What is film theory? What is film criticism? What is the Auteur Theory?

What is film theory?

Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that historically began by questioning the formal essential attributes of ever-evolving cinematic media.

and that now provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large. Film theory is not to be confused with general film criticism, or film history, though these three disciplines interrelate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_theory

What is film criticism?
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. The concept is often used interchangeably with that of film reviews. A film review implies a recommendation aimed at consumers, however not all film criticism takes the form of reviews.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_criticism

What is the Auteur Theory?
An auteur is an artist, usually a film director, who applies a highly centralised and subjective control to many aspects of a collaborative creative work; in other words, a person equivalent to an author of a novel or a play.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur

How do establish shots work in film?

What is an establishing shot?

It is the beginning of a sequence or scene

Why is it used?

Because it helps us get a feel for the area that the characters are in

Why are establishing shot usually the most expensive?

It shows every shot and makes it better people use it in films to show a new location

Sweeping and something epic

How does colour work in film?

How does colour in the film affect people?

To create a mood

What are the 3 factors in determining colour? 

hue

saturation

brightness

Why is the hue in ‘The Matrix’ mostly green? 

has a certain silky quality

Why do some films desaturate?

The colour is drained and gives the movie a raw Brady look

What can brightness and a lack of brightness show in a film?

Can be affected by usual colours and to see the movies alone.

How does production design work in film?

POINTS TO DISCUSS

What is the production design? over all overlook and vision of the design, props

What makes up production design? Props and the Overlook

What are the 3 main things production design can help reveal.How they feelDreamyUplifting

How does insert shot work in film?

What is an insert shot? 

Is an isolated shot that shows a specific shot of a scene

What is the purpose of an insert shot? 

They want the viewer to see something specific

What are the 3 main aspects of the insert shot? 

Notice something 

Object or set of objects

Communicate 

What 3 things help the audience feel about the insert shot? 

Opposition

Timing

Color

The composition of the insert shot helps with what in a film? 

camera movement

shot size

shot angle

Colour in the insert shot helps with what in a film? 

To show what they want the viewer to see

 How long you dwell on the insert shot helps show what?

They show close-ups to show the viewers the specific scene. to create the importance

How does a POV or POT shot work?

POINTS TO DISCUSS

What is a POV shot?
A point of view shot in when you can see what the character can see through his eyes.

What is a Point of Thought shot?
A point of thought shot is when it is showing the thoughts or feelings by a character.

Why are they important?
Because they help us emphasise what the character can see.

How do visual motifs work in film?

What is a motif? 

Any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story

Why are they important?

Made to make sure the story to operate more than one level

What makes a great work of art?

Color, detail

How is the dutch angled used?

The Dutch angle does what?camera technique used by the German expression in the early 1900s to make something unsettling

What is a Dutch angle?The shot that has a noticeable angle

Who and when created the dutch angle? the early 1900s
German Expression

What 3 things do directors need to consider for the Dutch angle?Read the moment
Consider the Moment
Enhance the Moment

What 4 things can enhance a Dutch angle?1. Medium close up
2. Dutch angle
3. Wide profile 2 shot
4. Closer to eye line

How does tone work in film?

Points to discuss:

What else can we call tone in a film?

language and how the person feels

What are the 3 main elements of tone?

Playful, Threatening and Sad

How and why does Coppola use tone in the classic film ‘The Godfather’?

To make the actor show what they are feeling

How can directors control the feelings of the scenes?

From there actions and how they are speaking

How does the over-the-shoulder shot work?

Points to discuss:

What is the effect of an over-the-shoulder shot? 

It will connect your characters.

What film aspect shows a disconnection between characters? 

Users studio binders software.

How does the director of this scene show the disconnect of the characters?

Emotional disconnection with the viewer and his expressions.

What eventually totally isolates the female character?

They were in the same page and no longer in the same page. And, no over the shoulder shot and her facial expression shows everything.

How does film blocking work in film?

Points to discuss:

What are the 3 ways directors use blocking in a film?

Space Shapes lines

What are the 3 basic shapes for film blocking?

Triangle circles and squares

What are the emotions associated with these shapes?

Circles feel safer

Squares create limited space

Triangle feels shape but aggressive

What two things can blocking help with?

Visual tension

Who holds all the pods

How does camera movement work in film?

What are the purposes of the whip pan and the slow pan?

Whip pan: quickly turning to see something

slow pan: gives us time

What is the purpose of the tilt shot?

It reveals something to read our attention

What does the reverse dolly zoom help show? 

Funny kind of punctuation to nature

What the difference between a Steadicam and a dolly shot?

on track to give us a different version 

What can the hand-held shot help create for the viewer? 

Raw shaky feeling

What should directors ask themselves with their camera movement

What will this bring to the viewers

Camera movement should be doing what?

showing viewers what's happening

How is contrast used in film?

POINTS TO DISCUSS
What are the ways directors can contrast in films?
They can have scenes that are black and white, dim and bright.

What is contrasted in Spike Jonze's ad?
The contrast was showing the mood of someone that's happy and then someone who is sad.

Why did he contrast these things?
To show how someone is when they are around stranger compared to when they are at home and have the luxuries that come with being there.