German Expressionism Investigation

1.

1. Nosferatu

2. 

3. June 3, 1922

4. F. W. Murnau

5. Nosferatu has the strange angular movements of Shreck as Orlok that you see in expressionism frequently. This is expressionistic acting that is not so much non-naturalistic as non-human. In addition, the backdrops are reminiscent of the twisted abodes of other expressionist films, and are unconventional. There is very little set dressing and very little intentional stylization of backdrops. Murnau's wanted to demonstrate how the real world could be evocative of certain emotional vistas. So, he inverted the colors of the forest to make it appear spectral and he sped up the Count's carriage to make it fast and jerky. The website said, "For Murnau, the world itself is a chilling and terrifying place. It does not need artificially stylized painted backdrops to achieve this effect." This implies that Nosferatu was a dark film, and sort of a horror movie, which is also characteristic of German expressionism. 

6. Werner Herzog remade it in 1979 and called it Nosferatu the Vampyre

2.

1. Metropolis

2.




3. March 13, 1927

4. Fritz Lang

5. Metropolis had some of the most complex set and architectural techniques of its time. They were very elaborate and took a lot to pull off. It also was one of the first films to include a lot of extra actors in the film. There are a lot of rapid camera movements and cuts that give the film a chaotic, and kind of crazy feel to it. This is something seen often in German Expressionism that was kind of sparked by this film. In addition this film was focused on delving into socio-political issues like class, lust, and advancing technology.

6. There were no specific films mentioned, but Metropolis was said to have had an influence over Tim Burton's Batman movies, probably with the cityscapes, and Metropolis' influence can be seen in a lot of popular art.

3.

1. Pandora's Box

2.


3. December 1, 1929

4. Georg Wilhelm Pabst

5. Pandora's box can be seen as different from other and earlier forms of German expressionism, but it illustrates the central message of German expressionism, which is that realism should not be taken as a given. The film is more realistic by today's standards than most German expressionist films, but there are still many elements of German expressionism in it; for example, the message sent appeals more to the middle or lower class. It picks at society and teaches the viewer about the world around them. Also, the main character, Lulu, is definitely anti-heroic, as she kills a man and flees from her job. She is not saving anyone. 

Twilight Zone Chase Scene

• Reflect- Refer to your notes and answer how camera movements are used. What is the effect the movements have on the viewer?

I wanted to create a sort of chaotic and old fashioned feeling throughout the entire video, which is why I speeded almost all of our clips up, and used various cuts and camera movements to create that feeling and create more drama. We have two panning shots at the beginning and at the end that both give a new feeling to the scene overall. At the beginning, it changes the feeling of the shot by going from myself, who thinks they had a good show, and pans to Helena, who completely hated it to the point that she chases me and tried to kill me. This completely changes the mood of the video, taking it from kind of light to completely dark, even if it is slightly funny. Our dolly shot at the end is probably my favorite shot because even though the dolly didn't quite cooperate with us, it created a really cool and dramatic shot that showed the horror on my face, slowed the tempo of the film down a little and allowed for a gut punching (literally) ending. Our tilt shot at the end also slowed the scene down, and added a sense of confusion to the video. It was used to add drama and make the viewer feel a sense of urgency and horror at the end, and I put it there because it tied the film all together, and I wanted that create that sense of confusion and horror at the end, and add some humor by showing my face after i'd been stabbed. Our tracking shot basically moves with me and Helena, and created a stressful mood, added tension to the pursuit, showed where we were going, and sped the film up a little.

• How do filmmakers use Camera Angles to enhance their work?

The biggest way that camera angles help to enhance filmmakers' work is adding variety to a scene. If a film maker just used one angle for an entire scene, it would get quite boring, especially if it was a chase scene like we have been studying. They use camera angles to give different perspectives and create different moods in a film, kind of like camera movements do as well. For example, our canting scenes at the end create a lot of confusion and add to the chaos of the scene overall. I put them near the very end because that is the feeling I wanted the viewer to take from the video. Filmmakers use canting to show confusion a give a kind of urgent feel to the scene. In addition, we had multiple long shots in our film that gave a wider perspective on what was going on. In a long shot, more of the setting is shown, so it really shows you where the characters are and what is happening in the scene. In contrast, close-up scenes bring you more intimately into a scene and a character. It allows you to see the character's emotion, which in turn could set a new mood to a scene. Also, a point of view shot allows the viewer to actually step into the shoes of the character and see what they're seeing. Camera angles create different moods and add variety to a film that without it would make it be a very boring piece of work.

• Discuss successes & recommendations (if you were to complete the project again)

I really like the story that we created. I think it was funny and light, and our scene, like chase scenes in general, allowed for a chaotic tone, which I really like. I like how I edited the film a lot because we did have some shots that were shaky and a little unprofessionally done, which I know is not something we want in this project; however, the way I edited the film kind of hid that, and made those messy shots work within the film. I sped everything up almost like an old silent film, and added a very chaotic, messy and dark soundtrack that really doesn't sound great and is kind of confusing, but it's the feeling I wanted to draw from the film. I added little snippets of Helena talking as flashbacks throughout the film to almost make it expressionist or avant garde, add more chaos, and also to get smoother transitions and to speed up the tempo of the film a bit. What I would do over is definitely those shots that were shaky or blurry, and I want to film in more locations and have some more shots to work with. There is a lot in here that needed improvement, but I think I did a good job masking these flaws in my final product above.

Metropolis Background Notes

Major Artists:

Director: Fritz Lang
Producer: Erich Pommer
Production Companies: Universum Film A.G. (UFA), Berlin
Screenplay: Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang (based on the 1926 novel by Thea von Harbou)
Cinematographer: Karl Freund, Günther Rittau  (Assistants: Robert Baberske, H.O. Schulze)
Editor: Fritz Lang
Music Score: Gottfried Huppertz
Art Director: Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Vollbrecht
Set Designer: Edgar G. Ulmer, Walter Schulze-Mittendorf
Costumes: Aenne Willkomm
Make-Up: Otto Genath
Assistant Directors: Slatan Dudow
Special Effects: Ernst Kunstmann, Eugen Schüfftan, Konstantin Irmen-Tschet, Erich Kettelhut, Günther Rittau, H.O. Schulze, Helmer Lerski,
Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Heinrich George, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Theodor Loos, Fritz Rasp, Erwin Biswanger, Olaf Storm, Hanns Leo Reich, Heinrich Gotho, Margarete Lanner, Max Dietze, Georg John.

Visual: 

Metropolis movie poster clip


Photo of Gustav Fröhlich


Photo of Brigitte Helm



Audio: 

The film Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang, is generally considered the first great science-fiction film. It was produced by Erich Pommer, and written by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou, as it was based off of her 1926 novel. Other important crew members include cinematographers, Karl Freund, and Günther Rittau; art directors,  Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, and Karl Vollbrecht; set designers, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Walter Schulze-Mittendorf;  Aenne Willkomm, Otto Genath, Slatan Dudow, Ernst Kunstmann, Eugen Schüfftan, Konstantin Irmen-Tschet, Erich Kettelhut, H.O. Schulze, and Helmer Lerski.

The film stars Alfred Abel as Joh Fredersen, Gustav Fröhlich as Freder, and Brigitte Helm as Maria and the machine man. In addition, the actors Heinrich George, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Theodor Loos, Fritz Rasp, Erwin Biswanger, Olaf Storm, Hanns Leo Reich, Heinrich Gotho, Margarete Lanner, Max Dietze, and Georg John can all be seen in the film.

Watch For:
Visual:

 Visual of the drab worker's city

Visual of the luxurious, upper class garden

Picture demonstrating the Schufftan process

video clip of the dance scene

Audio:

• Watch for compositional and visual techniques that contribute to the narrative aspect of the story. One of the more common bad critiques of this film is in the story itself, but Lang creates more meaning and depth to it in the mise-en-scene.  Every scene is meticulously thought out to demonstrate an idea, particularly class conflict and man's fascination, but enslavement to machine. Lang stages every scene with the workers living in a city under the earth where all the buildings are colorless and all look the same, as the workers do too. In contrast, when he goes above ground to the upper class, there is no sign of this. There is luxury and beauty, and almost nothing looks drab or too consistent, showing how the upper class are unaware of the mundanity and misery below their feet.
• Watch for the Schufftan process, which is a form of compositing miniature sets into the full-scale shot using mirrors. This process was used by Lang to create a sense of vast scales without having to create even larger sets. The lower floors of the buildings in the "worker’s city", for example, were constructed full-scale in one of the film’s massize sets. The upper floors were mirror image models. Lang used this technique to create a sense of depth in his shots, creating stunning visuals. 
• Watch for a the feeling of chaos and confusion created in the movie, especially during Maria's dance scene. The strange editing done in this scene along with quick cuts from her dancing to the men gawking to Freder, sick in bed, convey a sense of urgency that leaves the viewer slightly dismayed. The scene is kind of comical to anyone watching because it doesn't really make a lot of sense with the abstract imagery that's portrayed in it. But, Lang obviously wanted to create confusion and chaos. He wanted to make the viewer feel that way to get his point across. It starts off slow, with the men waiting for the show to start, then builds and builds until Maria is going wild on stage and the men are going crazy for her, ensuing the chaos that is to come unto the city. 

Critical Essays:

1. Eisner, Lotte H. "The Haunted Screen; Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of      Max Reinhardt." Berkeley: U of California, 1969. Print.

2. Randolph Bartlett, "German Film Revision Upheld as Needed Here," The New York Times 
    (March 13, 1927).

Web Sources:

• http://www.celtoslavica.de/chiaroscuro/films/metropolis/metro.html

• http://unaffiliatedcritic.com/2013/02/metropolis-1927-independent-study-in-world-cinema/

• http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-metropolis-1927

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/

• http://film110.pbworks.com/w/page/12610202/Expressionist%20mise-en%20scene%20in%20Metropolis
• http://metropolisvixfx.blogspot.com/2007/10/schufftan-process.html

Independent Film Project: Big Sad Carl

For me, even though I have experience with photography, this was really the first film I've gone through the whole process with, which was cool, but also very confusing. I didn't know a lot of what was going on in pre and post production, so I wish I could have had more experience and been able to contribute more to the film. I think it has a great concept, and is very funny is a strange way. We came up with the character before anything else when we were brainstorming, and thought he was very funny, and we based the film around that foundation. There was so much that we had brainstormed and wanted to do, that was outrageous and made no sense, but we couldn't do everything simply because we didn't have the time or means. We made good use of voiceovers in this which is something I've never done before and I thought was cool. A lot of the technical stuff could be better like the lighting in some shots, the editing, music in some parts, camerawork, and other things. However, the film overall definitely shows a solid effort, in my opinion, especially for our experience level.

Sample Chase Sequence

In this chase scene from the film Inception, the main source of suspense definitely comes from the music placed in the scene. It is fast and implies a sense of danger that keeps the viewer on their toes, and it makes you feel like you're expecting something bad to happen. In addition, the use of a handheld camera in some of the more intense parts of the scene is the reason why those parts are so intense! The shaky camera promotes a feeling of danger just like the music, and leaves the viewer feeling tense and invested in the character's well-being. They also create tension in the scenes where he is trying to hide and get away from the men chasing him by having him get trapped in between those two very thin walls, or having him fight with the waiter in the café. It makes the viewer have to wait to see what happens, knowing that there are men coming after him and that he might not be able to slip away. When he is trapped between the walls, it cuts from a zoom shot behind him to a shot of his front, with him just barely slipping out in time. This fluidity in cuts is consistent in the scene, just like the music, as well as the setting, all of which create unity in the scene as a whole. It is consistent and suspenseful, and it utilizes every part of the setting to create suspense.

Use of Camera Movements

The video is teaching about how different camera movements in film create and emphasize different feelings and emotions. The crane shot is the first shot the video focuses on. The crane down makes the audience feel as if they're falling into the scene or the life of the character. A crane shot moving up gives a sense of how small the character in the shot is or how large the obstacle they have to overcome is. A crane shot from a very high angle to a very low angle on a character gives a sense of authority in that character, and makes the audience feel like the character is strong and opposing. The video touches on the shaky, edginess of using a handheld camera that gives a stressful, dangerous film to the shot, as well as the glidecam technique, which is opposingly creates a dreamlike feel to the shot. Glidecam helps it feel more epic and fluid, and can convey the calm before the storm aspect of a scene. Next it talks about panning, which refers to the rotation in a horizontal plane of the camera. The quick pan changes the emotional direction of the film instantly, showing a whole new perspective of something the character is going to overcome, which can take the shot from calm to dangerous in a split second. It lightly touches on the quick push in, which creates an element of surprise or shock, then goes right into the dolly. The dolly is a smoothly gliding camera technique that creates drama in a scene .The slow dolly in, which creates tension and helps the audience become more intimate with the character in the shot. It could make us feel uncomfortable for them, or make us feel their emotion. The slow dolly out leaves the character looking emotionally lost, and gives a sense of abandonment that makes the audience feel lost with them and feel for them in that way. like panning, a dolly across changes the scene quickly, which often changes the emotional direction by showing something totally new. Also, the zolly, which is zoom and dolly, creates something that seems like an out of body experience for the character, and can give a new feeling to the scene.

Some camera movements that the video doesn't touch on, but that are still important are zooming, the tilt, and tracking. Zooming basically is when the camera zooms in onto the subject, and is a lot like the quick push in seen in the video, in that is shows us the emotions of the subject much better, and can add an element of surprise. The tilt is a shot taken by angling a stationary camera up (tilt-up) or down (tilt-down), and it can create a kind of confusion and drama in the shot, as well as change emotion by showing unseen things in the frame. A tracking shot basically tracks the subject of the scene. Any shot using a mobile camera that follows (or moves toward or away from) the subject by moving on tracks or by being mounted on a vehicle is considered a tracking shot. This can create a stressful mood like in a chase seen, and add tension. 

Camera Angles Investigation

Establishing Shot: The first image of a scene that establishes where the action is taking place
POD: Unity

Long Shot: a view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance
POD: Informal Balance around (0:35)


Medium Shot: A camera angle shot from a medium distance, usually from about the waist or chest up.
POD: Vertical Lines


Eye Level Shot: An eyelevel angle is the one in which the camera is placed at the subject’s height, so if the actor is looking at the lens, he wouldn’t have to look up or down.
POD: Leading Lines


Close Up Shot: a type of shot, which tightly frames a person or an object. This usually consists of just a person's face or upper body
POD: Simplicity


Bird's Eye Shot: a bird's-eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject. 
POD: Leading Lines & Symmetrical Balance


Worms Eye Shot: a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm
POD: Simplicity


Extreme Close Up: A shot that is so tight that only a detail of the subject, such as someone's eyes, can be seen. 
POD: Unity in the darkness of the film



Reaction Shot: A portrayal of a person's response to an event or to a statement made by another in a film or video. (starting at 2:43)
POD: Horizontal Lines


Point of View Shot:  A sequence that is shot as if the viewer were looking through the eyes of a specific character. (Starting at 3:43)
POD: Unity


Over the Shoulder Shot: In film or video, an over the shoulder shot is a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.
POD: Framing

Practice Encoding and Embedding

This is our video to show that we learned how to encode a video and embed it. It is just a few clips from our actually film that is in progress, and is not meant to be taken seriously, except to show that we know how to do this. Thank you.

How Do Filmmakers Create Meaning for the Viewer?

1. Expectations for The Fault in Out Stars

After watching the trailer, and having not seen the movie previously, I would expect The Fault In Our Stars to be a new age, alternative romance movie that draws people to see it with the emotion that it produces on screen. I'd expect there to be a lot of cheesy lines in it because that is what I got out of the trailer, and that isn't for everyone, but it probably really appeals to their target demographic. I'd expect it to be a film that is heartbreaking, but also warms your heart. It seems very emotional and sappy. You don't fully know if a film is going to meet your expectations just by seeing the trailer, but you can look at reviews online and summaries as well, but the trailer is usually an accurate portrayal.

2. Movie Clip


3&4. What meaning are you getting from the clip? How is that meaning created?

I am kind of getting what I expected from the movie by looking at this clip. It looks very emotional, and packed with dialogue that people would never actually say in real life. In the clip the main girl talks about how she doesn't want to be with him because she doesn't want to hurt him because she could die at any moment. He then says very cheesily, that he will not stop trying to be with her. The meaning I'm getting from that he loves her unconditionally, and it is created through the words they say, and the emotion portrayed by both of the actors in the film.