AN INTENSIVE
ONE-DAY SEMINAR
ON ANALYZING
FILMS:

A full day dedicated to analyzing 3 film masterpieces from start to finish, including the Jack Nicholson/Faye Dunaway classic "Chinatown," Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece "Through A Glass Darkly," and Maya Deren's ground-breaking Avant-Garde short film "Meshes of the Afternoon."

On Film Masterpiece Day, McKee will: 

  • Go through each film sequence-by-sequence. Each participant will receive a handout breaking down the sequences and acts of "Chinatown" and "Through A Glass Darkly."

  • Trace the dynamics of the values in each story's sequence

  • Reveal and discuss image systems that turn a good film into a masterpiece

  • Discuss the composition of shots, editing, camera angles, etc.

  • Illustrate the principles of Story found throughout each film

  • Discuss the principles of filmmaking used in each film

  • Identify controlling ideas, reversals, climaxes, character depth, character arc

  • Identify plots and subplots ("Through A Glass Darkly" has SIX story lines)

  • And Much More! 

A workbook featuring the plot tracings and Assigned story values for each film will also be included.

The 3 Films Featured will be:

"CHINATOWN" 

The rare case in which a commercial film genre becomes a work of art; the "art film." Although "Casablanca" has become a staple of the big seminar, McKee's award-winning screening and analysis of "Chinatown" is well known throughout the industry. He has continued to do it for private events and seminars, but FILM ANALYSIS DAY is the first time he's including it as part of a seminar's core. 

"THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY"

Quite simply one of Ingmar Bergman's greatest and most personal works. McKee was nominated for a BAFTA Award (Britain's equivalent of our Oscar and Emmy) for his analysis of this film. McKee will demonstrate how an artist draws directly from their own life in creating their art, as he takes apart this film's complicated multi-plot (6 story lines!), multi-protagonist storylines.

"MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON"

As an added feature, McKee analyzes what many consider the "ultimate art film." "Meshes of the Afternoon" is considered Maya Deren's greatest short film (20 mins.) and gave birth to American Avant-Garde cinema. The film represents classic use of NON-STORY, and, instead, uses film as poetry.