In-Class discussion in preparation for film viewing and comparison assignment.

1. FILM
A Painfully Simplified Overview of

2. DAILY WRITING
 What is your absolute
favorite film of all time?
Why is it your favorite?
Spend a few minutes trying
to identify what it is about
that film that calls out to
you.

3. HOW DO MOVIES MAKE US FEEL?

4. HISTORY
 1888 | First Moving Film– 2.1 seconds
 1893 | Single-viewer boxes debut
 1896 | First dedicated movie theatres
 1900 | Motion Picture Companies
 1908 | Color films introduced
 1927 | Sound introduced
 1999 | High-Def Digital

5. FILM NARRATIVE
 Narrative is the development of a world.
 Story | Events of a narrative
 Who did what, with what, to whom, and where they did
it.
 Plot | Presentation of a narrative
 Flashbacks, focal characters, narration, exclusion
 Focalisation

6. TZETAN TODOROV
 Stages of Narrative
 Equilibrium | All is Well
 Middle Earth is peaceful, and Hobbits are well-fed
 Disruption | Something is Not Well
 Sauron is quietly rebuilding his evil empire
 Recognition | Hey, you guys see that Unwellness?
 Gandalf realizes that the One Ring has been found
 Repair | Let’s fix that thing
 Lots of walking, some fighting, Gollum acts crazy
 Restoration | Back to normal (or a NEW normal)
 The Ring is gone, Sauron is gone, and the Elves are
leaving

7. VLADIMIR PROPP
 7 Character Types
 The Villain | Interferes with the hero
 The Donor | Trains or Equips the hero
 The Helper | Aids the hero (often “magical”)
 The Princess | Marries the hero, often sought for
 The False Hero | Seems good, turns out to be
evil
 The Dispatcher | Sends the hero off
 The Hero | Triumphs over villain, marries
princess

8. IMPORTANT SHOTS

9. ESTABLISHING SHOT

10. MASTER SHOT

11. OVER-THE-SHOULDER

12. P.O.V. SHOT

13. TWO-SHOT

14. SHOT & REVERSE

15. REACTION SHOT

16. CUT-IN SHOT

17. FRAMING

18. MONTAGE

19. MISE EN SCÈNE

20. MISE EN SCÈNE

21. MISE EN SCÈNE

22. MISE EN SCÈNE

23. MISE EN SCÈNE

24. MISE EN SCÈNE

25. WHAT DO FILMS MEAN?
 A Window
 An Escape Hatch
 A Mirror

26. A LOOK AT THE ANNUAL
JOURNEY OF EMPEROR
PENGUINS AS THEY MARCH --
SINGLE FILE -- TO THEIR
TRADITIONAL BREEDING
GROUND

27. A RELUCTANT HOBBIT, BILBO
BAGGINS, SETS OUT TO THE
LONELY MOUNTAIN WITH A
SPIRITED GROUP OF DWARVES
TO RECLAIM THEIR MOUNTAIN
HOME - AND THE GOLD WITHIN
IT - FROM THE DRAGON SMAUG

28. AFTER EXPERIENCING WHAT
THEY THINK ARE A SERIES OF
"BREAK-INS", A FAMILY SETS
UP SECURITY CAMERAS
AROUND THEIR HOME, ONLY TO
REALIZE THAT THE EVENTS
UNFOLDING BEFORE THEM ARE
MORE SINISTER THAN THEY
SEEM

29. THEORIES
 Formalist
 The technical construction (editing, lighting, sound, set)
 Auteur
 Distinctive styles and themes of the director
 Genre
 Societal conventions and expectations
 Psychoanalytical
 Film presents and becomes an object of the viewer’s desire
 Marxist
 Promotion of the dominant ideology
 Feminist
 A Voyeuristic Impulse drives us to consume film

30. SCENE 1
 The opening sequence of “The Godfather”
 1972, Francis Ford Coppola
 Set in New York, in the 1940s and 50s
 Characters
 Vito Corleone, head of a powerful Mafia family
 Michael Corleone, Vito’s youngest son
 Sonny Corleone, Michael’s older brother
 Connie, Michael’s sister
 Carlo, Connie’s abusive husband

31. SCENE 2
 The ‘Baptism’ sequence
 Sonny’s brutal murder led Vito to attempt peace
with rival Mafia families. It did not go well.
 After Vito dies, Michael takes over the family
“Business”
 Connie’s baby is being christened;Michael is to
be the child’s Godfather
 Meanwhile, the heads of the rival families are
murdered in retaliation

32. SCENE 3
 Don’t Ask Me About My Business
 Michael visits Carlo and confronts him about his
role in Sonny’s murder.
 Carlo is almost immediately executed for his
betrayal.
 Hysterical, Connie accuses Michale of having
her husband killed.
 Michael’s wife, Kay, asks him in private if he was
involved in the killing.