A previous chapter in Film Art (Chapter 5: Documentary, Experimental and Animation), mentioned the complex lighting evident in the animated "Wallace and Gromit" films. Look at a number of Wallace and Gromit clips, and discuss the nature of the lighting you see. Can you identify where the lights might be set up (or how the cartoon is simulating a lighting setup)? What kinds of lighting effects are utilized? What is the result of mixing animation with such a "realistic" lighting style? Can you identify key and fill lights?

Because of the essential nature of each medium, film acting and theatrical stage acting are somewhat different. Read the following brief article about the differences between film and stage acting. After considering some of the issues raised in the article, which is intended to provide tips for working actors, build on what this article starts by considering from a more analytical standpoint what some of the comparisons between film and stage acting are. What are the similarities and differences between film and stage acting? How might the unique properties of the film medium affect an actor's methods and performances?

Alexandre Trauner has been a prolific set designer for European and Hollywood films. Read through this biography of Trauner, and then follow the links in Trauner's filmography to his set design drawings for various films. Does Trauner have a recognizable style across the drawings that you view? How might his setting planning affect the look of the finished film? How might such pre-designed settings control how a narrative can utilize those settings?

The article Modernity and Mise-en-scene: Terry Gilliam and Brazil by Keith James Hamel discusses the unique world of mise-en-scene created in Gilliam's film Brazil. Read through the multi-page article, paying particular attention to the mise-en-scene descriptions and the posted film stills. According to Hamel, what kind of world is created through mise-en-scene? How does Hamel tie mise-en-scene to the film's theme of modernity? Why might mise-en-scene be particularly useful for setting forth this kind of world?

Research German Expressionism, Russian Constructivism and Meyerhold's stage acting techniques of the early 1900s. These methods of acting relied heavily on creating performance, emotion, and character through physical movement and gesture. How have these techniques transferred and evolved into film today. Consider the use of close-ups and of distant shots. How important must it be for actors to create emotion and character through slight facial movement or through large body gestures? How were these techniques innovative in their time? Are these techniques still used today or have new systems of acting and movement replaced them?