Cinematic Production and Spanish Literary Movements

The Art of Cinema: From Script to Assembly

The Cinema is the art of representing moving images on a screen through photography. The process for making a film consists of three distinct phases:

The Script

The process to develop a script must follow these guidelines: choose an idea, write the plot, develop the argument (the treatment of choice), write the literary script, and develop the technical script. The final script is usually presented in two columns.

The Set: Planes and Angles

In the filming of a movie, the director will decide how to resolve the scenes, taking into account the movement of the camera, planes, angles, and sound effects.

Classification of Planes

• Distant planes (Descriptive):
  • Great general plane: Often used to provide external context and shows a wide view.
  • General shot: Shows the full-length human figure and the action as a whole.
• Medium planes (Narrative):
  • Medium long shot: Shows the human figure to the knee.
  • Medium shot: Shows the human figure nearly to the waist.
  • Short medium shot: Shows the human figure to the chest.
• Close-up planes (Dramatic):
  • Close-up: Shows the head and shoulders of the character.
  • Extreme close-up: Shows a very specific part of the character or object.

Camera Angles

Angles represent the position or point of view of the camera with respect to the character or object being filmed:

• High angle (Chopped): The camera is placed above the character, presenting them as shrunken.
• Low angle (Contrapicado): The camera is placed below the character, presenting them as exalted.

Assembly

Assembly consists of selecting, combining, and organizing the shots that have been filmed to create a structured and coherent story.

Modernism and the Generation of 98

This era represents a renewal in art and thought. Artists no longer simply reflect reality; they create another, more attractive one or expose their own privacy. This recovery of subjective desire, coupled with formal perfection in the work of art, is the foundation of Modernism.

Modernism vs. The Generation of 98

Modernism coexists in Spain with a group of intellectuals called the Generation of '98. While both movements represent a shift in thought, they differ in focus:

• Modernists: Seek escape from reality through the expression of the fantastic, the sumptuous, and the sensual. They create a more cosmopolitan and extravagant rhetorical effect.
• Noventayochistas: Focus on topics of current Spain and utilize a more sober style. Their lexicon is simpler for the sake of clarity.

Literary Genres and Key Authors

The literary genres and authors associated with these movements include:

• Lyric Poetry (Modernism): Rubén Darío, Manuel Machado, and Antonio Machado.
• Narrative (Generation of '98): Miguel de Unamuno and Pío Baroja.
• Theater and Essays: Valle-Inclán and Azorín.