For my Mass Comm class

1. Understanding Motion Pictures

2. 4 Elements of Film
CAMERA – Cinematography & lighting
EDITING - selecting shots, combining into sequences
SOUND – Dialogue, sound effects, music
MIS-EN-SCENE - "placing on stage"

3. CAMERA Personel
Director of Photography - also called
cinematographer
Camera Operator - also called cameraman
First Assistant camera - also called focus puller
Second Assistant camera - also called clapper loader

4. CAMERA Movement
1st
film cameras were fixed & didn’t move during a shot
Pan - horizontal shift
Tilt - vertical shift
Dolly - moving platform to move closer or farther from the
subject
Tracking - moving platform to move it to the left or right
Crane - lift off the ground & swing it side-to-side

5. CAMERA Composition
Depth of field of a scene - how
much the background, mid-ground
and foreground will be rendered
in "acceptable focus“
Zoom movement – controlled by
the lens, not moving the camera
Photographic standards of
composition – rule of thirds

6. EDITING
Editing was done with a positive
copy of the film negative called a
film workprint
Strips of footage were cut &
attached together with tape or glue
Technology evolved - Splicer and
synchronizers with a viewer
(Moviola), and flatbed editors
Now, all editing is done digitally and
is “non-linear”

7. EDITING Techniques
Continuity - a series of shots should be physically
continuous, as if the camera simply changed angles in
the course of a single event
Montage – a sequence or short segment in a film in
which narrative information is presented in a
condensed fashion
Transitions – getting from one scene to another using
diolves, wipes, jump cuts (A/B Roll Editing)

8. EDITING 7 Rules
1. NEVER make a cut without a positive reason
2. When undecided about the exact frame to cut on,
cut long rather than short
3. Whenever possible cut 'in movement‘
4. The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale‘
5. All scenes should begin and end with continuing
action
6. Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches‘
7. Substance first—then form
Edward Dmytryk

9. SOUND
Sound-on-film – The Jazz Singer (1927)
Often, sound is recorded separately
from filming and added during editing –
dubbing
Sound effects - artificially created or
enhanced sounds
Music – As part of the story (as in
musical comedy films) or as a score

10. SOUND Effects
Hard sound effects - common sounds
that appear on screen, such weapons
Background - sounds that do not
explicitly synchronize with action
Design sound effects – created for
effect
Foley sounds - require Foley artists to
record, such as footsteps

11. Mise-en-scène
Mise-en-scène refers to everything
that appears before the camera –
composition (design), sets, props,
actors, costumes, and lighting

12. Mise-en-scène
Sets and design - the setting of a
scene and the objects (props) visible
in a scene
Shooting on a set vs location

13. Mise-en-scène
Lighting - a concern of the designers
& cinematographer
Light (and shade) can emphasize
texture, shape, distance, mood, time
of day or night, season, etc.

14. Mise-en-scène
Space & Composition
Depth, proximity, size & proportions
can be manipulated to effectively
determining mood or relationships
between elements in the story world

15. Mise-en-scène
Costumes - the clothes
that characters wear
Makeup & hair styles
establish time period,
reveal character traits

16. Is Film Still Film?
After 123 Years, Motion
Picture Film Cameras Go Out
of Production
Major manufacturers of
motion picture cameras -
ARRI, Panavision & Aaton –
no longer make film cameras

18. CITIZEN KANE
The Greatest Film Ever
Made?

19. Backstory
Charles Foster Kane, played by
Orson Welles, based upon the
American newspaper mogul William
Randolph Hearst
Hearst tried to use his influence and
resources to prevent the film from
being released
He ultimately succeeded in
pressuring theater chains to limit
showings of Citizen Kane

20. Backstory
Hearst purchased the New
York Morning Journal and
competed against Pulitzer’s
the New York World
Marion Davies, mistress of
Hearst, may have been
Kane’s “singer” mistress
Susan Alexander
Xanadu was Kane’s estate.
Hearst built San Simeon

21. Orson Welles
1937 at age 22 he co-
founded the Mercury
Theatre in New York City
The Mercury Theatre on
the Air radio broadcast
of War of the Worlds
(1938)

22. Orson Welles
1939 RKO Radio Pictures
contract
Although an untried
director, he got
complete artistic control
Co-wrote, produced,
directed & played Kane

23. Citizen Kane
Shot in 10 weeks, released
1941
Hearst’s effort to suppress
distribution hurt box office
sales
Critically acclaimed. But
significance grew over time

24. Pre-Production
Screenplay attributed to
Herman J. Mankiewicz &
Orson Welles
Numerous revisions,
uncredited contributors

25. Camera
Cinematographer Gregg Toland
wanted to work for Welles
because he did NOT have film
experience
Collaborated to create a very
different style through lighting,
angles, & camera movement
Deep focus technique

26. Camera
1st "test" - the projection room
scene
Filmed in a real RKO studio
projection room
Darkness that masked many
actors who appeared in other
roles later in the film

27. Editing
Robert Wise editor
The film was intentionally shot
for post-production
techniques, such as slow
dissolves
Welles & Toland edited the
film "in camera" by leaving
few options

28. Sound
Welles used radio audio
engineers, not film
Created all of the sound
effects instead of using
RKO's library of sound
Musical score by Bernard
Herrmann (1st
film score)

29. Sound
Welles used techniques
from radio such as
overlapping dialogue
Creating audio montages
Integrated sound as cues
to editing transitions

30. Casting
10 were from the Mercury
Theatre & had no film
experience
"He trained us for films at
the same time that he was
training himself" Agnes
Moorehead

31. Set Design
Art Director Perry Ferguson
made scale models he shared
with Welles & Toland
The film's famous ceilings
were made out of muslin
fabric
RKO cut the film's budget
and many elaborate sets
were abandoned

32. Make-Up
Maurice Seiderman was a junior member
of the RKO make-up department
Made plater face & body forms to plan
aging process
Created pliable plastic pieces applied
directly to faces
The “old Kane” make-up took over 3
hours to apply

33. Asked where he got the confidence as a 1st-time
director to make a film so radically different, Welles
said:
Ignorance, ignorance, sheer
ignorance - you know there's
no confidence to equal it. It's
only when you know
something about a profession,
I think, that you're timid or
careful.

34. NOW WHAT?
Watch the film with the 4 elements in
mind: Camera, Editing, Sound and
Mise-en-scène
In the discussion assignment, you will
be asked to give examples of how
Citizen Kane used these 4 elements