Today, please view the class film explaining film shots and angles. Again, you should know the different types of shots and WHY THEY ARE USED or why a film maker might use the shot in a film. You will be tested on these terms.
Furthermore, please read and take notes below about other important film terms. You should learn these and be prepared to ask questions about them for the test next week.
Lastly, you are going to write a short film script in the next few classes. To begin with create a TREATMENT for your film proposal. Fill out the sheet and submit it by the end of today's class. While everyone will be creating a treatment, the film script will be a collaborative project. I'll explain details as needed.
Due today: The treatment; the vocabulary list of film terms; watch the class film on film shots.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Film Terms/Vocabulary
A few more film vocabulary terms: (look through these, take notes, and learn them)
Taken from David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993):
Story:
In a narrative film, all the events that we see and hear, plus all those that we infer or assume to have occurred, arranged in their presumed causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to plot, which is the film's actual presentation of certain events in the narrative.
Plot:
In a narrative film, all the events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to story which is the viewer's imaginary construction of all events in the narrative.
Diegesis:
In a narrative film, the world of the film's story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.
Diegetic sound:
Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world.
Nondiegetic sound:
Sound, such as mood music or narrator's commentary, represented as coming from a source outside the space of the narrative.
From The All-Movie Guide Film Glossary
(Konigsberg, Ira. The Complete Film Dictionary. New York: Meridian, 1987.):
Narrative:
A term denoting a story in any form of human expression where no single individual is telling the story.
Narrative Film:
Narrative films can include a large corpus of fiction and nonfiction films including documentaries and dramas though the genre is predominantly fictitious. Narrative films primarily concentrate on story lines and can include character development but the drama and usual fiction are emphasized.
Plot:
The events in an individual narrative and how they are arranged. Arguably the plot and the story are not the same.
{Narrative includes everything that is supposed to have happened in the "story"; plot is more concretely the scenes that are presented in the film, in the precise order in which they are
presented.
Story:
The specific unfolding of a sequence of events in a film. It includes character involvement, settings, and an order that superimposed in an arbitrary manner by the screen writer or by a parallel historical sequence through which the themes are developed. The story is general whereas the plot is specific and includes both internal and external relations to the work.
"Basic Elements of a Film"
Frame:
Frames in essence are still images that are collected in quick succession, developed, and projected giving the illusion of motion. Each individual, or still, image on motion picture film is referred to as a frame.
Shot: In the process of photographing a scene a shot refers to one constant take by the camera. It is most often filmed at one time with a solo camera.
Sequence:
Segments of a film narrative that are edited together and unified by a common setting, time, event or story-line.
Sound Track:
That portion of the sound film medium to which are recorded the dialogue, music, narration and sound effects. The sound head and film gate on a film projector are physically separated from one another. This gap is covered during the recording of a sound-film by keeping the soundtrack recording a few frames head of the photographic image. The sound passes over the projector head at the same time the photographic image passes before the projector's light aperture/lens (the film gate).
3. "Basic Manipulations, and Assemblings of the Basic Elements"
Cutting (a.k.a. Editing):
The process of changing from one shot to another accomplished through the camera or by the splicing of shots together by the cutter (editor). This is also referred to as editing, the preferred term, and includes the decisions, controls, sensibilities, vision and integrative capabilities of the individual editing (cutting) artist.
Invisible Cutting:
Editing procedures that are so well-formed that the viewer is not aware that a splice has taken place. This is particularly important in action sequences because the audience is psychologically intent on the moving images that a cut in the film -- an unobstrusive cut -- is not noticed. This can easily be contrasted with Eisenstein's technique of quick cuts and jump cuts from one scene to the next without transition so as to unnerve the audience and evoke emotional responses in them.
[From the Complete Film Dictionary:
Shot/Reverse Shot Technique: A technique of cutting developed by the Hollywood studios in which the camera switches between two conversants or interacting individuals. ... See invisible cutting.]
Montage:
In the production and editing of film this term has come to refer to a seemingly unrelated series of frames combined so that one scene quickly dissolves into the next, shifting categories, effects and settings in such a manner as to convey a quick passage of time or an abstract unity through thematic devices such as meter, rhythm, tonality, and intellectuality (viz Eisenstein). Continuity, if it exists, is not captured in a frame by frame juxtaposition but rather through an abstraction. (Also see "mise-en-scene".)
Synchronization:
Correctly aligning the photographic and audio portions of a film so that the image and sound is heard and seen simultaneously.
Framing:
Properly surrounding the subject of a shot by the edges of the actual boundaries of the film. All that is seen in the viewfinder of a camera does not always translate directly into the proper centering of the subject. Framing is a technical nuance learned in the process of photography.
[Involves camera angle, distance, and arrangement of objects and people in front of the camera (the "mise-en-scene". Important in framing is the way that the edges of the screen make a sharp distinction between what is seen and what is not seen, what is included and what is excluded, in a particular frame.]
4. "Basic Elements of the Camera Setup"
Camera Angle:
This term refers to the point of view held by the focal point of the camera when it is positioned for shooting. Included in the angle is the perspective given by the camera to the depth of focus, height and width of the particular object and action being photographed. The angle also refers to whether the shot is taken from behind, in front, from the side or from the top or bottom of the particular view. Terms appropriated for these various angles include eye-level angle, high-angle, low-angle, sideview angle and the "Dutch" angle.
Distance:
Distance refers to the amount of relational space between the audience and the character on the screen. Though the characters are two-dimensional and the audience is distinctly separate from the screen by dead space (virtual reality in the theatre has not yet been developed) the camera's perspective, in effect, attempts to provide the amount of space desired subject to the director's discretion. This space often results in the interaction and psychological connection between the characters and the audience. The connection is achieved through the dynamics and varying degrees between long shots, medium shots and close-ups.
Establishing Shot (a.k.a. "Master Shot")
At the beginning of a film, episode or scene within a film, a wide-angle or "full-shot" is photographed for the purpose of identifying the location or setting. Thus the audience has established, or been given the opportunity to surmise an orientation. It also helps to establish the distinctions between the general locale and the specific details -- from subsequent shots -- within the general context.
[The Establishing shot is a wide-angle shot and/or a long shot.]
Perspective:
Spatial relationships. In film (painting, photography, theatrical performances, et cetera) perspective refers to the accurate depiction of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. (In experimental forms of film, of course, the accurate depiction is redefined.) Height and breadth come naturally to the surface but the added dimension of depth must be constructed through cameras, lenses, sets, and designs during composition. (See "anamorphic lens" and "composition").
5. "Basic Camera Movements"
Camera Movement:
Conventional uses of the camera to obtain camera angles and various perspectives while filming include panning, tilting, tracking or zooming of the camera. These camera ploys are also known as camera movement and rarely does the camera remain static. When a movement does occur, however, the camera comes to a rest providing a smooth transition to the scene. Movements are coordinated with the action in a scene so that the camera does not go in the opposite direction of the action (i.e. action left-to-right.) Of course, many alternative and experimental methods are used in the film industry and camera movement is no exception.
Dolly:
Cameras and other equipment, such as microphones and lights, are often carried around the set on movable platforms. These are dollys and are independently moved by the dolly grip so that the technician, be s/he cameraman, audio or lighting technician, can keep their concerns focused. Dollys are often run on tracks for special dolly pans, chinese dollys, or for mere structurally smoothness. Most of the time, dollys are used for camera work and can include booms for the cameras which allows for the lowering, raising and pivoting of the camera. All of these shots can be achieved simultaneously with an horizontal movement of the camera upon the dolly track.
Dolly Shot:
A camera perspective, on a moving or stationary subject, obtained while the camera is in motion on either a dolly or a camera truck. When the camera is so mounted and moves toward a closer proximity of the subject it is called "dolly-in"; likewise, when the camera is so mounted and moves away from the subject it is referred to as "dolly-out".
{From the Complete Film Dictionary: Tracking Shot: ... So called because it is sometimes photographed from a dolly that moves on tracks, also refers particularly to a shot in which the camera follows the movement of a subject.}
Crane:
A large camera dolly that can raise the camera as much as twenty feet above the ground. The crane has the capacity to move forward and backward and is usually operated by electronic controls. Motions are generally silent and the crane allows shots to be made over a wide ranging area providing great access to cover shots.
Pan:
From the Greek "pan" meaning "all" this movement of the camera is achieved by moving the camera while turning it on a horizontal access. At least four functions are served by this technique including an all encompassing view of the scene, a device for leading the audience to a particular person or place, following a person or vehicle across a distant scene, or giving the audience the visual images and perspective as seen by a character when turning her/his head.
{A turn of the camera up or down on the vertical axis is called a "tilt."}
[From the Complete Film Dictionary:
Zoom Shot: A shot taken with a zoom lens in which the focal length of the lens changes from wide angle to long focus or the reverse so that the camera seems to move in to (i.e., "zoom in" to) or away from (i.e., "zoom out" from) the subject while the camera actually remains stationary.]
Lighting:
High Key: Lighting that is used in film (or theatre) that attempts to flood the space with light. This is usually done to affect mood. The bright effect created by High Key lighting is often used in Musicals, Comedies, and other light subject matter.
Low Key: Opposite of High key lighting, lighting in film that utilizes shadows or darkness to affect mood. The shadowy/dark effect created by low key lighting is often used in mysteries, horror films, and other dark genre materials.
Taken from David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993):
Story:
In a narrative film, all the events that we see and hear, plus all those that we infer or assume to have occurred, arranged in their presumed causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to plot, which is the film's actual presentation of certain events in the narrative.
Plot:
In a narrative film, all the events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to story which is the viewer's imaginary construction of all events in the narrative.
Diegesis:
In a narrative film, the world of the film's story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.
Diegetic sound:
Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world.
Nondiegetic sound:
Sound, such as mood music or narrator's commentary, represented as coming from a source outside the space of the narrative.
From The All-Movie Guide Film Glossary
(Konigsberg, Ira. The Complete Film Dictionary. New York: Meridian, 1987.):
Narrative:
A term denoting a story in any form of human expression where no single individual is telling the story.
Narrative Film:
Narrative films can include a large corpus of fiction and nonfiction films including documentaries and dramas though the genre is predominantly fictitious. Narrative films primarily concentrate on story lines and can include character development but the drama and usual fiction are emphasized.
Plot:
The events in an individual narrative and how they are arranged. Arguably the plot and the story are not the same.
{Narrative includes everything that is supposed to have happened in the "story"; plot is more concretely the scenes that are presented in the film, in the precise order in which they are
presented.
Story:
The specific unfolding of a sequence of events in a film. It includes character involvement, settings, and an order that superimposed in an arbitrary manner by the screen writer or by a parallel historical sequence through which the themes are developed. The story is general whereas the plot is specific and includes both internal and external relations to the work.
"Basic Elements of a Film"
Frame:
Frames in essence are still images that are collected in quick succession, developed, and projected giving the illusion of motion. Each individual, or still, image on motion picture film is referred to as a frame.
Shot: In the process of photographing a scene a shot refers to one constant take by the camera. It is most often filmed at one time with a solo camera.
Sequence:
Segments of a film narrative that are edited together and unified by a common setting, time, event or story-line.
Sound Track:
That portion of the sound film medium to which are recorded the dialogue, music, narration and sound effects. The sound head and film gate on a film projector are physically separated from one another. This gap is covered during the recording of a sound-film by keeping the soundtrack recording a few frames head of the photographic image. The sound passes over the projector head at the same time the photographic image passes before the projector's light aperture/lens (the film gate).
3. "Basic Manipulations, and Assemblings of the Basic Elements"
Cutting (a.k.a. Editing):
The process of changing from one shot to another accomplished through the camera or by the splicing of shots together by the cutter (editor). This is also referred to as editing, the preferred term, and includes the decisions, controls, sensibilities, vision and integrative capabilities of the individual editing (cutting) artist.
Invisible Cutting:
Editing procedures that are so well-formed that the viewer is not aware that a splice has taken place. This is particularly important in action sequences because the audience is psychologically intent on the moving images that a cut in the film -- an unobstrusive cut -- is not noticed. This can easily be contrasted with Eisenstein's technique of quick cuts and jump cuts from one scene to the next without transition so as to unnerve the audience and evoke emotional responses in them.
[From the Complete Film Dictionary:
Shot/Reverse Shot Technique: A technique of cutting developed by the Hollywood studios in which the camera switches between two conversants or interacting individuals. ... See invisible cutting.]
Montage:
In the production and editing of film this term has come to refer to a seemingly unrelated series of frames combined so that one scene quickly dissolves into the next, shifting categories, effects and settings in such a manner as to convey a quick passage of time or an abstract unity through thematic devices such as meter, rhythm, tonality, and intellectuality (viz Eisenstein). Continuity, if it exists, is not captured in a frame by frame juxtaposition but rather through an abstraction. (Also see "mise-en-scene".)
Synchronization:
Correctly aligning the photographic and audio portions of a film so that the image and sound is heard and seen simultaneously.
Framing:
Properly surrounding the subject of a shot by the edges of the actual boundaries of the film. All that is seen in the viewfinder of a camera does not always translate directly into the proper centering of the subject. Framing is a technical nuance learned in the process of photography.
[Involves camera angle, distance, and arrangement of objects and people in front of the camera (the "mise-en-scene". Important in framing is the way that the edges of the screen make a sharp distinction between what is seen and what is not seen, what is included and what is excluded, in a particular frame.]
4. "Basic Elements of the Camera Setup"
Camera Angle:
This term refers to the point of view held by the focal point of the camera when it is positioned for shooting. Included in the angle is the perspective given by the camera to the depth of focus, height and width of the particular object and action being photographed. The angle also refers to whether the shot is taken from behind, in front, from the side or from the top or bottom of the particular view. Terms appropriated for these various angles include eye-level angle, high-angle, low-angle, sideview angle and the "Dutch" angle.
Distance:
Distance refers to the amount of relational space between the audience and the character on the screen. Though the characters are two-dimensional and the audience is distinctly separate from the screen by dead space (virtual reality in the theatre has not yet been developed) the camera's perspective, in effect, attempts to provide the amount of space desired subject to the director's discretion. This space often results in the interaction and psychological connection between the characters and the audience. The connection is achieved through the dynamics and varying degrees between long shots, medium shots and close-ups.
Establishing Shot (a.k.a. "Master Shot")
At the beginning of a film, episode or scene within a film, a wide-angle or "full-shot" is photographed for the purpose of identifying the location or setting. Thus the audience has established, or been given the opportunity to surmise an orientation. It also helps to establish the distinctions between the general locale and the specific details -- from subsequent shots -- within the general context.
[The Establishing shot is a wide-angle shot and/or a long shot.]
Perspective:
Spatial relationships. In film (painting, photography, theatrical performances, et cetera) perspective refers to the accurate depiction of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. (In experimental forms of film, of course, the accurate depiction is redefined.) Height and breadth come naturally to the surface but the added dimension of depth must be constructed through cameras, lenses, sets, and designs during composition. (See "anamorphic lens" and "composition").
5. "Basic Camera Movements"
Camera Movement:
Conventional uses of the camera to obtain camera angles and various perspectives while filming include panning, tilting, tracking or zooming of the camera. These camera ploys are also known as camera movement and rarely does the camera remain static. When a movement does occur, however, the camera comes to a rest providing a smooth transition to the scene. Movements are coordinated with the action in a scene so that the camera does not go in the opposite direction of the action (i.e. action left-to-right.) Of course, many alternative and experimental methods are used in the film industry and camera movement is no exception.
Dolly:
Cameras and other equipment, such as microphones and lights, are often carried around the set on movable platforms. These are dollys and are independently moved by the dolly grip so that the technician, be s/he cameraman, audio or lighting technician, can keep their concerns focused. Dollys are often run on tracks for special dolly pans, chinese dollys, or for mere structurally smoothness. Most of the time, dollys are used for camera work and can include booms for the cameras which allows for the lowering, raising and pivoting of the camera. All of these shots can be achieved simultaneously with an horizontal movement of the camera upon the dolly track.
Dolly Shot:
A camera perspective, on a moving or stationary subject, obtained while the camera is in motion on either a dolly or a camera truck. When the camera is so mounted and moves toward a closer proximity of the subject it is called "dolly-in"; likewise, when the camera is so mounted and moves away from the subject it is referred to as "dolly-out".
{From the Complete Film Dictionary: Tracking Shot: ... So called because it is sometimes photographed from a dolly that moves on tracks, also refers particularly to a shot in which the camera follows the movement of a subject.}
Crane:
A large camera dolly that can raise the camera as much as twenty feet above the ground. The crane has the capacity to move forward and backward and is usually operated by electronic controls. Motions are generally silent and the crane allows shots to be made over a wide ranging area providing great access to cover shots.
Pan:
From the Greek "pan" meaning "all" this movement of the camera is achieved by moving the camera while turning it on a horizontal access. At least four functions are served by this technique including an all encompassing view of the scene, a device for leading the audience to a particular person or place, following a person or vehicle across a distant scene, or giving the audience the visual images and perspective as seen by a character when turning her/his head.
{A turn of the camera up or down on the vertical axis is called a "tilt."}
[From the Complete Film Dictionary:
Zoom Shot: A shot taken with a zoom lens in which the focal length of the lens changes from wide angle to long focus or the reverse so that the camera seems to move in to (i.e., "zoom in" to) or away from (i.e., "zoom out" from) the subject while the camera actually remains stationary.]
Lighting:
High Key: Lighting that is used in film (or theatre) that attempts to flood the space with light. This is usually done to affect mood. The bright effect created by High Key lighting is often used in Musicals, Comedies, and other light subject matter.
Low Key: Opposite of High key lighting, lighting in film that utilizes shadows or darkness to affect mood. The shadowy/dark effect created by low key lighting is often used in mysteries, horror films, and other dark genre materials.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Visual Poetry Viewing & Film Studies: Camera Shots
Today, we will be doing the following:
A. Read and take notes about the different camera angles and shots. You should know the terminology of each of these shots and why they might be used in a film. You will be tested on this information so please read, understand, and be able to illustrate the different camera angles.
B. Watch a few visual poetry films from your peers. Fill out the comment/feedback sheet and turn in by the end of class. You are required to do at least 6 of these. See sheet. Complete this part of the class while you are waiting for the camera.
C. While you are working on this, please gather with your groups and shoot examples of the camera shots with the camera. You may shoot in the hallway, but you must stay on this level and nearby. Once you have completed your shooting, please return so other groups may illustrate and shoot their shots.
FILM VOCABULARY: Take notes!
Shot: How much subject matter is included within the frame of the screen.
In general, shots are determined on the basis of how much of the human figure is in view. Additionally, a shot is also an unedited strip of film, recording images from the time the camera starts to the time it stops.
Types:
1. extreme long shot - taken from a great distance, almost always an exterior shot; shows much of the setting or locale. They serve as spatial frames of reference. Used where locale plays an important role. (Historical, epics, westerns, etc.)
2. long shot (proscenium shot) - About the distance one would be from the theatre stage to the audience. Usually includes complete human form to a distance less extreme than the ELS.
3. Full shot - Fits the whole human form in the frame of the camera.
4. Medium shot - Usually contains a figure from the knees or waist up. It is useful for shooting exposition scenes, for minor movement and for dialogue.
A. Two shot (two people in the shot, usually from waist up)
B. Three shot (three people crowded in the shot)
C. Over the shoulder (focal point is the person the viewer can see, shot over another character's "shoulder" to show POV
5. Close up - Usually a person’s face (or neck and shoulders). Concentrates on a relatively small object. Elevates the importance of small details, often symbolic.
6. Extreme close up - Focuses on a very small item. The item usually fills the frame. Used to elevate importance of small details; again, often symbolic.
7. Deep Focus Shot (wide angle shot) - A long shot with many focal distances. Shot captures objects at close, medium and long ranges simultaneously.
Camera Movement Shots
8. Pan, panning shot: (short for panorama), a revolving horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or vice versa.
9. Tracking shot, trucking shot, dolly shot: A shot taken from a moving vehicle. Originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera.
10. Crane shot: A shot taken from a crane (mechanical arm) which carries the cinematographer and the camera to move in any direction, vertical or horizontal.
Camera Angle:
This term refers to the point of view held by the focal point of the camera when it is positioned for shooting. Included in the angle is the perspective given by the camera to the depth of focus, height and width of the particular object and action being photographed. The angle also refers to whether the shot is taken from behind, in front, from the side or from the top or bottom of the particular view. Terms appropriated for these various angles include:
eye-level angle (general default for most film shots) The Eye-Level shot is the most common angle seen in movies. Scenes are shot at roughly the same level as an observer would see the scene.
high-angle (the camera lens is placed at a high angle) This angle looks downwards, tending to draw attention to the importance of the environment or setting for a scene. High angle shots also tend to make characters look small and are often used by directors to symbolically suggest insignificance.
low-angle (the camera lens is placed at a low angle) looking upwards, this angle has the opposite effect of a high angle shot. It tends to focus attention on the size and significance of a character or object. Often directors will use this kind of shot to symbolically announce the power and authority of one of their characters without literally telling the audience this information. For instance,
in Star Wars the first time the audience meets Darth Vader, he is shot from a low angle to announce his role as the antagonist.
A. Read and take notes about the different camera angles and shots. You should know the terminology of each of these shots and why they might be used in a film. You will be tested on this information so please read, understand, and be able to illustrate the different camera angles.
B. Watch a few visual poetry films from your peers. Fill out the comment/feedback sheet and turn in by the end of class. You are required to do at least 6 of these. See sheet. Complete this part of the class while you are waiting for the camera.
C. While you are working on this, please gather with your groups and shoot examples of the camera shots with the camera. You may shoot in the hallway, but you must stay on this level and nearby. Once you have completed your shooting, please return so other groups may illustrate and shoot their shots.
FILM VOCABULARY: Take notes!
Shot: How much subject matter is included within the frame of the screen.
In general, shots are determined on the basis of how much of the human figure is in view. Additionally, a shot is also an unedited strip of film, recording images from the time the camera starts to the time it stops.
Types:
1. extreme long shot - taken from a great distance, almost always an exterior shot; shows much of the setting or locale. They serve as spatial frames of reference. Used where locale plays an important role. (Historical, epics, westerns, etc.)
2. long shot (proscenium shot) - About the distance one would be from the theatre stage to the audience. Usually includes complete human form to a distance less extreme than the ELS.
3. Full shot - Fits the whole human form in the frame of the camera.
4. Medium shot - Usually contains a figure from the knees or waist up. It is useful for shooting exposition scenes, for minor movement and for dialogue.
A. Two shot (two people in the shot, usually from waist up)
B. Three shot (three people crowded in the shot)
C. Over the shoulder (focal point is the person the viewer can see, shot over another character's "shoulder" to show POV
5. Close up - Usually a person’s face (or neck and shoulders). Concentrates on a relatively small object. Elevates the importance of small details, often symbolic.
6. Extreme close up - Focuses on a very small item. The item usually fills the frame. Used to elevate importance of small details; again, often symbolic.
7. Deep Focus Shot (wide angle shot) - A long shot with many focal distances. Shot captures objects at close, medium and long ranges simultaneously.
Camera Movement Shots
8. Pan, panning shot: (short for panorama), a revolving horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or vice versa.
9. Tracking shot, trucking shot, dolly shot: A shot taken from a moving vehicle. Originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera.
10. Crane shot: A shot taken from a crane (mechanical arm) which carries the cinematographer and the camera to move in any direction, vertical or horizontal.
Camera Angle:
This term refers to the point of view held by the focal point of the camera when it is positioned for shooting. Included in the angle is the perspective given by the camera to the depth of focus, height and width of the particular object and action being photographed. The angle also refers to whether the shot is taken from behind, in front, from the side or from the top or bottom of the particular view. Terms appropriated for these various angles include:
eye-level angle (general default for most film shots) The Eye-Level shot is the most common angle seen in movies. Scenes are shot at roughly the same level as an observer would see the scene.
high-angle (the camera lens is placed at a high angle) This angle looks downwards, tending to draw attention to the importance of the environment or setting for a scene. High angle shots also tend to make characters look small and are often used by directors to symbolically suggest insignificance.
low-angle (the camera lens is placed at a low angle) looking upwards, this angle has the opposite effect of a high angle shot. It tends to focus attention on the size and significance of a character or object. Often directors will use this kind of shot to symbolically announce the power and authority of one of their characters without literally telling the audience this information. For instance,
in Star Wars the first time the audience meets Darth Vader, he is shot from a low angle to announce his role as the antagonist.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Visual Poetry Project - Due Today! Begin Final Booklet!
Today use the time in lab to complete the Visual Poetry Project. When you are done with your film, please send it as a MP4 file to the workshop file with your name on it.
It is due today.
Also, the questions on Imagery are due also today. Please turn these in if you have not yet done so.
If you are finished with these projects, you can get a head start on your final portfolio/booklet (final exam).
What you need to do:
You will be collecting the following for your portfolio/booklet (more details to follow):
1. 3-5 of your FINAL drafts of short stories done throughout the year.
2. 2-3 JOURNALISM articles
3. 5-7 FINAL drafts of poems
4. 2-3 Play Scripts/Film projects
5. A 3-5 page self-evaluation
All work should be considered your FINAL drafts, with errors, grammar mistakes, weaknesses purged and removed through the process of CRAFTING your work. All pieces should include a title.
It is due today.
Also, the questions on Imagery are due also today. Please turn these in if you have not yet done so.
If you are finished with these projects, you can get a head start on your final portfolio/booklet (final exam).
What you need to do:
You will be collecting the following for your portfolio/booklet (more details to follow):
1. 3-5 of your FINAL drafts of short stories done throughout the year.
2. 2-3 JOURNALISM articles
3. 5-7 FINAL drafts of poems
4. 2-3 Play Scripts/Film projects
5. A 3-5 page self-evaluation
All work should be considered your FINAL drafts, with errors, grammar mistakes, weaknesses purged and removed through the process of CRAFTING your work. All pieces should include a title.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Visual Poetry Project & "Imagery" article
Please continue to work on your Visual Poetry Projects. Make sure you take at least 75 minutes to fool around with your cell-phones, hunt for prom clothes on the internet, watch music videos and otherwise waste your time in the lab.
Required: complete your visual poetry project (make sure you have the following: opening credits depicting your name and the title of the poem; closing credits that indicate music credits, photography, and director information; make sure your video has appropriate photos or film to impact the effectiveness of your words (pay close attention to mood); and include a music score to underscore the effect of the film.
And
Read the article "Imagery" by Mary Oliver. As you read, please answer the following questions to turn in for participation credit:
1. What is imagery? How does it improve a poem?
2. What is figurative language? How does it work?
3. What does Oliver mean regarding "particulars" and "texture" in a poem.
4. Why does the speaker of the poem "The Fish" let the fish go at the end of the poem?
5. What is a simile? How is it used in a poem?
6. What is a metaphor? How is it used in a poem?
7. What is personification? How is it used in a poem?
8. What is allusion? Why would we use this device in a poem?
9 & 10. Write a short ODE (a poem of praise) in which you use at least one of each of the following: allusion, figurative language, simile, metaphor, personification, imagery. To create an ode, you should choose an object or NOUN and praise its worth.
Here's an example from Pablo Neruda: Ode to My Socks. Look for imagery.
Required: complete your visual poetry project (make sure you have the following: opening credits depicting your name and the title of the poem; closing credits that indicate music credits, photography, and director information; make sure your video has appropriate photos or film to impact the effectiveness of your words (pay close attention to mood); and include a music score to underscore the effect of the film.
And
Read the article "Imagery" by Mary Oliver. As you read, please answer the following questions to turn in for participation credit:
1. What is imagery? How does it improve a poem?
2. What is figurative language? How does it work?
3. What does Oliver mean regarding "particulars" and "texture" in a poem.
4. Why does the speaker of the poem "The Fish" let the fish go at the end of the poem?
5. What is a simile? How is it used in a poem?
6. What is a metaphor? How is it used in a poem?
7. What is personification? How is it used in a poem?
8. What is allusion? Why would we use this device in a poem?
9 & 10. Write a short ODE (a poem of praise) in which you use at least one of each of the following: allusion, figurative language, simile, metaphor, personification, imagery. To create an ode, you should choose an object or NOUN and praise its worth.
Here's an example from Pablo Neruda: Ode to My Socks. Look for imagery.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Visual Poetry Project
In order to get comfortable with iMovie and its abilities, choose one of your original poems and create a film, whereupon the text and/or voice of the poem is created. Use iMovie to edit and prepare the film. Your film should include a title, ending credits, and a sound track that appropriately sets the mood and tone of your poem. I suggest you use instrumental music (as opposed to lyrics) since this is text based.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Pantoum & Visual Poetry Project
Complete your Pantoum today in class. Send it to your workshop folder.
Finally, choose 1 of your 10 poems (or 1 of however many you completed) to create a film/video of it.
First, take a look at some of the samples in the workshop folder entitled: Sample Poetry Films. Then, create your own short film using iMovie and pictures you select from the internet. If you own your own camera, you can take specific shots to go with your poem.
Finally, choose 1 of your 10 poems (or 1 of however many you completed) to create a film/video of it.
First, take a look at some of the samples in the workshop folder entitled: Sample Poetry Films. Then, create your own short film using iMovie and pictures you select from the internet. If you own your own camera, you can take specific shots to go with your poem.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Political Poem Draft & The Triolet & The Pantoum
Please complete and turn in your political poem draft in your workshop folder. Please make sure the file name includes "political poem" and your name.
After completing your political poem draft started last class, please try another closed form poem:
The Triolet
The Triolet was originally a French medieval poem often used to express humor (similar to the limerick). However, poets have used the form for other reasons (example politically, or spiritually).
The form includes:
8 lines (the poem is only eight lines long)
It uses two rhymes (An "A" and a "B" rhyme -- see scheme below)
5 of the 8 lines are repeated. This is called a REFRAIN.
The first line is repeated as the 4th and 7th line.
The second line is repeated as the 8th line.
Rhyme Scheme:
A
B
A Rhymes with 1st line.
A Identical to 1st line.
A Rhymes with 1st line.
B Rhymes with 2nd line.
A Identical to 1st line.
B Identical to 2nd line.
Some examples:
How Great My Grief
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee!
- Have the slow years not brought to view
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Nor memory shaped old times anew,
Nor loving-kindness helped to show thee
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee?
Untitled
Robert Bridges (1844-1930)
When first we met, we did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master;
Of more than common friendliness
When first we met we did not guess
Who could foretell the sore distress,
The inevitable disaster,
When first we met? We did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master.
To a Fat Lady Seen from the Train
Frances Cornford (1886-1960)
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
Tips:
1. The repetition reinforces the most important line (and therefore idea). Make sure your repeated line is meaningful and important.
2. You may wish to create a strong couplet. These two lines should be interesting enough to open the poem and close the poem. (They also provide most of the material for the poem itself.)
3. The repetition should feel natural and add something to the poem. Revision should smooth out the rhythm and meter of the lines.
Variations: Alter the punctuation used in the refrains, or use homonyms.
While a refrain line should sound identical to the line it echoes, its meaning does not have to be fixed. Puns and other wordplay may enrich a triolet.
The Pantoum
Similar to the triolet & villanelle, the pantoum uses refrain and repetition, as well as rhyme in a series of quatrains.
The effect of the pantoum with its repeated lines and back-and-forth motion may suggest a topic. People describe its effect as hypnotic, doom-laden, dreamy, or wading in treacle. According to writer Joyce Carol Oates, it is a form which communicates “extreme states of mind: mania, paranoia, delusion.” Additionally, the poem’s repeating lines may suggest something that recurs as a subject (“Calendar” is a pantoum about the cycling of seasons):
Example: Violet Nesdoly's Calendar
Essence of spring drifts from the sticky buds,
Robin's lively lilt now wakes me early.
Under the clouds, crocuses clutch a tight bouquet.
Humming lawnmowers are summer's elevator music.
Robin's lively lilt now wakes me early,
The smell of sunscreen seeps through all my clothes.
Humming lawnmowers are summer's elevator music.
Fruit stand has berries and apples by the box!
The smell of sunscreen seeps through all my clothes;
Your fun is over, mocks the drenching rain.
Fruit stand has pears and apples by the box:
Houses don sequins and tuxedos.
Your fun is over, mocks the drenching rain.
We laugh and push each other's cars through mounds of snow.
Houses doff sequins and tuxedos:
Naked trees stand pensive in the cold.
We laugh and push each other's cars through mounds of snow
Under the clouds, crocuses clutch a tight bouquet.
Naked trees stand pensive in the cold;
Essence of spring drifts from the sticky buds.
The form looks like this:
1. Lines are grouped into quatrains (4-line stanzas).
2. The last line is the same as the first line.
3. The poem can have ANY number of quatrains (try at least 3).
4. Lines may be of any length, but count syllables and keep your meter/rhythm fluid.
5. The Pantoum has a rhyme scheme of ABAB in each quatrain--lines rhyme alternately.
6. For all quatrains (except the first), the first line of the current quatrain repeats the second line in the following quatrain; and the third line of the current quatrain repeats the fourth line of the next quatrain. (See below)
7. In addition, for the last and final quatrain, its second line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) third line in the first quatrain; and its last line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) first line of the first quatrain.
The pattern of line-repetition looks like this--where the lines of the first quatrain are represented by the numbers "1 2 3 4":
1 2 3 4 - Lines in first quatrain.
2 5 4 6 - Lines in second quatrain. The second line of the first stanza is the first line in the second quatrain. The last line of the first quatrain is the THIRD line of the second quatrain, etc.
5 7 6 8 - Lines in third quatrain.
7 9 8 10 - Lines in fourth quatrain.
9 3 10 1 - Lines in fifth and final quatrain.
This is an example for 5 quatrains. You could have more or fewer. REMEMBER: The last line of the poem is the 1st line of the poem.
Further examples:
Parent's Pantoum by Carolyn Kizer
Another Lullaby for Insomniacs by A.E. Stallings
Please complete this poem (the Pantoum - first draft for next class). The Triolet is due at the end of today's class and should be turned in with ALL the poem drafts you have completed this marking period. By the way, today is the last day of the marking period. Period. No late work will be accepted after 8th period today.
After completing your political poem draft started last class, please try another closed form poem:
The Triolet
The Triolet was originally a French medieval poem often used to express humor (similar to the limerick). However, poets have used the form for other reasons (example politically, or spiritually).
The form includes:
8 lines (the poem is only eight lines long)
It uses two rhymes (An "A" and a "B" rhyme -- see scheme below)
5 of the 8 lines are repeated. This is called a REFRAIN.
The first line is repeated as the 4th and 7th line.
The second line is repeated as the 8th line.
Rhyme Scheme:
A
B
A Rhymes with 1st line.
A Identical to 1st line.
A Rhymes with 1st line.
B Rhymes with 2nd line.
A Identical to 1st line.
B Identical to 2nd line.
Some examples:
How Great My Grief
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee!
- Have the slow years not brought to view
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Nor memory shaped old times anew,
Nor loving-kindness helped to show thee
How great my grief, my joys how few,
Since first it was my fate to know thee?
Untitled
Robert Bridges (1844-1930)
When first we met, we did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master;
Of more than common friendliness
When first we met we did not guess
Who could foretell the sore distress,
The inevitable disaster,
When first we met? We did not guess
That Love would prove so hard a master.
To a Fat Lady Seen from the Train
Frances Cornford (1886-1960)
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
Tips:
1. The repetition reinforces the most important line (and therefore idea). Make sure your repeated line is meaningful and important.
2. You may wish to create a strong couplet. These two lines should be interesting enough to open the poem and close the poem. (They also provide most of the material for the poem itself.)
3. The repetition should feel natural and add something to the poem. Revision should smooth out the rhythm and meter of the lines.
Variations: Alter the punctuation used in the refrains, or use homonyms.
While a refrain line should sound identical to the line it echoes, its meaning does not have to be fixed. Puns and other wordplay may enrich a triolet.
The Pantoum
Similar to the triolet & villanelle, the pantoum uses refrain and repetition, as well as rhyme in a series of quatrains.
The effect of the pantoum with its repeated lines and back-and-forth motion may suggest a topic. People describe its effect as hypnotic, doom-laden, dreamy, or wading in treacle. According to writer Joyce Carol Oates, it is a form which communicates “extreme states of mind: mania, paranoia, delusion.” Additionally, the poem’s repeating lines may suggest something that recurs as a subject (“Calendar” is a pantoum about the cycling of seasons):
Example: Violet Nesdoly's Calendar
Essence of spring drifts from the sticky buds,
Robin's lively lilt now wakes me early.
Under the clouds, crocuses clutch a tight bouquet.
Humming lawnmowers are summer's elevator music.
Robin's lively lilt now wakes me early,
The smell of sunscreen seeps through all my clothes.
Humming lawnmowers are summer's elevator music.
Fruit stand has berries and apples by the box!
The smell of sunscreen seeps through all my clothes;
Your fun is over, mocks the drenching rain.
Fruit stand has pears and apples by the box:
Houses don sequins and tuxedos.
Your fun is over, mocks the drenching rain.
We laugh and push each other's cars through mounds of snow.
Houses doff sequins and tuxedos:
Naked trees stand pensive in the cold.
We laugh and push each other's cars through mounds of snow
Under the clouds, crocuses clutch a tight bouquet.
Naked trees stand pensive in the cold;
Essence of spring drifts from the sticky buds.
The form looks like this:
1. Lines are grouped into quatrains (4-line stanzas).
2. The last line is the same as the first line.
3. The poem can have ANY number of quatrains (try at least 3).
4. Lines may be of any length, but count syllables and keep your meter/rhythm fluid.
5. The Pantoum has a rhyme scheme of ABAB in each quatrain--lines rhyme alternately.
6. For all quatrains (except the first), the first line of the current quatrain repeats the second line in the following quatrain; and the third line of the current quatrain repeats the fourth line of the next quatrain. (See below)
7. In addition, for the last and final quatrain, its second line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) third line in the first quatrain; and its last line repeats the (so-far unrepeated) first line of the first quatrain.
The pattern of line-repetition looks like this--where the lines of the first quatrain are represented by the numbers "1 2 3 4":
1 2 3 4 - Lines in first quatrain.
2 5 4 6 - Lines in second quatrain. The second line of the first stanza is the first line in the second quatrain. The last line of the first quatrain is the THIRD line of the second quatrain, etc.
5 7 6 8 - Lines in third quatrain.
7 9 8 10 - Lines in fourth quatrain.
9 3 10 1 - Lines in fifth and final quatrain.
This is an example for 5 quatrains. You could have more or fewer. REMEMBER: The last line of the poem is the 1st line of the poem.
Further examples:
Parent's Pantoum by Carolyn Kizer
Another Lullaby for Insomniacs by A.E. Stallings
Please complete this poem (the Pantoum - first draft for next class). The Triolet is due at the end of today's class and should be turned in with ALL the poem drafts you have completed this marking period. By the way, today is the last day of the marking period. Period. No late work will be accepted after 8th period today.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Political Poem
Much slam poetry and performance poetry tends to be political. The tradition of writing politically can be found in many poets' work. We'll go through some of these poems together in class.
Here's a few great ones:
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Theme for English B
Wilfred Owen
Anthem for a Doomed Youth
Maya Angelou
Caged Bird
Allen Ginsberg
Howl (text)
Howl
Johnny Depp on Allen Ginsberg
Andy Warhol on Allen Ginsberg
After reading these samples, choose your own political point and write a political diatribe. Give it a title and call it draft one. If you usually use long lines, try short ones. If you usually write in short lines, try longer ones. Expand your technique.
Political ideas: freedom (or lack thereof), war (pro), war (anti), life of the under privileged, economic issues (poor), gender issues, religion, etc.
Here's a few great ones:
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Theme for English B
Wilfred Owen
Anthem for a Doomed Youth
Maya Angelou
Caged Bird
Allen Ginsberg
Howl (text)
Howl
Johnny Depp on Allen Ginsberg
Andy Warhol on Allen Ginsberg
After reading these samples, choose your own political point and write a political diatribe. Give it a title and call it draft one. If you usually use long lines, try short ones. If you usually write in short lines, try longer ones. Expand your technique.
Political ideas: freedom (or lack thereof), war (pro), war (anti), life of the under privileged, economic issues (poor), gender issues, religion, etc.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Poetry Rubric
To judge your poetry & skill, each 2nd/3rd and subsequent draft will be scored as follows:
9-10: Exemplary
These poems are effective, exemplary examples of the poetic form. Use of literary devices and vocabulary is effective, skillful, and evokes meaning. Almost every word is useful and carefully chosen to strengthen the overall piece. Few, if any, grammar/punctuation errors. A creative voice, speaker, setting, audience is established effectively. Work was turned in on time.
8: Outstanding/Exemplary late
These poems are outstanding. They are good examples of poetic form. They use literary devices and vocabulary that is mostly effective, with much skill, and occasionally evoke a meaning, but the poem has gaps overall. Many words are useful, but words or lines may be vague, abstract, ineffective that weaken the overall piece. There are some grammar/punctuation errors, but nothing that gets in the way of comprehending or appreciating the piece. A voice, speaker, setting, audience is hinted at or attempted, but piece may have some minor gaps.
7: Average/Outstanding late
These poems satisfy the required draft. They dutifully complete the assignment, but perhaps without as much skill as those above. Poems have meaning, but also have gaps or are inconsistent. Language may be vague or ineffective overall. Common errors make reading the poem difficult. Theme, character, setting, plot, etc. may also be vague or undeveloped. A voice is developing, but requires additional drafts to correct errors, or weaknesses of the overall piece.
6: Below average/Average late
These poems are written largely below grade level, perhaps too hastily or without consideration of the audience. They tend to be vague, uninteresting or not creative. They lack effective use of literary devices and are in general weak, needing several major revisions.
5: Missing/Below average late
1-4: Not possible.
9-10: Exemplary
These poems are effective, exemplary examples of the poetic form. Use of literary devices and vocabulary is effective, skillful, and evokes meaning. Almost every word is useful and carefully chosen to strengthen the overall piece. Few, if any, grammar/punctuation errors. A creative voice, speaker, setting, audience is established effectively. Work was turned in on time.
8: Outstanding/Exemplary late
These poems are outstanding. They are good examples of poetic form. They use literary devices and vocabulary that is mostly effective, with much skill, and occasionally evoke a meaning, but the poem has gaps overall. Many words are useful, but words or lines may be vague, abstract, ineffective that weaken the overall piece. There are some grammar/punctuation errors, but nothing that gets in the way of comprehending or appreciating the piece. A voice, speaker, setting, audience is hinted at or attempted, but piece may have some minor gaps.
7: Average/Outstanding late
These poems satisfy the required draft. They dutifully complete the assignment, but perhaps without as much skill as those above. Poems have meaning, but also have gaps or are inconsistent. Language may be vague or ineffective overall. Common errors make reading the poem difficult. Theme, character, setting, plot, etc. may also be vague or undeveloped. A voice is developing, but requires additional drafts to correct errors, or weaknesses of the overall piece.
6: Below average/Average late
These poems are written largely below grade level, perhaps too hastily or without consideration of the audience. They tend to be vague, uninteresting or not creative. They lack effective use of literary devices and are in general weak, needing several major revisions.
5: Missing/Below average late
1-4: Not possible.
The Villanelle - A Step into Closed Form
The Villanelle is a closed poem form consisting of the following pattern:
5 Tercets (3-line stanzas) and a quatrain (4-line stanza).
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 19 lines. All Villanelles are 19 lines long.
There is a Rhyme Scheme: ABA. The ending word rhymes in the first and third line. This is consistent all the way through the poem until the ending quatrain.
1. The first line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and as the second-to-last line in the concluding quatrain.
2. The third line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the third and the fifth stanzas, and as the last line in the concluding quatrain.
Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Click here for examples and advice on how to write one.
Now, write one. Use the time in lab to complete your villanelle draft. Complete and turn in (to your workshop folder) any other poem draft you have made. Make sure your file includes your name and names the exercise/assignment.
5 Tercets (3-line stanzas) and a quatrain (4-line stanza).
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 19 lines. All Villanelles are 19 lines long.
There is a Rhyme Scheme: ABA. The ending word rhymes in the first and third line. This is consistent all the way through the poem until the ending quatrain.
1. The first line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and as the second-to-last line in the concluding quatrain.
2. The third line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the third and the fifth stanzas, and as the last line in the concluding quatrain.
Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Click here for examples and advice on how to write one.
Now, write one. Use the time in lab to complete your villanelle draft. Complete and turn in (to your workshop folder) any other poem draft you have made. Make sure your file includes your name and names the exercise/assignment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)