History of Hollywood

Fort Lee, New Jersey is famous in part for...

• the birthplace of the Method

• the birthplace of D.W. Griffith

• the first studios dedicated to making motion pictures

• the site of Eadweard Muybridge's racehorse experiment

Lillian Gish was known for...

• ...her acting technique, described by reviewers as "large, melodramatic and like reviewing lightning"

• ...the book she wrote, Acting on Film

• ...her acting technique, which was subtle and intimate, called naturalistic by her peers

• ...her use of heavy make-up b/c camera technology was rudimentary

Soviet Montage is concerned with...

• Cinematic space: trying to solve the issue of describing a 3D world in a 2D format

• Editing technique, where unrelated images were spliced together to convey meaning/expression

• Classical Continuity: in order to tell a story, the production must continue the illusion of reality by maintaining location, character, actor, design, action and time

• isolationist USSR, that developed their own art forms w/o interference from outside culture

Classic Hollywood acting style was further influenced around 1913 - 1920 by European immigrants fleeing Europe with...

• a preference for the stylized and extraordinary design and acting in German Expressionist Cinema

• a preference for the raw, instinctual, deep emotions created by the Method

• a preference for the understated, subtle acting in German silent film

• a preference for the melodrama/vaudevillian performance of Charlie Chaplin

Classic Hollywood content can be described as...

• a poem, where allegory/symbolism is high and the action is hard to follow/unpredictable

• a narrative, with events powered by cause and effect, where an ordinary person goes on a journey, finds a conflict, and resolves it

• a PSA, where there's no hero or character, but there is a performer and there's a lesson to be learned

• a documentary, where a real-life investigation is being documented by a camera and crew

A basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene; by keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary axis between two characters, the first character is always frame right of the second character is a definition of...

• 180° rule

• Axial Cut

• 30°

• Composition

The moment a camera zooms from, say, a medium shot to a close up is called a...

• 180° rule

• Axial Cut

• 30°

• Composition

The measurement from the subject/object of a shot that maintains cinematic space is anywhere over...

• 180° rule

• Axial Cut

• 30°

• Composition

In 3 point lighting, the fill light...

• ...is the principal illuminator. Strength, color and angle determines the shot’s overall design

• ...is left on set to ensure when not being used

• ...shines at a side angle relative to the key light. Creates depth through shadow on subject/object. Higher/Lower position, up to 50% intensity. Flood.

• ...shines on the subject from behind to one side. Separates subject from the background

Before US vs. Paramount, Studios controlled/employed

• Actors

• Designers/Crew

• Editors

• Movie houses

• Film/celluloid manufacturer