Ed Wood Cinematography Analysis & Mid-Term Reminder

Ed Wood Cinematography Analysis

Assuming you were in class Wednesday before Spring Break (if not, pay close attention), you should have a very detailed shot-by-shot breakdown of the scene in Ed Wood (available in the Screening Room) that begins with the bedroom scene following the reading of the reviews in the bar (7:19), and ending with Ed and Dolores talking before Ed meets Georgie Weiss (11:05). You should have focused only on elements of cinematography in your note-taking (using the Cinematography Worksheet as a guide), but your homework that is due when we return from Spring Break is to explain WHY these elements of cinematography were chosen by Tim Burton (and his cinematographer Stefan Czapsk) in relation to the elements covered thus far, narrative and mise-en-scène. You CAN use the notes that you made in class if their is adequate space for clear explanation, but it is likely preferable that you transfer your notes over to a print-out of the the Cinematography Worksheet, printing out additional pages as needed.

Mid-Term Reminder

When we return, we will take the mid-term exam, which will consist of an in-class portion to be taken on March 13th and an online portion to be taken over the weekend of March 13th through 18th.  I believe I have already given plenty of information on how to study for the online portion of the exam.  The in-class portion will be an analysis of a scene from a film we have not seen, with the cinematography worksheet as a basis for analysis but covering all elements covered thus far in the course.  Monday's class discussion should address any questions or confusion over terms and procedures.

Weekend Reminder

• Read "Mis-en-Scene" Chapter 5

• Watch Barton Fink for Wednesday (available in Screening Room now and in library on Monday)

Hitchcock's Storyboarding: Psycho & The Birds

Although critics and film historians can use storyboarding to build on controversy, as conveyed in this recent blog post about changing the aspect ratio of Hitchcock's Psycho for its Blue-Ray release, it is useful to see how crucial storyboarding is to the visual presentation of story on film.  Although it is possible the shots in Psycho could have still materialized without storyboarding, the cost of processing etc. almost necessitated extensive storyboarding for any complex mixture of shots (as one online critic complains, this explains why newer films that don't use "film" fail in their storytelling).

See how closely related Saul Bass's storyboards for the Psycho are to the actual footage of the film (I suggest turning off the sound for comparison), but also note departures from the storyboard as well:

 

Watch the film up to about 1:40:

 

Of course now you can start to see where Hitchcock built more suspense by cutting the attack scene back from the original storyboard, saving the shower curtain being pulled down until after Anthony Perkin's character has left. Vivian Leigh is still breathing, we have seen her block some blows (despite the sound of knife in flesh), so maybe she will survive

 

And finally the focus on the drain and juxtaposition with the eye, a technique used to full effect for the film's closing scene (turn sound off--this is an altered clip), but one notably missing from the shower scene storyboards:

And one that has oft been referenced and spoofed:

The Birds provide a more effective demonstration of how storyboards can be used to visually build suspense as we "see" the plot unfold on the boards and on screen.  Here is a basic juxtaposition where the viewer makes the connection between the leaking gas and obvious outcome (see textbook for Hitchcock's distinction between suspense and surprise):

But the playground scene with the growing murder of crows works on multiple levels because we slowly realize just as the character slowly realizes that something is out of the ordinary:

Charlie Kaufman on the Portal to His Brain