blog 2- #2

This movie was deemed to break the stylistic conventions of the run of the mill classical Hollywood cinema because it brought something that no other movie had seen, which were new lighting schemes, camera angles, and editing techniques. The risks that Welles took were great. Welles was basing the movie off William Randolph Hearst, a powerful man who invented yellow journalism and used it to his extreme. Hearst did everything in his power to shut the movie down, and make up lies about it. Not to mention Welles was only 24 years old and for a young guy like that to go up against a powerful tycoon in Hearst was amazing. Welles didn't back down, and when Citizen Kane was initially released it didn't do so great at the box office, it wasn't until after Hearst died that the film became a national phenomena.

blog 5 - #2

A star persona would be an actor or actress who has played the same type of character in movies. An example of this would be Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movies. Stallone is the tough guy. I think it is used by actors to there advantage, i believe actors like being personafied, they get use to being the hero, the bad guy, the killer, and audiences get use to it also. If Stallone did a romantic comedy the movie would bomb because people are use to seeing Stalllone kick butt or be the hero or the tough guy. A public Persona would be someone who is themselves. For example I'm a nice, funny, sarcastic guy, im personaified as that, people expect me to be funny, nice all the time, so if i say something mean people are surprised and they say "thats not you". Its the way you act thats gets you personafied.

blog 4 - #2

What it meant if a person usually a studio star was under contract to a studio was that, that particular star was stuck with that studio for however long there contract was. If you were a big time star like Jimmy Stewart, or Humphrey Bogart and the studio you workerd for wasnt getting the big time films your career was going to suffer, and it did for some stars. You were expected to bring in a lot of money, and to be a box office hit. The lenth of the contracts were 7 years. If another studio offered you more money to work for them the star couldnt becasue of the lenth of contract. Some stars fell from stardom becasue the studio they worked for wasnt pumping out the big time films. The pros would be that if your a lesser known star and not making much money, the seven year contract would be great for you because you have job security, and making steady money. The con would be that if its a big time star they may not want to be held that long , they want to go where the money is as well as the big parts, and if the studio isnt getting them that then there stuck.

blog 3 - #3

Point of View - The position from which an action is seen, often determining it's significance.
Example - Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, Raging Bull.

180 Rule - A principle of spatial continuity designed to assure a smooth flow between shots in a single scene, the camera position must be kept on a sigle side of that line.
Example- Citizen Kane

Continuity - System of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action.
Example- Citizen Kane

Matches - From one scene to another without any jump cuts, to make it seamless, or invisible.
Example - Citizen Kane, Orson Welles uses dissolves, fades, wipes between each scene to make it flow.

blog #1 - option 2

The significant film achievements of Edwin Porter were that he directed "The Great Train Robbery", perhaps the most influential film of that decade. The significant achievement for D.W. Griffith was "Birth of a Nation" which was almost banned by the NAACP, it was still highly successful at the box office. The elements that Edwin S Porter introduced to the film making process of his time was that Porter was central in the organization of the first projected movie show in New York on April 23rd 1896. Porter also attempted to create his own camera and projector but his efforts were in vain. Porter was also one of the first directors to shoot at night in his "Pan-American Exposition by Night". The elements that D.W. Griffith introduced to the film making process of his time was that Griffiths use of intricate editing and film techniques such as alternating close-ups and long-shots from varying camera angles, were revolutionary and inspired a generation of directors. What ultimately led to D.W. Griffith's falling from grace from the film industry was that Griffith was hurt deeply by the accusations of racism form "Birth of a Nation", his next film "Intolerance" was a quartet of stories of a mans inhumanity to man. Griffith's attempt to compensate for the politics of the "Birth of a Nation" was a commercial flop. Intolerance left him heavily in debt and over the next few years Griffith desperately attempted to make films that would enable him to pay off his creditors. Edwin Porter never fell from grace from the film industry, after the "Great Train Robbery" Porter returned to his first enthusiasm, projectors and remained involved with projection for the rest of his working life. I do believe that both of their work is still valuable and interesting to film today because both created unique techniques in editing and camera work that are still used today by directors, so i think both were vital to the film industry.