Sunday, November 28, 2010
Movie on TV Alert
For those of you fans of Casablanca, it is on at 9pm on Monday, November 29, on TCM.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Film Forum
As I mentioned in class today, the Film Forum in New York City is a great place to spend a few hours. If you go to NYC regularly, make your way to Chelsea and spend some time with some real cinema geeks!
An Interesting Career Possibility...
Check out this great article in the New York Times about combining biology with filmmaking (animation)...
Looks like a wide open field for those of you interested in the sciences and film.
Blog Response #8--Man With a Movie Camera
First, be sure you finish watching the film...
We ended at 42:37 in class.
Your Looking at Movies textbook has a nice quote about Vertov and his film on page 428.
Vertov shows us how to frame reality and movement: through the human eye and the camera eye, or through windows and shutters. But to confound us, he also shows us--through such devices as the freeze-frame, split screen, stop-action, slow motion, and fast motion--how the cinematographer and editor can transform the movements of life into something that is unpredictable. He not only proves that the camera has a life of its own, but also reminds us of the editor, who is putting all of this footage together. Reality may be in the control of the artist, his camera, and its tricks, but it also finds definition within the editor's presentation and, ultimately, the viewer's perception.
In your first well-developed paragraph, please discuss this quote in relation to a five minute piece of Man With a Movie Camera. Be sure to describe shots cinematically, as if I've never seen the film before. Discuss elements of editing, such as the juxtaposition of shots, rhythm, montage, etc.
In your second well-developed paragraph, discuss this quote in relation to a film of your choice. Try to be as specific as possible in your descriptions and speak cinematically when you discuss the film. If you'd like to come into the library during a free period to watch a clip of a film I have that you've seen, please see me. Remember: the earlier the better.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Blog Response #7
I hope you got a lot out of Battleship Potemkin. I highly suggest watching it again:
Re-read the Ebert essay I handed out to you on Monday. Please discuss the following in at least two well-developed paragraphs:
"The Battleship Potemkin is conceived as a class-conscious revolutionary propaganda, and Eisenstein deliberately avoids creating any three-dimensional individuals (even Vakulinchuk is seen largely as a symbol). Instead, masses of men move in unison, as in the many shots looking down at Potemkin's foredeck. The people of Odessa, too, are seen as a mass made up of many briefly glimpsed but starkly seen faces. The dialogue (in title cards) is limited mostly to outrage and exhortation. There is no personal drama to counterbalance the larger political drama."
Do you agree with Ebert? If so, why do you think Eisenstein chose this format for his film? Explain how the editing and the shots give meaning to the Marxist, revolutionary propaganda in the film and whether or not you think three-dimensional characters would have added to or subtracted from the message. In addition, analyze a 5 minute scene or sequence to show the power of Eisenstein's editing style. Be sure to use specific examples and speak cinematically in your paragraphs.
Here is another article that may be helpful to you:
Enjoy the weather and take a couple of hours to watch a good film this weekend.
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