Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Macbeth is not entirely guilty - he did it, but

Statement - your idea that will support your thesis

Show that Macbeth was suffering from some mental illness/psychological problem stemming from stress that impaired his ability to discern the consequences of his actions. 

Get some quotation - look at the situation where he vacillates back and forth

Go for the dagger soliloquy

How did that situation above reveal that his stress was impairing his faculties? How did he lose something? What does he do that shows he’s not fully functioning? 

How does someone suffering from X behave? What is LIKE that? Refer to a similar case where the defendant got off

Because of the STRESS, etc, Macbeth 

SYLLOGISM - one side equals another side

str - grammar and sentence structure

wording - word choice, sentence structure, clarity of grammar - i.e. inverted sentence

awk - language choice and the use of weird phrasing that’s more conversational

me - conversational “you” 

ref? - you need to support your generality here - i.e. a quotation or a source 

Proof? - same

frag - sentence fragment - no subject and predicate

ns - not a sentence

Frye Day, May 22. 2015

Writing

• all movies start with a writer, writing
• writers write screenplays (scripts) in basically TWO ways

1. assignment - sell your services to a company, a studio or a producer and you work on their idea, their IP (intellectual property) or their previously written script

1. “on spec” - this comes from the writer’s own ideas, the writer writes it first, without getting paid and tries to get people interested

The writer usually writes a treatment - story version in short. 

The writer gets a ton of notes from whomever

The writer goes to script and starts writing the movie the way it will look. 

How does he/she do that? 

He/she uses the Hero’s Quest

A Basic Screenplay Structure

First ten minutes

Pages 1 - 10

(one page of screenplay times out to one minute)

Setup - protagonist, the “pre-world”, the protag’s problem, the place and the core group around the protagonist

the idea of EVERY single protagonist from every movie is the same - each one has a terrible problem that prevents him/her from progressing and being a whole, happy person - most of the protagonists are outsiders who don’t fit in and don’t feel like they’re part of the society in which they are trapped

the pre-world and the problem are the same thing 

as we watch the lead character in his/her world, we start to accelerate to a BIG PROBLEM - this problem will occur in the first 20 minutes or so

Page 17 *or so* - after setting up the world, the char, the problem and the basica outlay of the story (one of the key things to establish is GENRE), there will be a shift that takes us into the “real movie” 

Genre is the code that you know that tells you what to expect and how the world works ie comedy, horror, romantic comedy, etc

The Problem is something that will force the hero to leave the pre-world and go out into the larger, more dangerous, darker, etc world - the hero’s quest - threshold

Best examples - Hogwarts, Mordor, Shield’s “world”

The problem drives the character - that OUTER QUEST has to be solved - 

Tied to this Outer quest is an INER QUEST that is the REAL point of the movie - the inner quest will be solved when the outer quest is solved because the outer quest will require a new version of the hero - a FIXED version

Pages 23 - 75 (or so) - ACT 2

This is the meat of the movie, the learning, the growing, the hunting, the figuring out, the most hilarious moments, the getting-used-to-it, etc

First half of this Act - an interesting, revealing, growing, changing, building as the hero works the new system in the new world - if it’s a murder mystery, there is good progress here

It leads to a MIDPOINT where things change

At the half way point, the hero is faced with a confrontation that stops the forward progress and lets the hero know that there is no going back - a terrible realization - uh oh, this is getting harder and darker and I may not be able to do this…

Second half of Act 2 (page 50 - 75) is a much darker, much more difficult, much more intense and sad series of events

It builds in intensity of darkness and trouble and negativity for the hero until about page 75, where we have THE LOW and that end of Act 2

THE LOW

this is that point in any movie where the hero has a terrible setback - the guy dumps the girl because he has another girlfriend, the hero’s best friend dies, the dad thinks his daughter is dead, the sidekick is captured, the buddy cop is killed, etc. 

The hero has to think that it’s all over - he/she can’t go on

The whole point of any movie is this sequence - this is where the hero has to get rid of the old self and accept the new self - the fixed self - the problem that the hero had in the very start has to be beaten internally by making the choice to change

The whole point is to question life and to decide to be the person you really are. 

This dark moment forces the hero to rise up and decide to move into the final confrontation - to go into ACT 3 

Page 78 - 100 - ACT 3

This is the rollercoaster of emotion and action and tension and release

There are chases and fight scenes and oneupmanship and huge stakes and things that cannot be undone and all that - modern movies have catastrophes in here - i.e. end of Man of Steel

Leads to the hero facing his/her worst fear and worst moment (usually epitomized by an evil character - aging Voldemort) and then they usually win. 

Once the hero wins, he/she has learned how to be him/herself and is triumphant and can now rejoin the world as a complete, fixed person

The outside comes in, often as the boss of the society - or as a fully functioning member of it

Fried A, May 22, 2015

Media Unit - Narrative and Documentary Film

The life of a film has a few different pieces. 

If we know about these pieces, then we can do a better job of analysis. 

Plus, you are WAY cooler and your friends will love you more. 

Writing

Development

Pre-Production

Production

Post-Production

Promotion & Marketing

Distribution

Your Face, Sitting There, Watching It - 

• negotiate a meaning by combining the movie with your own thinking
• the movie acts as a kind of code that you “pick up” and make sense thereof
• some of the language of that code you don’t even know you know
• understanding some of the elements of production can make you enjoy the movie more and make you more aware of your thinking/negotiation of meaning
• you get a burst of chemicals in your brain when you see or hear something that matches with something that you know or think or feel - you get a “good” feeling
• same for things that are cool or surprising or when you learn something

WRITING

• movies come from screenplays 
• sreenplays are rewritten and rewritten by multiple writers multiple times for PRODUCERS who are looking for specific things in the scripts
• some scripts are ASSIGNMENTS - written from properties that the producer or a STUDIO own e.g. the Disney I showed you
• what is the producer looking for? 

Movie Moments - often in trailers - big “set pieces” that are exciting and cool - might be comedy moment - the dress/food poisoning scene in Bridesmaids, etc - 

STAR VEHICLE - can you see a movie star being that main character? or a minor character with a cool moment or two? i.e. Bill Murray in Zombieland

How much will it cost to make? Is this a James Cameron/Marvel/Disney giant monster movie? 

Is it using some well-known IP? - (intellectual property) - notice all the superhero movies? Know why that’s the only kind of movie that’s getting made? BRAND RECOGNITION - YA novels, old 80s things, comic books, TV shows from prior decades, remakes, reboots, sequels, etc

Fresh take that feels new and cool and awesome and the same and old and typical

The producer is scared to develop a script because it’s expensive and it takes a LONG time. And there are no guarantees at the end that you’ll get a movie. 

MOST screenplays, even by big, powerful writers, are not made. 

A typical example of a Hollywood screenplay value is something like 55k and up, until it gets produced, where it can be worth another 350k or so. And it costs to develop the whole time. 

The pattern for a screenplay is pretty well known and is based on the Hero’s Quest. 

Note: 1 page = 1 minute

Page 1 - 10 - Setup - lead, setting, “original world” - normal reality for the lead

Page 10 - 17 (or so) - the problem is developed and it starts to pull the lead out of the normal world

Page 17 - 23 - the shift into the New Situation/ New World (ie just like passing the guardian into the underworld) - The start of Act 2

Act 2 is the most fun - building, changing, adjusting to the new situation and new world

Pages 27 - 75 (or so) 

The lead is learning, making progress on his/her quest. 

Funny thing - the Outer Quest (destroy the ring, rescue the daughter, save the house, catch the killer, whatever) is ALWAYS just a way for the Hero to solve the Inner Problem (doesn’t belong, is a bad dad, is wrestling with self-worth, must learn to love herself, etc) 

Mid Way through the movie - there is some great confrontation that shows the hero what he/she must do and man, it is harder than he/she thought and he/she has a tough time with it. 

The second half of Act 2 gets harder and worse and more problematical 

Pages 75-83 (or so) - The Low - Death enters the story for the hero

The hero is brought to the lowest, worst point, and feels like giving up. This is where the Inner Problem is too much for the hero to take. He/she has lost everything and has a huge realization.

HOWEVER!

This is when the Hero DIGS DEEP and finds something that makes him/her push forward. Sometimes it’s a person, sometimes an item, sometimes it’s just a moment of pulling him/herself up by the bootstraps 

NOW we are in Act III and this is an exciting, rollercoaster ride to the end - fights! confrontations! yelling! chasing! running! pace increasing! you have the hero facing his/her biggest problem AND the biggest enemy and usually winning - everything is building to this and everything has to close at the same time - all the energies at work come to this moment - 

Resolution is the solving of the hero’s problem, that he/she had from the start - the weird thing is, the movie appears to have been just a way to fix the hero - the bad character, the adventure, the turmoil, it was all just a lot of testing to push the hero into changing - this is called CHARACTER ARC

Get a diagram of screenplay structure

Friday, May 22, 2015

The material for this section was derived from the wonderful book Making Meaning by David Bordwell and was supplemented and explained by Debbie Twyman

David Bordwell suggests in his book Making Meaning, that there are four key components present in film reviews. These components consist of a condensed plot synopsis, background information, a set of abbreviated arguments about the film, and an evaluation. 

Condensed Plot Synopsis

A condensed plot synopsis means exactly that. This is a brief description of the film's plot that probably emphasizes the most important moments of the film without revealing the films ending. Nothing is worse than revealing too much about the movie and thus ruining it for the viewer. 

Background Information

Background information about the film consists of information about the stars, the director, and the production staff of the film. It can also include interesting tidbits about the making of the film. It may incorporate information about the film's source material as well as mentioning the type of genre the film fits into. If the reviewer is so inclined, it may also include comments from other reviewers and industry insiders that are designed to indicate to the reader what the film's reception is likely to be (can you say hype?). 

Abbreviated Arguments About The Film

The abbreviated arguments about the film are generally the main focus of the review. This is the section in which the reviewer analyzes and critiques the film. The focus of this segment is to point out what does and does not work in the movie and why. Most reviewers attempt to combine this information with a little background information. For example, if the lighting and composition of the film are particularly dreadful the reviewer will generally take the time to note who the film's cinematographer was - since it's the cinematographer's responsibility to prevent that from happening.

Evaluation

The reviewer's evaluation of the film generally includes a recommendation to either see or avoid seeing the film. This evaluation is always based on the reviewer's arguments about the film and is frequently backed up with his/her comments regarding the film's background. Your instructor would argue that the entire tone of the review should be influenced by the reviewer's evaluation of the film. To be honest, the reader should have a fairly clear idea of the reviewer's opinion after they have read the review's opening sentence. This does NOT mean that you should start a review with statements like, "This was a good movie," or "you should go see this film right now!" It does mean that the reader should have a general idea about where the reviewer stands on the film from the first paragraph on - just don't bludgeon us to death with it.

Generally speaking, when a reviewer is evaluating a film he/she tends to be assessing some, or all, of the following: the motivation for what happens in the film, the film's entertainment value, the film's social relevance and social value, and the film's aesthetic value. Hey, if it were easy everyone would be a film critic. It is a great job, most of the time. Unless of course, you are watching a genuinely bad film, the sort that once caused a notable film critic to comment, "That is 90 minutes of my life I can never get back."

Film critics frequently find fault with the film's motivation. That is not to say that they did not like the film's central theme but rather to say that they are looking for the relevance of a particular narrative event, or a justification for a specific action or section of dialogue. Bordwell classifies motivation into four categories: compositional, realistic, intertextual, and artistic. Compositional motivation probes the film's cause-effect logic - that is, does the movie flow logically from one scene to the next. Realistic motivation examines whether the actions that occur within the film are plausible or believable within the realms of the film's fiction. Intertextual motivation examines the relationship between the film and its genre and source material (a novel, a play, etc.) - for example, what would make sense in a musical would not make sense in a western and vice versa. Artistic motivation examines the way a film is made, its use of mise-en-shot and mise-en-scene to achieve a particular artistic look and feel. It is important to note that what is artistically motivated to one reviewer may be distracting to another. Once again, it all comes down to individual taste.

Most reviewers are at the very least conscious of the film's entertainment value. They are aware that the principle objective of most films is to entertain. They are also aware that if the film does not create a sense of willing suspense of disbelief on the part of a viewer it simply is not entertaining. Another way of looking at it is to say that the audience should be actively engaged in the movie, it should hold their attention and arouse their emotions. At today's ticket prices it had darn well better do that. So how does a movie do that? If I had all the answers I would be in Hollywood consulting for a major studio and this web site could take care of itself! That is not totally true, I do have some theories about this, as do most film critics. For starters, it is my fundamental belief that a film that does not have a strong set of characters with which the audience can identify it will not engage the audience. For more about what I consider to be the essential aspects of effective films check out that section of the web page. It should be noted, however, that some films (most notably summer blockbusters), can be successful if they provide the audience with an emotional roller-coaster ride that is comprised of enough action sequences, stunts, loud explosions, special effects, and booming surround sound. This reviewer is particularly enamoured with fireballs and explosions. Any of these approaches can potentially prove entertaining for the viewer.

Social value or relevance can also play an important role in a critic's perspective of the film. If the film makes an important social statement a reviewer may choose to overlook some, if not all of the flaws in the film. Films such as "Citizen Kane" (Orson Welles' masterpiece about the life of Charles Foster Kane which was actually a scathing indictment of the American Dream features many inconsistencies), or "JFK" (Oliver Stone's examination of the assassination of John F. Kenedy which includes many questionable facts) can be forgiven the occasional lapse because of their social and artistic importance. That is to say, a film can sometimes be redeemed by its message to such an extent that a reviewer will overlook technical mistakes, unless they are so monumental that they totally distract the viewer. 

So, what order does this go in, and how much of each of these things should be included in any review? Actually, that depends on the film and on the reviewer. Generally speaking, the information appears in the aforementioned order, but there is no hard and fast rule that says that it has to be that way. Bordwell seems to suggest that you open with a mini evaluation (one or two sentences that set the tone for the review), provide a mini plot synopsis, insert some condensed arguments (focusing on the acting - or lack therein, story logic, production values, special effects, etc.), toss in some background information throughout these sections, and then finish with a final assessment of the film's relative merit. Just how much the reviewer includes in each of these sections depends both on the film and the reviewer's assessment of his/her readers. Translated: what is there about the film that is worth praising or deriding and just how much information do my readers need and want in order to determine whether they would enjoy seeing this film?

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The Big Four - plot. setting, characters, theme

Plot - quick retell, key events, how it affects characters

Characters - list who’s there, what changes, any key effects - how they drive plot

Setting - where is this, what does that add, mood? 

Theme - much more interesting and valuable - more added by your brain

1. the larger themes we’ve already discussed - how are they expressed or shown in this chapter? think of events, things that resonate with you, etc and discuss

b) make links to the outer world - microcosm vs macrocosm (fractal) - text to world, text to self connection

c) find some issue in the real world that is (even obliquely) made reference to in the novel (ie the novel is a precursor in some way to something we’re seeing today) (remember the Hero’s Journey?) - discuss briefly that issue i.e. Aubrey Du Grey

Come up with some kind of engagement strategy - i.e. a little game, questions, an exercise for people to do - something that makes them do some work on your chapter chunk i.e. The Age of Reason thinker assignment, the creation of the monster assignment

Answer your own engagement piece - you provide the answer key

Recontextualization - how can you take something from your chunk and turn it into something else?  

Dunsinane News? What about a news article about something in your chapters? What about a video news piece? painting, drawing, sculpture, etc, soundtrack, act out some piece (make a little script), 

Look Fors:

Depth of understanding - you’ve taken the material from the novel and added to it, explored, explained and recontextualized it into some new framework - i.e. the presentation without losing the content - 

Application of Thinking - changing one thing into another, explaining with detail, showing why, reasoning and linking thing that make sense (connections)

Communication Strategies - how did you show me the above? visuals, good writing, clear presentation criteria (you used good techniques for presenting properly), no spelling errors, etc

Group Work - collaboration, good breakdown of tasks, working together well, conferencing with Lobb, with each other

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Building a Body (ironically, we’re studying Frankenstein)

Comparing - A = B and there has to be a reason for that comparison - observation/conclusion

Point

Cersei is an modern example of a Lady Macbeth character

There are shared characteristics - what are they? 

Explaining/Exploring/Giving Detail/Scope

Describe the sims and diffs, show how they fit into the same category - define the elements of a female character in that milieu (environment)

Show through research how there is something that those characters are suffering from in a similar way

Example/Reference/Quotation

You find these to show the above. Explain how these things link them together and their motivations are the same. 

Why, How, Connection/Linkage

Show how these similarities are a natural by-product of the environment hurting women of power and ambition who are smart enough to know what they don’t have

How to link the witches and the three prophecies back to the main thesis

He is given a way of pushing himself forward more foolishly - the three prophecies are designed to trick him into taking extra chances and not preparing properly, which are themselves signs of impulsive, foolish and self-harming behaviour 

More stuff like that above

Supernatural effects pushed Macbeth into his horrible crimes and therefore, he is not fully responsible

AoD 1 - Lady Macbeth - first - establish her supernaturality - i.e. the spell she “casts” at the start, the opening of herself to “dark spirits, murdering ministers” may not be enough. 

What else can we say? the use of indirect power to control and manipulate Macbeth is kind of “magical” - sexuality and love = charm of some sort or mind control of some sort - this could be a problem to prove - you have to PROVE this before you make your points

Maybe Lady Macbeth exercises some other “magical” element? the sleepwalking could be construed as acting under the power of some unseen forces - 

POSSESSION

AoD2 - witches - you’re really talking about only TWO incidents - the initial prophecy and the apparition conjuration

• we need to talk about something else - therefore, you need to focus also on the spells they cast that may have created a “state of inversion” in the area, in the country, with the characters, etc. - again, this has to be proven first, then it can be discussed

LM 

-   establish as magical

• discuss the manipulation as indirect, sneaky, more powerful than “normalcy” - Macbeth’s reaction to the manipulation is key to helping prove this
• show how that manipulation changed him from his path and forced/tricked/whatever’d him to do things against his nature and therefore make him somehow “less guilty” 
• you will have to demonstrate that Mac is not acting normal, that he is under enormous stress, he is damaged from the effects of the supernatural energies against him

Tuesday, May 5, 2014

Essay Writing Details

Body Action is complex

Thesis - Macbeth is manipulated, which affects our ability to see him as guilty - by the supernatural worses at fork in the story, which includes Lady Macbeth, the witches and the demonic apparitions the witches conjure up in Act 4. 

AoD 1 - something or someone manipulates him and he resists and this somehow shows that he is not as responsible as he would be if it was all idea - Lady Macbeth

AoD 2 - some other supernatural element(s) else manipulates him and he is pushed further into some kind of problems that contribute to his inability to make good decisions and discern what is right and wrong - Supernatural Forces

Point - Assertion - Idea

Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth and plays on his weaknesses and takes advantage of the ambition he has as a knight, a lord and a man in his culture. (describe how that works)

She thinks he’s too weak to push properly forward. “he’s too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way, etc” - explain how this works

Suddenly, I”m into Exploration of that point or assertion

Make sure that I’m leading into the actual manipulation - how does she do it? how does it affect him? how does he respond? What is the way that her actions generate the reaction that is our point - HOW - Explaining the illustration - you’re explaining how the reference works

HERE THERE BE LEVEL 4s

LINKAGE - CONNECTION - WHY

Okay, so if as he does X and Y which results in his reactions Z and Z1, then we have to think about how she sets it motion, she makes the plan, she tunes the plan, she controls his behaviour. 

We have to think about how he resists, how he begins to hallucinate from the stress - which shows that he’s really not that into the evil plan - he’s already cracking, etc

I might here end off by referring to the dagger, which would be a nice transition to talking about the witches and the supernatural.