And the winner is... (PART 2)

Hollywood may have the Oscar, but RotMI has the Baby Daz...

In stunning fashion, one film has swept the final four awards categories at the 2nd Annual RotMI Film Festival!

The Baby Dazzes for 

BEST ORIGINAL STORY

BEST MUSIC

BEST EDITING

BEST PICTURE

go to RotMI Parody (Daniel, Eli, Annie, Edward, Stella)

Congratulations, A SEED Productions! Feel free to leave your acceptance speeches in the form of a blog comment.

And the winner is... (PART 1)

The 2nd Annual RotMI Film Festival viewers have spoken, and here are the first four awards!

Hollywood may have the Oscar, but RotMI has the Baby Daz...




BEST DOCUMENTARY
Kids Are The Darndest Things. (Elana)



BEST PERFORMANCES
When The Rail Is Covered In Snow (Chang Min, Grace, Winston, Patrick, Junaid)

BEST ART PRODUCTION
Dream Vacation (Lauren, Christine V.)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
When The Rail Is Covered In Snow (Chang Min, Grace, Winston, Patrick, Junaid)

Congratulations to the winners! Check back soon for more awards!

And the Nominees Are...

The 2nd Annual RotMI Film Festival is underway! And the coveted Baby Daz awards are up for grabs.

The RotMI Film Festival Awards Committee has determined that there are 8 award categories. Click on the image to see which films have been nominated for each award.

Our Festival resumes this Wednesday and will conclude Thursday, 1/27. All class members will be able to vote at the end of class on Thursday. Of course, there's a blizzard coming. But what else is new?

Test on Thursday, 1/20

The test will focus on Some Like It Hot, Chungking Express, Cinema Paradiso, and the key terms and concepts from chapter 3 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Also, review everything from the beginning of the course, such as the definition of "rhetoric," and literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects, etc.

Be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• Cinema Paradiso: Establishing shot; characterization of Toto; minor characters & how they develop (character arcs); Italian life post WWII; symbolic imagery; Magical Realism; Alfredo's 3 "magic tricks"; jump cut; final images (before & after the credits); elegy; the "Cinema of Life." Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• Chungking Express: Hong Kong cinema (and how this film is and isn't typical of the genre), traditional comic plot structure, motifs (time, love-sickness, expiration, change & variety), freeze frame, Quentin Tarantino's DVD Special Features, web of life plot structure, painterly vs. linear style, impressionism. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• Some Like It Hot: Comic structure (beginning with social upheaval), Sugar's songs' lyrics, Screwball Comedy, curtain line, swish pan, phallic symbol, day for night shooting, filmed in black and white for a reason, parallel editing (crosscutting), using proxemic patterns to create humor, parody, sight gags, slapstick, repartee, situational comedy, sexual innuendo, running gag, dramatic irony, meta-filmic moments. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• From Ch. 3 of Understanding Movies: Kinetic symbolism, vertical/upward movements, minimalists, swish pan, pull back, stationary camera vs. handheld, steadicam, 24 fps, persistence of vision, fast motion vs. slow motion, freeze frame.

Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts. Extra Help will be offered at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, 1/19 in room 452.

Looking Ahead

Here's what's coming up for the rest of the course:

• Tues., 1/18: Final Film Project Due
• Wed., 1/19: Return your textbook no later than today
• Thurs., 1/20: Test on Some Like It Hot, Chungking Express, Cinema Paradiso & Ch. 3 of out textbook (more details soon!)
• Fri., 1/21: Final written reflection due on the making of your film. The RotMI Film Festival begins!

Get Help Creating Your Film!

Vimeo, the video sharing website, has created an online Video School with helpful clips about all aspects of filmmaking. Whether you're looking for storyboarding help or trying to enhance the composition of your shots, take a few minutes to check out Vimeo!

Test on Monday, 12/6

The test will focus on Night of the Living Dead, Do the Right Thing, North By Northwest, and the key terms and concepts from chapter 2 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Also, review everything from the beginning of the course, such as the definition of "rhetoric," and literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects, etc.

Be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In North By Northwest: director's cameo; day for night shooting; rear screen projection effect; femme fatale; MacGuffin; final cut privileges; title credits; parody; montage; characterization & compression; visual irony; phallic symbol; visual foreshadowing; aural cue; character subtext; "stealing a shot"; film subtexts; "Becoming George Kaplan"; "The Matchless Eve Kendall"; "Murder scenes shot lovingly & love scenes shot murderously"; epiphany & character arc; how tension & suspense are created in "The Crop Dusting Scene." Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point
• In Night of the Living Dead: the zombie apocalypse genre and its conventions; continuity error; colorblind casting; "stealing a scene"; indie film; expressionism; subtexts (cultural/historical significance); ironies in the plot; final shot; director's cameo. 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; montage; allusion; racial tensions in NYC; Spike Lee's DVD Special Features. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point. 
• From Understanding Movies: (Ch. 2) 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.

Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts. Extra Help will be offered at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, 12/2 in room 452.