TCF 112 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Last Lecture I Hollywood in The 30 s Cont a The Musical i The Broadway Melody ii Busby Berkeley 1 Busby s Poetics iii Astaire Rogers Musicals 1 Astaire Rogers Poetics iv Swing Time II Storytelling Through Film Style Film Structure a Drama b Story vs Plot vs Narration c Classical Three Act Structure d Brainstorming the Three Acts Outline of Current Lecture I Biological Structure of Classical Dramatic Narrative a Act b Sequence i Dawn of the Dead These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute c Scene d Beats i II The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Orson Welles a Before Citizen Cane b Experiments with Narration c Experiments with Radio and Sound d Thematic Motif in Welles Work i Citizen Kane e Welles Poetics f i 2 part Interpretive Exercise ii Sound Montage 3 Techniques Magical Trickery g Welles Thematic Concerns III The Production Code A K A Hayes Code a Code Under Joseph Breen b Code Requirements c Pre Code Era Gangsters d Legacy of Gangster and Crime Film e Codes Social Ramifications f Classical Hollywood Style i Three Categories of CHS ii CHS Ideological Implications g Genre Studies i Evolution of Genre h The Spaghetti Western Current Lecture Biological Structure of Classical Dramatic Narrative Act a major movement Generally 3 4 Peaks turns in a climactic scene Ends changes on a major reversal Sequence series of events within an act Tied together with single idea or goal Some of the best known elements in film history Typically have a beginning middle and an end o Dawn of the Dead 2004 Director Zach Snyder Writer James Gunn George A Romero Starring Sarah Polly Ving Rhames Jake Weber Question How does the opening sequence quickly establish the films logic and narrative concerns Who is our hero What is the narrative arc here What is the narrative purpose of the credit sequence Scene Anywhere from 2 5 scenes per sequence Screenplay building blocks Demonstrate action through conflict Discrete self contained units of dramatic action story event Beats Smallest elements of dramatic structure Offer actor opportunity for dramatic choice May not be acted upon Dialectical behaviors or choices exercised in a scene Highlight differences between text and subtext o The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 Directed by John Ford Writer James Warner Bellah Starring Jimmy Stewart John Wayne Vera Miles and Lee Marvin o Glengarry Glen Ross 1992 Directed James Foley Orson Welles Known for Citizen Kane Musician theater director and radio performer Brings many artistic talents to cinema Formed The Mercury Players in NYC Orson Welles Before Citizen Kane Experiments with Narration 1 Fresh approaches to old stories Ex Voodoo Macbeth 2 Narrative Economy Caesar 1927 Transformed lengthy Julius Caesar into 90 minute production 3 Staging and Lighting as Narration Caesar 1937 Experiments with Radio and Sound October 30 1938 The War of the Worlds broadcast Foregrounds the manipulation of sound fx as a narrative device Thematic Motif in Welles s Work Citizen Kane 1941 The Lady from Shanghai 1948 Touch of Evil 1958 How is one to act ethically in a morally complex world o Citizen Kane William Randolph Hearst wanted film to fail Hearst killed film in box offices Welles Poetics o 2 Part Interpretive Exercise 1 Technical Choice describe 2 Meaningfulness analyze 1 Iconic use of low angle shots 2 Extreme deep focus 3 Variable lighting scheme 4 Complex mise en scene o Sound Montage 3 Techniques 1 Collage montage Sound as layers create a complex narrative 2 Relational sound editing Sound as transition Sound bridge lightning mix 3 Dialectical sound montage Sound as new meaning Image dissimilar sound new idea Ex Susan s Opera Montage Universal Focus Universal Sound Moral Connections in Sight and Sound Magical Trickery 1 Lightening cut 2 Playing with mise en scene 3 Moving camera and long takes The Production Code A K A Hays Code Set of industry guidelines regarding film content MPPDA first headed by William H Hayes Code Under Joseph Breen Enforced in 1934 Created a pre code post code dividing line in film history Production Code was NOT enforced by the government Joseph Breen was head of the new Production Code Administration PCA in 1934 Code Requirements Avoid brutality Avoid sexual promiscuity Pre Code Era Gangsters o Scarface 1932 Pre Code Directed by Howard Hawks Starring Paul Muni o VS o Angels with Dirty Faces 1938 Code Era Directed by Michael Curtiz Starring James Cagney Legacy of Gangster Crime Film o The Departed 2006 Directed by Martin Scorsese o The Sopranos 1999 2007 Created by David Chase Codes Social Ramifications Films were politically conservative and timid Used by producers to keep writers in line Helped ensure investment banks investments Classical Hollywood Style Founded on principle of invisible editing Dominant aesthetic mode in HW for decades Excessively obvious cinema Three Categories of CHS Narrative Editing continuity editing Time Space CHS Ideological Implications CHS discourages asking about dominant values Genre Studies Recognizable because they repeatedly reference the same symbolic code over time Film semantics genres building blocks and screen elements physical elements characters Film syntax narrative structures in which the semantics are arranged themes Evolution of a Genre Using Western as an example Classic Stagecoach 1939 Late High Noon 1952 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 Spaghetti Westerns A Fistful of Dollars 1964 The Good The Bad and The Ugly 1966 The Spaghetti Westerns Produced by Italian studios shot in Italy and Spain Charismatic anti hero Demythologized western narratives International casts and crews Popular 1960 s 1970 s Low production budgets