand explication.
• In essence, the Enigma Code refers to the suspense
created through unanswered questions
• Most stories hold back details in order to increase
the effect of the final revelation of all truths. We
tend not to be satisfied by a narrative unless all
"loose ends" are tied;
•However, narratives often frustrate the early
revelation of truths, offering the reader only an
evasion of the truth, mixtures of truth and lies,
partial answers or suspended answers.
21. Roland Barthes
The proairetic code or ACTION CODE:
• Refers to the other major structuring principle that
builds interest or suspense on the part of a reader or
viewer. The proairetic code applies to any action
that implies a further narrative action.
• For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an
adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this
action will be. We wait to see if he kills his opponent
or is wounded himself. Suspense is thus created by
action rather than by a reader's or a viewer's wish to
have mysteries explained.
• This code refers to the anticipation of an action’s
resolution
22. Levi Strauss – Binary Oppositions
Levi Strauss’ theory referred to the structure of
narrative.
• This theory focuses on the constant creation of
conflict/opposition propels narrative
• This results in the narrative only ending on a
resolution of the conflict
• Opposition can be visual (light/darkness,
movement/stillness) or conceptual (love/hate,
control/panic), and to do with soundtrack
• Common binary oppositions include good vs evil,
youth vs age, rich vs poor, man vs woman
• Binary oppositions are often used to represent the
restoration of order in society, linking in with
dominant ideology e.g. the evil characters are
always punished