Blog #4

This week, we began to look at the techniques of continuity editing as developed by Edwin Porter and D.W. Griffith, including the match cut, cross cut and analytical editing. Along with continuity editing, aspects of mise-en-scene (the elements/figures placed before the camera to be photographed) play a significant role in the viewer's comprehension of the film story.

1) From your reading in Film Art (Chapter 4), identify and briefly describe the four aspects of mise-en-scene in the following clips:



















The Baby's Meal (Lumiere Brothers, 1895)





















The Cook in Trouble (George Melies, 1904)

2) Exercise: 180-degree rule (screen direction)

The 180-degree rule states that when filming, the camera must remain on one side of the 180-degree line (axis of action) in order to maintain consistent left-right relations from shot to shot.

In this brief clip from Frank Capra's Meet John Doe (1941), locate the axis of action and provide a brief explanation as to how you've determined its position.

Blog #3

Referring to Marilyn Fabe's essay, "The Beginnings of Film Narrative: D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation" describe three characteristics of early film, using at least two scenes from Edwin Porter's Jack and the Beanstalk (1902).




Using at least two scenes from D.W. Griffith's The Girl and Her Trust (1912) and Fabe's essay, describe how Griffith's use of the cross-cut and setting impacts the film's realism and storytelling capabilities.

Clip #1: George Melies, "A Man of Heads" (1898)
Clip #2: Lumiere Brothers, "Arrival of a Train" (1895)

"As for the scenario, the 'fable,' or 'tale,' I only consider it at the end. I can state that the scenario constructed in this manner has no importance, since I use it merely as a pretext for the 'stage effects,' the 'tricks,' or for a nicely arranged tableau."

-George Melies in Tom Gunning's "The Cinema of Attractions Early Film, Its Spectator and the Avant-Garde"

The films of George Melies and the Lumiere Brothers are often cited as foundational of two distinct tendencies in the cinema. The realistic tendency is characterized by the Lumiere's use of non-studio/outdoor settings, non-actors and a documentary-like approach to their subject matter. The formative tendency can be seen in Melies' exploration of the medium through trick photography and staged movement in non-realistic settings.

However, according to Tom Gunning, in what ways are the early films of Melies and the Lumiere Brothers similiar? Using the two films posted above as your examples, explain Gunning's concept of the cinema of attractions. According to Gunning, what is the relationship between this early mode of cinema and avant-garde practices that developed in the first half of the 20th century?

Blog #1

“The situation into which the product of mechanical reproduction can be brought may not touch the actual work of art, yet the quality of its presence is always depreciated.” (Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Section II)

The Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci, circa 1503) (and its circulation in popular culture) is illustrative of Benjamin’s argument regarding the status of the artwork in the age of technical reproduction. I’ve posted an image of the original painting along with one of its more recent cultural manifestations.* Describe one way the meanings associated with the original painting effect the product being sold. Provide one example of how the ad’s use of digital technology changes the meaning of the original (for instance, in this ad, how do we interpret her famous smile?) Comparing this advertisement to the Mona Lisas made by modern artists of the Dada and Surrealist movements (Below: Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q., 1919. S&C: 129; also Benjamin, Section XIV), what does the ad suggest about our society’s ideas and beliefs about beauty?

*The text at the bottom of the ad reads, “Pantene Time Renewal. Restores age-damaged hair.”