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Film
Ch. 22: Film
The art of film was first developed primarily in
France, Italy, and the United States (Thomas A.
Edison) in the 1890’s. Due to time constraints,
we will focus on the American narrative film
tradition and cultural values in the 20th-21st c.
However, we will start with discussing the use of
film as propaganda and briefly discussing
Eisenstein and his classic film Potemkin. (Read
carefully page 576 of your textbook.)
We will then discuss the formal aspects of film,
and you will need to study the following terms,
print this study guide as slides, and bring the
guide to class.
The Battleship Potemkin
Eisenstein, 1925
Film Terms
• Formative approach to film aesthetics: following the lead
of the older arts, such as painting and theatre, in the
“arranging” of actors, sets, and lighting. The object is to
create a world, usually one that appears real to the
audience (even when a fantasy world).
• Realistic approach: real people, actual places, and
existing light are filmed, and the object is the recording of
life as it is.
• Mise-en-scene (meez on sen): All the elements placed in
front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and
props, lighting, costumes and make-up, and figure
behavior.
Shot: In a finished film, one uninterrupted image from a
single static or mobile framing.
Cut: In a finished film, an instantaneous change from one
framing to another.
Continuity editing: A system of cutting to maintain
continuous and clear narrative action. Accomplished by
matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations
from shot to shot. Uses the following tools:
Axis of action: The imaginary line that passes from side to side through
the main actors, definin the spatial relations of all the elements of the
scene as being to the right or left. Also called the “180° line.”
Eyeline match: Obeys axis of action: first shot shows a person looking off
in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he
or she sees.
Shot/reverse shot: Two shots edited together that alternate characters,
typically in a conversation situation. In continuity editing, axis of action is
maintained.
(Study the following slide to get a better understanding of most of the
terms above.)
Scene One
Shot 1: Slow pan left over
Oxford, ending with shot
shown: establishing shot,
over opera-singing
Shot 2: Intertitle
Shot 3: Interior: close-up of
singer already heard,
inside building already
established
Shot 4: Re-establishing
interior shot
Shot 5: Slow pan right over
audience (start and end
frames shown)
Shot 6: Back to the singer
Storyboard: A tool
used in planning
film production,
consisting of
drawings of
individual shots or
phases of shots
with descriptions
written below each
drawing. Usually
pinned on a wall
and resembling a
comic strip in
appearance.
(right: form for planning
storyboard in film school.)
Diegesis (and diagetic and nondiagetic): In a
narrative film, the world of the film’s story. The
diegesis includes events that are presumed to
have occurred and actions and spaces not
shown onscreen.
For example, diegetic sound would include any
voice, music, or sound effect presented as
originating from a source within the film’s world.
By contrast, nondiegetic sound would include
mood music or a narrator’s voice, sounds that
the characters in the story would not hear.
(Definitions are from Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell and Thompson, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 1990.)