Reading a Film: Breakdown and Analysis:

 

1. Elements of a film:     

A.    Setting

Time and place, period pieces, i.e. Beijing early 1400’s, Production Design/ Art Direction, detail and accuracy

B.    Plot

Storyline, structure, dramatic development, forward action, conflict, rising to peak/climax, chronological order, narrative techniques, parallel structure, sub-plots, character-driven stories.

-plot twists: Unpredictable plots often thwart expectations with plot twists or  plot spins: surprising, unexpected turnarounds in story.

-Conclusive endings: all loose ends tied up.

-Open-ended: all or some loose ends still unravelled, leaving it up to audience   to guess.

C.    Character      

-Protagonist/ Main Character: Identification, sympathy, vicariousness.  Motives, development, desire, achievement. Difference between novel and film: cannot get inside a character’s head- psychologically ambiguous.

-How we know a character: a) Appearance, b) Dialogue, c) Action. Action is  decisive.

-Ironic dialogue: contradiction between saying and doing.

-Antagonist: in simple mainstream movie- a villain; in complex story can be anything that prevents protagonist from achieving goals, even their own psychological shortcomings. Antagonist is often one step ahead of protagonist at beginning only to be overtaken by the end. Provides necessary element of conflict.

-Anti-hero: a protagonist fraught with so many character flaws and indecisive action, leads to a tragic ending, often doomed from beginning; complex morality, more difficult to sympathize with.

-In Film Noir, a decent, sensible character is corrupted and descends into  crime and self-destruction, often seduced and manipulated by Femme Fatale,  who uses protagonist for self-gain.

-Love interest: Nearly universal human condition. Often initiated by romantic gaze. Mainstream movies that follow proven formulae can be ridden with clichés- villain holds love interest hostage, rescued by protagonist at climax.

-Rival: Character who rivals protagonist for love interest.

-Buddy: Protagonist’s best friend, a complimentary character, often comical.

-Mentor: One who protagonist looks up to, seeks advice.

D.    Themes

Literary in nature: underlying premise, philosophical or proverbial threads- concepts, ideas and beliefs-often unifying, always understated; subtext; can bind drama.

Motifs: recurring thematic devices.

Leitmotif (light motif) - visual motifs, i.e. recurring shots of protagonists’ sunglasses to suggest how short-sighted he may be. In Ice Storm, recurring shot of ice tray ripping apart ice to demonstrate coldness, tension and fractured nature of family and community. Double or multiple meanings, ice also suggesting the frequent consumption of alcohol as an escape from pressure.

Foreshadowing device or element- something visual or oral that alludes to a significant event or scene in the future. In Ice Storm, the ice tray motif foreshadows the fatal ice storm occurring at climax of movie.

Allusions- words or images that refer to, hint at, or cite other works: film, music, book, etc.

-High Brow: Allusions made to high culture, sophisticated and educated  references, i.e.; opera, Shakespeare, poetry, etc.

-Low Brow: Common allusions, using current popular culture, i.e., popular television shows, pop songs, fast-food, i.e., famous reference to MacDonald’s Quarter Pounder in Pulp Fiction. Can still be culturally particular as when alluding to specific American establishments.

Allegory or allegorical film: Film stands as a metaphor to a broader, general subject or concept, often political. I.e. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest can be seen as an allegory to demoralizing institutions, and how they are able to crush the human spirit. Perhaps most famous allegory is Animal Farm, an animated fable which comments on the Russian Revolution.

E. Style

Cinema is able to employ an abundance of style through Production Design (sets, locations, architecture), Art Direction (costumes, hair and make-up, set decoration), Cinematography (camera angles, camera movement, lighting, colour, imagery), Editing (pacing, manipulating time and space), Music (source music, film score), Sound Effects and Special Effects (material or digital).  Often in danger of overwhelming substance with style. Best films integrate appropriate style with substance.

-Suspending disbelief: persuading or fooling an audience that the movie is  really happening or is possible. Preventing the audience from realizing that  they are actually watching a calculated, premeditated construction.

F. Mood

Emotion cinema evokes through style. Genre oriented. Horror films trigger fearful, menacing feelings. Voice or tone- often a refection of the Director’s personality, style and vision.

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2.   Genre: 

Type of movie that originates from the essence of comedy & tragedy in theatrical dramas. Cinema borrows form all other art forms, literature, music, dance, art, and particularly drama. The two masks that represent theatre, overlapping comedy and drama, like a yin-yang association, is the prototype of genre movies with specific styles and schemes for each, i.e. Romantic Comedies usually end with a wedding and follows the simple formula of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back-again.  Tragedies often begin with death and end with a funeral. Various combinations of both range from light comedy to black tragedy represented best in Romeo and Juliet: first half, a comedy; second half, following wedding, ending in a tragic double suicide.

Big budget Hollywood mainstream and studio movies employ genres as proven, low-risk methods to recover high costs. These films attempt to be as accessible as possible to please mass audiences. Entertainment value is paramount, suspending disbelief is essential, and happy endings usually obligatory. Most genres have their own unique and specific devices such as character portrayals, styles, moods, etc.

        List and Examples:

                                mystery / suspense      Strangers on a Train

                                detective / crime         Chinatown

                                film noir                      Double Indemnity

   gangster                    The Godfather

                                horror                        The Others

                                fantasy                      Lord of the Rings

                                monster movie             Frankenstein

                                science fiction             Star Wars

                                comic book                 Spiderman

                                animated features       The Lion King

                                western                     The Unforgiven 

                                war                           Appocalypse Now 

                                biographical                Bethune

                                action                       Jackie Chan movies

                                disaster                     Earthquake, Twister

                                adventure                  Indiana Jones, Jaws

                                road movie                 Thelma and Louise

                                buddy movie               Thelma and Louise

                                musical                      Chicago, Moulin Rouge

                                comedy                      Something about Mary

                                romantic comedy          Pretty Woman

                                slapstick comedy          A Night at the Opera

                                screwball comedy               Some Like it Hot

Cross Genres or Mixed Genres- more common today, merging two or more genres, i.e., science fiction / detective movie (Blade Runner), Historical/Disaster/Adventure/Romance (The Titanic).

                    Other Types:

Art Film or Independent Film: mostly low budget movies that defy Hollywood mainstream and challenge the audience, often a slice-of-life or true-to-life story, more personal, reflective and cerebral, and occasionally open-ended.

Documentary films: A topic-oriented, thesis-based or educational film often marked by rough journalistic photography.

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3. Filmmaking:

A. Pre-production

-Financing: begins with a feature film treatment or idea for a movie script (screenplay), and a Producer seeking money to finance the production. Few movies in development get past this stage.

                   -Screenplay: first draught and re-writes.

-Budget: detailed estimate of entire cost of movie. Movie budgets can range from 5 million to 100 million U.S. dollars.

-Casting for talent: stars are contracted; auditions held for other actors.

-Crew is hired including Director, Cinematographer, Art Director, Production Manager,   etc.

  -Shooting Schedule: most efficient, cost-effective way to shoot the film is planned.    Virtually all movies are shot out of order.

 

        B. Production     

-Directing: here the responsibility shifts from the Producer (financing) to the Director,  who calls the shots. The Director takes the screenplay and materializes it. The entire  cast and crew answer to him.

     -In Studio: creating artificial, temporary sets to shoot in a movie studio.

    -On Location: shooting in actual spaces. Exterior Scenes (outside),
      i.e., car chase on the streets, or Interior Scenes (inside), i.e., a hotel.

-Production Design: The Production Designer and Art Director are responsible for the  entire material look of the movie including the sets, props, costumes, make-up, etc.

-Cinematography: The Cinematographer or D.O.P. (Director of Photography) is  responsible for the photographic look of the movie including the lighting, camera  angles (Close-Up, Medium Shot, Long Shot…) and camera movement (Dolly Shot,  Crane Shot…).
 Only one camera is used, so several takes of the same scene are shot  numerous  times.

-Talent: The actors and performers from stars (main characters) to extras (people in  the background).

-Continuity: The Continuity Person makes sure that there will be seamless transitions  from one scene to another.

 

C. Post-production      

-Editing: The Editor assembles, arranges and cuts the shot film together form a rough  cut to a final cut. This can take several months.

-Shooting Ratio: Amount of film footage shot to the amount of footage used in  finished film. Typical feature films use a 20:1 ratio. Documentaries are as high  as 100:1.

-Transitions: one scene leading to another, normally a straight cut. Dissolves  often show time passing. Citizen Kane uses many inventive transition scenes,  i.e., breakfast table scenes with Kane and his wife.               

-Post-Sound Recording: All dialogue is replaced and Sound effects added.

-Music:

-Source Music: Music that occurs in the scene, i.e., a character turns on a  radio or plays a piano.

-Scored Music: orchestral music added, heard only by the audience to  enhance the mood.            

-Special Digital Effects: adding fantastic images to a movie, i.e., Jurassic Park, Lord  of the Rings.

-Promotion, Distribution, Exhibition: advertising, movie trailers, interviews, creating  numerous copies, opening in cinemas. Big budget movies are hyped (highly promoted,  over-valued) on their initial release because they earn much of their money the first  week they open.