Lecture 06: Film Theory Applied
IS246
Multimedia Information (FILM
240, Section 4)
Prof. Marc Davis
UC Berkeley SIMS
Monday and Wednesday 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Spring 2003
http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/academics/courses/is246/s03/
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 1
Today’s Agenda
• Assignment 1
• Review of Last Time
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 2
Today’s Agenda
• Assignment 1
• Review of Last Time
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 3
Assignment 1: Film Theory Application
• Analyze a short motion picture sequence
• Re-edit the sequence
• Analyze your re-edited sequence
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 4
Today’s Agenda
• Assignment 1
• Review of Last Time
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 5
Cinematography
• The “shot”
– 1 –> n frames of images captured sequentially (or
designed to appear so)
• Photographic properties of shots
– Framing of the mise-en-scene
• Angle, level, height, and distance
• Onscreen vs. offscreen space
• Cinematographic properties of shots
– Frame Rate (slow motion, fast motion, variable
motion)
– Movement of camera and and/or camera supports
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 6
Functions of Camera Movement
• Often increases information about the
space of the mise-en-scene
• Often reveals new objects or figures
• Provides new perspectives on objects and
figures adds to our information about them
• Guides and focuses our attention on the
space, objects, and features of the miseen-scene
• Enhance continuity across shots
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 7
Today’s Agenda
• Assignment 1
• Review of Last Time
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 8
Dimensions of Film Editing
• Graphic relations between Shot A and Shot B
• Rhythmic relations between Shot A and Shot B
• Spatial relations between Shot A and Shot B
• Temporal relations between Shot A and Shot B
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 9
Constructing Space
• Situate location of Shot B with establishing
Shot A
• Construct illusion of spatial contiguity
through joining of Shot A and Shot B
(Kuleshov Effect)
• Create physically impossible or ambiguous
spaces
• Establish two discontiguous spaces
through parallel editing (i.e., crosscutting)
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 10
Temporal Duration
• Temporal ellipsis
– Punctuation
• Dissolve, wipe, fade
– Empty frames
• Shot A (character exits frame, then empty frame)
• Shot B (empty frame, then character enters frame)
– Cutaway
• Temporal expansion
– Overlapping editing
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 11
Spatial Continuity Editing
• 180 degree rule
– Ensures that relative
positions in the frame
remain consistent
– Ensures consistent
eyelines (i.e., gaze
vectors)
– Ensures consistent
screen direction (i.e.,
direction of character
movement within the
frame)
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 12
Today’s Agenda
• Assignment 1
• Review of Last Time
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 13
Discussion Questions
• On Cinematography (Rachna Dhamija)
– Bordwell describes the significance that mise-en-scene, framing,
shot duration, and other cinematographic effects have on
narrative. What are the implications for the design of automatic
video capture systems?
– Still cameras have evolved to give users more feedback on
framing, lighting, etc. to improve their capture technique. What
feedback could be given to end users of video capture systems
to improve amateur cinematography? What could be automated
(or made into a template)?
– Bordwell describes cinematic action that occurs across frame
and shot boundaries. How can we represent this with metadata?
– What impact does the improvement of digital manipulation and
post-capture editing techniques have on mise-en-scene and
cinematography? Does it minimize their importance?
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 14
Discussion Questions
• On Cinematography (Beto Ritchie)
– The uniformity among shooting, printing, and projection rates are
more important than the choice of any particular rate of shooting
or projection. Why?
– How is the use of offscreen space used effectively to surprise the
viewer? How can it be used differently than a theatre's offscreen
space? What are the six zones of offscreen space?
– A curious industry question: If the director and cinematographer
are two different persons, which is often the case, how much
power and control does the cinematographer have over the
outcome and look of the film? Where the director draw the line?
Cinematography covers so many important aspects of a film that
there must be overlapping decisions and tasks that must be
worked out between the director and cinematographer. In a film
like American Beauty, which had amazing cinematographic
aspects from lighting to framing, I wonder how much of it was the
director Sam Mendes' work and ideas, how much of it was the
cinematographer Conrad Hall's input, and how much of it was
due to the collaboration of both filmmakers.
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 15
Discussion Questions
• On Editing (Ka-Ping Yee)
– How might a video editing system detect places
where eyeline match or match on action might occur?
– How might such a system advise or warn an editor of
potentially beneficial or misleading effects of the
match? Could it recommend safe places to cut?
– Can the principles of continuity editing be applied to
improve comprehension of summarized footage?
• On Editing (Ana Ramirez)
– Can the axis of action be recorded in the metadata
and what effect does this have for multimedia
databases?
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 16
Today’s Agenda
• Review of Last Time
– Narrative Form and Narration
– Introduction to Editing
• Formalist Media Theory
– Cinematography
– Editing
• Discussion
• Action Items for Next Time
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 17
Readings for Next Time
• Wednesday 02/12
– Christian Metz. Film Language: A Semiotics of the
Cinema. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991;
pp. 92-146.
– Umberto Eco. Articulations of the Cinematic Code. in
Nichols, B. ed., University of California Press,
Berkeley, 1976; pp. 590-607.
– Roland Barthes. Action Sequences. in Strelka, J. ed.,
Patterns of Literary Style. State University of
Pennsylvania Press, University Park, Pennsylvania,
1971; pp. 5-14.
– Noel Burch. Theory of Film Practice. Princeton
University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1981; pp. 3-16.
IS246 - SPRING 2003
2003.02.10 - SLIDE 18