An overall Course Summary including both an overview of all the concepts from the readings needed for the Written Assignment and the Final exam as well as notes were taken during all Media Aesthetics seminars. A table of content is included for better navigation of the document.
Study Guide: Media Aesthetics
Table of Contents
Book Summary (all you need for the final)..........................................................................2
Chap 1: Looking at Movies............................................................................................................2
Chap 2: Principles of Film Form....................................................................................................3
Chap 4: Elements of Narrative......................................................................................................5
Chap 5: Mise-en-scène..................................................................................................................9
Design.............................................................................................................................................................9
Lighting..........................................................................................................................................................10
Composition..................................................................................................................................................11
Kinesis...........................................................................................................................................................12
Approach to mise-en-scène..........................................................................................................................12
Chap 6: Cinematography............................................................................................................12
Director of Photography...............................................................................................................................12
Cinematographic Properties of the Shot......................................................................................................13
Framing of the Shot......................................................................................................................................15
Speed and Length of the Shot......................................................................................................................18
Chap 8: Editing............................................................................................................................18
Functions of Editing......................................................................................................................................19
Major Approaches to Editing: Continuity and Discontinuity........................................................................21
Chap 9: Sound.............................................................................................................................22
Sound Production.........................................................................................................................................23
Describing Film Sound..................................................................................................................................23
Sources of Film Sound...................................................................................................................................24
Types of Film Sound......................................................................................................................................25
Functions of Film Sound...............................................................................................................................26
Seminar Notes..................................................................................................................26
Types of analysis.........................................................................................................................26
Narration....................................................................................................................................27
Television...................................................................................................................................27
Seriality.........................................................................................................................................................27
Narrative Structure of Television Stories......................................................................................................28
Claims.........................................................................................................................................28
Formal vs. Cultural analysis..........................................................................................................................28
Good interpretative claim.............................................................................................................................28
Mise-en-scène............................................................................................................................29
Elements of design........................................................................................................................................29
Lighting..........................................................................................................................................................29
Composition..................................................................................................................................................29
Kinesis...........................................................................................................................................................29
Semiotics & Semiology...............................................................................................................30
Meaning........................................................................................................................................................31
Writing assignment.....................................................................................................................31
, Cinematography.........................................................................................................................31
Framing.........................................................................................................................................................31
Editing........................................................................................................................................32
Rules of Continuity........................................................................................................................................32
Rules of Discontinuity...................................................................................................................................33
Sound.........................................................................................................................................33
7 steps for sound analysis:............................................................................................................................33
Documentary and Non-fiction....................................................................................................33
Ideology & Representation.........................................................................................................34
Book Summary (all you need for the final)
Chap 1: Looking at Movies
What is a movie?
Shots unbroken spans of action captured by uninterrupted run of camera; specific
arrangement of elements
Editing editor combines and coordinates individual shots into a cinematic whole
Cut 1. act of an editor selecting an in point and an out point of a shot as part of the
editing process
2. direct change from one shot to another as a result of cutting, the precise point
where shot A ends and shot B begins
3. edited version of a scene/film, as in “rough cut”
Close-up a shot often showing a part of the body filling the frame (usually, a
face) or an object
Storyboards shot-by-shot breakdown of the order and look of shots along with
written descriptions
Blocking physical relationships among figures and settings; plus process during
rehearsal of establishing those relationships
Ways of Looking at Movies
Fade-out/fade-in transition where first shot fades out into black and the succeeding
shot fades in; often implies passage of time
, Protagonist primary character; pursues a goal providing structural foundation for the
film’s story
Cultural invisibility consequence of shared belief systems, contributes to hidden movie
meanings; reaffirmation of traditional, popular values
• is not always a calculated decision of the filmmakers
• could lead to viewers being unaware of the movie’s message
• often motivated by commercial purposes
Cinematic invisibility eliminates as many distractions as possible, so that viewers are
better able to forget they are watching a movie
Explicit meaning everything a movie represents on its surface
Implicit meaning (interpretation) association, connection, or inference that a viewer
makes based on a given explicit meaning conveyed by the story and
form of a film; lies below the surface of what is explicit
Ideological meaning meaning expressed by a film that reflects beliefs on the part of
filmmakers, characters, or the time and place where the movie
is set; product of social, political, economic, religious,
philosophical, psychological and sexual forces that shape the
filmmakers’ perspectives
Formal analysis film analysis examining how a scene/sequence uses formal elements
(narrative, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, sound) to convey
the story, mood and meaning
(Film) form means by which a subject is expressed, form for poetry is words, form for
drama is speech and action, for film: picture and sound
Chap 2: Principles of Film Form
Film Form
Mise-en-scène staging of all elements within the frame: setting, costumes, lighting,
styling, and figure movement
Sound expressive use of auditory elements: dialogue, music, ambience, and effects
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