1. Summarize the answers Bordwell gives to the question, “Why do filmmakers bother with classical construction if ardent viewers consider it dispensable, even distracting?”
Bordwell gives five answers to the question "why do filmmakers bother with classical construction if ardent viewers consider it dispensable, even distracting?" First, he states that while a classically set up plot may be unimportant and unapreciated by viewers, it allows them freedom to concentrate on other aspects of the film. They aren't forced to spend all their time paying perfect attention to every plot twist in order to understand whats going on. Second, classic construction involves big stars and bigger action, which is sure to appeal to a wide range of tastes. Third, due to the high cost of producing whammo moments, the entire film cant be made up of spectacle (besides, an entire 2 hours of spectacle would make that spectacle cease to be entertaining); classic construction allows you to fill the time between big moments with classic hollywood narrative - conflicts, deadlines, classic characters, obstacles for the hero. Fourth, filmmakers are making movies for themselves as well as for audiences, and want to make movies they can be proud of and enjoy. And finally, fifth, big-budget films can layer their stories in order to appear to kids and adults alike (ie Shrek).
2. What does Bordwell mean by “genre ecology,” and how does he characterize the current range of genres in Hollywood.
Bordwell refers to "genre ecology" as the rising and falling popularity or success of less-popular (studio-era "B") movies. These genres include science-fiction, fantasy, crime and horror. He characterizes the current range of genres in Hollywood as becoming nearly equal - the result of younger, film school/film brat directors who have gravitated towards the "B" movie genres while the older directors cling to classic hollywood styles.
3. What does Bordwell mean by “worldmaking,” and how does it affect the narrative design of individual films?
"Worldmaking" is the creation of a rich, fully detailed world in which the action is to take place. Every detail within the scene is carefully researched, from costumes to lighting to props and everything in between.
4. What do Bordwell and Thompson mean by the claim that some films are “maximally classical”? What films do they have in mind?
Bordwell and Thompson refer to films as "maximally classical" when they are so classically structured that they don't show anything of themselves and seem to have no goal beyond being a classically structured film. They are referring to Back to the Future, Die Hard and Groundhog Day, among others.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
week 10.
#1: What are the five conditions that gave rise to the New Hollywood (here defined as post-1975)?
The five conditions that give rise to "New Hollywood" are:
1. A new generation of directors - the "movie brats"
2. New marketing strategies - the blockbuster
3. New media ownership and management in the film industry - new conglomerates
4. New technologies in sound and image - special effects, dolby, digital.
5. New delivery systems - films are being made and marketed differently than before.
#2: What does Elsaesser mean by New Hollywood being defined either as “the different as same” or “the same as different.” (p. 193)
"Different as same" and "same as different" are ways in which Hollywood acknowledges self-reflexivity and self-consciousness.
"Different as same" means one of the new directors (of the film school/movie brat generation) behaving like an old Hollywood master director (for example, Francis vs. Welles). They're different, but they're trying to be the same.
"Same as different" is the opposite: the directors of this time borrowing in their themes and styles from European filmmakers. This makes the films seem like something new and different to Hollywood while in reality they are the same old thing.
#4: How is the sound/image relationship in horror films fundamentally different than other classical genres?
In horror films, sound and image don't always fit together. Filmmakers are given a lot more freedom in horror sound. While classic cinema requires image and sound to correspond, in horror it is more effective to hear sounds without the image, forcing the viewer to use their imagination to come up with what may be happening to accompany that sound. This can create much greater fear than seeing everything, because an image that may be terrifying for one person could be funny for another. When forced to come up with the image on their own, each individual viewer pictures what is most terrifying to them, and therefore everyone feels fear.
#12: What is the key technical device (hint: in cinematography) that leads to the “decomposition” of the image as representation and the screen as a bounded frame in Bram Stoker’s Dracula? How is the use of this device a break from classical cinema, and why?
Superimposition is the key technical device that allows decomposition of the image in Dracula. This is a departure from the use of superimposition in classical cinema, where it functioned to mark shifts in time or space, or to allow us to see a character's thoughts or memories.
The five conditions that give rise to "New Hollywood" are:
1. A new generation of directors - the "movie brats"
2. New marketing strategies - the blockbuster
3. New media ownership and management in the film industry - new conglomerates
4. New technologies in sound and image - special effects, dolby, digital.
5. New delivery systems - films are being made and marketed differently than before.
#2: What does Elsaesser mean by New Hollywood being defined either as “the different as same” or “the same as different.” (p. 193)
"Different as same" and "same as different" are ways in which Hollywood acknowledges self-reflexivity and self-consciousness.
"Different as same" means one of the new directors (of the film school/movie brat generation) behaving like an old Hollywood master director (for example, Francis vs. Welles). They're different, but they're trying to be the same.
"Same as different" is the opposite: the directors of this time borrowing in their themes and styles from European filmmakers. This makes the films seem like something new and different to Hollywood while in reality they are the same old thing.
#4: How is the sound/image relationship in horror films fundamentally different than other classical genres?
In horror films, sound and image don't always fit together. Filmmakers are given a lot more freedom in horror sound. While classic cinema requires image and sound to correspond, in horror it is more effective to hear sounds without the image, forcing the viewer to use their imagination to come up with what may be happening to accompany that sound. This can create much greater fear than seeing everything, because an image that may be terrifying for one person could be funny for another. When forced to come up with the image on their own, each individual viewer pictures what is most terrifying to them, and therefore everyone feels fear.
#12: What is the key technical device (hint: in cinematography) that leads to the “decomposition” of the image as representation and the screen as a bounded frame in Bram Stoker’s Dracula? How is the use of this device a break from classical cinema, and why?
Superimposition is the key technical device that allows decomposition of the image in Dracula. This is a departure from the use of superimposition in classical cinema, where it functioned to mark shifts in time or space, or to allow us to see a character's thoughts or memories.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
week 9. (more to follow when I actually have time to think!)
What does Bordwell mean by his claim that Hollywood narratives have “passages of overtness balanced with less self-conscious ones” (p. 50)?
Bordwell means that for the most part filmmakers follow a set of guidelines that creates the "classical hollywood film," using standard narrative tricks such as appointments and deadlines to create tension. Frequently, however, filmmakers own style seeps through, adding a uniqueness that makes the movie stand out from the standard Hollywood film - this is the less self-conscious part.
Bordwell means that for the most part filmmakers follow a set of guidelines that creates the "classical hollywood film," using standard narrative tricks such as appointments and deadlines to create tension. Frequently, however, filmmakers own style seeps through, adding a uniqueness that makes the movie stand out from the standard Hollywood film - this is the less self-conscious part.
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