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Film Form

Film Form. The Narrative System. Film: System, not Hodgepodge. Narrative elements link--tornado as cause for Dorothy ’ s trip to Oz Stylistic elements also link: “ We ’ re off to See the Wizard. ” Unity--two subsystems (narrative and stylistic) within larger system of the total film.

maggie-wiley
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Film Form

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  1. Film Form The Narrative System

  2. Film: System, not Hodgepodge • Narrative elements link--tornado as cause for Dorothy’s trip to Oz • Stylistic elements also link: “We’re off to See the Wizard.” • Unity--two subsystems (narrative and stylistic) within larger system of the total film.

  3. Narrative links with Style • Film colors identify prominent landmarks • Camera movements highlight story action • Music describes certain characters and actions • Examples from *Wizard of Oz*?

  4. Form vs. Content • Form is the total system • Subject matter and ideas enter into system • Subject matter manifested in different ways depending on ideas (Civil War films?)

  5. Formal Expectations • Patterns--ABA for Wizard of Oz • Conventions and experience guide us to recognize patterns • Form and feeling: emotion conveyed by actor may result in different reactions • Form and meaning: meaning (theme) attributed to Wizard of Oz? • Evaluation--is the film good or bad based on its form?

  6. Principles of Film Form • Function--every element fulfills one or more roles • Similarity and repetition--motifs (any significant repeated element in a film). • Difference and Variation • Development--segmentation • Unity/Disunity--loose ends or gaps?

  7. Narrative as a Formal System • Plot and Story--plot includes everything visibly and audibly present in the film, but story is the narrative. Some elements of plot are not part of the story or narrative.

  8. Narrative Structure • Cause and effect • Time • Space • Openings, Closings, Patterns of Development

  9. Narration • The flow of story information--just as with novels

  10. Narrative Conventions: Genre vs. Classic Hollywood • Action from characters • Desire moves narrative • Counterforce/opposition • Chain of events--time subordinate to cause and effect • Objective story reality • Closure

  11. Mise-en-Scene • Setting (time, place, props) • Costume and Make-up • Lighting • Figure Expression and Movement

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