The Elements of Cinema / Edition 1

by Stefan Sharff

Overview

Beginning with the proposition that there exist uniquely cinematic elements of meaning and structure, Stefan Sharff clearly and systematically lays the foundation for "literacy" in cinema—a sensitivity to the aesthetic elements intrinsic only to film. Sharff presents the basic elements of structure, modes of expression, and rules which he argues create a specific "language" and "syntax" of cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231054775
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	10/22/1982
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	187
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.80(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stefan Sharff has produced and directed more than sixty films, including two feature-length works, and several series for public television. He has received numerous international awards for his work including the Grand Prix at Vienna. He is currently a professor of film in Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Table of Contents

Introduction
On Cinematic Structures
On Cinematic Syntax
The Master Plan
Separation
Parallel Action
Familiar Image
Slow Disclosure
Cinesthetic Movements
Multi-Angularity
The Master Shot Discipline
Orchestration
Conclusion
Glossary
Index

What People are Saying About This

Film Quarterly - Ernest Callenbach

Sharff's compact, lucid treatise is full of practical film-maker's points as well as intriguing theoretical notions. He's as cogent at explaining why a good film 'phrase' must contain a minimm of three shots as he is in giving a defense of master shot discipline, which can be elegant in the right hands (Lubitsch's?).

Ernest Callenbach

Sharff's compact, lucid treatise is full of practical film-maker's points as well as intriguing theoretical notions. He's as cogent at explaining why a good film 'phrase' must contain a minimm of three shots as he is in giving a defense of master shot discipline, which can be elegant in the right hands (Lubitsch's?).

— Film Quarterly
— Ernest Callenbach, Editor