Film 1010: Film Aesthetics and Analysis (Fall 2013)

Film 1010: Film Aesthetics and Analysis (Fall 2013) CRN: 80354 When: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30pm – 3:45pm Instructor: Jake (Email: jdole1@gsu.edu) My office hours: 4pm-6pm, 1045B at 25 Park Place Our textbook: Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. 3rd Ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. Some of this may be subject to change

What You Need To Do This Week You can download a copy of the syllabus here: http://jdole1.wordpress.com/ or head to Desire 2 Learn Please note one change to the syllabus, the first short essay assignment is due on September 12! Make sure to understand all attendance requirements, so you get the best grade possible Purchase the required textbook so you can begin reading it this weekend. Watch “Jaws” for Tuesday.

Short Essay Assignment for September 12 Write about your favorite film or films (maximum 2 films), and discuss how your subjective point of view and preferences affect your reception. Refer to week 2’s readings from Corrigan and White for ideas. Length: between 300 and 500 words. I will grade you on the thoughtfulness of your essay and it would help your grade if you show that you have done the readings! Requirements: print the short essay and bring it to class on the assigned date. Include your name, my name, course number and section number and the date. Do not e-mail the essay. It has to be submitted in person.

Film and Meaning Films are constructed works, but not everything about them is always intentional For example, actors often "ad-lib" their lines - indicative of the, at times, unpredictable, spontaneous nature of movie-making At the end of Barton Fink (1991, Coen Brothers), a bird plummeted into an ocean while the camera was running. The directors liked the effect, and kept it in the film. Many speculated about the hidden meaning, but the event turned out to be complete happenstance. As Smith points out, even when accidents do happen, the filmmakers make the choice to leave those errors in the film.

Hollywood Filmmaking and Meaning Hollywood films are probably the most carefully, purposefully constructed films in the world. As a massive business model, Hollywood does not tend to favor accidents. Hollywood conventions are often referred to as classical (by theorists like David Bordwell), because they rely on clarity and comprehensibility in storytelling. This means that every event has a cause and dangling clauses (uncertainties in the story) are addressed. Stereotypically Classical narrative: Peter wants X, but John does not want Peter to have x, so they fight up to the point where the conflict is resolved.

But Who Makes Meaning? Greg Smith: It takes thousands of people to create a blockbuster film: directors, actors, grips, gaffers, etc. Countless decisions are involved, not just those of the director or the lead actor. We might say, "this is a Tom Cruise film" or "this is a Stephen Spielberg film." But they are not responsible for the music or the cinematography or necessarily the camera work.

Film and Communication Are movies about sending "messages" to the viewer? Okay, some are. Heavily politicized movies such as those by Michael Moore do explicitly send out “messages.” For the most part… Smith: "it is more complicated" - a) who is the author? b) should we care about his intensions? Activity: Do you look for messages in film or other things? Elaborate. Postmodern perspectives: Authorial intentions do not matter

Whose Movie is it? Yours or the filmmakers'? Somewhere in between? Smith: The meaning of a movie does not lie solely within the film itself but in the interaction of the film and the audience. In other words, films are not autonomous. They are interpreted.

Conventions The well-known, but sometimes unwritten, and broadly understood rules that allow viewers to categorize films. How do we know that we are watching a horror film? (approaches to music, lighting, pacing, tension, etc) "No, don't go into that darkened room/creepy house" - our reaction is based on prior knowledge, on the basis of which we know that it is conventional for horror films to have characters who do dumb things that will get them killed. Another example: a convention in musicals is that, at some points, someone will break into dance spontaneously.

Example: Horror Films Today It is expected that viewers know conventions inside-out Since the mid-90s, horror films in Hollywood have been "hyper self-aware" (eg. the Scream franchise) Because viewers know what will happen before it happens, these movies treat their own conventions as a means for humor. Is traditional horror even interesting anymore?

In This Class, we are interested in… How do films "work" - how are they structured to affect viewers on a broader scale? How does one analyze films and what are the limits of analysis? The difference between analysis and judgment of films … Today’s readings more or less express what the key ideas are.

Film Experience (Corrigan and White) Our different viewing experiences determine how we understand movies and how we think about a particular movie Our engagement and response matters as much if not more than how films are made We might tease out from this that Corrigan and White are maybe a bit less concerned with film construction than Smith, and more interested in reception Activity: What are some of the factors that affect one's reception of movies (experience)?

Movies often care to acknowledge our presence The camera often moves as if from someone's point of view “First Person” Sometimes films even make an effort to make to treat the viewer like a character Examples: Lady In The Lake (1947), Cloverfield (2008), Jumping (1984), Duck Amuck (1954) (viewer as narrator) clips Direct Address Activity: When does this work and not work, in your opinion?

Next Week: Please read Corrigan and White, pages 435 to 447 for Tuesday. I will begin taking attendance on Tuesday. We will schedule class presentations next week, so be here. Your first short essay will be due on September 12 (Thursday) I will post these slides on Wordpress and Desire 2 Learn

Film 1010: Film Aesthetics and Analysis (Fall 2013)