Part One: Cultural Contexts: Watching, Studying, and Making Movies
Chapter 1: Encountering Film: From Preproduction to Exhibition
Production: How Films Are Made
Preproduction
Production
Postproduction
Distribution: What We Can See
Distributors
Ancillary Markets
Distribution Timing
Marketing and Promotion: What We Want to See
Generating Interest
Film in Focus: Distributing Killer of Sheep (1977)
Advertising
Technology in Action: The Changing Technologies of Film Promotion
Word of Mouth and Fan Engagement
Movie Exhibition: The Where, When, and How of Movie Experiences
The Changing Contexts and Practices of Film Exhibition
Technologies and Cultures of Exhibition
The Timing of Exhibition
Film in Focus: Exhibiting Citizen Kane (1941)
Chapter 1 Review
Chapter 2: History and Historiography: Hollywood and Beyond
Silent Cinema
Silent Features in Hollywood
German Expressionist Cinema
Soviet Silent Films
French Cinema
History Close Up: Oscar Micheaux
Classical Cinema in Hollywood and Beyond
European Cinema in the 1930s and 1940s
Golden Age Mexican Cinema
Postwar Cinemas (1945-1975)
Postwar Hollywood
International Art Cinema
Film in Focus: Mother India and Postwar History (1957)
Cinematic Globalization (1975-2000)
New Hollywood in the Blockbuster Era
The Commercial Auteur
American Independent Cinema
From National to Transnational Cinema in Europe
African Cinema
Chinese Cinema
Iranian Cinema
Cinema in the Digital Era (2000-present)
Global Hollywood
Diversifying Screens
Culture in the Twenty-First Century
Technology in Action: Film Preservation and Archives
Film in Focus: Rediscovering Within Our Gates (1920)
Chapter 2 Review
Part Two: Formal Compositions: Film Scenes, Shots, Cuts, and Sounds
Chapter 3: Mise-en-Scène: Exploring a Material World
A Short History of Mise-en-Scène
Theatrical Mise-en-Scène and the Prehistory of Cinema
1900-1912: Early Cinemas Theatrical Influences
1915-1928: Silent Cinema and the Star System
1930s-1960s: Studio-Era Production
1940-1970: New Cinematic Realism
1975-Present: Mise-en-Scène and the Blockbuster
The Elements of Mise-en-Scène
Settings and Sets
Scenic Realism and Atmosphere
Props, Costumes, and Lights
Performance: Actors and Stars
Film in Focus: Mise-en-Scène in Do the Right Thing (1989)
Technology in Action: Scenic Lighting
Thinking about Mise-en-Scène
Mise-en-Scène as an External Condition or a Measure of Character
Primary Traditions for Mise-en-Scène
Film in Focus: Naturalistic Mise-en-Scène in Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Chapter 3 Review
Chapter 4: Cinematography: Framing What We See
A Short History of the Cinematic Image
1820s-1880s: The Invention of Photography and the Prehistory of Cinema
1890s–1920s: The Emergence and Refinement of Cinematography
1930s–1940s: Developments in Color, Wide-Angle, and Small-Gauge Cinematography
1950s–1960s: Widescreen, 3-D, and New Color Processes
1970s–1980s: Cinematography and Exhibition in the Age of the Blockbuster
1990s to the Present: The Digital Era
The Elements of Cinematography
Point of View
Four Attributes of the Shot
Technology in Action: Color in Film
From Special Effects to Visual Effects
Thinking about Cinematography
The Image as Presentation and Representation
Traditions of Images
Film in Focus: Recreating History in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
Chapter 4 Review
Chapter 5: Editing: Relating Images
A Short History of Film Editing
1895–1918: Early Cinema and the Emergence of Editing
1919–1929: Soviet Montage
History Close Up: Women in the Editing Room
1930–1959: Continuity Editing in the Hollywood Studio Era
1960–1989: Modern Editing Styles
1990s–Present: Editing in the Digital Age
The Elements of Editing
The Cut and Other Transitions
Continuity Style
Art Cinema Editing
Editing and Temporality
Technology in Action: Editing, Traditional and Digital
Thinking about Film Editing
Film in Focus: Patterns of Editing in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Editing as a Subjective Experience or as an Objective Perspective
Primary Traditions in Editing Practices: Continuity, Disjunctions, and Convergences
Converging Editing Styles
Chapter 5 Review
Chapter 6: Film Sound: Listening to the Camera
A Short History of Film Sound
Prehistories of Film Sound
1895–1920s: The Sounds of Silent Cinema
1927–1930: Transition to Synchronized Sound
1930s–1940s: Challenges and Innovations in Cinema Sound
1950s–1980s: From Stereophonic to Dolby Sound
1990s–Present: Sound in the Digital Era
The Elements of Film Sound
Sound and Image
Technology in Action: Sound and Image
Film in Focus: Sound and Image in Singin in the Rain (1952)
Sound Production
Voice in Film
Music in Film
Sound Effects in Film
Thinking about Film Sound
Sound Continuity and Sound Montage
Authenticity and Attention
Film in Focus: The Sound of Silence in A Quiet Place (2018)
Chapter 6 Review
Part Three: Organizational Structures: From Stories to Genres
Chapter 7: Narrative Films: Telling Stories
A Short History of Narrative Film
1900–1920s: Adaptations, Scriptwriters, and Screenplays
1927–1950: The Coming of Sound and Classical Hollywood Narrative
1950–1980: Art Cinema
1980s–Present: Franchises, Narrative Reflexivity, and Games
History Close Up: Salt of the Earth (1954)
The Elements of Narrative Film
Stories and Plots
Characters
Diegetic and Nondiegetic Elements
Narrative Patterns of Time
Narrative Space
Narrative Perspectives
Technology in Action: Immersive Film Narrative
Film in Focus: Narration and Gender in Gone Girl (2014)
Thinking about Film Narrative
Shaping Memory, Making History
Narrative Traditions
Film in Focus: Classical and Alternative Traditions in Mildred Pierce (1945) and Daughters of the Dust (1991)
Chapter 7 Review
Chapter 8: Documentary Films: Representing the Real
A Short History of Documentary Cinema
A Prehistory of Documentaries
1895–1905: Early Actualities, Scenics, and Topicals
The 1920s: Robert Flaherty and the Soviet Documentaries
1930–1945: The Politics and Propaganda of Documentary
1950s–1970s: New Technologies and the Arrival of Television
1980s–Present: Digital Cinema, Cable, and Reality TV
The Elements of Documentary Films
Nonfiction and Non-Narrative
Expositions: Organizations That Show or Describe
Film in Focus: Nonfiction and Non-Narrative in Stories We Tell (2013)
Rhetorical Positions
Thinking about Documentary Films
Confronting Assumptions
Altering Opinions
Interpretive Contexts and Traditions
History Close Up: Indigenous Media
Technology in Action: Documentary Sound
Chapter 8 Review
Chapter 9: Animation and Experimental Media: Challenging Form
A Short History of Animation and Experimental Media
1910s-1920s: Early Avant-Garde Movements
1930s-1940s: Sound and Vision
Film in Focus: Avant-Garde Visions in Meshes in the Afternoon (1943)
1950s-1960s: International Animation and the Postwar American Avant-Garde
History Close Up: Floyd Norman
1968-1980: Beyond North America
1989-Present: New Technologies and New Media
Principles of Experimental Media and Animation
Abstraction and Figuratio
n
Experimental Organizations: Associative, Structural, and Participatory
Animation Modes: 2D, 3D, Stop-Motion
Technology in Action: Animation through the Decades
Thinking about Experimental Media and Animation
Expanding Perception
Experimental Film Styles and Approaches
Film in Focus: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Chapter 9 Review
Chapter 10: Movie Genres: Conventions, Formulas, and Audience Expectations
A Short History of Film Genre
Historical Origins of Genres
1890s-1910s: Early Film Genres
1920s-1940s: Genre and the Studio System
1948-1970s: Postwar Film Genres
1970s-Present: New Hollywood, Sequels, and Global Genres
The Elements of Film Genre
Conventions
Formulas and Myths
Audience Expectations
Technology in Action: Special Effects and Iconography in Science Fiction
Six Movie Genres
Comedies
Westerns
Melodramas
Musicals
Horror Films
Film in Focus: Genre and Gender in Jennifers Body (2009)
Crime Films
Thinking about Film Genre
Prescriptive and Descriptive Approaches
Classical and Revisionist Traditions
History Close Up: John Waters and Midnight Movies
Local and Global Genres
Chapter 10 Review
Part Four: Critical Perspectives: Reading and Writing about Film
Chapter 11: Reading about Film: Critical Theories and Methods
The Evolution of Film Theory
Early Film Theory
Classical Film Theories: Formalism and Realism
Postwar Film Culture and Criticism
Film Journals
Auteur Theory
Genre Theory
Contemporary Film Theory
Structuralism and Semiotics
Poststructuralism
Theories of Gender and Sexuality
Cultural Studies
Film in Focus: Clueless about Contemporary Film Theory? (1995)
Film and Philosophy
Postmodernism
Film Theory and Digital Culture
Chapter 11 Review
Chapter 12: Writing a Film Essay: Observations, Arguments, Research, and Analysis
Writing an Analytical Essay
Personal Opinion and Objectivity
Identifying Your Readers
Elements of the Analytical Film Essay
Preparing to Write about a Film
Asking Questions
Taking Notes
Selecting a Topic
Film in Focus: Analysis, Audience, and Minority Report (2002)
Elements of a Film Essay
Thesis Statement
Outline and Topic Sentences
Revising, Formatting, and Proofreading
Writers Checklist
Researching the Movies
Distinguishing Research Materials
Primary Research
Secondary Research
Film in Focus: Interpretation, Argument, and Evidence in Rashomon (1950)
Using and Documenting Sources
Technology in Action: Creating a Video Essay
Film in Focus: From Research to Writing about The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Chapter 12 Review
Glossary
Index
The Next Level: Additional Sources
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