Spring 2021
TMA 102 - Introduction to Film
TMA 102 - Introduction to Film
Course outcomes common to all sections of TMA 102
- Students will become active, intelligent film viewers.
- Students will be exposed to the practical elements of film.
- Students will learn about a wide range of stories and stylistic strategies utilized by film artists and institutions.
- Students will become familiar with new and helpful ways of receiving films. They will be able to evaluate and analyze films in a variety of contexts.
After watching the film, identify a possible theme of the film. Analyze the film using two of the weekly topics from this semester, showing how the cinematic elements contribute to the film’s theme. Use specific film terminology throughout your analysis. You should try to write at least a solid paragraph on each of the topics you choose. For your convenience, the weekly topics are listed below.
Your Answer:
Theme: We are creatures that exist in the moment, and the only thing we have is what we have in the moment.
In Broken Bird, this can be emphasized through the editing and the soundtrack.
Theme: We are creatures that exist in the moment, and the only thing we have is what we have in the moment.
In Broken Bird, this can be emphasized through the editing and the soundtrack.
Editing.
To prove that we are creatures that can only exist in the moment, Broken Bird starts the film off with a quick sequence of the girl, Bird, doing her hair. We get rapid cuts between the close ups on the hair doing process. As we see the flashes from one images to the next we understand that time is passing but we have skipped the majority of the action it has taken to make the time pass. As an audience, we have quick cuts of hair, shampoo, rinse, and dry. These fast cuts show that we only have so much time and what we have is what we are given. We don’t see the whole process, instead, we get more of the feeling of the process. This use of implied action shows us that the only moment we can exist in is the one we are currently in. We are not in the action, but we do see glimpses of it and those glimpses are the places where we exist. The moment in which we exist, is the outcome. This is especially evident when Bird looks at her hair in the mirror later at the restaurant.
A second element of editing that teaches us about being in the moment is that of the use of flashbacks. Often we think of flashbacks as an excuse to visit to another time but in this short film the flashbacks were used as gateways to express what we have in the moment, specifically, what Bird is thinking and feeling in the moment. The two ways in which the flashes were used were vital in the placement of film. The main flashes came when she was practicing Torah. While she is listening to it and practicing it, she does not have an actual paper out but as we get a cut to the Torah visually, we understand that the words of the Torah are what are on her mind, a common tactic of editing by association. The Torah is what we as the audience are given in that moment and it is in that moment she is living. She is not distracted by hundreds of other things, the only thing she has in that moment, is a mind for the Torah. The second flashback however, comes when she is waiting for her dad. The same use of editing by association is used because while she waits, she flashes to the memory of her dad. The memory however, is just a memory as he never shows up. This shows that, in the moment, she feels and thinks he will be there and that she will have him in her life. However, this thought is proven wrong and the only thing she has is what she is given in the moment, which is the church building, the bag, and her fluffy hair.
One editing trick used most commonly in this short film was the skips of minor detailed actions. As stated previously, we never see the process, we are only ever given what we are given. For instance, we rarely see actions being performed. Most of the actions are implied off screen, such as putting the records in the player, going into the restaurant, the act of actually picking a bag. Because of this we get a sense that the stuff that happens offscreen is irrelevant. It’s not apart of the living moment in which the girl is existing. The moments in which she is in reflection about her father, his music, and the Torah are the main focuses in her life at this moment. They are “what she has.” All the other mundane tasks are not in her focus, and therefore, they are not the places where she is most existing, both to the viewer and to the character herself. That is why the element of cuts that skim over much of those unspoken details are important.
To prove that we are creatures that can only exist in the moment, Broken Bird starts the film off with a quick sequence of the girl, Bird, doing her hair. We get rapid cuts between the close ups on the hair doing process. As we see the flashes from one images to the next we understand that time is passing but we have skipped the majority of the action it has taken to make the time pass. As an audience, we have quick cuts of hair, shampoo, rinse, and dry. These fast cuts show that we only have so much time and what we have is what we are given. We don’t see the whole process, instead, we get more of the feeling of the process. This use of implied action shows us that the only moment we can exist in is the one we are currently in. We are not in the action, but we do see glimpses of it and those glimpses are the places where we exist. The moment in which we exist, is the outcome. This is especially evident when Bird looks at her hair in the mirror later at the restaurant.
A second element of editing that teaches us about being in the moment is that of the use of flashbacks. Often we think of flashbacks as an excuse to visit to another time but in this short film the flashbacks were used as gateways to express what we have in the moment, specifically, what Bird is thinking and feeling in the moment. The two ways in which the flashes were used were vital in the placement of film. The main flashes came when she was practicing Torah. While she is listening to it and practicing it, she does not have an actual paper out but as we get a cut to the Torah visually, we understand that the words of the Torah are what are on her mind, a common tactic of editing by association. The Torah is what we as the audience are given in that moment and it is in that moment she is living. She is not distracted by hundreds of other things, the only thing she has in that moment, is a mind for the Torah. The second flashback however, comes when she is waiting for her dad. The same use of editing by association is used because while she waits, she flashes to the memory of her dad. The memory however, is just a memory as he never shows up. This shows that, in the moment, she feels and thinks he will be there and that she will have him in her life. However, this thought is proven wrong and the only thing she has is what she is given in the moment, which is the church building, the bag, and her fluffy hair.
One editing trick used most commonly in this short film was the skips of minor detailed actions. As stated previously, we never see the process, we are only ever given what we are given. For instance, we rarely see actions being performed. Most of the actions are implied off screen, such as putting the records in the player, going into the restaurant, the act of actually picking a bag. Because of this we get a sense that the stuff that happens offscreen is irrelevant. It’s not apart of the living moment in which the girl is existing. The moments in which she is in reflection about her father, his music, and the Torah are the main focuses in her life at this moment. They are “what she has.” All the other mundane tasks are not in her focus, and therefore, they are not the places where she is most existing, both to the viewer and to the character herself. That is why the element of cuts that skim over much of those unspoken details are important.
Sound.
Broken Bird starts with Bird practicing Torah for her bat-mitzvah. The sound here is essential as its effect sets the mood for the rest of the film. The timbre was solemn yet as she repeats the words it becomes both personalized and less formal. Finally, the scene transitions to a more upbeat, rock’in sort of sound. This is a reverse parallel for the film as it shows that what she has the religion in her life which transitions to a stronger focus on the love for her father. Towards the end of the film, she starts with the love for her father as heard when she listens to his records, only to turn into the religious choir awaiting the start of her bat-mitzvah inside the church building. What she has in the moment changes as each moment changes. This is symbolic of humans as we have what we have in the moment but those things change as we change moments. What we truly have, is only what is given to us in the moment in which we exist.
Going back to the records and the played music, we hear the melody of the relationship she has with her dad. When the mom easily recognizes the songs, she cannot listen to the sounds for long as they are a reminder of something she doesn’t have. The girl does not realize that the upbeat music is not a representation of her father, it is more an expression of her love for her father. This becomes apparent towards the end of the film when she waits in the parking lot for her father. During this time we hear no sound of his music, all we hear are the empty diegetic ambient sounds of cars driving past. We see her waiting, watching, but he never comes. In that moment, she exists with a wanting, but she does not have the real thing.
The last element of sound that relates to the theme of having only what you have in the moment is the ambient sounds. As already discusses, background noises during the parking lot scene just before her bat-mitzvah show her lack of "having" in the moment. Almost throughout the whole movie we can hear the diegetic noise of the surrounding area, the parking lots, the restaurant, etc. This foundation of stable noise helps to ground the viewers of the reality of the story. It shows that while we are at a restaurant, that’s what he have. While we are in a parking lot, that’s what we have. We as the viewers exist in the moments on screen shown to us. The background sounds help to transport us and keep us grounded in those moments, so that we can believe that we have what we are given in those moments.
Broken Bird starts with Bird practicing Torah for her bat-mitzvah. The sound here is essential as its effect sets the mood for the rest of the film. The timbre was solemn yet as she repeats the words it becomes both personalized and less formal. Finally, the scene transitions to a more upbeat, rock’in sort of sound. This is a reverse parallel for the film as it shows that what she has the religion in her life which transitions to a stronger focus on the love for her father. Towards the end of the film, she starts with the love for her father as heard when she listens to his records, only to turn into the religious choir awaiting the start of her bat-mitzvah inside the church building. What she has in the moment changes as each moment changes. This is symbolic of humans as we have what we have in the moment but those things change as we change moments. What we truly have, is only what is given to us in the moment in which we exist.
Going back to the records and the played music, we hear the melody of the relationship she has with her dad. When the mom easily recognizes the songs, she cannot listen to the sounds for long as they are a reminder of something she doesn’t have. The girl does not realize that the upbeat music is not a representation of her father, it is more an expression of her love for her father. This becomes apparent towards the end of the film when she waits in the parking lot for her father. During this time we hear no sound of his music, all we hear are the empty diegetic ambient sounds of cars driving past. We see her waiting, watching, but he never comes. In that moment, she exists with a wanting, but she does not have the real thing.
The last element of sound that relates to the theme of having only what you have in the moment is the ambient sounds. As already discusses, background noises during the parking lot scene just before her bat-mitzvah show her lack of "having" in the moment. Almost throughout the whole movie we can hear the diegetic noise of the surrounding area, the parking lots, the restaurant, etc. This foundation of stable noise helps to ground the viewers of the reality of the story. It shows that while we are at a restaurant, that’s what he have. While we are in a parking lot, that’s what we have. We as the viewers exist in the moments on screen shown to us. The background sounds help to transport us and keep us grounded in those moments, so that we can believe that we have what we are given in those moments.