Thanks for a wonderful class! Grades are now posted on Blackboard, and official grades will be posted shortly on CUNYFirst. Congratulations on completing the Introduction to Film course!
Here is the grade scale from CityTech’s student handbook:
A 93-100
A- 90-92.9
B+ 87-89.9
B 83-86.9
B- 80-82.9
C+ 77-79.9
C 70-76.9
D 60-69.9
F 59 and below
WU Unofficial withdrawal (stopped attending)
It seems fitting to discuss endings as our class draws to a close. For this last homework assignment, please consider the importance of endings to films and discuss one of your favorite endings. Note how the ending to Truffaut’s 400 Blows ended with the freeze frame of Antoine facing the camera, an ending that is intentionally ambiguous, forcing the viewer to continue the story. The ending to Truffaut’s film is so iconic that it is frequently quoted or parodied. See this short clip that shows how Truffaut’s ending was used for the final shot of Nelson’s film in a Simpsons episode. To complete this homework assignment, please submit your favorite endings in a comment.
https://youtu.be/SsPnM3mTQjg
Homework #9 is DUE by Friday May 22nd 5:00 PM.
Everyone should submit a COMMENT to my post.
In 1962, Chris Marker released an experimental film that he described as a “photo roman” (a photo novel), which was comprised of editing together individual photographic stills rather than film shots. The result was La Jetée, a groundbreaking short film of science fiction about time travel in a post-apocalyptic world. Marker’s film inspired Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys (1995) and a recent TV series of the same name. Watch Marker’s film (it is 28 min) and the trailer of Gilliam’s movie, and discuss the use of cinematic time travel. Is it successful in La Jetée? What movies have you seen that deal with time travel?
To watch an English version of La Jetée, you need to watch it in two parts:
Watch the important opening sequence of La Jetée by here (click on World War Three)
Watch the rest of La Jetée here (this version is missing the very important first 3 min)
Watch the trailer of Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys here.
If you want to see the whole 12 Monkeys movie, the entire film is temporarily available here.
Homework #8 is DUE by Tuesday May 12th. Diamonds and Spades Post, Clubs and Hearts Comment.
Jean-Luc Godard’s extensive use of jump cuts in Breathless (À bout de souffle) 1960 was highly influential on the “look” of many later films. In a jump cut, two shots of the same subject differ in angle or composition, the disjuncture creates a visual “jump” on the screen. The jump cut is an example of discontinuous editing, however, the uneven transition of one shot to another is often described as an amateurish technique. Yet, Godard masterfully uses the jump cut to highlight the urban rhythm of Paris and the whirlwind pace of modern romance. Watch this clip, in which Michel (Jean Paul Belmondo) gives Patricia (Jean Seberg) a ride across town to her appointment. Note the number of jump cuts in the car sequence, in particular, the change in backdrop that frames Patricia’s head.
For this week’s homework, please search for the use of jump cuts in a later film. You can watch clips of a movie you like to see if jump cuts are used, or simply “google” jump cuts. Post a link to the film you’ve found and describe the impact of the jump cuts in that film clip.
Watch the car sequence in Breathless here.
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #7, Clubs and Hearts will submit a Post and Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #7 is DUE by Tuesday April 30th. Clubs and Hearts Post, Diamonds and Spades Comment, note your blog group! Please email me if you forget which group you belong in.
In Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), a beautiful socialite Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren in his first film role) takes a trip from San Francisco to Bodega Bay in pursuit of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Although Hitchcock preferred to film on a studio set, there are numerous location shots that highlight his love for the city of San Francisco and the surrounding area. As a hobby, the California architect Hervé Attia produced a film short that revisits many of Hitchcock’s locations for The Birds. Watch Attia’s short film and a clip of the attack on the children scene. What do you think of “fan” movies like Attia’s that deconstruct films and revisit the locations?
Watch Attia’s film location video here.
Watch the attack on the children sequence here.
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #6, Diamonds and Spades will submit a Post and Clubs and Hearts will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #6 is DUE by Tuesday April 19th. Diamonds and Spades Post, Clubs and Hearts Comment, note your blog group! Please email me if you forget which group you belong in.
It’s spring break, the weather’s warm and birds are chirping (and thankfully not attacking). I have posted your last and final paper assignment if you want to get a head start on the paper. It’s due Thursday April 30th. In the next few days, I will also post the Group Project assignment.
Please be aware that the first paper assignment and midterm grades (as well as your mid-semester grades) are located on Blackboard.
If you are worried about your grades, please take a look at extra credit options.
Don’t forget the in-class part of the midterm is next Tuesday March 24th at 10:00 am. Please be sure to arrive on time.
To submit your take-home essays (worth 50 points out of 100) for the Midterm, please go to Blackboard and upload your answers to the take-home questions. Note that there are 2 parts to the take-home portion (choose two questions from section #1 and one option from section #2). If you have misplaced your take-home questions, you can download them here: Midterm Take-Home Questions
At your request I have also posted some Study Images for the Midterm Exam. These are stills from many of the films that we have viewed for this class so far. Only some images will be used on the exam. To access the study images, you will need to use the same password (given out in class) to access the readings. If you’ve forgotten the password, please email me. The Study Images are located under Documents/Midterm Exam Info. When you hover your mouse over the images, a caption should appear with information.
Finally, be sure to review the terms on your weekly films-terms lists. For example, you should know what is an iris shot. If you do not know a term, you can look it up in the glossary of your textbook, or on Columbia’s Online Film Glossary (also listed under “helpful links” to the left). If you have any questions, feel free to email me (note my contact info on the upper right). Good luck!
In Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) there is a scene in which a photograph comes to life. The scene comes during Kane’s announcement that his has hired the group of star journalists from a rival newspaper to write for his own paper, The Inquirer. This sequence recalls the increasing popularity of animation in this period. As we learned, Snow White and the Seven Dwarf (1937) was the first feature-length animated film.
In class, there was a question about Walt Disney’s first animated film shorts that featured Virginia Davis (not a mouse!). The little girl is seen interacting with cartoon characters. Live shots and animated sequences were filmed separately and combined in the editing room. Watch Disney’s film short Alice’s Wonderland that was produced in the Laugh-O-Gram studio in Kansas City, which led to a series called Alice’s Comedies that he produced in Los Angeles, and post your thoughts on early animation.
Watch the photograph come to life in Citizen Kane here.
Watch Alice’s Wonderland here.
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #5, Clubs and Hearts will submit a Post and Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #5 is DUE by Thursday March 26th. Clubs and Hearts Post, Diamonds and Spades Comment, note your blog group! Email me if you forget.
Hollywood in the 1930s was filled with spectacles, from the musical fantasies of Busby Berkleey to surreal costumes and sets in The Wizard of Oz and the attention to historical accuracy in Gone with the Wind. These large budget films (the Oz budget was 2.77M and Gone with the Wind cost approx. 3.9M) demonstrate the desire to create an immersive cinema that transported audiences from the somber realities of the Great Depression. Listen to the short NPR news story on the making of Gone with the Wind and note the grand scale of the production, from the long casting process to the interest in historical accuracy as well as the subsequent controversies.
Share with your classmates examples of films that function like spectacles. What big-budget movies have produced similar spectacular settings to captivate audiences?
Listen to the NPR Gone with the Wind Story here.
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #4, Diamonds and Spades will submit a Post and Clubs and Hearts will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #4 is DUE by Thursday March 10th. Diamonds and Spades Post, Clubs and Hearts Comment, note your blog group! Email me if you forget.
We watched excerpts of D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation in class, a movie that was first screened 100 years ago. As noted in class, the racist content of the film invoked protests across the nation, led primarily by the newly formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The combination of Griffith’s remarkable artistry, distorted historical account, and overt racism produced sickening propaganda for the Ku Klux Klan. Listen to a short NPR report on the legacy of The Birth of a Nation. For an example of the impact of Griffith’s film on a recent movie, see Henry Louis Gates’ interview of Quentin Tarantino on Django Unchained (2012).
Share with your classmates other examples of controversial films that have evoked protests. Do you know of movies that have caused similar demonstrations or complaints about content?
To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #3, Clubs and Hearts will submit a Post and Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).
Homework #3 is DUE by Thursday February 26th. Clubs and Hearts Post, Diamonds and Spades Comment, note your blog group! Email me if you forget.
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