英语影视赏析复习资料Part one Theoretical knowledge 1. A camera works by capturing a series of images. This series of images is called a “frame” and is achieved by using a sporadic mechanism. The frames are then replayed in a movie projector at a certain speed, known as “frame rate” (the number of frames by second). 2. History and genre are the two basic parameters used when categorizing films.3. The invention of photography in 1826 laid the technological groundwork for cinema. 4. On December 28, 1895, Lumire brothers played the first films Larrive dun train la Ciolat and La Sortie des usines.5. American cinema occurred in parallel with French cinema, but developed faster through the nickelodeons whose audiences reached 49 million per week in 1915.6. Production of early American cinema was initially based on “cameraman system”: The cameraman planned, wrote, filmed and edited; only at the end, the director controlled workers with clear roles and a producer planned and budgeted.7. Early film was voiceless and black-and-white.8. Aesthetically, the early cinema has been called “Actuality filming”: it recorded and represented aspects of “real life”; usually consisted simply of a single pong-distance shot of a single figure (often a celebrity or sports personality), place or action. fictional scenarios, if possible, were little more than gags, vaudeville performances, or re-enactments of real events; it relied primarily on spectacle rather than narrative: Comedy sketches, magic shows, or simply images of moving vehicles were the heart of the early cinema.9. From the early 1920s to the late 1950s with the arrival of sound and color. Sound was first introduced by Warner brothers in Don Juan in 1926. Color technology began to be applied in the 1920s and improved in the 1930s.10. Industrially, this period of the classic Hollywood film is characterized by the emergence of “studio system” and the domination of five major companies. Structurally, it is characterized by a cinema of narrative: Causality, temporal logic, motivated action and plot resolutions. Technically, continuity editing was employed. This is an era to bear “star” and “star vehicles”. Stars were controlled by long-term contracts and played the roles determined by the studios. Studios constructed a “star persona”, generated extra-filmic publicity and gossip. The period generated major cinematic genres: musicals. Horror, gangster, science- fiction and war, and film noir also appeared.11. Ideology of the classic Hollywood film:Property, enterprise, initiative: fundamental American values; The work ethic: applauding “honest toil”; Marriage, family and home: “my home, my wife and my children”; Progress, technology, the city: “New York, New York, its a wonderful town.”; Success and wealth; America as a land of happiness; The ideal male: a virile man of action; The ideal female: perfect companion and mainstay of the home 12. The theme of a film is its main point; it is what the scriptwriter and director wants to tell us. In more precise terms, theme is the controlling idea of the film. Themes commonly reflect the most basic and universal human concern such as love (whether romantic or affectionate ), the nature of humanity, ethical concerns, the meaning of human existence, and the possibility (or impossibility) of a divine force guiding human affairs.13. Characterization and performance are the two essential aspects of a cinematic work. Characterization in movies is sometimes novelistic. However, characters may also be designed to fulfill certain “functions” in the narrative, or even to correspond to some character archetypes.14. The character archetypes are key elements of a story pattern that gives “accurate models of the workings of the human mind, true maps of the psyche.”15. Character can be divided into three types: Main character; Secondary character; Minor character.16. The main character is the most important character in a film and the character of greatest interest. Usually the main character is also the “protagonist”, whose actions trigger the chain of causes and effects that drive the plot forward. The motivation and goal of the protagonist is what provides the impetus for the story, and when the goal is concluded the story end. Therefore, the audience usually focuses on the protagonist and identify emotionally with him: to share his dreams, to sympathizes with his predicament, and to appreciate his success.17. Secondary characters are those who interact with the protagonist and have significant impact on the development of the narrative. They can be divided into three functions: the opposition character, the mirror character and the romance character. The opposition character, also known as the antagonist is the character who opposes the intentions of the protagonist by creating obstacles. It is usually an individual figure, but occasionally a ferocious animal, an unexpected disaster, or even an evil force,