Test on Tuesday, December 6

The test will focus on Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho,  Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, and the key terms and concepts from Chapter 2 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Be sure to look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts. Also, know how to define "rhetoric" and be able to give an example of "rhetoric of the moving image." Along with the general plot, key quotes, and character developments of our films, be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In Run Lola Run: 5 visual aesthetics; the formalistic aspects of the film's style and story structure; epigraphs; birds-eye view shot; split screen; Butterfly Effect; motifs (spirals, clocks, etc.), montage; flash forward; red filter; freeze frame; web of life plot; and Lola as hero. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Psycho: shooting day for night; voyeurism; MacGuffin; parallel editing or crosscutting; director's cameo; motifs of mirrors and birds; the shower scene; the characterization of Norman Bates; the final image; and the groundbreaking features of the film in general. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Do The Right Thing: title credits; match cut; breaking the fourth wall; litany; episodic story structure vs. the classical paradigm; montage; racial tensions in NYC; and Spike Lee's DVD Special Features. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point. 

• In Chapter 2 - Understanding Movies: Mise en scene ("placing on stage"); aspect ratio (standard vs. widescreen); iris shot; the dominant; subsidiary contrasts; intrinsic interest; tight vs. loose framing; character placement; composition; proxemic patterns; open vs. closed form.

This is only a general guide and not necessarily a complete list of everything we learned and everything you should study!

Extra help will be offered after school at 2:35 p.m. on Monday, 12/5 in room 452.

The approximate test breakdown: 60% multiple choice / 20% mini essay on mise en scene / 20% short answers

Good luck!

Extra Credit Hitchcock Project

Not everyone has to go to college, but if you're planning to and didn't so well on our last test, here's an extra credit option for the first quarter:

Choose an Alfred Hitchcock film you've never seen before, watch it, and submit your answers to the questions below on Turnitin.com. Here are the DUE dates:

November 9: Submit the title and year of your film to MrD at the beginning of class. Make sure it's a film you're able see; there are no substitutions.

November 14: Submit your typed and double-spaced responses to the questions below to Turnitin.com by 3 p.m.

Missing either of these deadlines makes you ineligible for extra credit. Also, make sure you do your own work and that what you submit is 100% original. This is not a collaborative effort; do NOT show your work to anyone else, compare notes, or use the work of another "as a reference."

EXTRA CREDIT QUESTIONS

1) What's the title and year of your film? (Remember to underline film titles!)

2) Hitchcock's films often revolve around murder, betrayal, love, and a man/woman on the run. Which of these elements apply to your film? Give specific examples.

3) Hitchcock saw himself as the Master of Suspense. What's suspenseful about your film and how, through sound or visuals, does he create suspense? Be specific.

4) Define "voyeurism." What moments of voyeurism are in your film: does a character spy on or watch the movements of another character? Does Hitchcock use subjective POV to turn us, the viewers, into voyeurs?! Give specific details.

5) How does your film compare to Psycho? How is it similar or different visually or in terms of its themes. Again, give specifics and develop your ideas.