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Film Theory: Frame, Window, Mirror

This document discusses three metaphors - frame, window, and mirror - that underlie major film theories. The frame metaphor is associated with formalist theories focused on signification, like those of Eisenstein. The window metaphor relates to realist theories that see the screen as a transparent view of reality, exemplified by Bazin and Kracauer. The mirror metaphor grounds psychoanalytic film theory in ideas of projection and the specular, seen in Lacan and Metz. The target audience is advanced film students willing to analyze beyond entertainment paradigms. The objectives are to elucidate epistemologies of cinema's formal debates while harnessing associated techniques and appreciating the unity of theory and practice. The methodology combines lectures, film analysis

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Sushil Jadhav
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160 views2 pages

Film Theory: Frame, Window, Mirror

This document discusses three metaphors - frame, window, and mirror - that underlie major film theories. The frame metaphor is associated with formalist theories focused on signification, like those of Eisenstein. The window metaphor relates to realist theories that see the screen as a transparent view of reality, exemplified by Bazin and Kracauer. The mirror metaphor grounds psychoanalytic film theory in ideas of projection and the specular, seen in Lacan and Metz. The target audience is advanced film students willing to analyze beyond entertainment paradigms. The objectives are to elucidate epistemologies of cinema's formal debates while harnessing associated techniques and appreciating the unity of theory and practice. The methodology combines lectures, film analysis

Uploaded by

Sushil Jadhav
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Title:

 Frame,  Window  and  Mirror  


 
Target:   Advanced   students   of   film-­‐aesthetics   who   are   willing   to   move  
beyond  the  communication-­‐design-­‐entertainment  paradigm.  
 
Overview:    
The  three  metaphors  of  Frame,  Window  and  Mirror  underlie  the  central  
discourses  of  modern  film  theory  and  practice.    
 
The   metaphor   of   a   Frame   comes   from   modern   painting   and   is   central   to  
formalist  theories  that  are  concerned  with  signification.  
Epistemology:   Eisenstein   (Dialectics,   Cubism),   Balaz   (Formalism),   Mitry    
(Semiotics).  
Technique:  Constructivism,  Montage,  Mise-­‐en-­‐shot.    
 
The  metaphor  of  Window  underlies  realist  film  theories,  which  stresses  
the   act   of   perception   in   conceptualizing   the   cinema   screen   as   a  
transparent  window  onto  the  world.  
Epistemology:   Bazin   (Mythic   Realism),   Kracauer   (Physical   Realism),  
Zavattini(Neo  Realism).  
Technique:  Mise-­‐en-­‐scene,  Plan  Sequence,  Deep-­‐  Focus  
 
The   metaphor   of   a   Mirror   is   central   to   psychoanalytic   film   theory   that  
designates  the  projected  texts  as  specular.    
Epistemology:  Lacan  (Mirror  Stage),  Metz  (Imaginary  Signifier),  Schrader  
(Transcendental  Realism).  
Technique:     Mise-­‐en-­‐abyme,   Picaresque-­‐Hyperlinking,   Eclecticism.   (123  
words)  
 
Objectives:  
•  Elucidation   of   the   epistemologies   of   the   central   formal   polemics   of  
cinema.  
•  Harnessing   of   the   associated   formal   possibilities   and   their  
techniques   like   Montage   Constructions,   Mise-­‐en-­‐scene,   Plan-­‐
Sequence/Long  Take,  Mise-­‐en-­‐abyme  etc.  
•  In   the   process,   appreciating   the   inseparability   of   Theory   and  
Practice  in  cinema.  
•  Envisaging  the  future  potentials  of  the  medium.  
   
Methodology:  
To   remain   true   to   the   tactile   nature   of   the   media   the   workshop   will  
follow   the   Methodology   of   PRAXIS   around   certain   pivotal   techno-­‐
aesthetic  aspects  like  cinematography,  audiography,  editing  etc.  through  
 
• Classroom  lecture-­‐demonstrations  
• Screening  and  analysis  of  selected  portions  and  whole  film  
• Hands-­‐on  technical  lessons  
• Making  of  film  texts  and  sequences  
 
 
 

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