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Introduction to Film, Section 2
Week 11 (March 29)
6:00-8:00
View Tootsie
Note: I will be out of town this week, but the class will still meet to view Tootsie
and pass in the first ballot for the final film. (The ballot will count for your Extra
Credit Question next week.) You can find the ballot at:
http://www.english.mnsu.edu/larsson/introfilm/choiceballot1.html
Either print it off or write your top 10 choices out and pass them at class.
Mr. Pomeroy, who will be showing the film for the class, will collect the ballots.
QUIZ 3 IN ONE WEEK! (APRIL 5)
Bring a full-sized (8 ½” X 11”) Scantron sheet and a #2 pencil
Quiz will be given during last half-hour of class
Questions will include
 definitions of terms from Chapters 7 and 8 ( cinematography and editing) in
Film Art
 how terms apply to films that we have watched
 specific questions about films:
o Rear Window
o Tootsie
o Band of Outsiders
o Short films and clips
Note: Up to 10 of the questions will be based on film clip that I will show during
the quiz
CONTINUITY EDITING: SOME BASICS
Editing is the placing of two or more shots in relation to each other
Four basic ways of joining shots together
1. CUT: One shot goes to next immediately, nothing in between
2. FADE
 Fade in to shot from black or blank screen
 Fade out from shot to black or blank screen
3. DISSOLVE: Ending of one shot overlaps beginning of next shot
4. WIPE: Line moves across screen, “wiping” away one shot and revealing new
one underneath.
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Cut is most common type.
WIPE is least common (almost disappeared after 1950s but has made a
comeback in film and television).
All types except cut are somewhat gradual, often imply transitions or
changes of time or space
some other variations: swish-pan, iris out or iris in
CONTINUITY EDITING
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Also referred to as “Hollywood editing” or “invisible editing”
Develops in early years of filmmaking (1900-1910)
Highly developed as set of “rules” to be followed by early 1920s
Still in effect today in film and TV despite some adaptation
System has absorbed some practices once thought to be “violations” of
“rules” of editing
Purpose is to assure that the audience has a sense of continuity in
 Space
 Time
 Narrative
Some major devices used in continuity editing
(Each can work against continuity if the “rules” are not followed):
General Pattern:
1. Establishing shot
2. Breakdown of scene into closer shots
3. Re-establishing shot (if needed)
Purpose: Establishes overall space where a scene will occur. Allows closer
shots with little confusion about where people and objects are.
180-Degree Rule:
Keeps all action in all shots on one side of straight line (180 degree arc) in a
scene (the “axis of action”)
C
C
C
C
C
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
X
C=Possible camera position
X=”Wrong” camera position
Purpose:
 Assures continuity of direction of motion
 Assures continuity of position of characters, objects
 Assures overlapping background space from shot to shot
 Allows shot/reverse shot setups in conversations, etc.
Eyeline Match
Shot of person looking offscreen, followed by shot of what he or she “sees”
Purpose: Establishes connection in space between person looking and what is
seen. Eyeline matches establish what Jeff “sees” in Rear Window.
Match on Action
Action in one shot is continued in next shot, even though camera has changed
position.
Purpose: Allows camera to change position without calling attention to the
change.
Crosscutting
Cuts between shots of actions occurring in two or more different places
(usually at the same time)
Purpose: Creates links in time, cause-and-effect, theme among actions
Montage Sequence
Relatively long process or period of story duration is conveyed in short
amount of screen duration by series of short shots.
Purpose: Allows narrative to summarize series of actions or events.
TOOTSIE (1982); Director: Sidney Pollack; Script: Larry Gelbart, Elaine May and
Murray Schisgal [uncredited]; Cinematography: Owen Roizman; Editors: Fredric
Steinkamp, William Steinkamp; Music: David Grusin
CAST: Dustin Hoffman (Michael Dorsey/"Dorothy Michaels"); Jessica Lange
(Julie); Terri Garr (Sandy); Dabney Coleman (Ron); Bill Murray (Jeff--uncredited);
Charles Durning (Les); George Gaynes (John Van Horn); Geena Davis (April)
Study Questions:
1. What kind of person is Michael Dorsey shown to be in the opening scenes of
the film? How do these personality traits affect or motivate events later in the
film? How does Michael change in personality? What causes that change?
2. Why does Michael decide to become "Dorothy Michaels"? What effect does
this decision have on later events? What complications does it create?
3. How does mise-en-scene function to help create the setting of an actor's life in
the early 1980s? What other roles does mise-en-scene play as the film
progresses? Notice especially the uses of costume and make-up.
4. Does editing conform to the practices of the continuity system, or does it
deliberately violate those "rules" of editing? Look for specific uses of editing
devices: shot/reverse shot; eyeline match; match on action; crosscutting;
montage sequence.
5. What does this film have to say about gender roles and expectations between
men and women in how they treat each other? Would a movie like this have
been made much earlier in American history?
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