Lecture 1

Question 1

Film Form

Answer 1

A film’s audiovisual qualities and the systems established through them. It can be divided into four board categories: mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound
- created through patterns and expectations

Question 2

Film Function

Answer 2

all elements of film form should have some function, though it may not be strictly a narrative function. They accomplish something – they shape our impressions of a place, a character, a story

Question 3

Four categories of meaning

Answer 3

1) Referential
2) Explicit
3) Implicit
4) Symptomatic

Question 4

1) Referential

Answer 4

meanings within a film that rely on familiarity with significant places or things

Question 5

2) Explicit

Answer 5

meanings that are openly asserted

Question 6

3) Implicit

Answer 6

an implied or interpreted meaning

Question 7

4) Symptomatic

Answer 7

an abstract, general meaning that depends on social ideology. Often these centre on what a film can tell us about the culture and industry that produced it

Question 8

Motifs

Answer 8

Any significant repeated element that contributes to the overall form

Question 9

Unity

Answer 9

The degree of tightness or looseness to a film’s overall form. A film that contains narrative or formal digressions and does not resolve every line or action can be described as being less unified

Question 10

Questions to ask oneself

Question 11

Notes on notes