HUM Notes

Mise-en-scene - Literally refers to the relationship of every aspect of a shot to every other aspect of the shot - Mise-en-scene is the way that directors communicate information to the audience through things like camera angles, lighting, setting, props, position of the actors, and music - The Elements of Film Sound - dialogue, other noises picked up via microphones while filming, sound effects, and the musical score - Sound Editing- sound editors adjust volume and import sound effects to manipulate the sounds that were captured while filming - Musical Score - the score is used to convey mood and to provide continuity from one scene to the next The Camera - Camera angle, distance, and movement supply meaning through a relative system of difference - Angle- camera angles often communicate a character’s power, or lack thereof - Distance - close-ups, medium shots, and long shots help to draw attention to the most significant aspect of the shot - Movement - zooming (in or out) provides the illusion of movement. Or the camera may actually move, panning horizontally or through tracking shots, horizontal to the floor, or in any number of directions via a dolly Editing and Narrative Structure - Narrative Structure- narrative structure refers to the way in which shots compromise a scene and in which scenes are woven together to give meaning to the entire picture - Narrative structure may be linear of more complicated, involving devices such as flashbacks (Citizen Kane) or circularity (Pulp Fiction) Film Noir - 1945-1958 - German expressionism and American tough guy - Emotional realism - Total moral ambiguity - The hero isn’t grounded in any sense of right or wrong (radical instability) - Supposed to empathize with criminals - Dark, cynical, and pessimistic about human nature - Illusive - Style that crosses many genres - From the criminal’s pov - Deep shadows, strong angles, behavior over dialogue - First film noir made in Germany - Inspiration from the depression - Post-world war II “Black Tide” over Hollywood (America’s loss of innocence” - Shadowy lighting, violence, psychology, existentialism - Characters being defined by actions

- Can’t always tell who the “bad guy” is - Proper noir ending is death, trap enclosing, police coming, taking the wrong guy - Killing defines film noir in the last two lines - Sexual symbolism, cigarettes, trains in tunnels - Dark, violent, and animalistic sexualism - Billy Wilder - Stylized view point of abstract concepts - Light to dark, dark to light - Light, smoke, dark showers, light pocket, moving light - No kids, not very many normal things, urban areas - Influenced by street photographers - Complex/jumpy editing to substitute for violence - Voiceover is the character talking directly to the audience (characterizes the attitude of the film) - Very seductive- spell binding/dreamy way with flash backs - Music has to be another character (unseen presence that can create a mood or remind the audience that there may be something else besides what we see on screen going on) - Seductive in a manipulative way - Fem fatale comes to the hero with a problem, but we don’t know what the problem is/ is they are even being truthful about the problem - Fem fatale makes men go bad - The star or noir is fate - Always a feeling that things are going to end badly - Fate is not dictated, in the characters hands - Law and order bring the film to an end - Fade. Out What is comedy? Goals of American Comedy - Work to release that which society as a whole holds in check - Mentions the unmentionable - Deal with processes by which differences are bridged and a (more or less) unified American society is constructed - Deal with chaos and disorder - Critique culture - Document growing pains of American culture American Comedy - Belton: comedy acts as a “release valve” by addressing various cultural elements that society attempts to keep in check Common Issues/Themes - Racism - Immigrant Experience - Rites of Passage

- Consumerism and Capitalism - Sex and Romance - Politics - Social Integration - Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality - Workplace - Coming of Age (and regression) - Reforming the Individual *Memorize Marx quote for exam Styles of Comedy - Silent Comedy - Slapstick - Charlie Chaplin - Buster Keaton - Harold Lloyd - Sound Comedy - Romantic - Screwball - Thesis - War - Black/Dark - Animal - Geek Slapstick Comedy - Roots in Punch and Judy - “Slap Stick” - Common Gags - Misunderstandings - Roughhousing - Chase Scenes - Relationship with Society - Industrialization - Urbanization - Growth of the Middle-Class Screwball Comedy - High and Low Comedy - Elements of Romance; Witty Dialogue - Slapstick Physicality - Roots in 1930s - Depression Era/ WWII - MPPC in July 1934 - Shattered Relationships