Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Styles of Film, Film Project, & Melies & Porter

Melies and Porter both found a way to edit and arrange film to create a narrative story. With these two film directors we begin to expand the novelty and artistic quality of the medium.

If we were to reduce all films to a continuum, we would have realism on one end of the continuum and formalism on the other. The Lumiere Brothers, and many of Edison's films, are considered actualities and are little more than moving snapshots of real life in real settings shot on location in real places. Viewers were fascinated by these films partly because they had never seen a picture move, but also because the events the films captured were spontaneous and true. It don't get more real than this! The most real films are often considered to be documentaries--documents of real people, places, or events.

On the other side of the continuum is formalism. Formalist films are often avant-garde or metaphorical. Melies' films are perfect examples of this kind of film. Melies used trick photography, whimsical and fantastic subject matter that went beyond reality, and arranged his scenes deliberately for effect. While the camera stays at a safe viewing distance (long shot), the entire film is manipulated to create an effect on the viewer. When a director does these things (tricks like dissolves or stop motion or careful editing) he is beginning to lose the spontaneity of capturing real life, as all is "staged" and "un-real".

Today most films are considered the mid-range between realism and formalism. This mid-range is called classicism and most fiction films fall into this category.

During period one: please choose one of the directors posted below and begin working on your project. You will need:
1. To work alone or with one partner.
2. Choose a director on the list by signing up on the roving sheet I pass around
3. Research and take notes on the director.
4. Prepare photos, illustrations, or film clips to import into iMovie
5. Create a short VO (voice over) script detailing important information from your notes/research. Record this using the recording and microphone capabilities on iMovie. Your script is due to turn in at the end of the project.
During period 2: we will screen the following films:

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND (1906), Directed by Edwin S. Porter
A TRIP TO THE MOON (1902), Directed by George Melies

and complete our viewing of Edweard Muybridge's films.

HOMEWORK: George Melies outlined a narrative story by numbering scenes he would need for a film. See the chapter on Melies (handout) for examples. Create your own pre-arranged scene break-down for a film of your own. You may wish, like Melies, to choose a favorite story or fairy tale, or create your own sci-fi or fantasy story. This prearranged scene outline is due next class as participation credit.

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