Editing

Posted on by
1

“I love editing. I think I like it more than any other phase of filmmaking. If I wanted to be frivolous, I might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing film to edit.” (Stanley Kubrick)

Editing is arguably the most important stylistic element that filmmakers have at their disposal. Editing in film is the coordination of one shot with another. A shot is one or more exposed frame in a series on a continuous length of film stock. These shots are combined, via the editing process, into scenes (a segment in a narrative film that takes place at one time and space or that uses crosscutting to show two or more simultaneous actions). The joins whereby two shots are combined can take different forms (cut, fade, dissolve, wipe) of which the cut is by far the most popular.   An ordinary Hollywood film typically contains between 1000-2000 shots; and an action-based movie can contain 3000 or more.  As such, editing is a vital part of the process of filmmaking. Continue reading →

Film Narrative

Posted on by
Reply

In our discussion of form, we said that a film’s form included both narrative and stylistic elements. In this session we are going to focus on the narrative elements.

Humans are ‘the storytelling animal’ – it is through stories that we make sense of ourselves and the world around us. When we speak about films we, more often than not, mean narrative films – films that tell a story. Because stories are all around us (in life, literature, other films) we will approach a narrative film with a great many existing expectations. Further expectations will be aroused as we actively participate in creation of the film’s form: the ending has the task of satisfying or cheating the expectations prompted by the film as a whole. This session will consider how narrative form engages the viewer in this dynamic activity. Continue reading →

Film Style

Posted on by
1

In What is Film Studies? I introduced the distinction between content and form - the way in which the content of a film is conveyed. The film-maker has both narrative and stylistic formal elements at his command, and it is the the overall pattern of these elements that make up the film’s formal system. This post focuses on the elements of film style – mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound – providing a few examples of how Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) utilises these elements in and, in doing so, draws on other prominent film styles. Continue reading →

Descartes’ Scepticism

Posted on by
Reply

In his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), René Descartes (1596-1650) set out to establish a firm foundation for the sciences. In attempting to do so he succeeded, via two of the most famous sceptical arguments in philosophy, only in confirming how little we actually know for certain.

In the Medieval world [and indeed still to this day in some dark corners] the best way of acquiring knowledge was via Revelation or Authority. However, Descartes was writing at a time of scientific revolution when many doctrines which had hitherto been accepted as certain were being overturned and, as such, he was struck by the instability and unreliability of scientific ‘knowledge’. Continue reading →

What is Knowledge?

Posted on by
Reply

If one subject, more than any other, has come to dominate philosophical inquiry it is epistemology.  Epistemology deals with questions concerning the nature of knowledge, what we can know, and how we come to know it.  Modern philosophy’s focus on epistemology might be considered the legacy of René Descartes; however, as we have already seen, epistemological concerns were being addressed as early as Plato. Continue reading →

Thinking through Film: Abre los Ojos

Posted on by
Reply

This week’s thinking film: Abre los Ojos

 

Alternatively, you can opt to watch Vanilla Sky instead (or as well). It’s almost an exact remake but there are a couple of interesting variations.

 

I look forward to hearing your comments (in class or online).

The importance of Form: introduction to film studies

Posted on by
1

Form and Content

In What is Film Studies?, I stated that films have form, and distinguished between content (the subject of a film) and form (how the content is expressed). A useful way to clarify the distinction is to consider the difference between a Hollywood film in which a robbery is taking place and surveillance footage of an actual robbery. When people (shop owners, police, reality TV fans, etc.) watch surveillance footage, what they are interested in is the content – the actual robbery.  Now obviously the surveillance camera will have been placed in a prime position in order to see what takes place – it would be foolish, for example, to point it towards a wall or to place it at such a low angle as to only capture people’s legs – however, after these limited choices are made, the camera is, so to speak, left to its own devices. As such, when we look at the footage of a crime, what we see is a shot from a single perspective, played out in real time. The footage will have been successful if it allows us to identify the robbers, unsuccessful if it does not. While we may feel some excitement while watching such footage, this will come from the knowledge that we are watching a real crime take place, rather than from the use of any formal technique.  Continue reading →