Outline for paper topic: Metropolis (1927)

I.               Introduction

II.             Background Information

1.     Writer/Director/Cast/Important Figures

2.     Setting/City of Metroplis

a. Club of the Suns: Stadium & Eternal Gardens

b. Upper City: Old House, Gothic Cathedral & Yoshiwara (Red Light District)

c. Machine Area: Moloch Machine, Partanoste & Heart Machine

d. Ancient Catacombs

3.     Plot/Themes

III.           Special Effects Used in Metropolis

1. Frame by Frame Shooting

a. Animated Drawings by Erich Kettelhut

-“Tower of Babel at Night” & “Daybreak” Erich Kettelhut

                                    -1,000 individual images (25/sec of film)

           

b. Set for Main Shopping Street – 2D and 3D elements

-Relief Model “Foreground Buildings” (1:16) with

-Painted Backgrounds “New Tower of Babel”* (1:100)         

*3.5 meters high = 350 meters

                                    -Traffic on Roads (300 miniature cars, animated with stop motion)

2. Schufftan Process by Eugene Schufftan, Painter & Architect

                        a. Explanation of Schufftan Process

                                    -Mirror trick process combines models and real scenery

-Mirror mounted at a 45 degrees angle in front of camera lens   reflects image of miniature model

-Part of mirror is scratched away so that camera can film real scenery behind mirror

           

b. Worker’s City Central Square       

-Full scale lower floors of buildings

-Upper floors were mirror images

c. Stadium of the Suns

-Lower portion of wall is real set (10 metres high)

-Upper portion of wall is reflected image of models 1:20 of     simulated size.

d. Memorial to Hel

-60cm tall statuette of head – mirror image projected above headless pedestal

*also used as platform for camera/crew

3.  Animated Photography of Gunther Rittau

a. Marginal Exposure

-In-camera technique as opposed to post-production or “laboratory”process

-Camera had to be re-wound multiple times and re-exposed

-Same negative was re-exposed up to 30 times

b. example of Mechanical Person

-First shot of mechanical person on pedestal

-Then figure replaced by black silhouette

-Neon lights moved up and down

-Filmed through glass plate with thin layer of grease

-Glass plate removed for electrical discharge shots

IV.           How Metropolis Has Influenced Later Films

1.     Aesthetic Influence

a.     Architecture

-Bladerunner and The Fifth Element

b.     Character Design/Costume

-Star Wars and Dr. Strangelove

2.     Special Effects Influence

a.     Schufftan Process
      -The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

-Blackmail (1929)

                                    -Hugo (2011)

V.             Conclusion

Outline for Essay on Motion Control

I. Introduction

     A.   What is Motion Control?

i.)         Introduction of basic concept behind motion-control

     B.   Brief outline of paper/topic

i.)         “Beginning with a brief history…” etc.

II. History of motion control

     A.   First applications of technology

i.)                  John Whitney’s use of anti-aircraft computers to control lighting

      B.   2001: A Spaced Odyssey

i.)                  First-ever use of motion-control technology for cameras

ii.)                Mechanically-controlled split-scan photography

      C.   Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

i.)                  First-ever large-scale use of motion-control tech for cameras

ii.)                Dykstraflex

III. Why motion control?

      A.   Reasons motion control is useful

i.)                  Easy repetition of precise camera movements

ii.)                Aids in more precise compositing

iii.)              Precise control of camera movements

      B.   Applications

i.)                  Miniatures (model spaceships, backgrounds, buildings, etc.)

ii.)                Same actor, multiple characters

IV. Motion Control Today

       A.   3D Applications

i.)                  Important for compositing of “blanks” with 3D or CGI

ii.)                3D Animation

       B.   Match Moving

i.)                  Digital replication of hand-held camera movements

ii.)                Originally threatened future of motion-control photography

       C.   Recent Films to use Motion Control

i.)                  Example 1

ii.)                Example 2

iii.)              Example 3

V. Conclusion

        A.   Summarize topics covered

i.)                  History

ii.)                Reasons for motion-control

iii.)              Motion-control today

        B.   Revisit introduction

i.)                  Make sure purpose of paper has been restated

ii.)                Summary of main point of paper

        C.   Closing remarks

i.)         Closing sentence.