How to watch a Movie I am here

How to watch a Movie I am here to teach you how to watch a movie. What does that mean?

Why do movies affect us? • Why do we cry at sad movies? • Why do we scream at scary movies? • Why do we laugh at funny movies…or for that matter, books? • This is the same for all entertainment!

Suspension of Disbelief • A term coined in 1817 by the poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative. • (it’s all psychology) Cognitive Estrangement in fiction involves using a person's ignorance or lack of knowledge to promote suspension of disbelief. • This is exactly what filmmakers do: the language of film goes back to the Greeks—it’s all secret– and in this class, you will learn these secrets.

Suspension of Disbelief • • You all know what real movies look like, right? Movies just kind of wash over you and you don’t really care…it’s the suspension of disbelief. Suspension of Disbelief is the viewer ignoring the reality that they are viewing a twodimensional moving image on a screen and temporarily accepting it as reality in order to be entertained. Has anyone ever seen something bad in a movie? Like a microphone in a shot? Or the cigarette is longer, then shorter, then longer? Then you are taken out of the movie. Your suspension of disbelief is “suspended” and you realize that a bunch of people have gotten together, made a movie, and then made a mistake in making the movie. Why/how does this happen? !?

Suspension of Disbelief Take a look at these… http: //www. boredpanda. com/before-and-after-visual-effects-movies-tv/ CLOSE YOUR EYES BEFORE EACH ONE!!!

The Filmmakers Count On That!!! • Movies are tricks and lies, and the filmmakers are lying to your face! • They know the Language of Film and they know how to use it! • They know Misdirection: how to direct where you’re looking on the screen so they can do something somewhere else on the screen! • They know you are paying our hard-earned ________ money… • They know the “three-cut rule” (you don’t know what “cut” means)

20 th Century Fox logo MOOOOOOOVIEEEEE

Well, to get you to make movies, you need to know what you’re watching. You need to become more critical viewers. To start this, I’m going to show you the first movies I ever made. But first! Some vocabulary…

The “Language” of film • Movie (the largest) • Sequence • Scene • Shot • Frame • FPS (Frames Per Second) • Film - 24 • Video – 30/60 • 18 FPS – Minimum for eyes • 15 – Eyes notice • P of V

V - 1983

V

V

V The Final Battle - 1984

V The Final Battle

V The Final Battle

V The Series 2009 -2011 1984 -1985

V The End - 1984

The Finding of the Ninja - 1984

After School- 1985

V The End • V The End • Answer this question: What’s wrong with this picture? (and why) • Make a list of all the things that FEEL WRONG to you. • Even if you don’t know what it is, what it means, what it’s called— describe it as best you can.

What’s wrong with this picture? Bad cuts between credits: due to the mechanics of the camera and VCR combo we were using Bad cuts in music: due to equipment PLUS the fact that we were playing the music on a tape player. To get the music to come out we put the tape player right next to the camera and were pausing that AS WELL AS the camera while recording credits. Bad lighting: we shot a lot inside where it was dark. Outside looks fine when it’s not over-exposed. Camera makes streaky lights: this is due to the nature of the equipment. The cameras back in the early eighties used tubes to gather their pictures (like how tvs have tubes) and that’s how they dealt with bright lights. Bad acting: hey, come on, it was me and Jim… Bad effects (spaceship on string, car on string, burning spaceship, video feedback for explosion, no laser beams…) Bad sets: the “solid” walls of the Visitor mother ship were sheets taped to the ceiling. Bad costumes: many Visitors dressed in the same outfits… “It was blue” or “it was orange”: due to the “white balance” button on camera and the fact we didn’t know how to operate the camera. White balance should have been set to “auto” (in the center), but since it was right next to the “fade” button, it often got moved and we never knew where it should have been set. White balance, simply, puts a blue or orange filter on the video if you’re shooting inside or outside. More on that later. “It was too bright” or “it washed out”: again, due to camera mismanagement. The button called “iris” was often moved to “open” thus letting in too much light (and “over-exposing” the video). The “iris” (is misnamed), much like the pupil in your eyeball, controls the amount of light coming into the lens. If it’s too wide open, too much light will come in thus causing the washed out look. (of course, there was no “fade” button and we were using the “iris” to fade in and out and would always open it too much…) Scenes too long: especially the fight scenes. Bad story: ah, very important. This was because we had NO SCRIPT. And never, NEVER end a story as a dream. It’s cheap and lame.

The Finding of the Ninja • The Finding of the Ninja • Answer this question: What’s STILL wrong with this picture…and what’s a little better? • Make a list of all the things that FEEL WRONG to you—there may be more. • Even if you don’t know what it is, what it means, what it’s called— describe it as best you can.

What’s still wrong with this picture? Jump cuts: from “in-camera editing”; we were not able to totally erase all of the previous shots we were recording over. So, things change just a bit from shot to shot, thus resulting in many jump cuts (like the ninja transporting himself instantly from a place to another place a few feet away). Fight scenes too long, but entertaining. Jim walked into the camera. Too many characters played by the same person. Shakey camera: a little better, though because were both in so much of it we put it on a ladder many times, so that kept the shakiness down. ***In-Camera Editing is how you will make your first movie!!

What’s a little better? Music: we were able to use the “audio dub” button to lay music over scenes that were already edited in camera. Because it was a “stereo” camera (with two audio tracks), this button allowed us to replace one of the ambient sound audio tracks with music, and it went right over the cuts. Lighting: a little better because it was mostly outside. Story: Yes! We finally had a script for this one. There was a plot and flashbacks and everything.

After School What’s still wrong? What’s better (there’s a lot)? What‘s theme? I didn’t set out to… I wanted to make a movie about… Super…

After School • What’s Still Wrong? • What’s Better?

After School Titles much better. Music much better. Editing: better because it was not in-camera. We shot it and then edited it from one VCR to another. Acting: matter of opinion. • What’s Still Wrong? Scenes too long! Shots too long! Those are the main things wrong. • What’s Better? Story: much better (yes, it is) because there was a script and a plot— even if the end is a big long chase scene. Nothing was really blue or orange. No shaky camera.

What’s the Theme? • If you think you have an idea what theme is, come up and write your idea.

What’s the Theme? The world of children is completely separate from the world of adults. What are the clues? Is it “in there”?