Test on Fri., 5/21

The test will focus on Wes Anderson's Rushmore, Federico Fellini's La Strada, and Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest. You should also know the terms from chapter 3 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Also, review all critical terms that we learned earlier in the course, from cinematic terms (such as "long shot") to other terms such as "mise en scene."

Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts.

Along with the general plot and character developments of the following films, be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In Rushmore: Montage; deadpan humor; the structure of comedy; slow motion photography; theme: the nature of friendships.  Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In La Strada: The classic tale of Beauty & the Beast; Nino Rota, Federico Fellini; a Fellini moment; Italian Neorealism; the circus as metaphor; the Franciscan element of compassion for all living beings; St. Francis of Assissi; the didactic tone of the "Parable of the Pebble"; sympathy for Zampano?; Martin Scorcese's DVD special features interview; the metaphor of "the road." Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In North By Northwest: Director's cameo; femme fatale; MacGuffin; final cut privileges; title credits; 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.
• Key Terms: Jump cut; deep/shallow focus; swish pan; pull back; 24 fps; fast motion; freeze frame; steadicam; persistence of vision. 

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

Extra help will be offered after school on Thursday, 5/20 in room 452 at 2:45.

Good luck!

Blog Comment DUE Wed. 5/12 @ 9:00 p.m.

Develop one of the questions from last week's discussion of the film (see the back of Viewing Guide 6/6) into a full paragraph (5-7 sentences minimum) and leave it here as a COMMENT.

1. Thinking "Big Picture" or overall theme, complete this sentence: "North By Northwest is a film about..." Then, explain.
2. Describe the most vivid visual moment from the film. Why is it memorable?
3. Describe the most vivid aural moment from the film. Why is it memorable?
4. What's one question you still have about the film? (Attempt a possible answer to your question as part of your comment.)

In the Beginning...

On Monday, the introduction to your research paper is due. Last week we spoke about how to craft an introduction using the "funnel technique."

You need to start your introductory paragraph with a general statement that leads, eventually, to your very specific thesis statement: the last sentence of the introduction.

Review the handout from last week, and email me if you have any questions.

Please type and double-space your introduction.

Oh, here's a handy link too:

RotMI Research Paper Requirements

QUIZ on Monday, 4/19

The last grade of the 3rd quarter will be a quiz on Monday, 4/19. Aside from the general plots and characters, be sure to review the following terms & concepts from our last two films, Double Indemnity and Spirited Away.

Double Indemnity: film noir, establishing shot, first image of Walter Neff, whodunnit vs. how&whyhedunnit, badinage, fatalism, definition of "double indemnity", off screen space, actuarial tables, dramatic irony, heroic character, final shot, the Hays Code, novella, apocryphal, casting against type.

Spirited Away: motifs; "the kindness of strangers"; eco-message; flashback; the importance of memory & identity; social, moral, & cultural values; final shot; character arc.

Good luck!

Viewing Your Genre Film - DUE Mon., 4/12

Now that you've chosen three films from a particular genre, it's time to view one of them by Monday, April 12.

UPDATE: I've emailed everyone a pdf version of the 2-page VIEWING GUIDE that you need to submit on Monday, 4/12. You need to fill it out with your research and observations about your film. The pdf is also available from our class web site, barebodkin.net.

The lefthand column asks questions about genre conventions that you need to fill out in the other two columns.

The middle column is where you answer those questions regarding the typical conventions of YOUR GENRE.

The righthand column is where you note similarities and differences with YOUR FILM and the conventions you've noted in the middle column.

Please email me if you have any questions about filling out this graphic organizer. It will be collected in class on 4/12.

Choosing a Genre Film - DUE Thurs., 3/25 by 9 p.m.

Spring is in the air, and so is our upcoming research paper!

Here's how we'll start: while we're studying Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity in class as the quintessential Film Noir, you're exploring a genre film of your own choice.

STEP 1: Choose a genre - Horror, Romantic Comedy, Western, Gangster/Crime Drama, Documentary, Science Fiction, Thriller, etc.

STEP 2: Choose three (3) films from that genre made before 1992.

STEP 3: By 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, leave a blog comment on this post that describes your chosen genre, the 3 films (with titles and years they were released) you're considering from that genre, and several of that genre's conventions (essentially what you might expect from those films based on their genre)

STEP 4: By Monday, April 12, view one (1) of those genre films on your own and submit your completed handouts that can be found in the post above this one.

After Spring Break we'll begin a research project based on your genre film!

TEST on Friday, 3/19

The test will focus on Peter Weir's Witness, the documentary Young @ Heart, Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, and the terms and concepts from chapters 1, 2, and 8 of our textbook, Understanding Movies.


Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts.

Along with the general plot and character developments of the following films, be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In Run Lola Run: epigraph, birds-eye view shot, split screen, pastiche, arc shot, crane or boom shot, steadicam, chaos theory, motifs (spirals, etc.), establishing sound, snorkel camera, montage, red filter, (NEW: freeze frame,) web of life plot, Lola as hero. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Young @ Heart: the documentary style spectrum (characteristics of realism & formalism), inter-title, cinema verite, reaction shot, episodic structure. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Witness: establishing shot, Amish culture, setting (Philadelphia vs. the Amish world), the Ordnung, the bonds of community vs. individual desire. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• Key Terms: Be able to define the term 'rhetoric' and how it relates to the title of our course: Rhetoric of the Moving Image. Also, literary, cinematic, & dramatic aspects, long/medium/close-up shots, high/low/eye-level/dutch (canted) angles, low/high key lighting, subjective/authorial point of view, eye-line match, diegetic/nondiegetic sound, (NEW: mid-ground, background, foreground.)
• From Understanding Movies: (Ch. 1) Film style: formalism/realism/classicism. (Ch. 2) Mise-en-scene ("placing on stage"), aspect ratio (standard vs. widescreen), iris shot, the dominant, intrinsic interest, tight vs. loose framing, proxemic patterns, open vs. closed form. (Ch. 8) Mimesis, diegesis, avant-garde, plot, story, conventions, genre, classical paradigm, linear vs. nonlinear narratives, realism as style, rites of passage.

This is only a general guide and not a complete list of everything we learned and everything you should study! Extra help will be at 2:45 p.m on Thursday, 3/18 in room 452.

NEW: The general format of the test will be approximately as follows: PART I (40 points) - 20 multiple choice questions on film terminology, character and plot developments in our three films, and textbook/homework terms. PART II (40 points) - 4 short answer questions on major terms and concepts from the textbook relating to our three films. PART III (20 points) - mini-essay mise en scene analysis of a frame from one of our three films.


Good luck!