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cinema test 3

Terms in this set (84)

narrative
a fictional story; can be fictionalized stories of actual events; a way of structuring a story in cause and affect sequence
documentary
nonfictional
factual films
presents people, places and processes without unduly influencing the audience.
Instructional films
seeks to educate
persuasive
nonfictional films that address social injustices or present a certain perspective
propaganda film
persuasive films produced by governments
experimental films
Usually about unfamiliar, unorthodox, or obscure subject matter

Use innovative techniques that call attention to, question or challenge their own artifice.

Used to exploit the possibilities of film/cinema in an artistic way to convey a message. Often Art for Art's Sake
hybrid movies
the flexibility of film form has made cross-pollination among experimental doc. and narrative approaches an inevitable and desirable aspect of cinematic evolution
genre
categorization of films by the stories they tell or the ways they tell them.

Provide consistency and provide the movie industry with the power to attract audiences and thus sell tickets.
genre conventions
provide a foundation for filmmakers to honor tradition, but also to innovate change, evolution and transformation.
theme
Shared, public ideas
• Metaphors, adages, myths, and familiar conflicts and personality types
• May or may not be explicit, but perceptive viewers will recognize them.
setting
time and place that a story takes place
presentation
genres feature elements of cinematic language that communicate tone and atmosphere: ex-- horror film use low key lighting
character type
genre films are populated by character types :western protaginst personify tesnion between order and chaos in the form of the free-spirited but civilizrs cowboy or gunslinger turned into lawmaker... western types are cunning gambler the greenhorn the sidekick and the settler.
direct cinema
an approach to documentary filmmaking that employs an unobtrusive style in an attempt to give viewers as truthful and "direct" an experience of events as possible
story formula
is the overall plot structure found in a genre. Recurring themes or situations
stars
the actors who star in genre movies factor into how the genre is classified.
gangster film
Story Formula: rags to riches; crime doesn't pay; absolute power corrupts
Setting/scene convention: cities, guns etc.
Character types: Usually ethnic, Italian, Irish, Jewish, African American, etc.
film noir
Story Formula: hard-boiled detective story, corruption, despair
Visual convention: Chiaroscuro lighting, very dark, gritty look
Character types: often female antagonist (femme fatale), cynical hard drinking detectives as anti-hero protagonist
science fiction
Story Formula: Man's relationship to science, technology, space, artificial intelligence etc.
Visual convention: Space, or aliens on earth, robots or artificial intellegence, post-apocolyptic cities or sterile utopian settings
Character types: Aliens as antagonists and humans who are very down-to earth with very human faults and humanitarian ways of being
horror
Story Formula: A normal world becomes threatened by a monster of some sort.
Visual convention: Usually someplace that is isolated in some way. Lighting is dark,underlighting is used, lots of shadows
Character types: Ghosts, demons, homicidal maniacs, infectious killers such as zombies, werewolves, or vampires. Protagonist is usually a loner
western
Story Formula: Rugged self-sufficient individuals tame the savage wilderness of the Wild West.
Visual convention: Western U.S., Monument Valley Utah, wide open vistas, mountains, dessert. Horses, cows, trains. Sunny
Character types: Cowboys, Indians, train conductors or wagon
musical
Story Formula: Story in which the characters express themselves in song and dance.
Visual convention: Often Broadway theater, backstage; but it could be anything really in an integrated musical
Character types: Characters that can sing and dance
generic transformation
the process in which a genre is adapted to meet changing societal expectations.
mixed genres
blending incompatible genres
animation
distinct type of motion pic.employs different mechanisms to create the multitude of still images
digital animation
May begin with drawings, but uses computer modeling software to generate the animation
uncanny valley
almost human like characters therefore be unease and discomfort- a negative rxn
what are four ways to define narrative
1. story
2. type of movie
3. way of structuring fictional or fictionalized stories presented in narrative films
4.broader concept that both includes and goes beyond and of these applications.
what are the main differences between three basic types of movies
seperated according to entrie to running time, subject matter, nation of origin, era of organized aesthetic movement: FILMAKERS INTENT AND FINAL PRODUCT'S RELATIONSHIP WITH VIEWERS
5. What are the six characteristics that Fred Camper things experimental films share
1.not commercial 2. dont conform to conventional expectations of story and narrative cause and effect. 3. exploit possibilities of cinema 4. critique culture and media 5. they are personal 6. invite individual interpretation
8. What are the six sets of conventions used to define and classify genres?
Gangster
Film Noir
Science Fiction
Horror
Western
Musical
10. How does animation differ from the three basic types of movies?
it is not a singular type of movie
iconic shots/familiar setting
gangster movies are shot in cities
genre convention
provide a foundation for filmmakers to honor tradition, but also to innovate change, evolution and transformation.
stop motion
Sometimes used with live action
hand drawn
princess and frog
themes
Shared, public ideas
• Metaphors, adages, myths, and familiar conflicts and personality types
• May or may not be explicit, but perceptive viewers will recognize them.
screenwriter
responsible for creating the movie's story
• Either from scratch (Original Screenplay) or
• Adapting it from another format (such as a novel, short story, television show or play).
screenplay
the long process of finishing a movie and securing the financing necessarfy to permit the idea to evolve into this.
treatment/ synopsis
an outline of the action that briefly describes the essentail ideas and structure of film. treatment is discussed in story conference
story conferences
one of any number of sessions during which the treatment is discussed, developed, and transformed from an outline to a rough draft screen play
rough draft screen play
also known as scenario. the next step after a treatment, the results from discussions, development, and transformation of an outline in sessions.
exposition
Provides background information about
• Characters, who they are, their personality
• Setting, place, time, etc.
• Basic conflict
inciting incident
The moment or event that sets the rest of the narrative in motion.
climax
The turning point
* The protagonist may begin to overpower the antagonist, or vice versa.
* The most concentrated (exciting or suspenseful) moment of the narrative conflict.
* When the theme is proven
falling action
Events that follow the climax and bring the narrative from climax to conclusion.
• During the falling action, the principal conflict moves toward resolution with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist.
denouement
Everything is resolved and made clear and no questions or surprises remain (unless there is going to be a sequel).
story
consists of all the narrative events that are explicitly presented on screen, plus all the events that are implicit. A story is a series of events recorded in their chronological order. Story=what is told
plot
a structure for presenting everything that we see and hear in a film. A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. Plot=how it is told.
diegesis
the total world of the story

The events, characters, objects, settings and sounds that form the world in which the story occurs.
diegetic elements
an element or event chacracter object setting sound that helps form the world in which the story occurs.
nondiegetic elements
are the things we see and hear on the screen that come from outside the world of the stor y:
• Background music
• Titles
• Credits
• Voice-over commentary from an omniscient narrator.
subplot
a subordinate sequence of action in a narrative usually relevant to and enriching the plot
backstory
fictional story behind the situation extant at the start of the main story
order
arrangement of plot events into a logical sequence. chronological order, cause and effect, logical order and so on
duration
the time a movie takes to unfold
story duration
the amount of time that implied story takes to occur
plot duration
the elapsed time of those events within the story that the film explicitly presents
screen duration
movie's running time on screen
summary relationship
a time relationship in which screen duration is shorter than a plot duration
real time
the actual time with something takes place
stretch relationship
screen duration is longer than plot.
cinematic time
time that has been manipulated through editing: imaginary time in which a movies image appears
suspense
the anxiety brought on by a partial uncertainty: the end is certain but the means is uncertain (sometimes we know both). Often we know what is going to happen while the characters we are watching do not know
surprise
being taken unawares, it is shocking and our emotional response to it is generally short-lived.
repetition
amount of time a story recurs in a plot
familiar image
image that a director periodicaly repeats in a movie
characters
an essentail element of a film narrative
round characters
complex and three-dimensional, possessing several traits, sometimes even contradictory ones. They are lifelike, believable and are capable of surprising us in a convincing way.
flat characters
one dimensional, possessing one or very few discernible traits, and their motivations and actions are generally predictable.
characterization
process of actor's interpreting a character
cinematic convention
methods systems or customs by which movies communicate
scope
the range of a story
narration
the camera itself is the narrator
objective, subjective, pov
1. We see and hear what the character is doing and saying
2.ke us into the character's inner subjectivity, revealing such mental processes as thoughts, dreams, fantasies or fears.
3. Indicates the physical point of view from which the character sees things.
omniscient narrator
Most common form, gives us a third-person view of all aspects of the movie's action and characters.
restricted narrator
reveals information to the audience only as a specific character learns of it.
first person
that of the character in a movie
voice over narrator
that of a person who is not a character (sometimes called Voice of God Narration).
narrative
is the telling of its story
The overall connection of events within the world of the movie.
protaginist vs antagonist
1. central character of story whose actions are essential to the action and programs of plot 2. Opposes the protagonist and provokes the protagonist's actions or reactions.
rising action
The development of the action of the narrative toward a climax.
• Principal conflict develops and includes:
• Motivation (why what's happening is happening), and
• A narrative enigma —question that is asked implicitly or explicitly or problem that must be solved.
minor characters
less important: moving plot forward or fleshing out the motivations of major characters. major char. are most important.
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