Introduction
In animation we are to learn about film animation and movie
film as well as they all share the same aesthetics and concept. It will help as
animators to learn and build a strong story, theme, concept and narration in a
film or animation. Film animations are drawings, paintings all photographed frame
by frame each differs from each other slightly with each is a proceeding version
of previous frame giving a moving illusion when flipped or when showed in a
very quick speed. Film theory is a study on movies and films on their essence
to summarize the relationship of the movie to the society of reality. (Christopher
P. Jacobs)
Film theory is split into 2 fractions, story and narrative.
Although both sounds the same they are not as story is plot that defines the
whole movie the summary of the movie whereas narrative is how the movie is put
together to show the story or to tell the story to the audience. Narrative can be also said as the genre of the
movie, examples: Science Fiction, Horror, Action and etc.
Also, within film theory there are also other factors like
Character Design theory, Mise-en-scene and Cinematography that are important in
film making process. Each theory is used in almost every modern film making,
some films would look and feel weird without these theories as the audience
would feel like something is missing.
Narrative
Narrative is the types of movies that defines its content
like horror, action or comedy it is often known as genre. Narrative will
determine how the movie will be told and put together by the filmmakers to the
audiences, and it is also helps the audiences to make decision when wanting to
buy a ticket for a movie. Narrative in films determines the reaction of the
audiences towards the movie and how the visual and auditory effects play in the
narrative? (David Bordwell, 2007).
Genre helps the film makers to identify the
actors/actresses, the cinematography, the scenes to be shot and the atmosphere.
It is similar to like identifying mood for example, happy, sad or depressing,
genre of the film sets the way the actors moves, talks and acts along with the
story like for example, an action movie the actor will move quickly, talks
aggressively and acts rough for most of the movie and the sound in the movie
will be loud and chaotic with multiple sounds like explosion, gunfire and
destruction, in contrast to a romantic film where the actor will move slower,
talks softer and acts more gentle in the movie this is how the genre is made
and identified.
Character
Design
In most films, character is the most important part because
they are the factor that drives audiences through the film. In film theory
there are a few character design and formula that must be followed to create a
good and entertaining film. In most films there are 4 characters that must be
in, the Hero (protagonist), the Villain (antagonist), the supporting actor and
the heroine. A famous film theorist Vladimir Propp says, that a film should
have 7 types of character (Vladimir Propp, 1958).
Hero : The lead role
Villain : The person who will give a negative effect to the film
Heroine : The center figure of the film
Helper : Sidekick
Donor : Gives clues/power to the hero
Mentor : Guides the hero
Father : Gives award to the hero
With Propp’s theory the character theory is hard to fulfill
because of the high number of characters but most film nowadays in the modern
age still follows his theory. Each film needs this theory to bring the audience
together along the ride together because in films the props and objects are all
dead, the only thing that’s connecting with the audience is the actors and
actresses.
Mise-En-Scene
Mise-en-scene is theory that defines and helps the
film/movie to be identify the genre. Mise-en-scene is important to set the mood
of the film as David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson says, “that mise-en-scene
consist of lighting, setting, costume and figure expression”. It is the details
that audience do not focus on but it is there to make the film experience
better. For example, in a Horror genre the film is mostly shot at a low light
condition to create the scary mood and thrilling feeling. Mise-en-scene also
includes the setting like the place and location the scene is shot the costume
that the characters is wearing and their facial expression during a scene. The
dialogues the character shares between each other. For a normal audience these
factors seem small and not important but to the film industry these are the
things that make the film a film. Mise-en-scene is what we considered as the
props, objects and effects of a film. (David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson,
1974).
Cinematography
Cinematography is the method of making a film/movie consist
of camera angle, composition motion and shots. Blain Brown says, “It is easy to
think that filmmaking is just putting an actor in front of a camera and just
shoot” but film making is more than just that. Cinematography helps the
audience to perceive the scene of the film and how the director wants the
audience to see and feel. For example, to show that a person is in a weak spot
the camera is shot from below, Low-shot to express the feeling of looking up at
someone and at his/her mercy. (Blain Brown, 2011).
Shots are the most important part in a movie as it
determines what the audience can see and what the director wants the audience
to see. Shots are what drives the audience into curiosity and also to show the
small details that the audience would have a hard time seeing during a moving
motion or a very large scene. For example, if the heroine is being scared by
the villain in the movie the camera shot cannot be too far away from the
heroine because the audience would not be able to see her expression, but it
cannot be too close as the audience can’t see or know what the villain is doing
to scare her therefore lowering the impact of the scene, the camera must be
exact position where the expression and action can be seen together to deliver
the wanted mood.
Conclusion
To summarize this essay, film making in a hard process with
many theories to fulfill and understand before a film can be made. How the
character is shown, acted and portrayed to the way the shots are taken each
factor affects the entire film in a way that is why the theories exists for us
to understand how each theory is carried out and how each theory affects the
film making process, how small little things like what characters wear can be
seen as a big mistake or how the camera is being shot can confuse the
audiences.
Reference
Mise en scene, Mediaed: teach film, media and filmmaking,
[Online], Available at: http://mediaed.org.uk/film/teaching-mise-en-scene,
Accessed 6th February 2015
Cinematography, College Film & Media Studies, [Online],
Available at: http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/cinematography/,
Accessed 6th February 2015
Blain Brown, Cinematography: Theory and Practice, Second
Edition, [Online], Available at: https://soma.sbcc.edu/users/davega/filmpro_170/FILMPRO_170_Text/Cinematography_Theory%20and%20Practice%202ndEd.pdf,
Accessed 6th February 2015
Elements of Cinema, Narrative Cinema, [Online], Available
at: http://www.elementsofcinema.com/film_form/narrative-cinema.html,
Accessed 5th March 2015
David Bordwell, Understanding film narrative, [Online], Available
at: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2014/01/12/understanding-film-narrative-the-trailer/,
Accessed 3rd March 2015
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