Labyrinth of Light: A Journey Into Cinema
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 242
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 250
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Labyrinth of Light: A Journey into Cinema offers a unique approach to the dominant art form of our time. Inspired by the meditations of a master storyteller, it approaches cinematic art as a labyrinth to be navigated by the viewer.
Starting with story structure, myth, and archetypes, the author takes us on a jouney through the history of filmmaking up to the present day. Incorporating a wealth of examples from the first moving pictures to the latest Oscar winners, each chapter explores a different facet of the movies.
Topics include the role of collaborators at each stage of production and the impact of breakthroughs in photography, sound, color, and digital imaging on the way movies are made. The author examines developments that gave birth to the motion picture industry, the impact of disruptive technologies, and forces that currently drive the evolution of filmed entertainment, including contributions of filmmakers from around the world.
In a synthesis of aesthetics, technology, history, and analysis, Labyrinth of Light looks at the many ways motion pictures impact our lives. It is intended for film students, cinephiles, casual moviegoers, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the art, craft, and business of motion pictures.
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Cathedrals of Guncotton and Camphor
Chapter 1 STORY
Plato’s Allegory | Aristotle’s Poetics | Polti’s Situations
Chapter 2 CONFLICT
Conflict | Obstacles | Sex and Violence
Chapter 3 JOURNEY
Hero | Archetypes | Symbols
Chapter 4 LIGHT
Camera Obscura | Photography | Cinematography
Chapter 5 DARKNESS
Shadow | Hays Code | Blacklist
Chapter 6 SOUND
Dialogue | Music Sound | Effects
Chapter 7 COLOR
Painting | Kodachrome | Chromatic Language
Chapter 8 MOTION
Illusion | Blocking | Camera
Chapter 9 TIME
Ellipsis | Editing | Chronotope
Chapter 10 SPACE
Mise-en-Scène | Frame | Proxemics
Chapter 11 WAVES
Truth | Look | Dogma
Chapter 12 AWAKE
Realism | Neorealism | New Cinema
Chapter 13 DREAM
Oneiros | Formalism | Antirealism
Chapter 14 GENRE
Crime | War | Horror
Chapter 15 AUTHOR
Screenwriter | Director | Editor
Chapter 16 PLAYER
Casting | Character | Collaboration
Chapter 17 LAST LOOKS
Lights | Camera | Action
Coda
Glossary
Filmography
Selective Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix I: Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations
Appendix II: The Motion Picture Production
Code and MPAA Rating System
Appendix III: Dogma 95 Manifesto and Vow of Chastity
Appendix IV: Ranking of the Greatest Films of All Time
a. According to the American Film Institute (AFI)
b. According to TIME Magazine
c. According to Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
d. According to Variety
Appendix V: Viewing Sources
Appendix VI: Film Festivals
Appendix VII: Writing about Film
Index
About The Author
Michael Stinson is Professor of Film and Media Studies at Santa Barbara City College where he has taught courses in film studies, film production, screenwriting, film editing, cinematography, and directing for over two decades. He has codirected the 10-10-10 filmmaking and screenwriting competitions at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and currently directs international film programs in Rome, Paris, and Tokyo. After earning a master’s degree in film and television from UCLA, he worked for five years as a screenwriter under contract at Warner Brothers, Universal, and Paramount Studios. He began teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has taught courses in film and media at the University of Rome, New School University of New York, and Los Angeles Film School. He is a Member Emeritus of the Writers Guild of America, Society of American Travel Writers, and PEN America. Before film school, he spent a decade abroad as a photojournalist based in Europe and the Far East. He currently resides in Santa Barbara, California, and divides his time between a Craftsman bungalow built by the town barber in 1906 and a Cheoy Lee sailboat moored in the harbor.