Jordan Ilan A-Level Film Studies

Independent Cinema: Crash Course Film History #12 Video - 1930's-50's : Classical Hollywood cinema, chaste, formulaic, upbeat, highkey lighting - Mid 40's: Audiences ready for something new. Italian neo-realism -> 1st was Rome: Open City - Late 50's: France, Jean Luc-Goddard -> Put French New Wave on the map - Studio system/films out of touch with audiences - Bonnie & Clyde was one of the first independent films to make a significant impact - New Hollywood cinema; 1967 - 1980 - Independent cinema comes back in the 90's after a decline in the 80's Hollywood: - Post-war seen as stale & out of touch with audiences - Stayed away from showing/dealing with domestic cinema Independent: - Audiences become desensitised to violence & tragedy - Post-war-Europe based -> suffered the greatest during war; ready for change - French New-Wave -> Milos Forman is a product of this - Italian Neo-Realism

A History of the American Film Industry - 2nd most prolific film industry in the world after Bollywood Early History of the US Film Industry: - 1893: Thomas Edison constructed a motion picture studio in his laboratory - Edwin S. Porter took charge of motion picture production at Edison's company and began making longer films - Porter's most notable film - and the most famous work of early cinema - was The Great Train Robbery (1903) The Great Train Robbery - Full Film History of the US Film Industry:                               The Kid (Charlie Chaplin) - Trailer - Until WW1, France was the leading film-producing country - By the 1920's, most films come from the United States - Today America is the leading country in the exportation of movies - American Cinema is mainly associated with the Hollywood entertainment industry, 'the dream country' - In the 1920's, Chaplin began making feature...

Performance: Notes from the Exam Board Performance can be analysed within film from a variety of different perspectives; depending on what the focus of analysis is. Performance is looking closely at how the actor physically portrays the on-screen character  - e.g. looking at stance of character -> what does it tell us about character within the scene?  - facial expression -> what does it tell us about character within scene?  - delivery of dialogue - what does it tell us about character within scene? Performance: Principal elements - P erformance styles in cinema (including method and improvisatory styles) - Significance of casting - Significance of interaction between actors   - Use of non-verbal communication (e.g. physical expression and vocal delivery) Performance as a creative collaboration  - Relationship between performance & cinematography.  - Role of directing as a 'choreography' of stage movement  Conveying messag...

Pan's Labyrinth Context Why are films made: - Political reasons - Inform people of events occurring in the world - To make money - To earn awards How are different types of films made: - Hollywood studios: aiming for commercial audience - Independent studios: less restrictions/more control Films & their contexts: - Films are depictions of people/places/events, reflect values & culture of society that produces them. - All circumstances that a film was produced in & shape its reception are a film's context - A study of context looks at when/where/how/why film is set where it is (time/place/circumstances) - Study of context focuses more on appropriate context of when films were made, as opposed to set (Pan's Labyrinth is a reflection of 2005 society) There are different kinds of context that need to be considered when studying & analysing films: Social: - A look at the relevant society's dominant attitudes & beliefs including ...

Auteur Theory  Auteur Theory - The theory that the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture. The director who oversees all audio & visual elements of the film, is more to be considered the 'author' of the movie compared to the writer of the screenplay. Visual elements>plot line. - Supporters of this theory convey that the most cinematically successful films will contain the personal stamp of the director. - This theory is a reflection of the director's artistic vision so a movie directed by the filmmaker will have recognisable & recurring themes & shows a consistent artistic identity throughout the director's filmography. - Example of Auteur Directors are Alfred Hitchcock and Quentin Tarantino. Origins of Auteur Theory: - Origins: France in the late 1940's. Auteur = French for author. - Auteur Theory was a foundation stone of the Nouvelle Vague (the French cinematic movement) - Two of the theoreticians (...

Film Studies Notes: 7/9/17 : Cinematography The task for this lesson was to start learning film terminology that was associated with cinematography and learning the techniques that directors use in their films; this ranged from camera angles (the location at which the camera is placed to take a shot) to camera movements. I learned the different types of angles and movements that are used in a film and I also learned how to differentiate the different types of shots used in films. This will help in the future as we learnt why the directors use these specific type of shots so this will make it easier to analyse certain scenes in films (for example in the opening scene of City Of God, high angle & low angle shots are used and due to this lesson I know this is because the director is showing the power balance between the characters by using these camera angles). This will also help in the future if I want to direct as I now know more about how to film a motion picture due to t...