6/23/14

LECTURE 1 (PLOT STRUCTURE & STORYMAKING)

Covering general possibilities of story & style

How filmmakers select & combine plotting and style to guide audience
responses (laughing, crying, simple understanding, etc)
What is a story? How is a story diff from a plot? How are both diff
from narrative? What is a tale?
Tale: something told by a teller AKA narrator (latin for to tell)
Narrative: has come to mean everything under the fictional sun (opera,
movie, etc); doesnt need to be told, some are enacted and have no narrator
o 2 distinguishing characteristics: presence of story & storyteller
o Some are both dramatized and narrated (ex: voiceovers in movies)
Drama & narration = 2 primary ways a story can be presented to us
Dramatized stories usually have no narrator, or used only sporadically (w/
voiceovers)
Omniscient narrators: comment and analyze the actions of characters, and
go inside the minds of multiple characters and tell us their deepest thoughts
Filmmakers and dramatize characters mental states, and show us what
theyre thinking (ex: dreaming sequences)
But still essentially no narrating presence
Figuring out how to dramatize story info rather than telling it = big part of the
art and technique of film making
Narration/storytelling: the way stories impart info to the audience
Plot = the arrangement of incidents
o According to Aristotle:
o Has beginning, middle, end
o Tragic plots should focus on single, unified action
o Tragic plots should not be episodic
o Tragic plots should move from fortune to misfortune
Plot = the action as it is structured for us (everything we see and hear in a
movie in the order that we see and hear it)
Story = the total action of the plot; all of the plot plus everything else that is
not presented but which is implied or hinted at
o = the imaginary construct we compose in our minds as we actively fill
in all of the gaps in the plot by linking together its events in time and
space and according to cause and effect using cues or evidence
provided to us by the filmmakers
PLOT STRUCTURE:
CAUSE AND EFFECT (50:00)
Primary agents of cause and effect = characters
Characters adopt long-range goals that then engender series of short-range
goals
Suspense: our wishing for certain events to happen and not other events;
filmmakers can cheat or gratify audiences expectations
Audience has to revisit and readjust their understanding of the story

Changing knowledge of characters: tool for filmmakers to select and combine

events in a plot
Character arc:
How changes occur (that change the story from one state of affairs to
another): cause and effect, character goals, changing knowledge of
characters, character arc (when their belief and character evolve)
We usually see the events that we wouldnt believe on faith (lion, scarecrow,
tinman overpower the witchs guard and put on their uniforms; how dorothys
friends sneak into the castle b/c the witch is powerful and evil and has magic)
or scenes that hold a lot of expectation (The Godfather: we dont see how
Michael gets to Sicily, only implies it; in crime movies we never see the crime
taking place b/c how crime happened holds a lot of expectation)
Meche Loves the Sun: journey plot, deadline plot, search plot; deliberately
muting the action of the plot -> engender curiosity about the characters
about why they do the things they do;
o Has setup, conflict, and resolution
o Setup: meche learns she has no money
o Conflict: meche needs to find a way to get to SD to get money from
dad
o Resolution: goal is achieved, meche gets money
o Setup: meche thought she had $ to go out, learns she doesnt, tries to
get more $ from dad, acquires long-range goal of stealing $ (linked by
cause and effect, governed by changing knowledge, culminates into
long-range goal)(we have to infer the long-range goal based on
beginning segment and her throwing phone in anger)(we infer meche
is more of a child based on throwing phone, enforced by her wanting to
steal $ from dad, 2 wrongs make a right mentality)(we infer her mom is
selfish and manipulative, seeing the garden as more important than
her daughter)(we infer meche has absentee father b/c hard to reach on
phone, lives across border; reaching secretary evokes image of
conventional character of businessman father)
o Conflict: walking shots set leisurely pace and give it an indie art film
vibe; andres costume encourages our inference of his as a good boy;
her promise to have sex w/ him = cause, andre agreeing = effect;
andres long-range goal = to have sex
118->
Plot cues you to create a story
Lecture 4 (Casting and Performance)

Performance = behavior = intentions

We read the behavior of characters in terms of intentions
Performance dramatizes the intentions of characters = playing an objective
Behaviors played in pursuit of a goal = actions
Changing character intentions move the story forward
Characters changing beliefs (revealed by actors emotion expressions)
inform his changing intentions (revealed thru his actions)

38:00

Response to Question #1:

Hi all,
Im a first year at UCLA going into my second year and currently Im undeclared
although Im hoping to major in math and minor in film. Im from the Bay Area and
Im staying in the LA area just for the duration of these 6 weeks of summer classes
and then Im going back up to Norcal where hopefully Ill get to travel a little bit,
maybe to Lake Tahoe or to Taiwan to visit family.
My favorite film has to be Ocean's Eleven (2001). It centers around a group of
people who make a living running cons and who decide to work together to rob
three casinos in Las Vegas. I absolutely love the thoughtful editing in this film that
keeps the story interesting and fast-paced with quick cuts to short scenes that
clearly depict the steps in their plan. The plot is purposefully enacted so that the
audience understands what the characters are planning to do, but leaves enough
information omitted so that the audience is completely thrown at the end when
there turns out to be a twist in the characters plan. The music, in particular, is wellwoven into the scenes and provides a nice accompaniment to the fast pace. Its
jaunty yet classic melodies do a great job in creating the feel of the lively and sleek
environment and setting of Las Vegas and in a way emphasize for the audience the
cleverness of the characters' plan. I also absolutely love the dialogue, which is quick
and witty, yet actively conveys the distinct personalities of and close relationships
between the characters within a story that is driven mostly by plot.

Response to Question #2:

-mise-en-scene: setting, lighting, costume and makeup, staging and performance
-editing (one long uncut scene with only one camera angle; shorter cuts to hands)
-music (fast and continuous repetitive chords playing softly in the background,
gradual crescendo as Patrice aims his gun then background chords stop; then
sudden resuming of the music and the fast stuttering notes with some particular
notes suddenly being louder intermittently; again, music comes to a stop at a
climax when Patrice is hanging out the window)
-cinematography (movement of the camera, panning in, smooth, looking from
outside in on the other room)

One movie scene that made a big impression on me was in Skyfall (2012) when
James Bond is going after a mercenary in a skyscraper in Shanghai while the
mercenary is in the middle of an assassination. (Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQKSOFXlB8s and Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFacxpBhXFg for those that would like to see it)

The mercenary, Patrice, is setting up his gun and preparing to kill his target who is
in a room on the same floor in the next building over, and Bond is trying to get close
to Patrice in order to subdue him and get information about his employer. After the
mercenary pulls the trigger and kills his target, he realizes that Bond is there just as
Bond gets close to him, and the two get into a fight. The fight ends in their breaking
a glass window and Bond hanging Patrice out said window, holding onto him only by
one hand. But Patrice slips and falls to his death before Bond can learn of his
employer.
The scene takes place at night on a building floor where the walls, doors, and
windows are all glass, which makes the visual particularly striking given that the
backdrop is the huge LED screen on a neighboring skyscraper. This LED screen
seemingly provides the only light source in this scene and the slow, moving light
animation in the background as the audience sees Bonds silhouette stalking
towards Patrice makes this scene especially suspenseful and even a little eerie. The
emphasis on the silhouettes of Bond and Patrice also serve to increase the intensity
of the fight scene as the audience can more easily see the flashes of light when the
gun goes off between the two fighters. It also makes it more difficult for the
audience to distinguish the two, creating more uncertainty and anxiety among the
audience in their worry for Bonds safety. Both Bond and Patrice are dressed in suits
and this similar costume choice conveys the idea that the two adversaries are
equals, making the audience feel that Bond is at real risk in the fight scene and
making the scene more thrilling.
This scene cuts to different angles regularly in the beginning of the scene, switching
between shots of Bond, Patrice, and Patrices target. This changes, however, when
Bond and Patrice start to fight. The camera stays in front of the fight with the LED
screen in the background and slowly pans forward closer and closer to the fight until
Patrice falls out the window, and it follows the fall, giving the audience a view of
how high up the characters are. This long uncut scene with the forward-creeping
movement of the camera allows the audience to absorb the struggle between Bond
and Patrice and provides a contrast to later in the scene when it cuts more and
more quickly to Bond and Patrices faces and Patrices hand slipping from Bonds
grasp. All of this serves to increase the sense of danger in the scene for the
audience.
The music in this scene consists of fast and continuous repetitive chords playing
softly in the background when Bond is stalking towards Patrice. There is a gradual
crescendo as Patrice aims his gun while the background chords stop for several
seconds before Patrice pulls the trigger, intensifying the moment when someones
life is held in the balance and then abruptly taken away. All is quiet immediately
afterward. The music suddenly resumes as Patrice abruptly turns and shoots at
Bond and the ensuing fight is accompanied by music consisting of fast stuttering
notes with some sudden particularly louder notes played intermittently throughout
the fight, building the feeling of uncertainty among the audience regarding Bonds
fate. Again the music comes to a stop at a climax when Patrice is hanging out the
window. The silence following both deaths in this scene leave the audience with the

feeling of some sort of loss the loss of crucial information, for example, in the case
of Patrices death.
The angles and movement of the camera also serve a purpose in creating an
environment and conveying the traits and roles that the characters fulfill for this
scene. Throughout the scene, the camera moves smoothly, giving a polished and
sleek feel to the movie a key characteristic of James Bonds character and the
style of his story. (As opposed to the shaky camera movement of the Bourne trilogy,
which makes Jason Bournes story feel more gritty and real.) As the camera cuts to
Patrices target, it is always looking from outside in on the other room, slowly
panning from right to left, creating a stalkerish, predator-like feeling on the
cameras part and portraying Patrices target as the prey. The director also chose to
use camera angles that capture the glass walls and doors and play off the
reflections of the light animation from the LED screen. The focus on the moving
lights and the reflections makes the setting feel alive and therefore more eerie. The
one shot, for example, when Patrice abruptly turns his head in Bonds direction and
looks suspicious, the camera captures a shot with both Patrices silhouette and his
reflection, making it seem as though there are two people who are close to
discovering Bond and creating even more anxiety for the audience in that moment.
The choice of angle during the fight also focuses on the moving light as the director
uses the LED screen as a backdrop. The light animation creeping up from the
bottom of the screen as the fight nears its climax makes the scene even more
ominous as it almost feels like an entity overlooking their fight. It makes it seem as
though the light and the outside city is another character in this scene.

Sherlock Holmes (composition of scenes; before Sherlock attacks)

Pride and Prejudice
Black Swan (camera movement, use of mirrors and reflections)

Response to Question #3
-Setting/location
-Set dressing
-Props
-Costumes
-Hair and makeup
(Where does the audiences attention go?)
(Contrast with the scenery, what does it say about characters roles and
interaction?)
(Learn a lot about characters from their environments)

(Similar colors to create coherent composition)

In August Rush (2007), there is one scene where Evan, an 11-year-old boy living in a
boys orphanage in New York, talks with Richard Jeffries, a social worker, in an office.
The colors in this scene consist mostly of browns, white, and gray drab colors in
general that serve to reflect the overall despondency of that orphanage.
The props are also sparse in this scene. There are no decorations on the walls and
the only props in this scene are mostly files and books, conveying the lack of
money/funding that the orphanage has and consequently the lack of opportunities
for the boys living there, like Evan.
When the camera cuts to Evan in this scene, the window, which is edged in frost
and overlooking the snow outside, is always behind him a constant reminder for
the audience that it is winter. The dull lighting and lack of warm colors in the room
serve to convey the cold of the environment. This is in contrast to the costumes of
both Evan and the social worker. Both are wearing relatively light layers despite the
chill. While the Jeffries has a neat close-shaven haircut, Evans hair seems to be a
bit unevenly cut. This seems to reflect the lack of financial opulence of both
characters Evan as an orphan and Jeffries as a social worker and at the same
time establishes the higher level of stability and financial security that Jeffries has
as a working adult. This is further seen in the way that Jeffries polo shirt is buttoned
neatly while Evans is unbuttoned. Jeffries put-together appearance gives the sense
that he has everything in order with his life, and Evans costume and messy hair
emphasize that he is an orphan who was born into a life that offers him few
opportunities.
Both Evans and Jeffries costumes also blend into their respective backgrounds.
Evans white polo and cream jacket fit the white wall and the white snow outside the
window behind him. The color of Jeffries dark jacket is similar to that of the dark
hallways and doorways behind him. This creates the sense that both characters are
a part of the environment. This also seems to reflect the portrayal in this scene of
both characters being limited in what they can do by the orphanage and foster
system the environment that largely defines who they are in this movie.

Response to Question #4
2 aspects of cinematography: You can tell us what kind of lens you would use and
why, what kind of framing you might utilize for different shots (and why)
I also want your scene to utilize offscreen space in some way. I want you to talk
about two of the following zones of offscreen space:
1.

Beyond any of the four edges of the frame

2.

Behind the set

3.

Behind the Camera

Telephoto lens

Framing: long shot (figures more prominent but background still dominates),
medium close up (frames the body from the chest up), close up (emphasizes facial
expression)
Behind the camera (focus on trembling hand)
Beyond four edges of the frame:
In my scene, a man is training on gymnastic rings for the first time in years after a
serious injury. Another gymnast in the gym comes over to meet him and starts
rambling about how hard it is to get back into the game after an injury, making the
injured man even more frustrated and ends up hurting himself.
At the start of the scene, after the man walks onto the mat and approaches the
gymnastic rings, I would use a close-up shot of his hands hesitantly grabbing the
rings. This puts his body behind the camera and focuses the scene on his trembling
hands in order to convey his trepidation at doing something he hasnt done in a
very long time something that led to his serious injury. When the man slowly starts
to do some basic swings, I would use medium lens in order to contrast with the use
of telephoto lens later. When the other athlete walks up to the man and starts
rambling about how difficult it is for injured athletes to practice again, the use of a
medium long shot of the athlete continuing to practice, doing swings, and generally
ignoring the talkative man would juxtapose the movement of the injured man to the
stationary pose of the talkative athlete and emphasize the injured mans dismissal
of what the other athlete is saying.

As the injured man begins to do harder drills, however, like muscle ups and trying to
life his upper body above his hands, his struggle begins to frustrate him and the
other athletes words start to get to him. The use of a medium close up would focus
on the emotion of the injured mans face along with his shaking arms in order to
emphasize his struggle. Staying on this shot and leaving the talkative athlete
beyond the four edges of the frame would allow the camera to not focus on the
athlete himself but rather on his words and the effect of those words on the injured
man. Using a telephoto lens in this scene would also reduce the sense of depth of
the gym behind the struggling man and make it seem as though the walls are close
to him, reflecting the sense of being trapped and suffocated and of frustration that
the man is being overwhelmed by in this moment. A slow zoom towards the mans
face during this scene to a close-up shot would also intensify the feeling of being
trapped and focus on the mans emotions as well as making the failure of his
muscles and consequent fall onto the mat more sudden and disappointing.

Response to Question #5:

some of the methods utilized by these films to create clear and understandable
narratives--setup and payoff, the rule of threes, and kinds of narration (overt,
knowledgeable, and communicative)

setup & payoff: earlier events point to later events, meant to engender expectation
and suspense, linking and cohere beginning and end of movie
dangling cause:
dialogue hook:
appointments and deadlines:
ticking clock:
rule of 3s:
overt narration: directly addresses audience (star wars; voiceover, montage),
crescendo in music
knowledgeable narration: through dialogue, by tagging along
communicative narration: movies rarely ever fully communicative

speed
shes the man
into the blue
legally blonde
In the modern Hollywood film, Shes the Man (2006), a female soccer player, Viola,
decides to impersonate her twin brother and enroll in her rivalry school after her
school cut her soccer team. Setup and payoff are used in the way that Violas
decision to impersonate her brother is a setup that engenders suspense in moments
when it seems as though her real identity will be discovered and links to the later
climactic moments when her impersonation is revealed to the entire school.
Appointments and deadlines appear quite often in the film, especially when she is
expected to be in the same place as her brother and she has to switch back and
forth between her disguise. An appointment is made when Viola believes that
everyone at her new school believe her impersonation of her brother is a complete
brother and she enlists the help of her friends to convince them otherwise. It then
makes sense when her friends then show up at the same diner as Viola and several
guys from her school and act out a planned skit to convince those guys that he
(Viola impersonating her brother) was the top-gun at their school. A dialogue hook
was also used right before this scene in which Viola is on the phone with her friend
and asks, How are we going [to convince them Im not a loser deviant?], to which
the scene then cuts to her and her friends enacting out the plan in the diner.
Deadlines also appear in this film such as when Viola switches between her two
personas at a charity carnival. She runs back and forth to show up in front of people
who expect both her and her brother to be there, all while dodging her brothers
crazy ex-girlfriend and hurrying to be on time for her shift at the kissing booth.
There doesnt seem to be, however, any occurrence with the rule of threes that is
quite common in classical Hollywood films.

Neither is there any overt narration in the beginning of the film. We learn about
Violas situation and plan through knowledgeable narration, by accompanying her
and gathering the necessary information from the dialogue. We know more about
the narrative than any single character in the film. For example, we know about
Violas impersonation of her brother while the people at her new school are fooled
by it and about Malcolm (a student at her new school who begins to look into
her/her brothers past because of jealousy and suspicion) slowly finding out about
the impersonation while Viola remains clueless. The narration is not fully
communicative, however, as narrations rarely are. When Malcolm goes to the
principal about Violas impersonation for instance, the audience is unsure what they
plan to do about this discovery until it is actually happening, which serves to create
suspense for the viewer.

Midterm #2 Notes:
Narrative meanings and emotional effects of cinematography and lighting
Long take combined with sound seeming coming from offscreen space -> increases suspense in
audience and increases sense of danger for character
Shorter takes as E.T. moves closer to Elliot -> emphasizes his fear as he recoils from the
movement; also makes E.T. seem scarier as the camera cuts to Elliot and E.T. is heard moving in
offscreen space behind the camera and cut back to E.T. his sudden proximity is jarring
Camera movement:
Slow zoom onto Elliots face -> conveys his general realization of what hes seeing and
his corresponding increase in fear
Framing: as E.T. starts moving closer, camera remains in a close up framing; canted level of the
camera also serves to increase eeriness of the setting

Most of lighting source coming from shed -> gives eerie sense and implies there is something
important about/in the shed by drawing audiences focus
Thin strip of lighting on Elliots eyes as E.T. moves closer to him (highlighting his eyes) ->
emphasize his shock

Backlighting for shot of E.T. -> creates image of him as scary monster, the perception that Elliot
(and therefore the audience) has of him so far as Elliot has little other information about E.T. to judge
Other light source = Elliots flashlight -> audience finds out what E.T. gives him at the same time
Elliot does -> knowledgeable narration where audience only knows as much information as Elliot does
(withholding information about the level of threat that E.T. presents creates suspense in audience);
(flashlight as light source also

3 techniques of cinematography
-cinematography (movement of the camera, panning in, smooth, looking from
outside in on the other room)
2 aspects of cinematography: You can tell us what kind of lens you would use
and why (p. 169), what kind of framing you might utilize for different shots (and
why) (p. 178, 188), onscreen and offscreen space (p. 186),
Framing: distance = long shot, medium long shot (human figure framed from
knee up; nice balance of figure and surroundings), medium shot (frames body from
waist up), medium close up (frames body from chest up), close up (focuses on one
specific object like the face), extreme close up (singles out a portion of the face or
isolates and magnifies an object); level = level or canted (not parallel to horizon)
Mobile framing/camera movement (p. 195): the pan (turning left or
right/horizontally); tilt (looking up or down); tracking or dolly shot (the camera as a
whole changes position, moving in any direction); crane shot (camera moves above
ground level)
The long take (p. 210)

2 techniques of lighting
Highlights and shadows (p. 125): highlights give important cues to surface texture (gleam or
sparkle = smooth; more diffuse highlights = rough); lighting creates overall shape, controls out sense of a
scenes space
4 major aspects: Quality, direction, source, and color
Hard vs soft lighting: hard = sharper contrasts

Frontal (removes shadows), side, or backlighting, under or top lighting (possibly for glamour or
realism for example)

Response to Question #6:

Pick a scene from a film of your choosing and discuss the graphic, rhythmic, spatial
and temporal qualities of the editing. Make sure to pick a scene worthy of analysis
and please be detailed! Try to pick a film you havent talked about yet (and dont
pick a film we have watched for this class). I look forward to hearing what you have
to say!
Graphic: pictoral aspects; graphic continuity or clash (pictoral contrast)
Rhythmic: pace (how fast/slow the cuts are)
Spatial:
Temporal: condense time (ex: jump forward, montage)
Rules of editing = meant to make time and space continuous, limit disparity
between scenes

Lecture 9

2 kinds of realism: objective realism and psychological realism

o Objective = using real locations, focusing on real problems (not really
social problems, but problems of real life); characters are usually on
verge of existential crisis and breakdown; doesnt always cohere
smoothly, should be messy and have some meaningless moments like
in life
Art films tend to be episodic; links tend to be symbolic or

thematic or connotative connections

Has few deadlines or appointments; hard to predict future

events chance and contingency take over or come into play

Rely on calculated plot gaps
Psychological: may be hard to tell character goals
Characters do a lot of wandering

Many events lead to naught

reflect the human condition

Response to Question #7:

Art film techniques: disunity, plot gaps, an open-ending or character psychology
My art film would be based on a little girl who grows up continually feeling
abandoned. The film would be episodic, focusing first on one episode in which the
audience sees the little girl discovering her mothers body after having overdosed
on heroin. The next time we see the girl, she is in her early teens. Her and her older
sister have been sent to a foster family one of many and because she is an early
bloomer, she gets a lot of unwanted, unsavory attention from the boys in the
neighborhood. She learns to see herself and her body through a very realistic and
technical lens because of this; even though she recognizes that she gets a lot of
attention, because its unwanted and perverted, she is incapable of viewing her
attributes in a positive light and of becoming vain. The following episode would
feature another time lapse and plot gap and feature her sister leaving her in order
to pursue her dreams in Hollywood. After having grown up with no father and a
mother who was more into drugs than caring for her children and having been sent
to many different foster families, this is just another moment in which the girl feels
unwanted and this solidifies in her a resolution to never let anyone in and to never
rely on anyone else but herself. She begins to believe that her happiness rests on
her becoming an adult and being in charge of her own life. As the next episode
jumps to her early adulthood, however, the audience sees her discontent as she is
stuck working as a bartender earning little pay and being hounded by innuendos
and come-ons from perverted older men. Though she is tough and fully capable of
intimidating and setting down the men that come too close to her, her walls also
prevent her from making any meaningful human relationships. She finds herself
going through life solely independent and self-reliant but also feeling inexplicably
empty and lonely.