COMM 231 1st EditionExam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 5 - 12Lecture 5 (September 25)Fictional narratives: the story of the film, the plot1. Characters: either fictional, based on reality, or “real”2. Events in some order: chronological, thematic, imagined, or arbitrary3. Causes/effects: usually based on character goals, usually via conflictThree Classic Conflicts1. People vs. nature2. People vs. people3. People vs. themselvesDramatic Conflict is key for creating an interesting storyFormat as a cycle1. Introduction: to situation and characters2. Exposition: screenplay builds for us the world we are seeing3. Climax: the conflict4. Denoument: the resolution, all of the plot elements are revealedStructuring Time: “Cinema is sculpting in time”Time can be conveyed as past, present, future (flashbacks, flash forwards, parallel editing, story time, release time)e.g. summer blockbusters are hits, Oscar Hopefuls come out around Winter Break, and February-April is usually the dead time for moviesAccording to Aristotle, there are 2 types of fictional narratives1. Mimesis: showing what happens, doesn’t have to be explained2. Diegesis: telling what happens, explainingCinema combines both forms of storytelling, hence having a wider range of narrative techniquesat its disposalNarrative ParadigmsA. Realistic films: portray the real world as it is, the grittiness of city life or maybe the beautiful countryside, photograph realistically, don’t draw attention to the storytelling process, linear storyline. Usually no sappy ends, some scenes that don’t make senseB. Classical films: stricter set up, conflict, confrontation, resolution, plots usually linear, deadline imposed leading up to moment sometimesC. Formalist: overtly manipulative with telling of the story, the design of the plot is heightened, stylistic (for example: Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, “Spring Breakers,” musicals)D. Nonfiction: documentaries, present the story like a lawyer presenting a case, unfold the story E. Experimental: obscure, no story sometimes, or the story told in a strange way, evocative,not explaining thingsContent and Form: The Wizard of OzA story defines the general subject matter, raw mass of dramatic of action in a chronological sequencePlot: 1. What shapes a story, gives it a certain direction or intention of meaning. 2. Storytellers’ method of superimposing structural pattern over the story. 3. Implied authors point of view andstructuring of scenes into some type of aesthetic pattern. 4. Presented order of eventsStory: A girl travels to a fantasy land, encounters several adventuresPlot: A coming of age story where a young woman makes discoveries about her life and herselfFirst 2 minutes of a movie are very importantFigurative Comparisons: tells the story with less direct means, and a lot of meaningMotif: something that is systematically repeated in a movie, doesn’t call attention to itself, doesn’t need to be explained. Ex: girl in red jacket in Schindler’s ListSymbols: creates meaning, can stand in for something ex. The shabushabu in Lost in TranslationMetaphors: comparison of some kind that literally cannot be true ex. Danny Boyle trying to swim in the toilet for heroin in Train Spotting, or red rose petals in American BeautyAllegory: correspondence existing between character/situation and a symbolic idea/complex of ideas ex. Personification of death in The Seventh SealAllusion or homage: white rabbit in The MatrixThe Screenwriter’s Job: language, research, dramatic structure (reveal at right moment), Complexity of story and character, and multidimensionaryNonfiction/Documentary:1. Synopsis, 2. Facts, 3. Structure of story, 4. Audience, 5. Point of view, 6. Methodology, 7. Budget1 page = 1 minute in a scriptTelevision Situation comedy (sitcom): about 22 minutes long. TeasercommercialAct I commercial Act 2 commercial tagDrama: shows that run from a half hour to an hour, serious in toneTeaser commercial act 1 commercialAct II commercial act 3 commercial Act 4 CommercialtagTV Movie: 7 or 8 acts, acts 1 and 2 are the longest (as long as 20 minutes), the last 4/5 acts may be shorterTV movies and regular films pretty much have the same format Quentin Tarantino: Knoxville, TN 1963. Worked in a video store, most movies on Post modern gangsters of revenge action or dramaPulp Fiction: 8 million to make, made 100 million here AND another 100 million overseasLecture 6 (September 30)Complexity in story and character comes from the writingScripts don’t include a lot of description, mostly dialogueVincent and Mia in Pulp Fiction: Mia uses drugs without asking, it is heroin but she thinks its cocaine, frantic and chaotic tone with stress and panic. Central conflict turns from Vincent wanting to sleep with Mia to having to save her lifeTarantino’s writing style“real” characters and “real” conversations in crazy situationsCombats stereotypes; takes an old tried and true story and goes in a different direction with itPulp Fiction is 3 stories Lecture 7 (October 2)Marlon Brando made method acting popular Early acting (silent era) was mostly gesticular and melodramatic, have to compensate for the lack of dialogue and no close ups In the beginning, close ups would irritate viewers, they wanted to see the whole personDW Griffith is credited with recognizing the importance of “real” emotion over projected emotion, although sound provided the real revolution by late 20sSome directors considered performance indifferent to how they would be rendered visuallyWhich really brings out the story: how they look or how they act?Categories of actingLeading: (story revolves around him/her, appear in almost every scene) e.g. Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings PlaybookSupporting: (important but less central to the story) e.g. Wahlberg in The DepartedEnsemble: (large cast with many stars and less distinct leading roles) e.g. New Year’s EveStars: (can demand a high salary based on their popularity) e.g. Kristen Stewart, Tom CruiseNon-professional: e.g. Congresspeople in TrafficExtras: (people in the background with no dialogue)Directing Actors:Some directors provide very little direction and hardly rehearse (Clint Eastwood)Other directors are known for their spectacular films with mediocre performances (JJ Abrams, George LucasOther directors consistently get remarkable performances from their actors with less attention paid to the spectacle of the film