“capturing lightning in a bottle:” how to write about film

“Capturing Lightning in a Bottle:”

How to Write About Film

Prologue I: How to Become a Director

• First Wave: Apprenticeship

• Second Wave: Film School

• Third Wave: Video

• Fourth Wave??

• Outliers: The Writer/Director

Prologue II: The Tools of the Artist

To review from last week, what are the three main tools that a director has at his or her disposal?

1. Camera placement (long shot, mid-shot, closeup, POV, bird’s-eye view, etc.) and movement (pan, tilt, dolly, crane)

2. Editing – how to get from one shot to another and from one scene to another

3. Mise-en-scene (everything else)

Form Influences Content

What are the ways inwhich a film is put together have animpact on the viewer?Or in other words, howdoes the director’s useof non-verbal elements help to tell the story?

Example 1: Hitchcock(of course…)

• The Man Who Knew too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956)

Example #2

• The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987)

Example # 3

• Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)

Comparison

• Bullitt (Peter Yates, 1968)• The French Connection (William Friedkin,

1971)

Elements of the Film Review

• Introduction with thesis• Body paragraphs with references to

one or two elements• Comparisons are excellent• Conclusion - recommendation

What’s Eligible and What’s Not

Cabat’s Hierarchy of Movie Watching1.Films seen in the theater2.Films seen on DVD or streamed, uncut in proper aspect ratio3.Films seen on cable without commericals (Turner Classic Movies)4.Films seen on cable or network with commercials

Eligible: Films Seen as Close to Their Original Format as Possible

1.American narrative films2.Foreign narrative films

Not Eligible:1. Documentaries (yet)2. Animation (sorry)3. Short films4. Anything originally made for TV

Let’s Give It a Shot

• Film:______________________• Brief Summary_______________• Element 1__________________• Element 2____________________• Conclusion/

Recommendation__________

What You Will Be Responsible For…

• One review (due Session 3)• One “review review” (due Session 5)• Final anthology piece (due Session 9)• Short film (due Session 11)• Blog posts (details to follow)• Attendance and participation