FILM2153 Notebook - Lecture notes PDF

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FILM2153 Notebook Life of an American Fireman (1903) ● 7 scenes, all part of what a fireman does; dreams of wife and child, rests, hears fire alarm and rushes to the fire, puts it out and saves family Advent of Motion Pictures ● 1816- temporary photos. 1826- first photo. 1836- Daguerreotype (first feasible system) ● Metal, then glass plates. Eastman company, 1888, invented ‘roll’ film ● Projection of images, ‘magic lantern’ slide show ● Persistence of Vision- quick-rotating toys giving the illusion of a moving image eg. zoetrope, phenakistoscope ● 1888-1891 Thomas Edison, Kinetograph (camera taking pictures in quick succession), Kinetoscope (single-person movie viewer) -> first films max 20 seconds long ○ 1894: first Kinetoscope parlors open. ○ Kinetoscope used rolls of film. Mutoscope, a rival, used printed photographs ● 1895: Lumiere Brothers- first to project film ○ Invented camera/projector standards: 16 frames = 1 foot of film, 1 foot = 1 second of screen time, 1 reel = 1000 feet ○ 1895: “Workers Leaving the Factory”, “Watering the Gardener”, December public exhibition International Spread ● 1897- Lumieres and Pathe Brothers traveled world, sold films and equipment ● Georges Melies, made over 500 ‘trick films’ from 1896-1912 eg. “The Black Imp”, created his own ‘cinematic reality’, added films to stage shows ● Cecil Hepworth, most important producer 1905-14, all kinds of films inc. trick films (Alice in Wonderland) ● USA- 1908 Edison forms Trust, attempts monopoly on filmmaking through patents, others had to pay ‘royalties’ to use projectors, but later overturned in court ○ Early competitors: American Mutoscope and Biograph, Vitagraph ● US film industry asserted dominance at home in 1910-14, for various reasons: ○ 1. Trust pressure on foreign products ○ 2. Increase in U.S. production ○ 3. Nativist sentiment/belief foreign films were ‘immoral’ ○ 4. Block booking system begins Motion Picture ‘Industry’ ● Hard split between three components: manufacturers, producers (individual units) and exhibitors (put together the program) ● Initially films part of traveling exhibitions by owners who had the ‘franchise’ -> how film spread to many countries ● Then sold as a commodity to theaters, like books, newspapers etc -> film exchanges ● Later rented or leased to exhibitors rather than sold outright, % of ticket sales ● Biggest films ‘road shown’ with special admission prices ● Exhibition ○ After ‘special showings’ and Kinetoscope parlors, storefront theaters developed ○ Nickelodeons: 1,000 in 1905, 6,000 in 1908 ○ Specialty, purpose-built theaters: 1910, 11,500 theaters, 1000 seats in each,

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called “picture palaces” Distribution ○ Agencies in ‘territories’ handled film distribution, took cut ○ Sometimes owned by or franchises of major studios Vertically Integrated Model- corporations control production, distribution AND exhibition ○ Powerful promotional machine, infrastructure and capital in advance required, movies extremely popular throughout first third of the century ○ = regular stream of product with a guaranteed market ○ Film production required infrastructure/capital in advance -> barrier to entry Global Industries ○ Required: national audience, ability to compete in local market, infrastructure and capital, stable politics, exports -> US often took root in many countries ○ Quotas stimulated domestic production but Hollywood still dominant, especially after the advent of sound Studio System ○ Creation of feature (main, long) films, star system, films efficiently produced ○ Shooting script- cheaper/faster to film shots out of order, edit them together ○ Famous Players, other companies soon dominated, controlled stars/theaters, WW1 brought opening to go abroad

Film Language: Readings ● Early Cinema (Pearson) ○ Pre-1907, shots ‘theatrical’, concerned mainly with spatial elements of scene, visual spectacle rather than storytelling eg. Lumieres ○ Melielis incorporated some editing (shot-splicing etc), though still visual emphasis ○ Hepworth- Alice in Wonderland (1903), story, also dissolving between shots ○ Life of a Fireman (Porter)- overlapping action ie. same scene twice from different perspectives, rescue from interior and exterior perspective ○ Films often based on established events/stories, internal (audience) coherence ● From Caligari to Hitler (Kracauer) ○ Teamwork ‘suppresses individual peculiarities in favor of traits common to many’ ○ Films satisfy, or sometimes shape, mass desires ○ Through emphasizing/bringing attention to minute details, embody unseen dynamics of human relations, more relatable than other mediums ○ Popularity of motifs counts more than the popularity of the films themselves ○ Films reflect a nation’s ‘psychological history’, ie. types of protagonists middleclass in Germany as middle class permeates all parts of society ● Transitional Cinema (Pearson) ○ MPPC tried monopoly, failed, gave way to independent producers -> oligopoly ○ Move into ‘star’ system, loyalty to actors instead of companies ○ DW Griffith- Biograph, emphasis on quantity, produced scripts, actor contracts ○ 9-foot line, camera no longer had entire actor in frame, action sequence editing ○ Move from ‘histrionic’, performative style to ‘verisimilar’, realistic style, intertitles ○ Censorship in US/Germany, transition to upper-class audience in Britain, rentals

FILM2153 Notebook ○ Feature films, scenes focused more on character development The Worldwide Spread of Cinema (Vasey) ○ Tariffs, WW1 -> US hegemony. Britain/France swamped by US films ○ Germany imposed quotas, strong local production, others followed ○ Film Europe, but disintegrated due to sound -> different languages difficulties ○ Hollywood then recruited foreign actors (Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich) ● Introduction of Sound (Dibbets) ○ Lip Syncing technology upstaged live music in theaters -> no local variations ○ Changed relationship between audience and cinema - room vs screen ○ At first import harder, but easier then to export finished products, local films up Film Language ● Zero-degree/Hollywood style until late 1930s, DOESN’T call audience attention to watching a film, instead involves them emotionally ● Film form and content intertwined ○ Limitations of medium affect content ○ Manipulation of viewer by medium becomes part of content ○ Content affected by: 1) technology, 2) filmmaker’s intent, 3) society/outside forces ● Form and content determined by: WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY it was made. ● How does a film convey meaning, provide info, tell a story, engage audience ● ‘Language’ created gradually, ‘meaning’ understood by filmmakers and audiences ● Examples: ○ Transitions, low vs high angles, slow vs high-paced cutting, montage theory (2 images together), lighting/camera angles, camera motions, optical effects ● The Shot ○ Early films: one shot, one film. Fixed camera. Stage framing (ie. ‘depth’ of screen used, front to back etc) ○ Films get longer: one shot, one sequence. Multiple sequences make a film, eventually multiple shots make a sequence -> editing (eg. Great Train Robbery, the Black Imp) ○ Components of a shot: composition, setting, characters, action ● Technical Aspects ○ Early films: flat, bright, even lighting, 12-15 feet from actors ○ Film Stock ■ Orthochromatic: Caucasian actors looked dark-skinned, wore white makeup, night scenes difficult, tinted blue ■ Panchromatic: more sensitive, lighting variable -> more natural makeup ● Narrative and Editing ○ Narrative Conventions: linear, parallel actions, flashback/flash-forward, passage of time signified by conventions eg. clocks, dialogue, character presence ○ Editing: early films, a+b assembly shots a sequence, complex editing required once we got to: shot/reverse shot, reaction shot, establishing shot, point of view ● Editing Conventions ○ Cut on action, maintain eyelines, match cut, consistency of direction/motion ●

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Invisible editing style: don’t draw attention to edit eg. jump cut Soviet Montage Theory = cinema conveys abstract ideas instead of telling a story ■ 1921: Kuleshov Effect, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Dziga Vertov ■ Collision of two shots implies meaning, non-diegetic (outside story) shots ■ Violates invisibility rule, makes audience think, not feel ○ Anti-editing = long takes, deliberately avoiding editing ○ Film shot length varies based on type of film (even with the same director) Sound and Color ○ Black and White/Silent -> Sound -> Color -> Widescreen -> 3D -> VR

Minorities Readings ● Arabs (Michalek)- violent, uncivilized, rampant sexuality, ‘penetrated’ by colonialism, seen as an exotic setting, 1960s Israelis praised Arabs vilified, 1970s and 80s still many negative films, presumably because few Americans know Arabs/associate with terror ● Indians (O’Connor)- reflected what the white man thought of himself, often Indian raids a plot point, first depicted as savages (though sometimes noble), traditional enemy in 1940s, stand-in for black youth in 1960s/70s ○ Shaped by dramatic (reinforces good/evil dichotomy), business (good films have action/no moral ambiguity) and political (eg. used for military) considerations ● Asians (Shim)- Six stages: “Yellow Terror” portrayed as villains (eg. Fu Manchu), Sexually Distorted (eg. Madam Butterfly), International Relations (Chinese portrayed as heroes, Japanese as evil, but roles switched once Cold War began), Model Minority (to justify African Americans’ economic failure), Reagan-Bush Era (nationalism, xenophobia, portrayed as criminals/martial artists), and “The Other” (seen as alien, comic relief, also yellow facing, Asian actors invisible) Sound, Color, Widescreen ● Sound ○ Silent films had music, sound effects, narrators depending on venue ○ Issues with adding sound: synchronization, amplification, technical production ○ Financial Issues: studios/theaters had to convert, international market was threatened, performers had to adapt to speaking ○ Aesthetic objections: does more ‘realism’ equal less ‘art’? ○ 1920s- sound-on-film technology. 1926-7, adding sound effects/dialogue (Don Juan, The Jazz Singer) ○ Impact of Sound on Hollywood Industry ■ Limits markets to English-speaking countries until dubbing developed ■ Silent films become useless/had to be exported ■ Financial investment required both for making AND exhibiting sound films ■ Technical requirements caused change in production/filmmaking style ○ Impact of Sound on International Film Production ■ Pros: ● Native language sound films more important until dubbing ● Local themes, customs, stars used as selling points

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Cons: ● Increased cost to make/show sound films ● New technology required, not always available ● Films even less ‘exportable’ to countries not speaking language ● Most countries lagged, eg. in Japan 1938 ⅓ of films still silent Quickly, Hollywood gained dominant role -> demand for dubbing/subtitles

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○ Color ○ Black and white films given color copy-by-copy (hand-painting, stencils) ○ Frame tinting became main method, cheapest/efficient, by 1920 90% of Hollywood films tinted, but phased out later due to panchromatic film ○ ‘Real’ color in 1920s-30s, color integral to film stock, required special technology to make but not special projectors -> no expense for movie theaters ○ Sepia Tint, cheaper ways than Technicolor; used during start of Wizard of Oz Widescreen- not prevalent until the 1950s. Standard ratio 4:3

International Film Industries ● Significant national film industries pre-WW1 ● Required: national audience, ability to compete in own market, infrastructure and technical capacity, stable political situation, ability to export ● Post-WW1: Germany, Soviet Union, Japan and India (latter two didn’t export) ● Hollywood had all five criteria, made profit in domestic market, extra money overseas ● Britain, France, Italy etc. quotas, kick started local industry but Hollywood stayed ● Modes of Production/Distribution ○ 2020: sell to studio for theatrical release, sell to DVD/TV company, internet company, self-publish, show at festivals ○ Prior to 1950, none of these outlets existed; had to go through standard theater distribution system ○ Exceptions: art films by non-professionals, non-theatrical films eg. documentaries, political films, exploitation/niche films eg. illicit topics, films meant for a certain community or minority group French Cinema ● Powerful pre-WW1, 1st in US up to 1910, Gaumont, Lumiere, Melies, Pathe brothers ● Early Sound Film ○ “Golden Age” of French Cinema ○ Various genres eg. musicals, comedies, dramas, filmed theater (Marcel Pagnol) ○ Government censorship/films banned, eg. Zero de Conduit (1933) banned until 1945 for criticizing national education system, but not as worried about morality! ○ Notable directors: Jean Renoir, Rene Clair, Julien Duvivier, Marcel Carne ○ Stars: Jean Gabin, Fernandel, Michel Simon, Charles Boyer, Raimu ● Poetic Realism ○ 1936-1938 ‘Popular Front’, left-wing government, romanticized working class, “Grande Illusion” popular, contained PF ideas ○ Marginalized, working class protagonists, urban setting, hero involved in intense

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romance, often dies tragically, Jean Gabin major star ○ Pepe le Moko, Le jour se leve, Le quai des brumes October 1940: all Hollywood films, films by Jewish directors banned in France ○ Some French films allowed to be made, had indirect sociopolitical commentary but content controlled by Nazis, films exported to Nazi conquered countries, some filmmakers critized after war for ‘collaboration’

Italian Cinema ● Prior to 1870 different countries, Risorgimento = period struggled to unite as a single country, 1922 Fascism/Mussolini, lasts until 1943 ● First fiction 1905, comedies, documentaries and historical spectacles ○ Historical spectacles internationally popular, lavish costs, feature length ● Diva Delarosa or Black Romantic movies, hyper dramatic romantic tragedy melodramas, few popular actresses, high salaries, less international popularity ● Italian cinema collapsed in 1920s, under a dozen films made in 1927-8 ● Mussolini- wanted to export fascism, quota system, all foreign films had to be dubbed, established film schools, festivals, subsidized studios, government propaganda had to be shown in cinemas ○ Fascist undertones but not as overt, Italian filmmakers were able to work after WW2 unlike Nazi directors ○ Musicals, comedies, melodramas, ‘white telephone’ films with upper-class setting ● Final years of Mussolini- ‘Calligraphers’ (emphasis on fine arts in cinema) vs NeoRealists (depicting tragic and comedic parts of daily life) German Cinema ● Early pioneers: Sklandanowsky brothers, invented projector “Bioscop”, public exhibition in Berlin before Lumieres, but system too cumbersome and they gave up ● Oskar Meester, made projectors, divided company into production, distribution and manufacturing by 1901, sold out in 1917, helped found sound company “Tobis” ● Wilhelmine Cinema; 1913 turning point, 1000 cinemas, feature length films, many genres eg. crime, suspense movies, “autorenfilm” (adaptation of popular literature), Henny Porten, Asta Nielsen, Emil Jannings, Paul Wegener ● Though only 14% of films German-made, war films the exception. UFA (Universum Film AG), founded in 1917, largest production company though still only 20% ● Weimar Cinema; popular series, historical dramas, comedies, expressionist eg. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Madame DuBerry, The Last Laugh, Metropolis, Variety, Nosferatu ● Directors: Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau, G.W. Pabst, Ernest Lubitsch ● Many went to Hollywood eg. Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Lorre, Karl Freund, more left with Nazis came to power ● Sound film: musicals, comedies (Congress Dances), domestic melodramas, bergfilm (mountain films) eg. The Blue Light with Leni Riefenstahl, Dr. Arnold Fanck ● Nazis bought UFA, all private production ceased 1942, ‘Nazi History’ dramas eg. S.A. Mann Brand or Hitlerjugend Quex, later fictional propagandas lighter but still had war films (Stukas), anti-Semitic films (Jud Suss), propaganda (Triumph of the Will)

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Nazi films ‘popular’, many genres eg. Titanic, detective films, comedies; but ideologically correct by order of Goebbels

Russian/Soviet Cinema ● Pre-Soviet (pre-1917), difficult to distribute due to geography, stop-motion ● Soviet- films seen as medium to ideologically educate; but not all films propaganda ○ Soviet Montage Theory/Kuleshov Effect ○ Major Filmmakers 1920s ■ Sergei Eisenstein ■ V.I. Pudovkin ■ Dziga Vertov ■ Aleksandr Dovzhenko ○ Trains/trucks would go between small towns, showing movies ● 1930s: Soviet Realism, ‘collective hero’, showcased positives, most popular genres comedies, musicals, historical, romance ○ Almost no foreign films, bureaucracy caused on 24 films to be made in 1937, Stalin personally saw and approved each one ● WW2: nearly all propaganda films, strong women, home front or about war ○ Government could control films without worrying about economy ○ Alexander Nevsky, an anti-German war film, released in 1938, suppressed during German-Soviet non-aggression pact 1939-1941, re-released after that Asian Film ● Film production in multiple countries, but only a few substantial/sustained industries ○ Countries less industrialized, need to import equipment, lack of electricity ○ Small urban populations -> not as attractive businesswise ○ Colonies may be dominated by mother country, hindered film industry creation ● Japan ○ Foreign films from 1896, 1908 studio construction ○ Mini-Hollywood style industry, distinctive companies/stars eg. Shochiku, Nikkatsu, PCL/Toho, through 1920s-40s ○ Early Japanese cinema had unique formal aspects eg. Benshi narrators (powerful, held back sound development), Oyama women’s roles played by men ■ Old-School (kyu-geki) period dramas vs New School (shimpa) contemporary ■ “Pure Film” movement 1910s, away with Benshi ○ 1920s- period dramas, tendency films (socially conscious), comedies/nonsense ■ Sound transition, Benshi tried to stop it, lack of tech meant switch not until 1930s, dubbing unpopular but subtitled foreign films strong competition ○ 1930s/WW2- more military, traditional govt, less Western influence, censorship ■ Shomin Geki- common people films, realism, literary adaptions ■ 1939: ‘thought police’, films must be nationalistic, “National Policy” films, “total war” effort after Pearl Harbor, strict guidelines, historical spectacles ■ Meiji-mono films set in Meiji period, some filmmakers focused on

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‘contemporary aspects of past history’ instead of nationalism (Sanshiro Sugata) ○ Film industry hurt during WW2, rebounds but under occupation pressure ○ Kensaku Suzuki, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasuhiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa Chinese Cinema ○ China vs Hong Kong industries ○ China- Shanghai, sound in 30s, leftist films, occupied by Japan in 1937 -> films made under Japanese oversight, “Solitary Island” period, nothing after 1941 (Manchukuo) ○ After war some stayed and cooperated with CCP, some left for Taiwan Indian Cinema ○ Lumiere arrives 1896, local filmmaking begins with shorts, first feature 1913, first sound film 1931 ○ Eight separate regions/language developed their own film industries, sound increases this fragmentation ○ Mumbai considered “Center” of Indian film, “national” cinema (Hindi or Urdu) ○ Other cinemas Tamil, Telugu, Bengali etc, films dubbed or remade for wider distribution, though some ‘All India’ sentiment

Latin American Cinema ● Only Spain, Mexico, Argentina had industries, followed similar trajectories between 1920s-1940s, other countries ‘cottage’ industries, sporadic ● Spanish-language films in US/parts of France, “foreign-market” versions of existing films ● Cross-fertilization: filmmakers move between countries for economic, personal reasons ● More exposure than eg. Japanese due to common language across countries ● Spain ○ Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, production starts 1908 ○ Silent: literary adaptations (zarzuelas), contemporary comedies (espanoladas) ○ Sound: prior two genres, first sound studio Barce...