Movies and Meaning- Pearson New International Edition
Page 1
Movies and Meaning Prince Sixth Edition
Movies and Meaning
ISBN 978-1-29204-129-2
An Introduction to Film
Stephen Prince
Sixth Edition
9 781292 041292
Pearson New International Edition
Movies and Meaning
An Introduction to Film
Stephen Prince
Sixth Edition
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ISBN 10: 1-292-04129-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-292-04129-2
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P E A R S O N
C U S T O M
L I B R A R Y
Table of Contents
Glossary
Stephen Prince
1
1. Film Structure
Stephen Prince
13
2. Cinematography
Stephen Prince
57
3. Production Design
Stephen Prince
95
4. Acting
Stephen Prince
121
5. Editing: Making the Cut
Stephen Prince
149
6. Principles of Sound Design
Stephen Prince
187
7. The Nature of Narrative in Film
Stephen Prince
229
8. Visual Effects
Stephen Prince
287
9. Modes of Screen Reality
Stephen Prince
325
Index
381
I
II
G L O S S A R Y
3D digital matte A matte painting that has been camera
Animation 3D Animation of miniature models or puppets
mapped onto a 3D geometrical model in computer space.
or animation inside three-dimensional computer space.
The digital matte can then be moved or rotated to
Antinarrative A narrative style that tends, paradoxically,
simulate the perspective of a moving camera. See also
toward eliminating narrative by employing lots of digres-
camera mapping .
sion, avoiding a clear hierarchy of narrative events, and by
Additive Color Mixing A system used for creating color
suppressing the causal connections among events.
on television where red, blue, and green lights are mixed
Art Director Working under the production designer, the
together to create all other hues.
art director supervises the translation and sketches into sets.
ADR Automated dialogue replacement (ADR) is a post-
Art Film Films made by overseas directors in the 1950s
production practice in which actors re-record lines of dia-
and 1960s that explored weighty and timeless themes and
logue or add new ones not present at the point of filming.
took film style in new, unexplored directions.
Computer software enables proper synching of these lines
Aspect Ratio The dimensions of the film frame or screen
with the performer’s lip movements as recorded on film.
image. Aspect ratio is typically expressed in units of width
Aerial Image Printing Method of producing dimensional
to height.
effects using matte paintings in an optical printer. An image
Attributional Errors Mistakes of interpretation that arise
(such as a matte painting) is projected to a focal plane in space
when a critic erroneously decides that some effect in a film
(rather than onto a surface) where it can be photographed by
has a meaning expressly intended by its creators or incor-
the process camera in the optical printer. That footage can be
rectly assigns the creative responsibility for an effect to the
combined with live action footage and other optical elements.
wrong member of the production crew. Uncovering these er-
Aerial Perspective A visual depth cue in which the effects
rors typically requires documentation of a film’s production
of the atmosphere make very distant objects appear bluish
history.
and hazy.
Auteur A director whose work is characterized by a dis-
Alpha Channel In a digital image, this channel of informa-
tinctive audiovisual design and recurring set of thematic
tion specifies a pixel’s degree of transparency. The alpha
issues. Auteurism is a model of film theory and criticism that
channel is often used for generating male and female mattes.
searches for film authors or auteurs.
Ambient Sound The background sound characteristic of an
Auteurist Film Theory (Auteur Theory) A model of film the-
environment or location. For a film such as The Last of the
ory that studies the work of a film auteur (or author). Directors
Mohicans , set in a forest, ambient sounds include the rustle
are generally considered to be the prime auteurs in cinema.
of branches and the cries of distant birds.
Auteurist theory studies the films of a cinema auteur as works
Anamorphic Method of producing a widescreen (2.35:1)
of personal expression.
image by squeezing the picture information horizontally and
Back Light The light source illuminating the space between
stretching it vertically. This method is used for both theatri-
performers and the rear wall of a set. Along with key and
cal films and for DVD home video formatted for 16 × 9 (wi-
fill lights, back light is one of the three principal sources of
descreen) monitors or projection systems. Unsqueezing the
illumination in a
scene.
picture information during projection or viewing produces
Beta Movement A perceptual illusion in which the hu-
the widescreen image.
man eye responds to apparent movement as if it were real.
Ancillary Market All of the nontheatrical markets from
Because of this illusion, viewers think they see moving fig-
which a film distributor derives revenue. These include home
ures on a film or television screen when, in fact, there is no
video, cable television, and foreign markets.
true movement.
Angle of View The amount of area recorded by a given
Binocular Disparity Each eye has a different angle of view
lens. Telephoto lenses have a much smaller angle of view
on the world, and this difference or disparity provides a
than wide-angle lenses.
source of information about depth, distance and spatial lay-
Animation 2D Traditional form of animation in cinema
out. Stereoscopic cinema incorporates binocular disparity to
which involves photographing flat artwork, typically a com-
create an impression of 3D.
bination of characters and background. Camera movement
“Blaxploitation” The cycle of films that emerged in
and three dimensional depth perspective is fairly limited.
the early 1970s aimed at African-American audiences.
Animatronic Model A motorized, moveable miniature
Most of the “blaxploitation” films were crime and action
model, often used for creature effects.
thrillers.
From Glossary of Movies and Meaning:An Introduction to Film, Sixth Edition. Stephen Prince. Copyright
© 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Glossary
Blockbuster A hugely profitable film usually featuring a
Cognitive Film Theory A model of film theory that exam-
fantasy theme and a narrative heavily dependent on special
ines how the viewer perceptually processes audiovisual infor-
effects.
mation in cinema and cognitively interprets this information.
Boom Shot A type of moving camera shot in which the
Composite in a visual effects shot, combining the image
camera moves up or down through space. Also known as a
layers to create the finished shot.
crane shot , it takes its name from the apparatus—a boom or
Composition The arrangement of characters and objects
crane—on which the camera is mounted.
within the frame. Through composition filmmakers arrange
Camera Mapping Method of projecting a 2D matte paint-
the visual space on-screen into an artistic design.
ing onto a 3D geometrical model in computer space. Once
Computer-Generated Images (CGIs) Images that are
the image is projected onto the model, it can be treated as a
created and designed using computer software rather
3D object and moved or rotated to simulate the perspective
than originating as a scene before the camera that is pho-
of a moving camera.
tographed. Sophisticated software enables digital artists
“Camera Pen” The term used by Alexandre Astruc to
to render textures, lighting effects, movement, and other
designate the use of cinema as a medium of personal expres-
three-dimensional pictorial information in highly plausible
sion. The concept was a major influence on French New
and convincing ways. Bearing this information, CGI can be
Wave directors and their conviction that cinema was a direc-
married (composited) with live action photography to stun-
tor’s medium (see Auteur).
ning effect, as the exciting interaction of real actors and CGI
dinosaurs in The Lost World demonstrates.
Camera Position The distance between the camera and the
subject it is photographing. Camera positions are usually
Condensation A concept in psychoanalytic film theory that
classified as variations of three basic setups: the long shot,
denotes the concentration of meaning found in images that
the medium shot, and the close-up.
are highly charged with emotional or dramatic significance.
This concentration is symptomatic of repressed content that
Canted Angle A camera angle in which the camera leans
find expression in a condensed, indirect manner.
toward screen right or screen left, producing an imbalanced,
off-center look to the image. Filmmakers often use canted
Continuity Editing As its name implies, continuity editing
angles to capture a character’s subjective feelings of stress or
maximizes principles of continuity from shot to shot so that
disorientation.
the action seems to flow smoothly across shot and scene
transitions. Continuity editing facilitates narrative compre-
Cells Transparent sheets of cellulose on which an ani-
hension by the viewer.
mator draws and paints. A completed scene may be com-
posed of numerous cells photographed one behind the
Contrast The differences of light intensity across a scene. A
other.
high-contrast scene features brightly illuminated and deeply
shadowed areas.
Cinematic Self-Reflexivity A basic mode of screen reality in
which the filmmaker establishes a self-referential audiovisual
Convention A familiar, customary way of representing char-
design. A self-reflexive film calls attention to its own artificially
acters, story situations, or images. Conventions result from
constructed nature.
agreements between filmmakers and viewers to accept certain
representations as valid.
Cinematography The planning and execution of light and
color design, camera position, and angle by the cinematogra-
Convergence Movement of the eyes toward each other that
pher in collaboration with the director.
occurs when viewing near objects. Stereoscopic cinema uses
convergence information to elicit 3D effects.
Cinephilia Love for cinema. This designates a deep passion
for the medium of cinema, not merely a fondness for this or
Costume Designer Individual who designs costuming worn
that individual film.
by actors.
Classic Hollywood Narrative Type of narrative prevalent
Costumes The clothing worn by performers in a film.
in Hollywood films of the 1930s to 1950s and still popular
Costumes help establish locale and period as well as a given
today. The plot features a clear, main line of action (with
film’s color design.
subordinate subplots), marked by a main character’s pur-
Counter-Matte A counter-matte masks the frame in an in-
suit of a goal, in which the story events are chained in tight
verse manner to a matte. Used in combination with a matte,
causal relationships. The conclusion cleanly resolves all
the matte/counter-matte system provides a means of creating
major story issues.
composite images. See also Traveling Matte.
Close-Up One of the basic camera positions. The cam-
Coverage The shots an editor uses to bridge continuity
era is set up in close proximity to an a
ctor’s face or other
problems in the editing of a scene. By cutting to coverage,
significant dramatic object that fills the frame. Close-ups
rather than relying on the master shot, an editor can finesse
tend to isolate objects or faces from their immediate sur-
many problems of scene construction and can improve an
roundings.
actor’s performance.
2
Glossary
Crane Shot See Boom Shot.
Digital Backlot Practice of simulating locations using digi-
tal tools as an alternative to location shooting.
Criticism The activity of searching for meaning in an art-
work. The critic seeks to develop an original interpretation
Digital Composite A composited shot produced digitally,
by uncovering novel meanings inside
rather than using an optical printer, by adding, substracting
a film.
or otherwise transforming pixels.
Cross-Cutting A method of editing used to establish si-
Digital Effects The computer-designed components of a
multaneous, ongoing lines of action in a film narrative. By
shot that may be composited with live action elements.
rapidly cutting back and forth between two or more lines of
Digital Grading Method of digitally altering image ele-
action, the editor establishes that they are happening simul-
ments, such as color balance and saturation, contrast,
taneously. By decreasing the length of the shots, editors can
gamma, and filtration. O Brother, Where Art Thou? was the
accelerate the pace of the editing and imply an approaching
first feature, shot on film, to be entirely digitized and then
climax.
color-corrected in this fashion. Also called digital timing.
Cue Sheet A breakdown of a scene’s action, listing and
Digital Intermediate The version of a film on digital video
timing all sections requiring musical cues.
that is subjected to digital grading or the computer correc-
Cut A type of visual transition created in editing in which
tion of color, contrast, and other image qualities. After these
one shot is instantaneously replaced on screen by another.
corrections are made, the footage on digital video is then
Because the change is instantaneous, the cut itself is invis-
scanned back onto film.
ible. The viewer sees only the change from one shot to the
Digital Rendering The process during which a synthetic
next.
digital image is created from the files and data that an artist