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Lecture 12Lecture 12 Authorship and Style Authorship and Style

Professor Michael Green Fernando Meirelles directs Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener (2005)

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Previous LecturePrevious Lecture

• Genre Recognition

• Genre History

• Social Functions of

Genre

• Genre and Hardboiled

(1992)

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This Lecture This Lecture

• Style

• Authorship

• Some Notable Auteurs

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Style in CinemaStyle in Cinema

Lesson 12: Part I

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) Directed by Terry Gilliam

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What is Style?What is Style?Style is the repeated and salient use of film techniques characteristic of a single

film or a group of films.

Lost in Translation (2003) Directed by Sofia Coppola

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StylizationStylization• Style is often thought of in terms of

flashiness, or film techniques that call attention to themselves. Examples include the approach of such directors as Terry Gilliam, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and Spike Lee.

• The films of such directors are often thought of as stylized, but in reality, every film is the product of individual choices and therefore has a style.

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ExampleExample

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Stylistic Patterns Across FilmsStylistic Patterns Across Films• Stylistic patterns can be seen in several

films by the same filmmaker.– Martin Scorsese’s use of rock soundtracks– Watch the clips

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Stylistic PatternsStylistic Patterns

• Are a major part of any film.– Deep focus cinematography in Citizen Kane

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Group StyleGroup Style• Refers to the consistent use of techniques

across the work of several filmmakers.– German Expressionism– Soviet Montage– Kung Fu movies– American Film Noir

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Film NoirFilm Noir

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Style and the FilmmakerStyle and the Filmmaker• A film’s style results from a mix of

historical constraints and deliberate choices.

• Typically, the filmmaker makes certain technical choices and adheres to them throughout the film.

• A few techniques might stand out as varying from the film’s normal usage – in a dream sequence, for example – but in general, a film tends to rely on consistent usage of certain techniques.

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Some Stylistic PatternsSome Stylistic Patterns• Jump cuts and handheld camera in

Breathless.• The shark motif in the score for Jaws.• Long takes and handheld camera in

Children of Men• Fast editing in The Bourne Supremacy• Wipe cuts in The Empire Strikes Back• Elaborate make-up and costumes in

Pan’s Labyrinth.

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Style and NarrativeStyle and Narrative• Filmmakers often plan the style to reflect

the progression of the scene or the overall story.– Dead Man Walking– The Silence of the Lambs

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Style and the ViewerStyle and the Viewer

• Although we’re seldom conscious of it, we tend to have expectations about style.

– If we see two characters in a long shot, we expect a cut to a medium shot or close-up.

– If a character speaks we expect to hear diegetic sound that is faithful to its source.

– If the character walks rightward, as if to leave the frame, we expect the camera to follow.

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• How do we analyze a film’s style?• Step 1: Determine the organizational

structure.• Step 2: Identify the salient techniques

used.• Step 3: Trace out patterns of techniques• Step 4: Propose functions for the salient

techniques and the patterns they form.

Analyzing Film StyleAnalyzing Film Style

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Determine the StructureDetermine the Structure

• Step 1: Determine the organizational structure.

• What kind of narrative is it? Or is it a narrative at all?– How does it manipulate causality, time and

space?– Does it use parallelism?– Does it choose between restricted and

unrestricted knowledge?

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Identify Salient TechniquesIdentify Salient Techniques• Step 2: Identify the salient techniques used.• Survey technical aspects of the film: mise-

en-scene, editing, sound, etc.• Which of these techniques does the film

rely heavily on/emphasize?• What unconventional or original techniques

are used?

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Trace Out Patterns of TechniquesTrace Out Patterns of Techniques

• Step 3: Trace out patterns of techniques• Once you’ve identify salient techniques,

notice how they are patterned.– Reflect on your own responses– Look for ways in which style reinforces

patterns of formal organization. – How does the filmmaker design the film’s

stylistic system to underscore moments in the drama?

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Propose FunctionsPropose Functions• Step 4: Propose functions for the salient

techniques and the patterns they form.• In other words, you are arguing for how

the filmmaker is using style to create meaning.

• This is at the heart of critical analysis.

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AuthorshipAuthorship

Lesson 12: Part II

Mira Nair directs Tabu in The Namesake (2006)

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Who is a Film’s Author?Who is a Film’s Author?• This is a question that continues to be

debated and has no “right” answer.

• In theory, the film’s “author” can be one of several people, or a combination of them.

• However, the film’s director is commonly thought of as it’s author.

• This idea was born out of a theory developed in France in the 1940s and ‘50s.

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The Auteur TheoryThe Auteur Theory• The term auteur implies that the director

is the primary creative source, and therefore his or her films express his or her distinctive vision of the world.

• Just as “Dickensian” describes Charles Dickens literary style, so “Wellesian” might be used to describe a film exhibiting certain traits of Orson Welles’ style, such as deep focus cinematography.

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Director as “Author”Director as “Author”• The connection between the film director

and literary author derives from the fact, historically, that French film directors also wrote or co-wrote their films.

• But the French critics who advocated the idea of the auteur also argued for the artistry of Hollywood directors – that even commercial directors working for studios could be considered artists.

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Criteria of the AuteurCriteria of the Auteur• The American film critic Andrew Sarris

came up with several (controversial) criteria to define who qualifies:

– Technical competence: A director must be capable of making a well-made film

– Style: A director must demonstrate a distinguishable personality.

– Themes: The films in a director’s body of work must share interior meaning.

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Problems with the Auteur TheoryProblems with the Auteur Theory

• Technical competence is a weak criteria.

• It penalizes directors who deliberately seek out a wide variety of styles and subjects.

• It fails to acknowledge the collaborative nature of filmmaking (screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, et. al.)

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More ProblemsMore Problems

• It implies that the director possesses conscious intentions for meaning that are always reflected in the film. But negotiating meaning in films is a complicated process that goes beyond authorial intentions and is historical and subjective.

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Auteur Theory as MarketingAuteur Theory as Marketing• The commercial exploitation of the auteur

is evident in many marketing campaigns.

• Filmmakers have become cult celebrities.

• Some contemporary examples include:– Spike Lee

– Quentin Tarantino

– Robert Rodriquez

– Sofia Coppola

– Wes Anderson

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Some Notable AuteursSome Notable Auteurs

Lesson 12: Part III

The Swedish director Ingmar Bergman

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Auteur Profile #1: TarantinoAuteur Profile #1: Tarantino• Elements of Style

– Violence—gory, bloody– 1970s genre: music, cars– Non-linear narrative – 50’s look– Fetishization of weapons

• Themes– How violence bonds men– Odd people/outcasts– Women are strong/active– Watch the clips

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Auteur Profile #2: CoppolaAuteur Profile #2: Coppola• Elements of Style

– Use of pop music– Vibrant colors– Elaborate costumes

• Themes– Youth/aging– Power of women/

beauty as control– Music as liberation– Whiteness– Watch the clip

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Auteur Profile #3: AndersonAuteur Profile #3: Anderson• Elements of Style

– Still camera – Unusual framing– Unique costumes– Narrative frame – Narrative freedom

• Themes– Eccentrics/outcasts– Dysfunctional family– Watch the clip

Some Notable AuteursSome Notable AuteursOrson Welles Akira Kurosawa

Citizen Kane (1941)

Touch of Evil (1958)

The Seven Samurai (1954)

Rashômon (1950)

More Notable AuteursMore Notable AuteursJohn Ford Federico Fellini

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The Searchers (1954)

La Strada (1954)

8 ½ (1963)

Still More AuteursStill More AuteursJean Renoir Woody Allen

Grand Illusion (1937)

The Rules of the Game (1939)

Annie Hall (1977)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

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OthersOthers• Alfred Hitchcock

• Ingmar Bergman

• Michelangelo Antonioni

• Spike Lee

• Martin Scorsese

• Steven Spielberg

• Clint Eastwood

• Kathryn Bigelow

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City of God (2002)City of God (2002)• Directors: Fernando Meirelles and Kátia

Lund

• Lund worked with the actors and Meirelles directed the scenes and set up shots.

• Only Meirelles received an Oscar nomination, not Lund – controversial.

• Watch the two clips and pick out elements of the movie’s style.

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End of Lesson 12End of Lesson 12

Next Lecture:Documentary, Animation, Experimental Film