Celluloid Dreams: The Psychology of Film

Hosts Matt & Mike continue their journey through the process of filmmaking from a psychological perspective, along with special guest, Nick, a podcaster in his own right, who happens to also be Mike's nephew.

The reason for Nick's inclusion in this particular episode is his musical background as an experienced drummer, as well as his knowledge of film and film scores.

The first portion of the episode concerns the impact on film by the addition of synchronized sound, as well as how sound is mixed to add psychological resonance to a film. The second portion dives into film scoring and use of needle drops to promote associations to particular songs.

Some of the composers and their important works discussed in this episode include masters like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Angelo Badalamenti.

Hosts Matt & Mike continue their journey through the process of filmmaking through a psychological perspective.

This episode delves into the art of editing, including discussion of the various types of montage, parallel editing, surrealism and the psychological impact of extended continuous shots.

Examples illustrating each aspect of editing include discussion of landmark montage set pieces from Battleship Potemkin and Citizen Kane to The Untouchables and Inception; the power of parallel editing in such masterpieces as The Godfather, Magnolia and Requiem for a Dream; and jaw dropping, seemingly continuous shots as seen in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, Children of Men and Sinners. Surreal cinema from Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon to David Lynch's Mulholland Drive are also discussed.

Takeaways:

* The art of picture editing is to juxtapose images in such a manner as to either create seamless action for storytelling purposes or convey complex ideas that go beyond the surface level plot of a film.
* Montage is the art of using picture editing to make the assembled pieces have value that is greater than the sum of the individual parts, either intellectually or emotionally.
* Montage strategy can either be as objective as following the number of frames between each cut or as subjective as determining how one image juxtaposed against another should create an emotional reaction in the viewer.
* Surrealism is the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated elements that when combined create a kind of dream logic that may not be rationally explainable as much as felt emotionally.

Delves into the art of cinematography, including such topics as the elegance of slow-motion, use of natural light, impact of color versus black & white, and role of framing and different aspect ratios. The conversation covers the evolution of film formats, strategies for utilizing point of view shots, lens choice and lighting, and the contribution of Steadicam on tracking shots.

Takeaways

• Cinematography is a complex aspect of filmmaking that directly affects the psychological impact of a film.
• Understanding the historical evolution of film formats provides insight into the development of cinematographic techniques.
• Cinematographic perspective, including the use of point of view shots and camera movement, plays a crucial role in creating a compelling cinematic experience.
• Choices of lenses, angles, lighting and filming speed can convey a skewed world view to alter the psychological landscape of a film.

Matt and Mike complete discussion of their 30 Film Favorites.

The final lists are as follows:

Matt's 30 Favorites:

2001: A Space Odyssey

Alien

Apocalypse Now

Blade Runner

Chinatown

The Dark Knight

The Empire Strikes Back

The French Connection

The Godfather

Goodfellas

Goldfinger

Heat

Inception

Jaws

King Kong (1933)

L.A. Confidential

Lawrence of Arabia

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Psycho

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Road to Perdition

Robocop

The Right Stuff

Scarface

Seven

The Shawshank Redemption

Star Wars

Superman - The Movie

Videodrome

Mike's 30 Favorites:

Alien

The Godfather

Jaws

Blade Runner

The Terminator

All the President's Men

The Shining

Marathon Man

Memento

Goodfellas

Chinatown

Requiem for a Dream

Halloween

Raiders of the Lost Ark

M*A*S*H

Inception

Die Hard

Gladiator

Seven

Mulholland Dr.

Videodrome

The Tree of Life

Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes)

Manhunter

Gravity

Interstellar

Citizen Kane

Carrie

Don't Look Now

A Nightmare on Elm St.

Matt's Honorable Mentions:

The Abyss

Aliens

American Graffiti

Back to the Future

Bride of Frankenstein

Casino Royale

Citizen Kane

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Creature from the Black Lagoon

The Dead Zone

Dracula (1931)

The Exorcist

Fantasia

Frankenstein (1931)

Gladiator

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

The Godfather - Part 2

Halloween

Interstellar

Pan's Labyrinth

Pulp Fiction

Saving Private Ryan

Scarface (1983)

Schindler's List

Skyfall

The Spy Who Loved Me

The Terminator

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Touch of Evil

Toy Story

Zodiac

Mike's Honorable Mentions:

The Dark Knight

The Lion King

The Godfather - Part 2

Casablanca

All About Eve

On the Waterfront

Heat

Black Narcissus

Persona

The Big Lebowski

Sex, Lies, & Videotape

Pi

The Fog

Tootsie

Wall Street

The Virgin Suicides

Up

Sunrise

Dangerous Liaisons

Dressed to Kill

Dune - Part 2

Blazing Saddles

8 1/2

Apocalypse Now

Aliens

La La Land

Amelie

Witness

The Insider

In a Lonely Place

Matt & Mike resume their discussion of their favorite films, this time focusing on stories touching upon the criminal underworld or the world of intrigue. The list of films this time out is as follows:

Chinatown

LA Confidential

The French Connection

Die Hard

Goldfinger

Marathon Man

Heat

Manhunter

Goodfellas

Scarface

Road to Perdition

The Shawshank Redemption

Requiem for a Dream

SPOILER ALERT: Again, all elements of a film are fair game for discussion, so if you haven't seen all of these films and you don't want to know the ending, skip past that film and listen to the next entry.

For their second episode, Matt & Mike continue with their filmic "Rorschach Test" in describing the films that have meaning to them and the personal reasons why. Once they reach the end of this short series of episodes, the hope is that the audience will understand the psychological prism through which Mike & Matt view movies as they break down the elements of individual films in future episodes.

In particular, Matt shares his family connection to "The Right Stuff" due to his father's lifetime of military service and flight experience. Mike relates how Christopher Nolan keeps making films he wishes he had the chance to make, with "Interstellar" having particular personal meaning for its exploration of the boundary between the scientific and the spiritual that has fascinated Mike since he was in high school.

Other films discussed range from the political, such as the journalistic "All the President's Men" and wickedly satirical "Robocop," to the darkly thrilling, like "The Shining" and "Seven." And there's much more to come in future episodes...

SPOILER ALERT: Discussion of all time great films at times must include mention of a film's ending or key twists in the story, so be forewarned that all aspects of a film are fair game for discussion!

In this first episode, Matt & Mike provide their bios to familiarize the listening audience with their backgrounds in order to convey the perspective through which they analyze films. They also begin the process of listing their top 30 favorite films, to share why those films are important to them, and reveal why listeners should follow along as Matt & Mike explore the psychological elements that drive the narratives of the greatest films of all time.