Film Language Essentials 1

Display Schedule

Subject guarantor

Michal BAUMBRUCK

Name of lecturer(s)

Michal BAUMBRUCK

Department

The subject provides Department of Cinematography

Contents

In the introductory sessions, the structure of basic cinematic forms will be discussed covering the whole process from conception, script writing, staging, picture, and sound acquisition through the editing. The students will learn how the whole process is interwoven and how the creative decision taken during the writing and preproduction impact on the camera work just as the camera work impacts the editing.

The importance of visual and narrative unity of any given film form will be explained and the fundaments of cinematic continuity will be demonstrated.

As the students become familiar with the basic composition and framing techniques the course will explore how to work with time and movement.

In a series of excerpts from films we will look at how using of different film elements and their combination affect the viewer through editing and how they impact on their psychological perception – creating the feel of expectation, suspense, romance, and relaxation.

The students will bring their own examples.

Finally, we will examone the cinematographer's tools of expression and the strictly visual aspects of film language – lighting and mood, color and texture. The use of film optics will be discussed and how different lens types render reality in different ways. The reason for leaving this important aspects of the cinematic language at the end is the fact that lighting and understanding of film optics will be subject to specialized lectures and seminars throughout the year.

Seminars' Framework for the winter term:

1. If cinema is a language, then we must ask: what is the structure of that language? What is the vocabulary, what are the rules of grammar, the structure of this cinematic language?
2. Literary design. Film script structure. Dramatic arch.
3. Analysing a film with a classic three act structure ( Three Days of the Condor) vs films with more complex structure (Parasite)
4. Visual design – understanding the script, DOP's analysis of the script.
5. Basic construction pieces of a scene
6. Set design (scenography) creating a visual world for the characters
7. Building the character – costume, make-up, pacing in the set context, framing
8. Mis en scene, staging, blocking
9. Types of shots by function vs types of shots by size

To be continued during the summer term

Additional seminars will be dedicated to visiting the National Galery in Prague where

we will study the composition, color and other aspects common to painting, plastic arts,

photography and film.

In an additional assignment, the students will analyze a film, of their choice from the perspective of story structure and character development.

Another assignment will require shooting a series of photographs during the visit to the National Gallery and editing the collection into a Gallery Portrait.

One exercise will form an indispensable part of this seminar:

1. Creating a storyboard, mood board and choosing locations.

The students will deal with the task of how to convey a simple narrative situation, and spatial relationships of the actors and objects as well as using his/her imagination to estimate the timing of each scene and shot. This process will also help the student to understand the storyboarded scenes and prepare their own storyboards for their future projects.

In this assignment, we will deliberately exclude the technical and creative tools such as tonality, and use of different lenses and rather let the students concentrate on spatial and dramatic aspects and the

mis-en-scene.

Learning outcomes

In a series of seminars the students will get familiar with the building blocks of film language focusing on the cinematographer’s role in the process of creating audiovisual content.

The students will become conscious of what tools they have available, how to use them and how they can offer them to director in close cooperation on a film and/or use them for authoring thier own content.

Prerequisites and other requirements

The students will watch the films in their entirety selected for this seminar prior to the analysis sessions in order to formulate their opinion on the narrative and camera style.

Literature

Blain Brown : Cinematograohy Theory and Practice (chapters: Visual Language, Language of the Lens, Visual Storytelling)

Syd Field : Screenplay

David Howard, Edward Mabley, A writer's Guide to the Craft and Elements of a Screenpaly,St.Martin's Griffin, NY

Mercado, Gustavo. The Filmmaker's Eye , Taylor and Francis.

Evaluation methods and criteria

85% attendance in seminars

Active participation in discussions

Finished assignments in due time:

Schedule for winter semester 2024/2025:

• Week view
• List

Schedule for summer semester 2024/2025:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans

• Cinematography_3_2021 (Required subjects)