Film Design: Michael Kahn As A Role Model

I never gave much thought into what it takes to shoot, direct, edit, and complete a motion picture. Sure, it may sound fun, but after this assignment, it felt like a lot of work. There are quite a few specialized groups that put together the films that we enjoy in our movie theatres. No wonder why it takes months and even years to edit a film, these folks are making sure things are done and synced correctly! The following essay will identify information pertaining to film and importance for their audience so the person or persons watching can have an understanding of what it is they are viewing. A story that has no meaning or becomes very confusing in the details that are presented does not make a good film.

Rarely has a film impacted an audience and held the test of time as the film Gone with the Wind. I have always been curious if director, Victor Fleming and producer, David O. Selznick and screenplay writer, Sidney Howard knew what they were creating a masterpiece and how this film would have such an enormous impact on audiences for years to come. Interestingly enough there were some who thought the film should not be made, as Irving Thalberg said to Louis B. Meyer in 1936, “Forget it Louis, no Civil War picture ever made a nickel” (Ten Films that Shook the World).

In this essay I will be discussing five key points throughout Post Production history between the 1900s-1960s. Post Production is seen as a vital component in the cinematic industry as it essentially finalises the final products. Techniques that have been developed over the years are incredibly important, but they all have an origin. Although these techniques started out without overwhelming effect, they are now unbelievably crucial to how films are constructed. The five points I wish to discuss go as follows: The Great Train Robbery and Edwin Porter himself, D.W. Griffith and his overwhelming influence on editing, The Jazz Singer, the Kuleshov Effect and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As well as discussing these key factors, this essay will take into consideration secondary material.

The film I picked for my critique is Red Tails, a historical World War II drama. The movie starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Gerald Mcraney, was written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, better known as the creator of the comic strip “the boondocks”, from a book by John B. Holway, directed by Anthony Hemingway and produced by George Lucas . In this paper the author will show how all elements of filmmaking

This paper will focus on the film techniques used by Cameron in his three most known movies, Titanic (1997), Avatar (2009), and Terminator series. Mise-en-scene according to John Gibbs is used in film studies in the discussion of visual style. Translated literally it means “To put on stage”, but for the purpose of students, it is defined as the contents of the frame and the way they are organized (p 5). In addition, a director’s style can be identified only through the arrangement and orchestrations of the film’s mise-en-scene (Nelmes, 425).The films Titanic, Avatar, and Terminator series were successful

In 1962, an American film critic, Andrew Sarris, wrote the “notes on the auteur theory.” He stated that the “first premise of the auteur theory is the technical competence of a director as a criterion of

Film Industry has been expansively affected by the changes in technology. The mechanical and digital innovations give cause to the influence of equipment, distribution and the way in which films are made and consumed. New trends shape directors and filmmakers to expand creatively towards telling stories in motions. The film industry has developed to one of the most important tools of communication, it's cause so powerful affecting the way individuals and societies think, act and behave. Among the new Era approaching film, and seeing celluloid film fade is that of the Digital Era and a camera that saw celluloid films passing hastened.

Elements and principals of design are incorporated into all forms of art to include film. Film has a way of merging all the forms into one motion picture, providing the audience with both visual and auditory elements of art. Within those elements are deeper levels of creativity.

Edwin S Porter was an expert builder of photographic equipment and a film projectionist, he worked for Thomas Edison. In 1901, Porter began operating the camera, and was responsible for directing film, from there, Porter was credited with almost all of the innovations of the pre-1908 period by making first story film titled Life of an American Fireman. Porter was also the one who is credited with editing, he also successful in creating models. Porter’s biggest contribution to cinema, is concentration on fiction filmmaking.

Design for Living (Ernst Lubitsch, 1933) presents a classic hollywood film style with a relatable modern twisted narrative story. For the time, the film presents a slightly risque tale of a woman struggling between loving two men as they comically fight over her throughout the course of the film. Gilda Farrell (Miriam Hopkins) meets two men on a train, Tom Chambers (Fredric March) and George Curtis (Gary Cooper). The film illustrates the creation of the trio's friendship, as well as, a love triangle forms. The scene analysed for this essay deals with Gilda’s separation from the gentleman's agreement with Tom and George. Gilda accepts a marriage proposal from Max Plunkett (Edward Everett Horton). This marriage does not truly make her happy but

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing is a documentary about the art of film editing and the immensity of the job an editor is given. The reasoning of the film is to show the impact editing truly has on movies and our emotional attachment towards them. This documentary shows clips from different films to prove to it’s viewers the substantial effect editing has. Directors and editors speak out about the significance of editing, something not many viewers know nor think about.

With this short but very interesting and informative class I have just scratched the surface of the what it takes to make a full fleged film. It takes much more than I had presumed to make a movie in Hollywood. The number of people that it takes to make a minute of a movie let alone the entire movie was astonishing to me. There are many things that it takes to start making a movie but without an idea of some sort there is no movie to be made.

Every so often a movie is released with such tense anticipation and glamorous visual art that the public is drawn to this dramatic rendition of life in the theatre. For even just two hours or so, you are put into a different lifestyle. Action, drama or comedy it may be. We are thrust into a different way of thinking. We are forced to learn the characters thoughts and feelings. The hard work and artistic skill that goes into these magnificent films is not an easy thing to mimic. Out of the thousands of movies released worldwide each year only a handful are truly worthy of the label film art. Most of the great movies are either produced by a multi million dollar

No matter who a person thinks invented the motion picture camera, whether it was Louis Lumiere or Thomas Edison, I'm sure they had no idea what it would become at the turn of the century. Motion pictures, has become an entertainment medium like no other. From Fred Ott's Sneeze to Psycho to Being John Malkovich, the evolution from moving pictures to a pure art form has been quite amazing. Different steps in filming techniques define eras in one of the most amazing ideas that was ever composed. Silent to Sound. Short to long. Black and white to color. Analog to Digital. All were important marks in the History of Motion Pictures. "It's different than other arts. It had to be invented"

Previously, editing used to be a challenge for most filmmakers. Often, they relied on manual methods when filming to add effects to the films. Incorporating visual effects to the film was a demanding task that