Lecture 06 Film Theory Applied IS 246 Multimedia

Lecture 06: Film Theory Applied IS 246 Multimedia Information (FILM 240, Section 4) Prof. Marc Davis UC Berkeley SIMS Monday and Wednesday 2: 00 pm – 3: 30 pm Spring 2003 http: //www. sims. berkeley. edu/academics/courses/is 246/s 03/ IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 1

Today’s Agenda • Assignment 1 • Review of Last Time – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 2

Today’s Agenda • Assignment 1 • Review of Last Time – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 3

Assignment 1: Film Theory Application • Analyze a short motion picture sequence • Re-edit the sequence • Analyze your re-edited sequence IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 4

Today’s Agenda • Assignment 1 • Review of Last Time – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 5

Cinematography • The “shot” – 1 –> n frames of images captured sequentially (or designed to appear so) • Photographic properties of shots – Framing of the mise-en-scene • Angle, level, height, and distance • Onscreen vs. offscreen space • Cinematographic properties of shots – Frame Rate (slow motion, fast motion, variable motion) – Movement of camera and/or camera supports IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 6

Functions of Camera Movement • Often increases information about the space of the mise-en-scene • Often reveals new objects or figures • Provides new perspectives on objects and figures adds to our information about them • Guides and focuses our attention on the space, objects, and features of the miseen-scene • Enhance continuity across shots IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 7

Today’s Agenda • Assignment 1 • Review of Last Time – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 8

Dimensions of Film Editing • Graphic relations between Shot A and Shot B • Rhythmic relations between Shot A and Shot B • Spatial relations between Shot A and Shot B • Temporal relations between Shot A and Shot B IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 9

Constructing Space • Situate location of Shot B with establishing Shot A • Construct illusion of spatial contiguity through joining of Shot A and Shot B (Kuleshov Effect) • Create physically impossible or ambiguous spaces • Establish two discontiguous spaces through parallel editing (i. e. , crosscutting) IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 10

Temporal Duration • Temporal ellipsis – Punctuation • Dissolve, wipe, fade – Empty frames • Shot A (character exits frame, then empty frame) • Shot B (empty frame, then character enters frame) – Cutaway • Temporal expansion – Overlapping editing IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 11

Spatial Continuity Editing • 180 degree rule – Ensures that relative positions in the frame remain consistent – Ensures consistent eyelines (i. e. , gaze vectors) – Ensures consistent screen direction (i. e. , direction of character movement within the frame) IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 12

Today’s Agenda • Assignment 1 • Review of Last Time – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 13

Discussion Questions • On Cinematography (Rachna Dhamija) – Bordwell describes the significance that mise-en-scene, framing, shot duration, and other cinematographic effects have on narrative. What are the implications for the design of automatic video capture systems? – Still cameras have evolved to give users more feedback on framing, lighting, etc. to improve their capture technique. What feedback could be given to end users of video capture systems to improve amateur cinematography? What could be automated (or made into a template)? – Bordwell describes cinematic action that occurs across frame and shot boundaries. How can we represent this with metadata? – What impact does the improvement of digital manipulation and post-capture editing techniques have on mise-en-scene and cinematography? Does it minimize their importance? IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 14

Discussion Questions • On Cinematography (Beto Ritchie) – The uniformity among shooting, printing, and projection rates are more important than the choice of any particular rate of shooting or projection. Why? – How is the use of offscreen space used effectively to surprise the viewer? How can it be used differently than a theatre's offscreen space? What are the six zones of offscreen space? – A curious industry question: If the director and cinematographer are two different persons, which is often the case, how much power and control does the cinematographer have over the outcome and look of the film? Where the director draw the line? Cinematography covers so many important aspects of a film that there must be overlapping decisions and tasks that must be worked out between the director and cinematographer. In a film like American Beauty, which had amazing cinematographic aspects from lighting to framing, I wonder how much of it was the director Sam Mendes' work and ideas, how much of it was the cinematographer Conrad Hall's input, and how much of it was due to the collaboration of both filmmakers. IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 15

Discussion Questions • On Editing (Ka-Ping Yee) – How might a video editing system detect places where eyeline match or match on action might occur? – How might such a system advise or warn an editor of potentially beneficial or misleading effects of the match? Could it recommend safe places to cut? – Can the principles of continuity editing be applied to improve comprehension of summarized footage? • On Editing (Ana Ramirez) – Can the axis of action be recorded in the metadata and what effect does this have for multimedia databases? IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 16

Today’s Agenda • Review of Last Time – Narrative Form and Narration – Introduction to Editing • Formalist Media Theory – Cinematography – Editing • Discussion • Action Items for Next Time IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 17

Readings for Next Time • Wednesday 02/12 – Christian Metz. Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991; pp. 92 -146. – Umberto Eco. Articulations of the Cinematic Code. in Nichols, B. ed. , University of California Press, Berkeley, 1976; pp. 590 -607. – Roland Barthes. Action Sequences. in Strelka, J. ed. , Patterns of Literary Style. State University of Pennsylvania Press, University Park, Pennsylvania, 1971; pp. 5 -14. – Noel Burch. Theory of Film Practice. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J. , 1981; pp. 3 -16. IS 246 - SPRING 2003. 02. 10 - SLIDE 18