THTRFLM 1T03 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Social Realism, Logic, Epistemology
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
THTRFLM 1T03
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
!1
WEEK 1- Theatre, Film and Ideology/ Elements of Theatrical Production
April 30th & May 2nd
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Central Concepts of Course
•Theatre and cinema are meaning-making machines
•Plays are live living things that can’t the same meaning back then vs now
•Audience gather to watch stories that have meaning in relations to their own lives and worlds
•Plays and films have a world to them
•Audiences relate to these stories according to the degree to which they confirm or deny their
own belief systems (aka ideology)
•We call belief systems Ideology
•Ideology: Belief systems, rules etc. that act as the foundation for our everyday experience
•A tacit agreement: about social relations within a certain culture
•The imaginary relation of individuals to their real conditions of existence
•Theatre and cinema are ideological
•As constructions, they can confirm, challenge or even deny dominant ideologies
•Your task as students:
1. Analyze the way plays and films use various realist and formalist elements to construct
their worlds in relation to our own
2. Identify the ideological meaning
Basic Concept: Realism vs Formalism
•Realism: The construction of a physical, existential world which represents the one we
actually live in
•Formalism: construction of a world which abstracts from our own physical, existential world
•For example, the expression of subjective experience (dreams, etc.)
•Construction of a world involves a tendency toward one or the other
•No work is entirely “realist” or “formalist
The Realist Tendency in Cinema: The Lumière Brothers
•The inventors on cinema
•In December 1895 they had their first paid screening on 30 second movies
•First film (Sortie d’usine 1895) - Has realist tendency, with real workers. Also formalist (they
are choreographed knowing where to walk)
•Repad de Bebe → real things in the background, movement etc.
•Demolition d’un mur → captures real moments that will never come again, but you can
formalize elements.
•L’Arrosseur arrose → A story with at least 3 acts that tells a certain narrative. But you can
tell its acting because the characters were told to do things.
•Partie D’cartie → Set up, everyone is in the middle of the frame, staged
•Leaving Jerusalem by Railway (1896) → First camera moving by being put on a train. Real
situation with real people
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
!2
•Bataille de boules de neige (1896) → Formalism (everything happens in the middle, biker
comes in and that is when the action starts)
•Pompiers a Lyon (1896) → Set up ( placement of camera, guy who walks in at the end in
which it might not be set up
The Formalist Tendency in Cinema: George Méliès
•The Untameable Whiskers (1904) → first use of special effects. He layers the film in order to
get the special effect
•A trip to the moon (1902) → Everything is staged and formalized
Basic Theatrical Production Elements
•Set → Establishes interpretive frame through which actions should be read
•Defines:
-Location(s)
-Utility (Occupation)
-Class
-Gender
-Culture (first world, 2nd, third etc)
-Period (in the past, future)
•Creates possible patterns of movement
-Entrances and exits
-Significant blocking
-Creates a mood
•Costume → Define characters:
-Utility
-Class
-Culture
•ESTABLISH period, location
•Clarify the social expectations of the fictional world
•Lighting → Lighting does not just illuminate the set and the actor
-Lighting helps create meaning by
-Furthering our understanding of character actions and thoughts
-Developing themes
-Establishing mood and tone of work
Attributes of Lighting
•Quality (hard/soft)
•Placement (directions of light)
Classical Hollywood Three-Point Lighting
•Efficient method of lighting developed in Classical Hollywood studio system
(1930s-1950s)
•Fill light (fills in shadows)
•Backlight (usually dimmer, used to light their stars and actresses)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 1- theatre, film and ideology/ elements of theatrical production. The realist tendency in cinema: the lumi re brothers: the inventors on cinema, in december 1895 they had their first paid screening on 30 second movies, first film (sortie d"usine 1895) - has realist tendency, with real workers. The formalist tendency in cinema: george m li s: the untameable whiskers (1904) first use of special effects. He layers the film in order to get the special effect: a trip to the moon (1902) everything is staged and formalized. Basic theatrical production elements: set establishes interpretive frame through which actions should be read, defines: Period (in the past, future: creates possible patterns of movement. Creates a mood: costume define characters: Culture: establish period, location, clarify the social expectations of the fictional world, lighting lighting does not just illuminate the set and the actor. Furthering our understanding of character actions and thoughts. Attributes of lighting: quality (hard/soft, placement (directions of light)
