Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland
In this three-part book-length study of the work of Gregg Toland, Philip Cowan explores approaches to co-authorship in collaborative filmmaking to propose new ways of identifying, attributing, and evaluating the creative work of cinematographers. In the first part of the study, Cowan challenges the dominant, director-centered auteur approach to film studies, critiquing the historical development of authorship theory and providing a contemporary analysis of the cinematographer’s authorial role in creating images that communicate meaning through content and construction. By synthesizing and updating the work of previous film theorists to define the complexities of composition, movement, and lighting in the second part of the study, Cowan develops a new, comprehensive taxonomy of functional and aesthetic elements of the moving image. Finally, by using the co-author approach and the analytical tools developed in part two of the book, Cowan provides an in-depth re-examination of Toland’s work, highlighting the historical neglect of the cinematographer’s artistic contribution to filmmaking and developing a fresh approach to the analysis of contemporary cinematography in film.

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Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland
In this three-part book-length study of the work of Gregg Toland, Philip Cowan explores approaches to co-authorship in collaborative filmmaking to propose new ways of identifying, attributing, and evaluating the creative work of cinematographers. In the first part of the study, Cowan challenges the dominant, director-centered auteur approach to film studies, critiquing the historical development of authorship theory and providing a contemporary analysis of the cinematographer’s authorial role in creating images that communicate meaning through content and construction. By synthesizing and updating the work of previous film theorists to define the complexities of composition, movement, and lighting in the second part of the study, Cowan develops a new, comprehensive taxonomy of functional and aesthetic elements of the moving image. Finally, by using the co-author approach and the analytical tools developed in part two of the book, Cowan provides an in-depth re-examination of Toland’s work, highlighting the historical neglect of the cinematographer’s artistic contribution to filmmaking and developing a fresh approach to the analysis of contemporary cinematography in film.

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Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland

Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland

by Philip Cowan
Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland

Authorship and Aesthetics in the Cinematography of Gregg Toland

by Philip Cowan

Hardcover

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Overview

In this three-part book-length study of the work of Gregg Toland, Philip Cowan explores approaches to co-authorship in collaborative filmmaking to propose new ways of identifying, attributing, and evaluating the creative work of cinematographers. In the first part of the study, Cowan challenges the dominant, director-centered auteur approach to film studies, critiquing the historical development of authorship theory and providing a contemporary analysis of the cinematographer’s authorial role in creating images that communicate meaning through content and construction. By synthesizing and updating the work of previous film theorists to define the complexities of composition, movement, and lighting in the second part of the study, Cowan develops a new, comprehensive taxonomy of functional and aesthetic elements of the moving image. Finally, by using the co-author approach and the analytical tools developed in part two of the book, Cowan provides an in-depth re-examination of Toland’s work, highlighting the historical neglect of the cinematographer’s artistic contribution to filmmaking and developing a fresh approach to the analysis of contemporary cinematography in film.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781793638953
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication date: 10/03/2022
Pages: 352
Product dimensions: 6.31(w) x 9.39(h) x 1.02(d)

About the Author

Philip Cowan is senior lecturer in cinematography at the University of South Wales in the UK.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Figures

Introduction

Part One: Authorship

Chapter 1: Theoretical Movements of Authorship in Film

Chapter 2: The Death and Resurrection of the Author

Chapter 3: Multiple Authorship in Film

Chapter 4: The Cinematographer

Part Two: Aesthetics

Chapter 5: Nilsen’s Representational Theory

Chapter 6: Carroll’s Functional Theory

Chapter 7: Functional Aesthetic Elements of Shot Composition

Part Three: Appreciation

Chapter 8: Gregg Toland in Depth

Chapter 9: Toland, Characteristics of the Medium and Spatial Elements

Chapter 10: Toland, Temporal Elements of Shot Composition and Lighting

Chapter 11: Toland as Co-Author (7,754)

Chapter 12: The Collaboration between Toland and Wyler

Conclusion

Gregg Toland Filmography

Additional Filmography

Bibliography

About the Author

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