D. bordwell and kristin Thompson from Film Art. An introduction. Ch TWO: Types of films(p 42-61) and Ch FOUR: Narrative as a Formal system (p89-113)

TYPES OF FILMS and FILM NARRATIVE : CLASS HANDOUT

Chapter 2 : TYPES OF FILMS

DOCUMENTARY

PURPOSE Present factual information about the world outside film

DEVICES USED Record events as they actually occur

Use maps , charts , and graphs

Stage reenactments of events for the camera

ISSUES Staging and manipulation are said to make the documentary less reliable

Inaccuracy of some facts stated in the documentary (i .e . Michael Moore 's Roger and Me

EXAMPLES Primary

Fahrenheit 9 /11

An Inconvenient Truth ANIMATED FILM

CHARACTERISTICS Distinguished from live

action films by production process

Between each exposure , subject is changed by the animator

Anything can be animated by the filmmaker

DEVICES USED Shooting one frame at a time instead of real time

Two or Three dimensional drawings and objects

Electronic information stored in a computer

DISTINCT TYPES Drawn

Full

Limited

EXAMPLES Silent Mobius

Walt Disney productions

Pixar animations EXPERIMENTAL and AVANT-GARDE FILM

PURPOSE Challenge orthodox cinema

Self-expression of aesthetic sensibilities

Express personal experiences and viewpoints

Explore possibilities of film as a medium

Create idea associations ' with imagery

DEVICES USED EXPERIMENTATION

Improvization vs . a Mathematical Plan

Found footage

Visual collage

Soaking negative film in pickling ' agents then handprinting to positive film stock

One or two frames per shot

Slides and disembodied voices

Home movies

Travelogues

Pictures and news articles

ISSUES Impossible to define

EXAMPLES Damned If You Don 't

Choreography for Camera

Mass for the Dakota Sioux

Eiga Zuke

Eat

Scorpio Rising FILM GENRES

Convention and Innovation , Familiarity and Novelty

Genre History and Social Function Definition and Analysis

CONCEPTS EXPLANATION EXAMPLES

Origins Stage plays and novels no fixed pattern or function gave rise to subgenres and cycles

Claude Levi-Strauss ' Anthropological Theory - basis of film 's social function Uncle Tom 's Cabin

Cycles A batch of genre films that enjoy a certain popularity over a distinct period

Occurs when a successful film gets imitated over a certain period

Rises and falls in popularity Godfather - gangster Batman , Sin City 300 - comics /graphic novels

Star Wars - science fiction

Pocahontas , Lion King - evolved from Hollywood musicals

Issues Tightly bound to cultural factors

Exploit ambivalent social values and public attitudes

Respond to social trends

Reflectionist ' approach

Social Processes Meet Me in St . Louis - World War II Homefront

The Golddiggers of 1933 - The Great Depression

Godzilla - fear of technology

Alien - strong , female protagonist with a maternal side

Defining a Genre Rough category intuitively shared by the audience and the filmmaker

Subjects or Themes

Manner of presentation

Distinct emotional effect . Rent - manner of presentation : musical

The Silence of the Lambs - distinct emotional effect : thriller

Analyzing a Genre Tacit agreement between filmmaker and audience

Shared genre contentions in each film

Conventional plot elements

Conventional genre themes

Characteristic film techniques

Conventional iconography (recurring symbolic images that carry meaning from film to film

Revised or Rejected Conventions Godfather - the theme of criminal success : gangster I

Walked with a Zombie - Sombre lighting technique : horror

Terminator - Arnold Schwarzenegger iconography : action film

Bugsy Malone

Genre Mixing Overlap between genres and combinations in a single film Whoopee ! - Musical...