9/30 Lecture Notes

9/30/09 1:15 PM Today: Four relations between shots Next week?s reading is on Learn@UW Main goals of continuity system: to tell story is an efficient and clear manner, to use these six conventions to create an illusion of continuous space and time in a scene Four relations between shots (use for Shot Breakdown Exercise)- tell clear story yet experiment Graphic relations: playing with pure graphic configurations (light and dark, shape, line, color, movement, etc.) rather than show how shots communicate time and space of story Graphic match: emphasizing a similar graphic element in shots A and B (eg. Anchor?s Away- cymbals at end of shot A connect to cymbals at beginning of shot B) function: aesthetic, filmmaker playing with elements and shapes for viewer?s pleasure (eg. Citizen Cane-graphic similarities in links of fences, positioning of window in top right/dissolves help create graphic match) Graphic conflict: emphasizing a graphic difference between shots A and B- pay attention to editing, visible moments of graphic tension leads viewer to notice cutting (eg. Ballet Mecanique- swinging motion, shots of Christmas tree ornaments swinging, she?s flipped upside down, graphic conflict between triangle and circle) (eg. The Birds-figures look, movement of fire?opposite directions/ alternate between shots that show stasis and shots that show fire) function: enhances emotional impact of event we see/ expressive Rhythmic relations: controlling the duration of shots in relation to one another (look for shots with similar durations) A rhythmic editing test similar duration among shots or steadily increasing or decreasing durations Longer takes slows tempo of sequence while shorter takes increases tempo of sequence, patterning of shot lengths (eg. Touch of Zen- bursts of quick cutting) His Girl Friday- continuity disrupted in order to play with rhythmic relations, no clear establishing shot/ eight shots?each shot < 1 second, total duration of 7 seconds/ four shots of male journalists, single shot of Hildy, two shots of journalists, then cut back to Hildy) Graphic consistency: medium close ups Spatial relations: shots may be taken from same space but each shot gives own vantage point/ cut shots of various things together to imply they share the same space eg. Nosferatu (werewolf looks offscreen right, horses look offscreen left at werewolf/ eye line match suggests they are in the same space) Kuleshov effect: any series of shots can, without an establishing shot, prompt the spectator to infer a spatial whole from only portions of the space/ depends on how shots are cut together to produce meaning We assume all shots are in the same space because of Kuleshov effect/ eye line matching, editing creates ?mental geography? Eg. A Movie Periscope??found footage film?- Connor didn?t shoot any original footage/ special unity through different shots Cross-cutting: cutting back and forth between two diff. spaces to imply simultaneity; used for suspense His Girl Friday- phone conversations Temporal relations: Flashback: changing the image track to a story time earlier than the current scene / often use dissolve or fade or voice over narrative (eg. The Big Lebowski) Flashforward: changing the image track to story time later than the current scene ? far less common (eg. The Five Deadly Vemons,-- see shots of actual battle in the future) Ellipsis- passage of time and imply narrative development Montage sequence: a series of shots that compresses a story development into a relatively short amount of screen time Editing II 9/30/09 1:15 PM 9/30/09 1:15 PM