During period 1, we will conclude our viewing of The Maltese Falcon. Please note that you should have completed your King Kong critical analysis and your Screwball Comedy Treatment. Please turn these in today. If you did not complete them, please add these assignments to your growing list of homework (see below!)
After screening the film, we will be moving to the Black Box theater for our masterclass with Maria Brandt. Please bring notebooks/journals, questions about college, etc.
HOMEWORK: Over the long weekend, please complete the following tasks:
Color in Film
Color tends to be a subconscious element in film. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests mood of the film or characters in it. At its most effective, complimentary characters are dressed in complimentary colors--antagonists are dressed in contrasting colors to their protagonists. Characters can match or contrast their settings and a whole host of other useful symbols can be created with color.
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first two strip Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in two strip Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Cecil B. DeMille's epic, 1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) and KING OF KINGS (Cecil B. DeMille, 1926) used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929). Various other musicals followed, such as Lockstep (1929), clip shown here and Gold Diggers (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors therefore are most vivid)
Early color was used as an expression (expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
Technicolor fragments.
During the 1930's, technicolor was still expensive. It was still being used as a movie gimmick as seen here. The Women (1939); here's the trailer
It was therefore technicolor and the 3 strip technicolor process that rocketed the Walt Disney Studios into a formidable film studio. Please refer to the chapter on Walt Disney (see previous handout that you probably discarded) and take notes on him, his studio, and why he's important in the film industry.
After screening the film, we will be moving to the Black Box theater for our masterclass with Maria Brandt. Please bring notebooks/journals, questions about college, etc.
HOMEWORK: Over the long weekend, please complete the following tasks:
- Please read the article on "Walt Disney and Snow White" (1937)
- Take notes on the links for color in film [this information will be on an upcoming test--view and record titles, dates, key personalities, innovations, etc.].
- Create a 2nd treatment (1-2 pages in length) for an adventure or film noir script.
- Complete the questions/analysis for The Maltese Falcon (handout) and turn in for credit.
Color in Film
Color tends to be a subconscious element in film. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests mood of the film or characters in it. At its most effective, complimentary characters are dressed in complimentary colors--antagonists are dressed in contrasting colors to their protagonists. Characters can match or contrast their settings and a whole host of other useful symbols can be created with color.
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first two strip Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in two strip Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Cecil B. DeMille's epic, 1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) and KING OF KINGS (Cecil B. DeMille, 1926) used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929). Various other musicals followed, such as Lockstep (1929), clip shown here and Gold Diggers (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors therefore are most vivid)
Early color was used as an expression (expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
Technicolor fragments.
During the 1930's, technicolor was still expensive. It was still being used as a movie gimmick as seen here. The Women (1939); here's the trailer
It was therefore technicolor and the 3 strip technicolor process that rocketed the Walt Disney Studios into a formidable film studio. Please refer to the chapter on Walt Disney (see previous handout that you probably discarded) and take notes on him, his studio, and why he's important in the film industry.
- Flowers and Trees (1932) Walt Disney, but starring no one important
- Disney's The Three Little Pigs (1933)
- The Band Concert (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and others) (1935)
- Mickey and the Polo Match (1936, try to spot and name the famous actor caricatures...)
- Scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); About Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (short historical bio); Look here for an irreverent Disney abridged parody of Snow White (27 min.)
- Ferdinand, the Bull (1938, Oscar Winner)
- Scene from Pinocchio (1940)
At Paramount Studios, animation by Max Fleischer (creator of Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and the animated Superman) was also becoming a big thing. Here's the full version of Gulliver's Travels (1939) [You can watch and analyze this film as extra credit for MP4.]
Other animated films: If you have access to the Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well.
Other animated films: If you have access to the Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well.
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