Thursday, September 30

Students reviewed a checklist of important techniques in Birth of a Nation.  We reviewed the list, identified certain terms in parts of the film we watched yesterday, and students documented techniques as we watched more of the film.  We stopped at the point when Ben Cameron shows up in the same hospital ward where Elsie Stoneman is working as a nurse.

Wednesday, September 29

Students took a ten-question quiz over Tuesday's handouts on Birth of a Nation, and we went over the answers, after which we watched the beginning of the film, with assorted commentary.

Tuesday, September 28

Students received two handouts concerning D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation.

We reviewed the early history and principles of cinematography and film editing by watching the beginnings of two documentary films, Visions of Light (cinematography) and The Cutting Edge (film editing).

HW due Wednesday:
Read today's two handouts and prepare for a quiz over them in class Wednesday.

Monday, September 27

We finished our analysis of motifs in Shadow of a Doubt with a final look at young Charlie's descent of the staircase with Uncle Charlie's ring on her hand.

Mr. P introduced D.W. Griffith (whom we met earlier as director of The Girl and Her Trust), and stressed his unique influence upon practically every director who followed him.  We watched the famous scenes in the storm and on the ice floes from Way Down East, and analyzed briefly the three-component cross-cutting which gives the ice floe scene its power.

Friday, September 24

We continued to examine motifs in Shadow of a Doubt, focusing especially on the ways in which stairs and associated high and low angle shots are used to express the power struggle between the two Charlies, and on the use of shadows.

Thursday, September 23

Starting from the library scene in Shadow of a Doubt, we examined the use of extreme high and low camera angles in the film, most often associated with the motif of stairs and the tense jockeying for position between the two Charlies.  We especially stressed the ironic high-angle shot in which Uncle Charlie pauses as he springs up the stairs, and turns around to look at the terrifying spectre of innocent young Charlie suffused by sunlight in her girlish Sunday dress.

Wednesday, September 22

We watched "Beyond Doubt," a short documentary about the making of Shadow of a Doubt. Students took notes on the important points in this admittedly rather uneven film and put them in the tray on the way out of class.