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| Chapter | 3. Film-making |
| Subject | English |
| Textbook | Kaleidoscope, Non Fiction |
| Class | Twelve |
| Author | Ingmar Bergman |
| Category | NCERT Solutions for Class 12 |
The NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English are an excellent choice for students preparing for their board or any competitive exams. These solutions are made by expert teachers and faculties of English. Class 12 English Solutions, made by NCERTian, will help students understand the central theme of each chapter. They will strengthen your foundation in English and help you score good marks in the board examination. On this page, we have provided you with the Solutions of Kaleidoscope Non Fiction Chapter 3 – Film-making.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Kaleidoscope Chapter 3
Film-making Solutions
Stop And Think
Q1) What childhood memories does the author recollect that had a bearing on his later involvement with filmmaking?
Answer) The author had a childhood which made him aware of the two main types of characters in life. The good and the villainous. He came to know about these from his father who prepared surmons. From this knowledge he easily connected to the stories like. Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, and all the others. And the wolf was the Devil, without horns but with a tail and a gaping red mouth. From imagining these bits to imagining church bells and hearing a piano from a picture at his grandmother’s house at Uppsala everything was a part of his creative association with his childhood memories.
Q2) What connection does the author draw between filmmaking and conjuring?
Answer) The author says that film making and Conjuring are of the same dice because both require deception of human eye. Most of the times the viewer is caught between the frames of a movie. Cause whatever emotion or situation is shown in it is false or enacted. But with the help of certain filming instruments, the film seems to be a real-life event and people express real emotions while watching it.
Stop And Think
Q1) What is the nature of the first impressions that form the basis for a film?
Answer) A film is the finished product. The basis of a film is laid on split second impressions that disappear as soon as they come. This means that the birth of a film can be a from anything as small as a note of music to an actor who seems to have been born for a role yet to be played. It isn’t the story that takes the shape of a film. It is an idea, a feeling, a reflex of a second that draws into a film if it I followed beautifully.
Q2) Which art form is film-making closest to?
What is the reason for the similarity?
Answer) Filmmaking is the closest to music according to the author. This is because both film and music are based on a certain rhythm. It is the inhalation and exhalation in continuous sequence of recreation by directly affecting the emotions ther than affecting the intellect.
Stop And Think
Q1) Quite often a film made out of a book is not very successful. Discuss.
Answer) There is wide range of difference between films and literary work. Every literary work has an irrational aspect which forms the basis of its existence. This irrational dimension is the inherent seed of every literary work and makes a reader connect to it. The bitter part is that most of the times this aspect of literary creation is not physical. It is an emotion that can be struck through innumerable written lines but can never be put into enactment and converted into films.
Even after knowing this, when a literary work is forcefully converted into a movie, the nucleus or the purpose of the movie is in mist. Or the adjustments done to put the novel in terms of a film breaks the backbone of the movie and takes the magic element away from it.
Q2) What, according to Bergman, is the relationship between a film-maker and his audience?
Answer) A film maker essentially makes the story come live and the audience gives reactions. This means that the audience is meant to evaluate what the director has put into action. It’s like the relationship between a teacher and a student. The audience is meant to rate or react to the movies. Reaction is the main element of movie.
Stop And Think
Q1) What is the story of the Cathedral of Chartres and how does the author relate it to his profession?
Answer) The story of the Cathedral of Chartres begins when the cathedral was hit by lightening and burnt down to ashes. Soon thousands of people came from all points of the compass, like a giant procession of ants, and together they began to rebuild the cathedral on its old site. They worked until the building was completed—master builders, artists, labourers, clowns, noblemen, priests, burghers. But they all remained anonymous and no one knows to this day who built the cathedral of Chartres.
The author says that in the old times the craftsmanship brought in glory. There was nothing like self identity back in those days. It was all done for god. And the author wants to enjoy his own work. He wants to be satisfied by the quality of his work and enjoy his wok. That’s all he desires.
Q2) What are some of the flaws of the world of filmmaking today?
Answer) The world of filmmaking is dependent on learning from each other’s work and collaborating together. But today people have become so self-conscious that they do not want to share their ideas and the concept is that sharing will make the film vulnerable. Also, people are no longer polite and gentle. Expression has become very brutal. What was as easy as play to the author once has now become a struggle. Failure, criticism, public indifference all hurt more today than yesterday. The brutality of the industry is undisguised.
Understanding the Text
Q1) Pick out examples from the text that show Bergman’s sensitivity to sensory impressions which have made him a great filmmaker.
Answer) There are various instances in the story that depict Bergman’s bravery as a filmmaker. The prominent one being the picture of a wall hanging. He could imagine the wall hanging and represent it vividly, bringing the whole scene alive through his narrations. He could also imagine the church bells ringing and visualize the pigeons flying, transforming his readers into a completely different world. Through his fantasy of imagination, it was a complete dramatic scene created by Bergman. Another example is when he left all the work just to watch the cranes fly at Dalarna. All these incidents highlight Bergman’s sensitivity to sensor impressions that made him a great filmmaker.
Q2) What do you understand of the complexity of the little invisible steps that go into the making of a good film?
Answer) Filmmaking is an art that includes many procedures before achieving the final product. So, the first step in making a film is to determine the theme. Then, with a strong concept, the shape of the story can be formed accordingly. The next step is the storyline. The components of montage, rhythm and the relation between two pictures are integral parts of the storyline. With proper execution of the story, using these three crucial aspects results in the liveliness of the story. And finally, the last important step is shooting the film, where proper coordination among different departments can make the movie a huge success. So, the steps of filmmaking decide upon a theme, creating a consistent storyline and coordination among all the departments, while shooting results in a good movie.
Q3) What are some of the risks that film-making involves?
Answer) Typically, filmmaking is a process to execute a sequence of actions, which involves a series of pictures to convey the story to the masses. Firstly, the masses must try to identify with the theme of the movie. If the theme is entirely dissimilar, they will not understand the film’s message, and the film would be a colossal failure. For a film to be successful, the story must be obvious to capture the audience’s attention, which is a huge risk in filmmaking. Thus, the filmmaker should be wise in selecting the storyline matching the current demand of the public. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the filmmaker to impress the viewers and make the film successful.
Q4) What misgivings does Bergman have about the contemporary film industry?
Answer) Bergman believes that the contemporary film industry thinks in the creation of unique work. The current generation of filmmakers believes in secluding oneself and creating works in solitude. According to Bergman, borrowing ideas from other works is considered equal to that of plagiarised content, which is entirely wrong. However, they fail to understand that filmmaking is a continuous process, one that involves constant inspiration and learning from each other. Thus, Bergman believes that learning from one another is the ultimate source of knowledge in the film industry.
Q5) Compare Bergman’s views about making films out of books with that of Umberto Eco’s.
Answer) According to Bergman, one cannot put a novel into a film entirely. It becomes a complete injustice to the book because it triggers the intellectual faculty, whereas the movie triggers emotions directly.
However, according to Umberto Eco, the film takes over the popularity of a novel. It is only when the movie is made out of a book that it reaches the epitome of its popularity. So, the film indirectly helps the novel. Thus, Bergan believes that the individual effect of each of these two art forms on the audience is different from each other.
Talking about the Text
Q1) According to the author, split-second impressions form a ‘mental state, not an actual story, but one abounding in fertile associations and images’.
Compare this with Virginia Woolf’s experiment with the stream of consciousness technique in ‘The Mark on the Wall’.
Answer) Ingmar Bergman description of split-second impressions, which form a ‘mental state’ and not an actual story being a brightly coloured thread sticking out of the dark sack of unconsciousness, is very much similar to the technique of ‘Stream of consciousness’ employed by Virginia Woolf in her work, ‘The Mark on the Wall’.
In the story, ‘The Mark on the Wall’, a series of images form in Woolf’s mind as she hops, skips and jumps from one thought to the other through those images, trying to explain the reason behind a mark on the wall. The pictures do not form realistic stories but fantasies of her ideas, views and opinions, giving an insight into her mind, which are brought forth to the readers through them. With all these insights, Woolf traces back to the cause of the mark on the wall.
Similarly, in ‘Film-making’, Bergman talks about the split-second impressions that form the film’s theme. They do not create an actual story but helps in forming a mental state with all the imaginative pictures that gradually develop into a full-fledged movie. Thus, in both cases, a series of images helps develop the big picture and, therefore, is quite similar to each other.
Q2) Bergman talks about the various influences in his life including his parents and his religious upbringing.
To what extent are an individual’s achievements dependent on the kind of influences he or she has had in life? Discuss.
Answer) An individual’s life is a mixture of the experiences and influences they have had throughout their lifetime. All the experiences a person faced in his past help shape an individual’s personality, which paves the way to his future achievements and successes.
Bergman portrays his childhood and religious upbringing that helped shape his interest in filmmaking. Similarly, the way a person is brought up serves as a foundation for his/her future success. The way he handles those successes reflects his upbringing—both nature and education help build up an individual’s personality. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviour collected over time reflect a person’s personality. The learned behaviour that an individual acquires over time is a result of his life experiences. Thus, Bergman’s various life influences helped shape him to be the individual he is in the present day, and that is how someone’s personality is developed.
Appreciation
Q1) Autobiographical accounts make interesting reading when the author selects episodes that are connected to the pursuit of excellence.
How does this apply to Ingmar Bergman’s narration of the details of film-making?
Answer) Autobiographical accounts make exciting reading when the author selects episodes connected to the pursuit of excellence. Bergman’s detail of filmmaking is highlighted through the various incidents that he shares with his readers throughout the story. It is an autobiographical account that helps him connect with the readers personally and humanely. With references to his own past experiences, he portrays his hunger for perfection in the process of filmmaking. He describes the split-second impressions, which, when appropriately organised, can make a good movie. To visualise a proper screenplay, Bergman highlights and portrays the importance of giving attention to his past and works at the root level to ensure perfection. He talks about how the novel differs considerably from the film and the difference between film and literature. Finally, he acknowledges his childhood experiences which paved the way to turn him into a courageous filmmaker. Therefore, the various incidents from the narrator’s life induce life to the narration and portray the author’s feelings distinctly, and thus this autobiographical account makes for an exciting read.
Q2) Comment on the conversational tone of the narration.
Compare this with the very informal style adopted by Umberto Eco in the interview.
Answer) A conversational tone of writing is essentially a powerful way of writing. With the author’s writing tone, the reader gets a feeling of being directly involved in the text. The author tricks them with his writing skill and creates an illusion of being directly involved in the text. Thus, a conversational tone is essentially more effective in getting a message to the readers. They can connect with the narration personally, picking out the incidents and relating them with their own lives.
On the other hand, the style adopted by Umberto Eco in the interview has a close resemblance to reading a documentary or reading answers. It contrasts with Bergman’s conversational tone, and the reader remains detached from the writer in this style. Thus, the Umberto Eco-style is an efficient method while addressing large masses.
Language Work
A. Vocabulary
Find out and write down the definitions of the following terms used in the film industry.
| script | project | montage | flashback |
| stage prop | footlights |
Answer)
- Script– the written text of a complete film, including instructions for the actors and directions for filming the entire film.
- Project – an assignment of a complete film
- Montage – the technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole
- Flashback – showing a past event in a moment at present. It is the recalling of a past event at present.
- Stage – a raised platform for performances
- Prop – things used to make visualisation prominent in a film.
- Footlights – a row of spotlights along the front of a stage at the level of the actors’ feet.
Things to do
Think of a particular episode that could be enacted. Now imagine that you are a scriptwriter and write the screenplay for the first ten minutes of the episode, in the following format.
| Title: Actors: Scene -1 |
| Description | Dialogue |
The column ‘Dialogue’ would contain the words to be actually spoken by the characters. ‘Description’ would include instructions regarding stage props, position of lights, movement of actors and so on.
Answer)
| Description | Dialogue |
| Footlights- dimmed. Atmosphere- sad Prop- False smoke to show a change in the thoughts of Mrs. Pearson. Both actors stand mid-stage. | Mrs. Fitzgerald- (angry face. Stern voice) why don’t your teach your kids a lesson? They need to know your importance! Mrs. Pearson- (lost in deep thoughts. Still thinking as to why her children and husband don’t treat her with respect.) I think we need to teach them a lesson as soon as possible. |
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