Lecture 2Lecture 2:The Nuts and Bolts of Making and Getting The Nuts and Bolts of Making and Getting

Movies to AudiencesMovies to Audiences

Professor Aaron Baker

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Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• How to succeed in an online course.• How this course is organized.• What we study in an introductory film

course:– Form

and– Content.

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This Lecture This Lecture • The Technology of Moving Images

• Film Production

• Film Distribution

• Film Exhibition

• Case Study: Matewan (1987) written

and directed by John Sayles

Part I: The Technology of Part I: The Technology of Moving Images Moving Images

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Movies, Technology and Movies, Technology and BusinessBusiness

• Bordwell and Thompson state that film requires a lot of technology: cameras, lights, sound equipment, and computers to edit and create digital images and sound.

• Film also requires companies, to make the technology, to invest money, and to distribute and exhibit movies once made.

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A Film Camera A Film Camera

• Runs undeveloped film through at 24 fps.

• The shutter opens, and a lens focuses light bounced off what the camera will record in front of it onto the film, creating the photographic image.

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Still Pictures MoveStill Pictures Move

• As we watch a film, we are looking at a series of still pictures.

• Movies, however, trick the human eye into seeing movement.

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Apparent MotionApparent Motion

• Film is projected at 24 fps (frames or still photos per second).

• Each of those 24 frames is shown twice,

creating 48 still photos projected per second.

• Showing still images that fast makes them seem to move. An effect called apparent motion. 8

CelluloidCelluloid

Film became possible with development of celluloid, a flexible material that could run through a camera and projector fast enough to create apparent motion.

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The ProjectorThe Projector

• works the opposite of a camera, sending light out through the film to throw an image onto a screen.

• Film runs through a projector at 24 fps, and each frame is shown twice to create apparent motion.

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The NegativeThe Negative

• Is made when film is shot by the movie camera.

• Filmic images are recorded on chemical emulsion on the film’s surface.

• A copy of the negative made in a printer is called a print.

• Digital video records photographic images in binary codes, not in chemical emulsion with light.

SprocketsSprockets

• Film is moved quickly through the camera, printer, or projector by

small teeth, sprockets, that grab it by the holes on its edge and move it ahead.

• The sound track is also on the edge of the film, in this image on the right side. 1212

Film GaugeFilm Gauge

• Refers to the width of film.

• Films shown commercially are usually 35 mm (millimeters).

• The bigger the gauge, the better the image quality.

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Part II: Film ProductionPart II: Film Production

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Four Phases of ProductionFour Phases of Production

• Scriptwriting and funding

• Preparation for filming

• Shooting

• Assembly

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Scriptwriting and FundingScriptwriting and Funding

• Two roles are central in this phase: screenwriter and producer.

• Tasks of the producer are financial and organizational.

• The chief task of the screenwriter is to prepare the screenplay or script.

The Tasks of the ProducerThe Tasks of the Producer•Supervises the scriptwriting process

•Lines up financial support

•Hires the personnel who will work on the film

•During shooting, acts as the liaison between the

writer or director and the company that is financing

the film

•Arranges distribution, promotion and marketing

•Monitors the payback of money invested in the

production

Independent vs. StudioIndependent vs. Studio

•An independent producer unearths film

projects and tries to convince production

companies or distributors to finance the

film.

•A producer may work for a distribution

company and generate ideas for films.

•A studio may hire a producer to put

together a particular package.

Kinds of ProducersKinds of Producers

•Executive Producer–Arranges financing/obtains literary property

•Line Producer–Oversees day to day filmmaking

•Associate Producer–Acts as a liaison with labs and technical

personnel

The ScreenwriterThe Screenwriter

Writes the script, which goes through several stages:

• The Treatment– A synopsis of the work

• Drafts of the script– Revisions

• The Shooting Script– The Final Version

Preparation for FilmingPreparation for Filming

Director Christopher Nolan rehearsing Director Christopher Nolan rehearsing Memento (2000) with Guy Pierce(2000) with Guy Pierce

PreproductionPreproduction

•Producer and director set up a production office, hire a Producer and director set up a production office, hire a crew and cast the roles.crew and cast the roles.

•They prepare a daily schedule based on continuity, They prepare a daily schedule based on continuity, which is the most convenient order of production.which is the most convenient order of production.

•Screenplay revisionsScreenplay revisions

•StoryboardsStoryboards

•Production designer creates the film’s settings.Production designer creates the film’s settings.

•Set decorator/set dresserSet decorator/set dresser

•Costume designerCostume designer

•Previsualization with computer graphicsPrevisualization with computer graphics

StoryboardsStoryboards

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Shooting the FilmShooting the Film

Clint Eastwood directing Blood Work (2002)

ShootingShooting

Also known as principle photography.

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Director’s Crew Director’s Crew • Script Supervisor

• Monitors continuity during shooting and changes in the script.

• First Assistant Director• Plans shooting schedule, sets up shots.

• Second Assistant Director• Liaison among the first AD, the camera crew and the

electrician’s crew.

• Third Assistant Director• Messenger for director and staff

• Dialogue Coach• Feeds performers their lines

• Second Unit Director• Films stunts, location footage, action scenes

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Other Crew Jobs Other Crew Jobs • Cast/Actors

– Director shapes performances

• Visual Effects Unit

• Stunts

• Animal Wranglers

• Camera Operator

• Key Grip– Supervises grips who carry and arrange equipment and props

• Gaffer– Head Electrician

• Boom Operator– Microphones

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Assembling the FilmAssembling the Film

Thelma Schoonmaker, who has edited many of Martin Scorsese’s movies

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PostproductionPostproduction

• Editor– Works with the director to make creative

decisions about how the film footage can best be cut together to tell a story.

– The editor’s job can be a huge one.

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Post Production termsPost Production terms

• Rough Cut– The shots loosely strung in sequence,

without sounds effects or music.

• Final Cut– The finished film, still without sound

• Outtakes– Unused shots

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SoundSound

• The Sound Editor builds the soundtrack,

which is made up of

– Dialogue

– Sound effects

– Music

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Modes of ProductionModes of Production

• Large Scale Production– Studio Filmmaking

• Warner Brothers, Paramount, Disney

• Exploitation and Independent Production– Small Companies

• Miramax, Focus Films

• Small Scale Production– Personal Filmmaking

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Part II: DistributionPart II: Distribution

Risk and RewardRisk and Reward

• Companies that distribute films form the

core of economic power in the movie

industry.

• They can afford the large economic risk of

funding, marketing and distributing movies

to viewers around the world.

• When successful, the profits are enormous.34

Hollywood Studios Hollywood Studios

Six companies that are the world’s largest

distributors:

• Warner Brothers, Paramount,

Walt Disney, Sony/Columbia,

Twentieth Century Fox,

Universal

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Ancillary MarketsAncillary Markets

• DVDs• Cable,

Broadcast Television

• Movies to Airlines and Hotels

• Online/Movies on Demand 36

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ProfitsProfitsAncillary markets are where films make most of their money, sometimes recouping the losses from a film that did poorly in theatrical release.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery(1997) did moderate box office in the theater, but really found its audience on video, paving the way for theatrical sequels, which now had a built-in audience.

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Part III: ExhibitionPart III: Exhibition

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Kinds of ExhibitionKinds of Exhibition• Theatrical

– Commercial movie houses– City art centers– Museums– Film Festivals

• Non-theatrical– Home video– Cable, Satelite– Online

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TelevisionTelevision

• Television keeps the theatrical market going.

• In 2004 distributors earned about ten billion dollars worldwide from theatrical distribution and about 23 billion from home viewing.

Part IV: Case Study: Part IV: Case Study: MatewanMatewan

• Matewan Writer and Director John Sayles on--

• Independent Production

• Preproduction• Screenwriting

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John SaylesJohn Sayles• American Independent

Filmmaker, Writer

• Born 1950

• Made 16 Features Films 1980 – Present

• McArthur Genius Award in 1985

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Thinking In PicturesThinking In Pictures

• Book About Screenwriting, Independent Filmmaking and Sayles’s 1987 Film Matewan with Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones

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Sayles: Narrative FilmSayles: Narrative Film

Three Parts:• Literary (Script) • Theatrical (Acting) • The “purely cinematic

(cinematography, editing)”

• These Three Elements Need to Work Together, or Viewer Distracted

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Movies Through WritingMovies Through Writing

• Sayles Got His Start in Movies by Writing

• Independent Producer Roger Corman Hired Him to Write Horror Films

• Wrote Piranha 1978

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Sayles on Screenwriting:Sayles on Screenwriting:

• Dialogue easier, cheaper to shoot.• Action scenes require precise

camerawork, lots of shots.• Dialogue is best to define characters.• “Pure cinema” is powerful but simple,

less able to convey ideas, nuance.

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Sayles on Screenwriting:Sayles on Screenwriting:

• Write “in pictures,” with language that evokes the look of the story, so director needn’t interpret—although s/he might anyway.

• Images make imagination solid, tangible.• E.g. in Matewan the dark/damp/cold of

coal mine help viewers feel the physical aspects of the story, and understand why miners fight for more pay/safety.

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Clip #1: In the Coal Mine:Clip #1: In the Coal Mine:

How do the images of the coal mine make tangible the difficult work experience of the miners?

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Violent IndividualismViolent Individualism“The individual is the backbone of our

mythologies. . . .Dramas of collective

life have always had a stronger hold

on European and Asian audiences

than on Americans. The lone

man . . . is a typical American movie

protagonist, and whether he chooses

it or has it forced upon him, he is

usually the bringer of violent justice.“

Sayles, Thinking in Pictures, p. 16

Sayles on Points of View:Sayles on Points of View:

• Too Many = Confuses Viewer

• Three Max:

1.Camera Looking

2.Narration: Views via Editing, Camera Movement

3.What Character Sees• E.g. of # 3: Clip 2:

Raging Bull (1980) 50

Beyond Our Own ExperienceBeyond Our Own Experience

• Stories Can Offer Us New Ideas• Push Genre Expectations• Sayles: Audience “willing to reevaluate

what they know or think.”• Matewan: Violence by Strong Individual

Necessary for Justice?• Clip #3

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Climax of Climax of MatewanMatewan

• Shootout on Mainstreet

• Borrowed from Western

• Clip # 3• Does Violence

Work?• Danny’s Voice Over

as Old Man52

MatewanMatewan As Historical Film As Historical Film

• Not Just Heroic Individuals• History: “How individual or political acts

affect communities . . . parents, friends, children.” 21

• Characters More Detailed (Self and Others)

• Research (Characters’ Language)

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Main Rules of Screenwriting:Main Rules of Screenwriting:

• One page = One Minute Screen Time• By 30 mins. Who/What/Why Clear• Use Scenes to Define Character, Show

Action• Repeat Important Info. Clarity/If Need to

Cut

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Minor ConlictsMinor Conlicts

• Large Conflict: Miners Vs. Company• Sub Conflicts:

1. Arrival Outside Workers. Join Forces.

2. Attack on Camp. Violent Response.

3. Disaster as Violence Escalates. Final Shootout.

• All Films Structured This Way

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EndingsEndings

• Hollywood: Resolution, Happy Endings• Optimism. Justice, Opportunity. World is

Good.• Voice Over at End of Matewan• Alternative View: Time Cyclical• Conflicts Repeat• Sayles: This Complexity Only Works if

Viewers Interested, Connected56

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Summary:Summary:• The Technology of Moving Images

• Film Production

• Film Distribution

• Film Exhibition

• John Sayles on Screenwriting and

Independent Storytelling in Matewan

(1987)

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End of Lecture 2End of Lecture 2

Next Lecture:• Narrative Structure• Rashomon

(1950)and Art Film Narration