After our test, we will continue screening The Maltese Falcon.
HOMEWORK: Continue to write your short film scripts. The script is due Monday, May 5.
HOMEWORK: Continue to write your short film scripts. The script is due Monday, May 5.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Scripting; AP meeting; Test Prep
If you are taking an AP class, please go to the ensemble theater this morning.
This morning for the rest of us, please work on your film scripts. See previous posts, handouts, and use your treatment as a starting point for your project.
If the AP students complete their bubbling and return, we will continue watching The Maltese Falcon.
HOMEWORK: Your script is due Monday, May 5. Please work toward its completion. Our test on 1930's-1940's film happens Tuesday. Please study your notes and materials for the test. See our blog post below.
This morning for the rest of us, please work on your film scripts. See previous posts, handouts, and use your treatment as a starting point for your project.
If the AP students complete their bubbling and return, we will continue watching The Maltese Falcon.
HOMEWORK: Your script is due Monday, May 5. Please work toward its completion. Our test on 1930's-1940's film happens Tuesday. Please study your notes and materials for the test. See our blog post below.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Film Test: 1930-1940
Please review for your exam:
Film trends in the 1930's
Sound in film
Laurel & Hardy: The Music Box
Hal Roach, The Little Rascals
Positive/Negative effects of Sound in Film
The Jazz Singer
Joseph P. Maxfield
The Vitaphone
Technicolor
Narratology: Realist, Classical, Formalistic film styles, narrative techniques
Cross-cutting, montage, multiple perspective
RKO studios
Walt Disney Studios: Flowers & Trees, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The 3 Little Pigs, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck films from the 1930's, other Disney animation
The Wizard of Oz & Judy Garland
Gone With the Wind & Clark Gable
It Happened One Night (Screwball Comedy)Cary Grant
Jimmy Stewart
Becky Sharp, The Black Pirate (2-strip technicolor)The 1930's Star SystemThe Marx Brothers
Alfred Hitchcock: Rope (1947)
Television: and its effect on film
Drive-In Movie Theaters
HUAC: and its effect on film
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Orson Welles: and his influence on film/cinematography
Film Noir: characteristics and style of the genreHOMEWORK: Study for the exam, April 29.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Film Script Writing; Film Noir & The Maltese Falcon
The Elements of Film Noir (documentary)
Please take a look at the clip above and watch the Orson Welles Citizen Kane blog post and links (see posts below) this morning or as homework by next class. During period 1, please work on your script project.
Use your treatment (this should already be written). Open the same file.
In script format, add details, dialogue, description, camera work, etc. that you think would be important to include to tell your story in a creative way. Refer to the handouts about how to format your script. You can also check here for more info.
During period 2, we'll go next door to begin our screening of the film noir classic film: The Maltese Falcon. Here are a few things to watch for as we screen The Maltese Falcon:
1. A protagonist that is cynical or detached
2. A femme fatale who leads the protagonist astray
3. A mystery, crime, or use of suspense
4. A naive scapegoat to take the rap of some "crime"
5. Goons (hired criminals who give the protagonist a hard time)
6. Razor sharp dialogue
7. Reference and description of low key lighting
The Maltese Falcon, directed and written for the screen by John Huston
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
The Third Man
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity (full film)
Casablanca
Now a little technique and advice about making films:
Please take a look at the clip above and watch the Orson Welles Citizen Kane blog post and links (see posts below) this morning or as homework by next class. During period 1, please work on your script project.
Use your treatment (this should already be written). Open the same file.
In script format, add details, dialogue, description, camera work, etc. that you think would be important to include to tell your story in a creative way. Refer to the handouts about how to format your script. You can also check here for more info.
During period 2, we'll go next door to begin our screening of the film noir classic film: The Maltese Falcon. Here are a few things to watch for as we screen The Maltese Falcon:
1. A protagonist that is cynical or detached
2. A femme fatale who leads the protagonist astray
3. A mystery, crime, or use of suspense
4. A naive scapegoat to take the rap of some "crime"
5. Goons (hired criminals who give the protagonist a hard time)
6. Razor sharp dialogue
7. Reference and description of low key lighting
The Maltese Falcon, directed and written for the screen by John Huston
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
- Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
- Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy
- Gladys George as Iva Archer
- Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo
- Barton MacLane as Lt. of Detectives Dundy
- Lee Patrick as Effie Perrine
- Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman
- Ward Bond as Detective Tom Polhaus
- Jerome Cowan as Miles Archer
- Elisha Cook, Jr. as Wilmer Cook
The Third Man
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity (full film)
Casablanca
Now a little technique and advice about making films:
- Lighting Techniques (for student film makers)
- How to shoot a Noir film (documentary; how-to)
- Mise en Scene (documentary; how-to)
HOMEWORK: Please continue writing your film script. The script is due May 5. Complete as much homework as needed to meet this deadline. If you have not yet done so, watch and take notes on the Citizen Kane clips below (and read the handout given to you before break on Orson Welles).
Monday, April 21, 2014
The Emergence of Television & Drive-In Movie Theaters
This morning, please follow Ms. Guy's instructions as she teaches you about Television:
EQ:
While in the lab, please read the following articles and links. Take notes and answer the appropriate questions in your research.
The History of Television (particularly important to those of you planning on studying communications, media journalism, and/or broadcasting) is quite interesting. How much do you really know about that flat screen you have hanging on your wall? Read the article (stop at the 1970's) and link.
Drive-In Theatres:
A little history.
Richard Hollingshead, a young sales manager at his dad's Whiz Auto Products, invented something that combined his two interests: cars and movies.
Richard Hollingshead's vision was an open-air movie theater where moviegoers could watch from their own cars. He experimented in his own driveway in New Jersey. Hollingshead mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, projected onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard, and used a radio placed behind the screen for sound. Clever!
The inventor subjected his beta drive-in to vigorous testing: for sound quality, for different weather conditions (Hollingshead used a lawn sprinkler to imitate rain) and for figuring out how to park the patrons' cars. He lined up the cars in his driveway, which created a problem with line of sight. By spacing cars at various distances and placing blocks and ramps under the front wheels of cars, Richard Hollingshead created the perfect parking arrangement for the drive-in movie theater experience.
The first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537) was issued on May 16, 1933. With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on June 6, 1933 at a location in Camden, New Jersey. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.
The design did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted a company by the name of RCA Victor to provide the sound system, called "Directional Sound." Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.
The largest drive-in theater in patron capacity was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York. All-Weather had parking space for 2,500 cars, an indoor 1,200 seat viewing area, kid's playground, a full service restaurant and a shuttle train that took customers from their cars and around the 28-acre theater lot.
Please take a look at these clips. Drive in down memory lane...
Clip A.
Clip B.
EQ:
- How does 40’s TV compare or contrast with our current television shows?
- Does television reflect what society looks like?
- Compare TV then of TV now.
· Write down some things that were interesting to you from the video.
· What do you think of the commercials and what was most interesting to you?
While in the lab, please read the following articles and links. Take notes and answer the appropriate questions in your research.
The History of Television (particularly important to those of you planning on studying communications, media journalism, and/or broadcasting) is quite interesting. How much do you really know about that flat screen you have hanging on your wall? Read the article (stop at the 1970's) and link.
Drive-In Theatres:
A little history.
Richard Hollingshead, a young sales manager at his dad's Whiz Auto Products, invented something that combined his two interests: cars and movies.
Richard Hollingshead's vision was an open-air movie theater where moviegoers could watch from their own cars. He experimented in his own driveway in New Jersey. Hollingshead mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, projected onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard, and used a radio placed behind the screen for sound. Clever!
The inventor subjected his beta drive-in to vigorous testing: for sound quality, for different weather conditions (Hollingshead used a lawn sprinkler to imitate rain) and for figuring out how to park the patrons' cars. He lined up the cars in his driveway, which created a problem with line of sight. By spacing cars at various distances and placing blocks and ramps under the front wheels of cars, Richard Hollingshead created the perfect parking arrangement for the drive-in movie theater experience.
The first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537) was issued on May 16, 1933. With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on June 6, 1933 at a location in Camden, New Jersey. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.
The design did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted a company by the name of RCA Victor to provide the sound system, called "Directional Sound." Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.
The largest drive-in theater in patron capacity was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York. All-Weather had parking space for 2,500 cars, an indoor 1,200 seat viewing area, kid's playground, a full service restaurant and a shuttle train that took customers from their cars and around the 28-acre theater lot.
Please take a look at these clips. Drive in down memory lane...
Clip A.
Clip B.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Alfred Hitchcock & Rope
Alfred Hitchcock is considered the "master of suspense" and his career in film was a long and influential one:
His first full length film was The Lodger and appeared in 1926. This was followed by Downhill (1927), The Ring (1927), Champagne (1928), The Farmer's Wife (1928), and Easy Virtue (1928), The Manxman (1929), and Blackmail (1929). These were British silent films (Blackmail was not, as you can hear). You are free to watch any of these films as extra credit.
In the1930's, Hitchcock made even more films, mostly suspense films for which he became famous. These included: Rich and Strange (1931), The Skin Game (1931), Number 17 (1932), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) with Peter Lorre, The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Secret Agent (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Jamaica Inn (1939), then Foreign Correspondent (1940).
At this point in his career, Alfred Hitchcock moves to Hollywood to work with producer David O. Selznick. He makes a variety of films for Selznick, although the two approached film from a very different perspective. Hitchcock often felt trapped or restricted by Selznick's contract. The films include: Rebecca (1940) Laurence Olivier, Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Joseph Cotten, Life Boat (1944) Talula Bankhead, Spellbound (1945) with Gregory Peck, Notorious Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), Rope (1948) with Farley Granger & Jimmy Stewart, and Under Capricorn (1949) Ingrid Bergman.
His first full length film was The Lodger and appeared in 1926. This was followed by Downhill (1927), The Ring (1927), Champagne (1928), The Farmer's Wife (1928), and Easy Virtue (1928), The Manxman (1929), and Blackmail (1929). These were British silent films (Blackmail was not, as you can hear). You are free to watch any of these films as extra credit.
In the1930's, Hitchcock made even more films, mostly suspense films for which he became famous. These included: Rich and Strange (1931), The Skin Game (1931), Number 17 (1932), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) with Peter Lorre, The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), Secret Agent (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Jamaica Inn (1939), then Foreign Correspondent (1940).
At this point in his career, Alfred Hitchcock moves to Hollywood to work with producer David O. Selznick. He makes a variety of films for Selznick, although the two approached film from a very different perspective. Hitchcock often felt trapped or restricted by Selznick's contract. The films include: Rebecca (1940) Laurence Olivier, Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Joseph Cotten, Life Boat (1944) Talula Bankhead, Spellbound (1945) with Gregory Peck, Notorious Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman (1946), The Paradine Case (1947), Rope (1948) with Farley Granger & Jimmy Stewart, and Under Capricorn (1949) Ingrid Bergman.
Film Noir & Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)
Please turn in your pitch assignments today.
The Elements of Film Noir (documentary)
Here are a few things to watch for in the film noir genre:
1. A protagonist that is cynical or detached
2. A femme fatale who leads the protagonist astray
3. A mystery, crime, or use of suspense
4. A naive scapegoat to take the rap of some "crime"
5. Goons (hired criminals who give the protagonist a hard time)
6. Razor sharp dialogue
7. Reference and description of low key lighting
Film noir films of the 1940's:
The Third Man
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity (full film)
Casablanca
Now a little technique and advice about making films:
The Elements of Film Noir (documentary)
Here are a few things to watch for in the film noir genre:
1. A protagonist that is cynical or detached
2. A femme fatale who leads the protagonist astray
3. A mystery, crime, or use of suspense
4. A naive scapegoat to take the rap of some "crime"
5. Goons (hired criminals who give the protagonist a hard time)
6. Razor sharp dialogue
7. Reference and description of low key lighting
Film noir films of the 1940's:
The Third Man
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity (full film)
Casablanca
Now a little technique and advice about making films:
- Lighting Techniques (for student film makers)
- How to shoot a Noir film (documentary; how-to)
- Mise en Scene (documentary; how-to)
CITIZEN KANE & ORSON WELLES
Citizen Kane is considered the world's #1 film. It is typically included in film studies curriculum. Because we are far behind schedule in our course, we will be skimming over the film, examining a few scenes.
Today, please watch these scenes from Citizen Kane (1941):
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:
Today, please watch these scenes from Citizen Kane (1941):
- Opening sequence: "Rosebud"
- Citizen Kane: Library scene: Chiaroscuro lighting
- Citizen Kane: Deep Focus Shot
- Citizen Kane: How to Run a Newspaper
- Citizen Kane: There is a Man...
- Citizen Kane: Effective Transitioning
- Citizen Kane: Lighting
- Citizen Kane: Multiple Perspective
- Citizen Kane: Low Angle shot
- Citizen Kane: Famous Icon: Speech
- Citizen Kane: Dissolve Montage & Deep Focus shot example
- Hall of Mirrors Sequence
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:
The Deep Focus shot!
Low angle shots revealing ceilings!
Moving shots used as wipes!
Overlapping dialogue! (not original to Welles, but a trend in Screwball Comedies)
Long uninterrupted shots!
Expressionist lighting and photography!
Multiple perspective! (adds complexity to a plot...)Orson Welles, Other Films from the 1940's & 1950's:
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (snowride scene)
- Macbeth (1948)
- The Third Man (1949)
- Othello (1952)
- Mr. Arkadin (1955)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
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