Thursday, April 27, 2017

Film Projects Due; Citizen Kane

Period 1: Please complete and upload your film projects to Youtube. Send me the URL for your company's film in the comment section below.

  • Did you remember to:
    • Put opening credits (with a title) in your film? NOTE: usually the production company's name is first, followed by the producer's name, followed by actors, writers, and directors.
    • Spellcheck your intertitles?
    • Put end credits (with entire cast, editors, designers, cinematographers, credit for music scores, clips, etc. as well as information from the opening credits)
    • Upload your MP4 film file to Youtube (make sure it can be viewed by the public...)
If you are done during the lab, please catch up on so much material we covered in the last month...

Things you may have missed...View what you might have missed. There's a lot of stuff here. Scroll through and take notes.

Video hints for film projects:
1930's Golden Age films:

Hell's Angels (1930) Premiere clip (not the film, but the hubbub about the film)
Hell's Angels (1930) clip with Jean Harlow
Anna Christie (1930) With Greta Garbo
Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) Johnny Weissmuller
Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich
Grand Hotel (1932) with Joan Crawford & John Barrymore
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Clark Gable & Charles Laughton
Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone (documentary clip)
Universal Horror Films:
Dracula (1931) Bela Lugosi (Tod Browning's version)
Dracula (clip 2)
Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff
Frankenstein (2nd clip)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1932) with Boris Karloff
Bride of Frankenstein (2nd clip)
Freaks (1932) Tod Browning director
The White Zombie (1932) Bela Lugosi
The Mummy (1932) Boris Karloff
The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains

Screwball Comedies:
The Thin Man (1934) with Myrna Loy & William Powell
A Night At the Opera (cabin scene) (1935)
Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant; & another clip
His Girl Friday (1940), another clip, & another clip from the film (good dialogue scene), Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
The Women (1939); here's the trailer for the film.

Frank Capra films:
It Happened One Night (1934) Claudette Colbert & Clark Gable
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Gary Cooper
Lost Horizon (1937) and clips from the film...
You Can't Take it With You (1938) with a very young Jimmy Stewart
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) with Jimmy Stewart

Gangster Films:
The Public Enemy (1931) (full film, extra credit option)
Scarface (1932)

Westerns:
Cimarron (1930)
Stagecoach (1939) John Wayne (John Ford directing)

War Films:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Musicals:
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Top Hat (1935) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Swing Time (1936) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (again)
42 Street (1933)

Animation:
Popeye the Sailor (1933) with Betty Boop (and Popeye, of course)
Porky Pig & Gabby (1937)
Prest-O Change-O (early Bugs Bunny) (1939)
Daffy Duck & the Dinosaur (1939)

Blockbuster Technicolor films:
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn

Alfred Hitchcock 1930's films:
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Sabotage (the suspenseful bomb scene) (1936)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Period 2: Citizen Kane (1941); we will screen Citizen Kane in the classroom today. Turn in your homework from last class. See the previous post for details.

HOMEWORK: Complete the Citizen Kane script handed to you in Wednesday's class. Please view any clips/videos you did not view in previous classes.
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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Film Project; Citizen Kane: Day 1

LAB: This morning, please complete the following tasks:

1. View the video hints for film projects:
2. Work on your film project.
  • Producers: get with your director and discuss time and schedule for the film project. The film project is due next class--will your company be ready to submit your work? Set up a schedule that works within this boundary. Producers! It is your job to see that the project is completed by the deadline.
  • Directors: work with your actors, editor, technicians, cinematographer, etc. Find out people's schedules. When can you shoot the scenes you need to? Make a schedule and hand this to your crew. You may use class time to plan, shoot, edit, or trouble-shoot with your crew.
  • Actors: get a copy of the script you are working on and read it. Prepare your scenes by reading and reading and reading the script. Memorize, if possible. Work with your director on scheduling scenes you are in, run lines with other actors, ask questions of the director for anything unclear in the script or with your character. Help out the crew or the director where needed.
  • Writers: You are the first step in the process, but you may not need to be completed before you hand your script to your director or producer. If you haven't completed your short script (remember a short script is like a short story--start close to the climax of the "film"!) After writing, be available to the director to change anything needing changing in the script. Yes, you may want your site locations to blow-up at the end of the film, but is this possible? (the answer is no, by the way.) As the writer, help out your editor and director by preparing a cast and crew list. You may also easily double as an actor, cinematographer, producer, director, crew, or editor. Complete jobs where needed.
  • Cinematographer: Your job is to plan HOW the script is shot. Will you use a long shot or close up? Will you use high-key lighting or low-key? Will you shoot a scene with an oblique angle or a high angle or low angle? Go through the script and make some decisions. Create storyboards to help you visualize a scene. Take into account the writer's wishes, but feel free to change anything that will make your film project more visually interesting.
  • Editor: Start working on the credits. You will need both opening and closing credits. You can do this even if you haven't started shooting your film yet. Use iMovie to create opening and closing credits. You can also help out by finding sound cues or stock footage. Prepare all sound cues as needed. If an actor has a VO (voice over) sequence, use class time to record the voice over (even if you haven't finished shooting the scene it is attached to). Once you have film shot, you may begin editing. I suggest the editor is NOT the director, although this may be unavoidable.
  • Crew: Help out. If something needs to be completed, help your team get the film done on time. Like actors, be available to fill in and help where needed at any time. If the editor needs help, help. If the writer needs help, help. If the director needs help, help. You get the idea.
2nd period:

Before viewing Citizen Kane today, we will read part of the opening of the film script. As we read, note how a film script is written differently from a play script.

As we view Citizen Kane, there are a series of important elements that can enrich our understanding of this film. See the handout & today's homework below for more details.

Orson Welles as Auteur:
Welles directed, wrote (partial), and starred in this film (even though it was thought he wasn't old enough to portray Kane). While Welles had direct control over the film and its look, there were other people who contributed artistically. Some of the invention and creativity of film making includes:

Note: The handout given to you on Citizen Kane will be helpful to you, as will the script. Please read and refer to these articles.

Here is some information about who is responsible for this film.

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles (screenplay)
Cinematography by Gregg Toland

Orson Welles ... Charles Foster Kane
Joseph Cotten ... Jedediah Leland
Dorothy Comingore ... Susan Alexander Kane
Agnes Moorehead ... Mary Kane
Ruth Warrick ... Emily Monroe Norton Kane
Ray Collins ... James W. Gettys
Erskine Sanford ... Herbert Carter
Everett Sloane ... Mr. Bernstein
William Alland ... Jerry Thompson
Paul Stewart ... Raymond
George Coulouris ... Walter Parks Thatcher
Fortunio Bonanova ... Signor Matiste
Gus Schilling ... The Headwaiter
Philip Van Zandt ... Mr. Rawlston
Georgia Backus ... Bertha Anderson
Harry Shannon ... Kane's Father

Produced by Orson Welles and George Schaefer .... executive producer
Original Music by Bernard Herrmann
Film Editing by Robert Wise
Casting by Rufus Le Maire & Robert Palmer
Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase
Set Decoration by Darrell Silvera
Costume Design by Edward Stevenson
Makeup by Maurice Seiderman

Other important films by Orson Welles:
HOMEWORK: Complete your screwball comedy film script drafts. Please read the article on "Mr. Welles Comes to Town" -- answer the question (due Friday, April 29) & the script for Citizen Kane (complete by Friday, May 10). 
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Monday, April 24, 2017

Resources for Movie Maker

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The Wizard of Oz; Film Project; Seven Dwarfs Ending

Lab: Period 1

Please upload movie footage, or work on our title/still sequences for your film project.

Please work on your film projects during the lab. Films are due Friday.

If you are not the editor of your project, please use the lab time to read the handouts on The Wizard of Oz & Citizen Kane.

NOTE: See the golden age of film clips from the post below if you have not already done so!

Period 2: Classroom

We will complete our viewing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and view the beginning sequences of The Wizard of OZ.

HOMEWORK: None. If you were the editor and did not read the handouts, please make sure you do that.
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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Film Project; Snow White (conclusion); Gone with the Wind & The Golden Age of Film

Lab: Until 8:00

Please upload movie footage, or work on our title/still sequences for your film project.

Note the following information on the Golden Age of Film:

The 1930's is considered the Golden Age of Film. Please review and take notes on these following film clips. You should note who is starring in which roles and how certain actors and directors helped shape the genres we now recognize in film today. You will be tested on the material found here, so please watch attentively and make some observations about films in the 1930's.

As for camera work, there are few tricks being used with cameras. Angles are mostly eye-level, with medium, long, and close up shots being used with transitions such as the wipe, the iris, fade to black to indicate scene changes. There is still rear projection, tracking shots, dolly shots, and elaborate sets (particularly for war and epic films), but overall, the feel of 1930's film is like watching a play. With the invention of sound, movies rely on written dialogue to move the plot and develop character (as opposed to using solely a visual medium). Famous directors and writers such as Frank Capra, Walt Disney, and writer George S. Kaufman to name only a few make their appearance in this era. Since sound is a new invention, the use of music is an important element. See what other details you can observe as you watch the clips:

Hell's Angels (1930) Premiere clip (not the film, but the hubbub about the film)
Hell's Angels (1930) clip with Jean Harlow
Anna Christie (1930) With Greta Garbo
Tarzan, The Ape Man (1932) Johnny Weissmuller
Morocco (1930) with Marlene Dietrich

Grand Hotel (1932) with Joan Crawford & John Barrymore
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Clark Gable & Charles Laughton
Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone (documentary clip)

Universal Horror Films:
Dracula (1931) Bela Lugosi (Tod Browning's version)
Dracula (clip 2)
Frankenstein (1931) with Boris Karloff
Frankenstein (2nd clip)
The Bride of Frankenstein (1932) with Boris Karloff
Bride of Frankenstein (2nd clip)
Freaks (1932) Tod Browning director
The White Zombie (1932) Bela Lugosi
The Mummy (1932) Boris Karloff
The Invisible Man (1933) with Claude Rains

Screwball Comedies:
The Thin Man (1934) with Myrna Loy & William Powell
A Night At the Opera (cabin scene) (1935)
Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Katharine Hepburn & Cary Grant

Frank Capra films:
It Happened One Night (1934) Claudette Colbert & Clark Gable
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Gary Cooper
Lost Horizon (1937) and clips from the film...
You Can't Take it With You (1938) with a very young Jimmy Stewart
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) with Jimmy Stewart

Gangster Films:
The Public Enemy (1931) (full film, extra credit option)
Scarface (1932)

Westerns:
Cimarron (1930)
Stagecoach (1939) John Wayne (John Ford directing)

War Films:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Musicals:
The Gay Divorcee (1934) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Top Hat (1935) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
Swing Time (1936) Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire (again)
42 Street (1933)

Animation:
Popeye the Sailor (1933) with Betty Boop (and Popeye, of course)

Blockbuster Technicolor films:
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn

Period 1/2: Classroom

We will complete our viewing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs today.

HOMEWORK: Please shoot and make your silent films over Spring Break. You will have some time the week we return to edit/prepare your film for Youtube, but not forever. Get your film SHOT over break--and feel free to edit and/or complete it during the break.

Otherwise, have a nice Spring Break!
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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Color In Film; Silent Film Project Workshop; Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs

Lab 1:

Please turn in your homework on Disney & Snow White and turn in your Metropolis papers if you have not already done so last class.

During our lab time, please work on your silent film projects. Check in with your film company. Producers should meet with me before the end of the class period to report how your projects are coming along. Your silent film projects are due when you return from Spring Break.

Also, take a look at some of the following information about color in film during period 1.

Color in Film

Color tends to be a subconscious element in films. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests the mood of the film or the 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 a 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 a 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).

 3-strip Technicolor

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 in film was used as an expression (like expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are more formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies and was seen, oddly, as less than realistic. You should note that most early color films were romances, fantasies, musicals, or animated films.

Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)

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 for the film.

 Period 2: Classroom:

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 to see why he's important in the film industry.

Disney & Animated Film Extra Credit:

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 Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well.

We will screen Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Enjoy the singing! As we watch note how color is used to characterize good versus bad characters. Additionally, use the critical lens of gender criticism and/or feminism to interpret the film.

HOMEWORK: Read the script selections for The Wizard of Oz & Gone With The Wind for next class (see handouts). Work on your silent film projects. Schedule time to shoot your film!
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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

King Kong (Day 2)

We will complete the viewing of this film this morning. If you have your Metropolis papers completed, please print them out and turn them in today. I am extending this deadline to Monday where and when we can access a printer.

You should reserve your lab time Monday for working on your silent film projects. These will be due when you return from Spring Break. Plan accordingly with your film company.

When we complete King Kong, we will hold a discussion based on your critical lens choice.

HOMEWORK: Please read the article on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".


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