Week Sixteen Q&A

Filmmaker Magazine/What I Meant to Say

2. Broadly speaking, what characteristics define mumblecore?
The criteria for mumblecore film are improvised dialouge, naturalistic performances (non-actors), handheld, cinema-verite digital camerawork, long takes. Plots often hinge on everyday events and the films obviously reflect on the filmakers' lives.

3. What have been the most common charges against mumblecore?
That the films are too intensely personal and pretentious.

4. How has the internet affected the DIY distribution of mumblecore films?
The internet has allowed the mumblecore filmmakers to operate without professional distributers; instead of selling the DVD rights for a flat rate, they can sell them through a website.

S.T. VanAirsdale “Mumblecore Inc.”

6. IFC Films picked up Hannah Takes the Stairs for “day-and-date” distribution. What does this mean?
 "Day-and-Date" distribution means that Hannah Takes the Stairs will open the IFC center series on June 29, and that the film would be available for download on IFC on Demand.

Amy Taubin, “All Talk?”

9. What are Taubin’s main objections to the work of Joe Swanberg.

Taubin objects to Swanberg's seeming disconnect with the world out large, outside the world of "my life and my friends' lives." She declares his films as smug and blatently lazy, and that his greatest talent is in convincing seemingly intelligent women to strip for his films.

Week Fifteen Q&A

Navigating the Digital Divide

6. What are the current platforms and delivery systems for digital distribution?
There are two platforms; PCs and living room devices. The main delivery systems are downloading and streaming. Down loatd can be either protected (DRM) or DRM-free. Streaming video is difficult to copy.

7. What were the advantages and disadvantages of releasing Ed Burns’s Purple Violets on i-Tunes?
The advantages were that the film's method of release garnered a lot of publicity, and thus was acutally viewed more than if the film had attempted a small theatrical releas.

8. What is a digital media aggregator, and what is its equivalent in the traditional home video chain between the filmmaker and the consumer?
A digital media aggregator assists with representation of films to larger distributions companies (itunes). The equivalent in the home video chain is a distributor.

9. What are the parallels between Radiohead’s In Rainbows experiment and the digital distribution of the documentary 10 MPH? Why did the 10 MPH filmmakers choose the .m4v format?
Both Radiohead and 10 MPH sold their media (digital downloads) for a price determined by the audience in the hopes that hard-copy sales of the same product would spike. 10 MPH chose the .m4v format because Apple would not put their product in iTunes, so the company released an iTunes compatible download.

10. Why did “giving it away for free” end up working better than a traditional $15,000 distribution offer for the filmmakers of Four Eyed Monsters?
Again, the 'new media distribution' concept garnered the project more attention. Thus, when the film debuted on YouTube/Myspace, distributers were ready to bid, based on both the media attention and the projected profits from the ancilliary materials the creators had sold (DVDs, iPod downloads, DVD downloads, t-shirts and donations).

Week Fourteen Q&A

Murphy, Me and You…: 25-45


1. What does Flo Liebowitz mean by “dialogue as behavior”?

Liebowitz is implying that the physicality of talking is sometimes more important than the actual dialogue a character is speaking. She discusses how it is possible to learn more from how and when a character talks than what they are talking about.

2. What are some of the connections between Stranger than Paradise with the New American Cinema, including Shadows?

Connections between Stranger than Paradise and New American Cinema include elements of unpredictability in the narrative (in Shadows, this is due to improvisation, in Paradise, they are due to character ambivalence), an openness in motivation and a lack of constraining character traits. Finally it is suggested that Stranger than Paradise is connected to the New American Cinema through a similarity in character centered  narratives that closely resemble real life.

3. In what specific ways does Jarmusch’s script deviate from standard scriptwriting structure and format?
The script (especially the 1982 script) is a 'blueprint' according to Jarmusch, many scenes contain only descriptions of action rather than dialog, the script is more of a treatment than a screenplay, and finally, the finished movie was funded after a 'short' comprised of the first section of the film was screened for financiers. The short was later added to the rest of the footage shot.

4. What is an "execution dependent" screenplay?

An "execution dependent" screenplay is a film that exists on a stylistic and visual level that may not be apparent upon viewing the script.

4. What are the similarities and differences between Stranger than Paradise and punk films?

Jarmusch deliberately disassociated his film from the New Wave music popular at the time, despite his familiarariy with the 'scene'. Jarmush had worked in the punk scene and Stranger than Paradise is vested in the spirit of the punk film scene without a slavish devotion to the iconography of the genre.

Week Thirteen Q&A

Hollywood and Independent Black Cinema

4. According to Ed Guerrero, what were the three phases of the black image in Hollywood?

The three phases were pre-blaxploitation (with a mainstream image of accomodationism and submissiveness on the part of blacks), then blaxploitation (characterized by resistance, co-option and reversal of mainstream portrayals in Hollywood) then new black cinema.

5. Why did the filmmakers of the "LA Rebellion / Los Angeles School" (including Charles Burnett) reject traditional Hollywood production values?

The filmmakers of the "LA Rebellion/Los Angeles School" rejected traditional Hollywood production values because they had studied the Third Cinema practices of groups in other countries struggling for recognition. Events such as the Civil Rights Movement and struggles for liberation in Africa, Asia and Latin America also helped shape the perspectives of the LA Rebellion filmmakers, who eventually allianced with the film styles of 'imperfect cinema'; producing politically challenging films that pushed themselves away from the self-conscious aesthetic codes of Hollywood.

6. What are the two distinct notions of "guerrilla cinema" exemplified by Spike Lee and Bill Gunn?

The two distinct notions of guerrilla cinema exemplified by Spike Lee and Bill Gunn are
that Spike Lee sees the independent sphere as a stairway to a successfull career in the Hollywood industry, while Bill Gunn used Hollywood funding to make two socially and racially conscious films (Ganja and Hess, Stop!) that were never released.

7. What are the two divergent readings of Spike Lee's films by Amiri Baraka and Houston Baker? 

Amiri Baraka's opinion is that Lee's work should be classified with the trend toward younger directors who trivialize the black political struggles in favor of recognizing black cultural or economic struggles (for example, the death of Radio Rahim in Do the Right Thing is brought about due to an argument regarding black representation in an Italian restaurant). Houston sees Lee's obsession with economics as political ideology.

Week Twelve Q&A

1.
What were the average shot lengths (ASLs) for the following periods?
1920s-4 to 6 seconds
1930-1960-8 to 11
Mid-1960s-6 to 8
1980s- 4 to 7
2000 (“by century’s end”)- 3 to 6

2.
How were wide angle (short) lenses used after 1970? To provide looming close-ups, expansive establishing shots, views inside cramped quarters, and medium shots with strong foreground/background interplay.

3.
How were telephoto (long) lenses used after 1970? They were employed for close-ups, rack focuses and to emphasize a wipe-by cut. (as in Jaws).

4.
Why did filmmakers start mixing long and short lenses within scenes? Filmmakers began mixing lens lengths because they appreciated the advantages of longer lenses but wanted to maintain the atmosphere of deep-space shooting.

5.
Why have filmmakers moved away from plan americain staging and lengthy two-shots? Filmmakers moved away from plan americain staging because using over the shoulder shots and singles allow the director to vary the pace during editing and to pick the best bits of an actor's performance.

Annotated Bibliography/Research Question

Annotated Bibliography

Anderson, John. "Dylan Movie to Open Like a Rolling Premiere." The New York Times. 21 Aug 2007. 29 Oct 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/movies/21dyla.html/partner/rssnyt/?scp=9&sq=%22I'm%20Not%20There%22&st=cse>.
-Explains the efforts of the Weinstein company in regards to distribution of the film.

Hernandez, Eugene. "HanWay + Celluloid Dreams=Dreamachine; New Combined Company Launching in Cannes." IndieWIRE. 03 Apr 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .

-Discusses the sales/production/financing firm that produced I’m Not There.

Lyall, Sarah. "In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down." The New York Times. 04 Nov 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .

-Heath Ledger is interviewed and explains (what he speculates is) the meaning of I'm Not There.

Sullivan, Robert. "This is Not a Bob Dylan Movie". The New York Times. 07 Oct 2007. 

29 Oct 2008. 

-Illustrates Tod Haynes’s desire to make a film that shows what Dylan himself is all about and how he functions as a sort of metamorphic character.

Wisniewski, Chris. "An American Tale: Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There". IndieWIRE. 19 Nov 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .
-Review discussing the success that the film had in the execution of a fractured narrative

Research Question:

I would like to examine the methods used to market and distribute I'm Not There. As I understand it, the Weinstein Company faced a challenge of marketing an experimental art film filled with famous faces, and they chose to open on fewer screens in the hopes that critical acclaim would save the film.

Week Eleven Q&A

Reading Response Week Eleven: Due October 28 @ Noon

Answer at least one of the questions from TWHTI 104-114. Answer at least four of the remaining questions.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 104-114
[Assigned in Week 10, but answer this week]

Summarize the answers Bordwell gives to the question, “Why do filmmakers bother with classical construction if ardent viewers consider it dispensable, even distracting?”

1. Classical plot construction seems unimportant to viewers, but it allows them to concentrate on other things.

2. Big-budget films layer their appeals; kids and intelligent adults.

3. There is no better way to satisfy a broad range of tastes than classical construction: a combination of star power, physical action and other appeals.

4. Spectacle is expensive; there is no better way to fill out the space between whammos than with Hollywood default (characters we care about).

5. Films aren't just made for audiences; they are made for other filmakers as well. Prowess in craft leads to prestige, professional satisfaction and better jobs.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 51-72

What does Bordwell mean by “genre ecology,” and how does he characterize the current range of genres in Hollywood. 

By genre ecology Bordwell means the rise and fall in popularity and success of genres such as melodrama, action, science fiction and crime. Bordwell characterizes the current range of genres as the result of 'younger' directors (film school generations and back-lot rebels). This younger generation gravitated towards the genres that had not been prominent during the studio era.

What does Bordwell mean by “worldmaking,” and how does it affect the narrative design of individual films?

Worldmaking is explained as a rich, rully furnished ambience for the action of a film. It affects the narritive design because (such as in 2001: A Space Odessey) each element of set design and props is carefully researched. Kubrick carefully though about what astronaut meals would look like and how the technical elements would function.

What specific reasons does Bordwell propose for the rise and fall of contemporary genres?

One specific reason was the push towards multidemnsional story; this worked best in genres such as fantasy (ancillary material in Lord of the Rings) and science fiction (the multiple plot points spread between sections of The Matrix). 

What do Bordwell and Thompson mean by the claim that some films are “maximally classical”? What films do they have in mind?

The claim that some films are maximally classical refers to films that are 'more classical than they need to be.' The films they have in mind are Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, Hannah and Her Sisters and Die Hard.