Chapter 2: The significance of Film Form
Chapter 2 in FILM ART discusses the endless choices a filmmaker has regarding the form of their film. It discusses that form, the overall set of relationships among a films parts, is of “central importance in film”. For example, in The Wizard of Oz, the film has an A-B-A approach, beginning in Kansas, with the trip to Oz, and then, to sum up that “there’s no place like home”, ending in Kansas. Films also cause expectations, for example, in the silence after Dorothy has landed in Oz, tension and anxiety within the audience are rising, as we are expecting and anticipating what will break this silence. Our experience as viewers is shaped by the filmmaker’s formal choices. Therefore, we must be prepared to understand formal cues through “knowledge of life and other artworks”. This is portrayed in the song ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ which foreshadows an adventure to a different world.
Form and feeling is also an important aspect of filmmaking. Form can create expected responses in an audience, such as sadness toward a death, or may create new ones such as in Jean Renior’s The Crime of M. Lange, where a comedic reaction is made out of a tragedy. This shows that emotions onscreen and within the audience depend on the context created by form. A film can take on several meanings also, it may be referential (very concrete), explicit (relating to the point of the film), implicit (more abstract) or symptomatic (abstract and general). The principles of form such as function, similarity and repetition, difference and variation, development and unity and disunity can distinguish more specific types of form that are central to understanding film art.
Chapter 3: ‘Narrative Form’ (from ‘Principles of Narrative Form’, incl. ‘Temporal Frequency: How Often Do We See or Hear an Event?’), pages 72 – 81
Chapter 3 in FILM ART discusses narrative form. A narrative, which is the telling of a story, relies on causality, time, and space. A narrative may also use parallelism. A narrative may cue us to draw parallels among characters, settings, situations, times of day, or other elements. For example, in Vera Chytilova’s Something Different, there is a parallel pattern, which causes the audience to compare two women’s lives. In any narrative film, either fictional or form, characters create causes and register effects. Within the film’s overall form, they make things happen and respond to events. The characters actions and reactions contribute strongly to our engagement with the film. Causes and their effects are basic to narrative, taking place in time. This time is constructed from what the plot presents. For example, in Citizen Kane, the audience sees a man’s death before we see his youth. It is up to the filmmaker if they want the order to be chronological, or challenge the audience.
‘Openings, Closings, and Patterns of Development’ to ‘The Narrator’, pages 85 – 96 AND from ‘Summing up Narration’ to ‘The Classical Hollywood Cinema’, pages 97 – 99
The opening of a film initiates the audience into a narrative. This opening must catch the audiences interest or attention, or it risks disinterest and a lack of focus. Usually, a film begins by telling us about the characters and their situations, before any major actions occur. Alternatively, the audience is thrown in at the end of a story which is told backward, or in the midst of the action. An example of a very unique film in Inception. This film has been criticized for being too complex, however it explores all notion of the past, present, future, and other worlds. As a films plot proceeds, the causes and effects create patterns of development. Change is essential to narrative, and a common pattern traces a change in knowledge. Very often, a character learns something in a course of action, crucial knowledge, which creates a turning point in a plot. Another common pattern of development is the goal-orientated plot pattern, which a character has an objective. Time also provides patterns. A framing situation may present, flashbacks, flash-forwards, or present time to continue the artistic process of a film. Regardless, it is crucial a film has a solid plot in order to be successful.
Chapter 4: ‘The Shot: Mise-en-Scene’ (from ‘What is Mise-en-Scene?’ up to and including ‘Time’), pages 112 – 154
Many of our most vivid memories of movies stem from mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene means “putting into the scene”, including aspects such as setting, lighting costume and makeup, and staging the performance. Originally developed in plays, mise-en-scene was extremely relevant in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s ‘Other Desert Cities’ in 2013. Mise-en-scene offers the filmmaker four general areas of choice and control: setting, costumes, and makeup, lighting and staging. Setting is a crucial aspect of film which becomes a forefront for human events and narrative action. Costumes also play crucial roles in films, as they often become motifs, enhancing characterization and tracing changes in attitude. To quote Harrison Ford, costume “speaks before you do”. Makeup is also essential in films, as it accentuates expressive qualities in the face. Digital technology may also be used to change features of the physical appearance of an actor. Lighting is also very important, expressing ideology, emotion, colour, depth and style. Lighting helps to create the overall composition of each shot and guides our attention. “The proper use of light can embellish and dramatize every object”.
A director supervises the actors and other staff in a film, play, or similar production. This is crucial to the films ability to have motivation, meaning and emotion. Space guides our attention and emphasizes elements in the frame. Filmmakers often try to distribute various points of interest evenly around the frame. Since our eyes are attuned to noticing changes, we can pick up the slightest cues. Cinema is an art of time as it is space. The directors control over mise-en-scene governs not only what we see but when we see it and for how long. The director shapes the speed and direction of movement within the shot.
Chapter 5: ‘The Shot: Cinematography’ (from ‘Framing’ up to and including ‘The Mobile Frame’), pages 178 – 203
Chapter 5 discusses framing, which is carefully considered in films, much like tonality, speed of motion, and perspective. It’s one of the most powerful cinematographic techniques. The frame shapes our experience, calling attention to what the filmmaker wants the audience to see. The Lumiere brothers were able to use framing to transform reality into a cinematic event in their early films, which resonates today in films. The ratio of frame width to frame height is called aspect ratio. Lumiere set these proportions at four by three, yielding an aspect of 1.33:1. These choices about aspect ratio and embedded imagery shape the spectator’s experience. Graphic factors such as masses, edges, and movement gain their impact in relation to frame width. Whether dependent on figure movement or independent of it, the mobile frame can profoundly affect how the audience perceives the space of an action. Different camera movements create different treatments of space.
‘Duration of the Image: The Long Take’, pages 210 – 216
Later in chapter 5, FILM ART examines the long take in films. Jean-Luc Godard once stated that “the only great problem with cinema seems to me, more and more with each film, when and why to start a shot and when and why to end it.” Shot durations have varied over history. Early cinema (1895-1905) had fairly long duration shots, as one film would be one shot. As time went on, the edits got faster and the shots quicker and more consequential. However, there have been many exceptions where directors have experimented with several long shots. For example, Renoir used long takes – which represented a powerful creative resource.
Chapter 6: ‘The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing’ (from ‘What is Editing?’ up to and including ‘Spatial Continuity: The 180 degree system’), pages 218 – 235
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. This film technique is key to good cinema, and is extremely powerful. This persuasive technique gives life and meaning to a film. Editing provides the audience with an insight into the filmmakers create choices. There are four dimensions of film making. These are graphic relations, rhythmic relations, spatial relations, and temporal relations Graphics may be edited to achieve smooth continuity or abrupt contrast. In 1900-1910, filmmakers began exploring editing, developing an approach to editing which was supported by specific strategies of cinematography ad mise-en-scene, which was based of narrative continuity. Continuity editing is a patterned use of a technique, based on filmmakers decisions, designed to have certain effects on viewers. When working in the continuity style, the filmmaker builds the scene’s space around what is called the axis of action, the centre line or the 180 degree line. This axis of action determines a half-circle, or 180 degree area, where the camera can be placed to present the action. The filmmaker needs to plan, stage, shoot and edit the shots so as to maintain the axis of action from shot to shot.
‘Continuity Editing: Some Fine Points’ (incl. ‘Spatial and Temporal Discontinuity’), pages 239 – 261
The continuity system remains in force today, most narrative films will draw on the 180 degree principles. In some cases, a filmmaker may create a new axis of action that allows the camera to take a position that would have crossed the line in an earlier phase of the scene. A filmmaker may be able to eliminate a shot, relying on the Kuleshov effect. In Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It, Nola Darling holds a Thanksgiving dinner for three friends. Lee never shows all four characters in the same frame. This continuity editing offers the filmmaker choices about presenting a story. These options include order, frequency and duration. However, when a filmmaker does not have perfect continuity between shots, they may use a cheat cut. Two shots do not need to match perfectly if they are composed for different reasons. The meaning behind a shot is crucial to created a good, believable story.
