Image narration and current stylization terms 1

Display Schedule

Subject guarantor:

Roman Kašparovský

Name of lecturer(s):

Roman Kašparovský

Learning outcomes of the course unit:

Introduction of theory and practice methods of cinematic work analysis focusing on its image component from aesthetic and technology perspectives on examples of significant films from various periods representing various orginal forms, styles and processes.

Mode of study:

Film screenings of Blue-ray digitally restored films from 35mm film copies supplemented by film analyses, comparison samples, quotes from artist interviews and period critiques. Supplementary image material will be discussed with the students during individual classes. Part of the classes will also be a presentation of the films' cameramen and image artist profiles

Prerequisites and co-requisites:

Short introduction to film screenings presenting original works and styles of individual cameramen.

Course contents:

Seminars on contemporary stylization trends for image-based photography will focus primarily on capturing the individual trends by demonstrating the links between contemporary directors and their cameramen.

The individual seminars will consist of four basic parts:

1) interpretation of individual trends, analysis thereof and placement within the narrative.

2) samples which should stimulate deep thinking on the issue and support the preceding explanation.

3) analysis of specific cameramen (including their filmographies), their approaches to the trends concerned and comparison of their work methods.

4) analysis by students themselves and their views of the issue concerned.

Topics of individual seminars:

1. Stylization, stylistics, style and other categories of film narration.

Morph, phonem, syntax, development of film narration

Classification of basic trends: Authenticity, Color range, Toning, Format Uses, Movements, Dynamics, Lighting, Digitization.

2. The authenticity trend

Analyze the possibilities of enhancing authenticity in contemporary film.

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne

Jacques Audiard

Paul Greengrass

Cameramen:

Barry Acroyd

Harris Savides

Oliver Wood

3. Trends in motion and image dynamics

Following the trends in authenticity, the following workshop is dedicated story telling through image movements and their trends, which have been establishing increasingly on silver screen in recent years.

Directors:

Gaspar Noe

Wes Anderson

Alejandro Inárritu

Cameramen:

Stéphane Fontaine

Benoît Debie

Robert D. Yeoman

4. Trends in color and image toning

The options for working with color in the image have been both used and developed ever since color film established itself in the film industry. On one hand, the current technologies extend such options; on the other, they require a more complex approach by the authors themselves.

Directors:

Wachowski siblings

Guillermo del Toro

Michael Bay

Cameramen:

Adam Arkapaw

Dan Laustsen

Seamus McGarvey

Bill Pope

5. Trends in the use of various image formats

At present, working with individual technology formats from mobile phone photography to IMAX technology is a common thing. The choice of formats also significantly influences the stylization concept of the resulting work and can create the pace of the film's narration.

Directors:

James Cameron

Ang Lee

David Ayer

Robert Zemeckis

Cameramen:

Robert Elswit

Daniel Mindel

Claudio Miranda

John Toll

Roman Vasyanov

6. Trends in the approach to image lighting

The advent of digital technology has significantly affected the approach to the lighting methods and the creation of light atmospheres.

Directors:

David Fincher

Tim Burton

Terrence Malick

Cameramen:

Jeff Cronenweth

Bruno Delbonnel

Dariusz Wolski

7. Digital and film „look“

The difference in the appearance of the image between film and digital after the onset of digital recording technology ranges from imitating the appearance of film to self-defining and promoting the digital look in contrast to the classic film image.

Directors:

Michael Mann

Marc Web

Danny Boyle

Cameramen:

John Schwartzman

Dante Spinotti

Dean Semler

8. Directors and their visions (3-4 seminars)

Analysis and overview of the development of prominent directors in relation to their particular cameramen, while pointing out differences in the approach to individual genres and differences in the appearance of the image when the cameraman is different.

Paolo Sorrentino Luca Bigazzi

Steve McQueen - Sean Bobbit

Park Chan Wook - Chung-hoon Chung

Coen Brothers - Roger Deakins

Christopher Nolan - Wally Phister x Hoyte van Hoytem

Krzystow Kieslowski - Slawomir Idziak

Peter Jackson - Andrew Lesnie

Darren Aronofski - Matthew Libatique

Alejandro Innaritu - Emmanuel Lubezki

Guillermo Del Toro - Guillermo Navarro

Steven Spielberg - Janusz Kaminski

Alan Parker - Michael Seresin

Nicolas Winding Refn - Newton Thomas Siegel, Larry Smith,

Clint Eastwood - Tom Stern

Denis Villeneuve - André Turpin, Roger Deakins, Bradford Young

9. Adaptable image authors

Analysis of a group of cameramen who change their individual style on the basis of working with a genre or collaborating with a director.

Cameramen:

Greig Fraser

Phedon Papamichael

Rodrigo Prieto

10. New names in the field of image capturing

A summary of new names of cameramen and their styles.

Cameramen:

Natasha Braier - Neon Demon

Alex Catalan - Marshland

Mátyás Erdély - Son of Saul

David Gallego - Embrace of the Serpent

Mikhail Krichman - Leviathan

11. Cameramen - craftsmen

A large group of cameramen for whom image narration is primarily a matter of craft. The seminar includes analyses of their important works compared to the standard methods of shooting most of their films.

Cameramen:

Ben Davis

Bruno Delbonnel

Mauro Fiore

Adriano Goldman

John Mathieson

Salvatore Totino

12. Image narrative in Czech cinematography

Overview of basic image approaches in Czech cinematography, including an emphasis on selected authors.

Cameramen:

Stanislav Milota

Jaroslav Kučera

Miroslav Ondříček

Bedřich Baťka

František Uldrich

Otto Heller

Vladimír Novotný

13. Analysis of student work

The seminar applies the analysis to the students' own work from the point of view of the image narration.

Recommended or required reading:

ECO, Umberto, Teorie sémiotiky. Prague: Argo, 2009. ISBN 978-80-257-0157-7

GAMUT, LTF, Logic, language, and meaning 2 sv. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0-226-28088-2

SADOUL, Georges, Dějiny filmu. Prague: Orbis, 1958. 486 s.

THOMPSON, Kristin, BORDWELL, David, Dějiny filmu. Prague: Akademie múzických umění, 2007

THOMPSON, Kristin, Storytelling in New Hollywood. New York: Harvard University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-674-83974-9.

Assessment methods and criteria:

1) compilation of a critical essay on a selected work - a feature film (2000 words).

2) final analysis of the individual students’ camera work.

Course web page:

Note:

The course will be in the form of analyses of examples from the works of various authors in relation to the topic

Schedule for winter semester 2017/2018:

	06:00–08:0008:00–10:0010:00–12:0012:00–14:0014:00–16:0016:00–18:0018:00–20:0020:00–22:0022:00–24:00
Mon	room 221 Room No. 221 (Lažanský palác) Kašparovský R. 09:00–12:15 (přednášková par. 1) only on 2.10.+9.10.+16.10.+23.10.+30.10
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri

Date	Day	Time	Tutor	Location	Notes	No. of paralel
	Mon	09:00–12:15	Roman Kašparovský	Room No. 221 Lažanský palác	only on 2.10.+9.10.+16.10.+23.10.+30.10	přednášková par. 1

Schedule for summer semester 2017/2018:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans:

• Cinematography - 1718 (required subject)