Copyright 2010, by Frank W. Baker – Media Literacy Clearinghouse
This page is not intended to be an exhaustive, all-inclusive list, but rather a list of some DVDs that I am aware of and have watched that I think could be used in classes where “film literacy” and “film fluency” is being taught. There’s nothing like reading a book about film, but viewing, analyzing and deconstructing are best when you have access to films, and extras, that will help your students better understand the languages of film. NOTE: many of these “extras” can now be founded streamed on YouTube.
General
Acting/Casting
| Matching Identities: Casting | Widescreen, The Bourne Supremacy |
| Building A Bad Actor (Title 2, Chapter 1) | Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and Acting | The Color Purple, Two Disc Special Edition |
Animation
| Peering Through The Veil | Paranorman (Blu-ray DVD) |
| Miniatures in Motion: Bringing Frankenweenie to Life | Frankenweenie (2 Disc Combo Pack, Blu-ray-DVD) |
| The Animators: The Breadth of Life | Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray Edition |
| Peering Through the Veil: Stop Motion Behind The Scenes | Paranorman, Blu Ray Disc |
Art Direction: Set Design
| Behind Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office- Build a Scene | Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Ed. 2 Disc) |
| Inside Elizabeth’s World | Elizabeth: The Golden Age |
| Image Gallery: Production Design | Tristan + Isolde |
| Set Design/Exploring The Sets | Gangs of New York (2 Disc Edition) |
| Designing Middle Earth | The Lord of the Rings Extras, The Fellowship of the Ring |
Art Direction: Storyboards
| Storyboard Comparisons | A Beautiful Mind, Two Disc Awards Ed. |
| Storyboards and Pre-viz: Making Words & Images | The Lord of the Rings, New Line Platinum Series |
| LOTR: Storyboard to Film Comparison | The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring |
| Storyboard Comparisons | Story Of Movies, To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Introduction to Animatrics | Star Wars: The Phantom Menace |
| State of the Art: Pre-visualization of Episode II | Star Wars: Attack of the Clones |
| Storyboard Pitch Deleted Scenes | Shrek |
| Previsualization | War of the Worlds, Two Disc Limited Edition |
| Storyboard To Film Comparison | West Side Story, Special Ed Collector’s Set |
Audio (see also Score listed below)
| Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock | Rear Window: Special Edition |
| Through the Ears of Forrest Gump: Sound Design | Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition |
| Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds From The Sound Up | Wall E 3 Disc Special Edition |
| The Sound & Music of A.I. (Sound Design; Music) | A.I. Artificial Intelligence Two Disc Special Edition |
| Third Trimester; Sound Design | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Criterion Collection |
| Voices from the Underworld; The Voices Behind the Voice | Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray Edition |
| Designing the Sounds of Middle Earth | The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Full Screen, -Two Disc |
| The Science of Sound | Spiderman 3, 2 Disc Special Edition |
Cinematography
Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography
| James Wong Howe: Cinematographer | Sweet Smell of Success (Criterion Collection) |
Costumes
| The Look of a Geisha | Memoirs of a Geisha, 2 Disc Full Screen Special Edition |
| The Costumes Are The Sets: The Design of Eiko Ishioka | Bram Stoker’s Dracula Collectors Edition, Blu Ray |
| Costumes featurette | Gangs of New York (2 Disc Edition) |
| Costuming The Aviator: The Work of Sandy Powell | The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition |
| Second Trimester; Costume Design | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Criterion Collection |
| Costume Design | The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Rings |
Directing
Century of Cinema: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
The Eastwood Factor Spielberg on Spielberg Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures A Talk With Hitchcock (1964)
Directors: Life Behind The Cameras (pt 3 Hollywood’s Best Directors Choose Their Best Movies)
| Design (The World is Watching Making The Hunger Games) | 2 Disc DVD + Digital Copy The Hunger Games |
| Chronicle of a Director | The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe- Special 2 Disc Collector’s Ed. |
| Making of The Godfather The Godfather Supplements: Behind The Scenes |
The Godfather – The Coppola Restoration |
| Noah Baumbach Interviews Brian De Palma | Blow Out: The Criterion Collection |
| The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style | North By Northwest, 50th Anniversary Edition, Disc 2 |
| In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy | Pyscho Special Edition: Universal Legacy Series |
Editing
| The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing | included in Bullitt, the Two Disc Special Edition |
| The Magic of Editing | Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix, Two Disc Special Edition |
| 3 Scene Editing Workshops | MIB, Men in Black, Limited Edition |
| Film Editing Demonstration | Traffic The Criterion Edition |
Makeup
| Gringotts & Goblins | Blue-Ray Disc, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Pt 2 |
| Kate Winslet on The Art of Aging Hanna Schmitz | Blue-Ray Disc, The Reader |
| The Magic of Makeup | Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition |
| The Age of Glamour: The Hair & Makeup of The Aviator | The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition |
Marketing
| Poster & Cover Art | Mirror Mask |
Music (see also Score)
| Lights, Action, Music (a documentary directed by Dan Lieberstein ) |
Introduction (via YouTube) |
On Location
| Spotlight on: Location (Title 4,Chapter 1 ) | October Sky |
| Featurette: Setting The Scene | The Water Horse Legend of The Deep. 2 Disc Sp Ed |
Post Production
| Putting It All Together: The Magic of Post Production | Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition Twilight, Disc 2, Two Disc Special Edition |
Pre Production
| The Partnership: A Look at Pre-Production | Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition Twilight, Disc 2, Two Disc Special Edition |
| Charting the Return: A Preproduction Diary | Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest Two Disc, Special Edition |
| Videomatics (pre-production) | Titanic, Three Disc, Special Collector’s Ed |
| Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III | Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith(Widescreen Edition) |
Production Elements
| Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene | The Bourne Supremacy |
| The Making of Mirror Mask Day 16 Production Flight of the Monkeybirds |
Mirror Mask |
| Production Stories (Chapter 1, Title 3 :includes cinematography, locations, set design, props, wardrobe) | The Untouchables, Special Collector’s Ed |
| Seeing Is Believing | Forrest Gump, Special Collector’s Edition |
| Fx On The Universe | Across the Universe, 2 Disc Deluxe Ed. |
| Capturing The Action: A Look at Production | Twilight, Disc 2, Three Disc Edition |
| First Trimester; Tech Scouts | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Criterion Collection |
| Shadows of Suspense (Film Noir) | Double Indemnity, Universal Legacy Series (2 Disc Ed) |
Score (aka Soundtrack)
| Scoring Wonderland | Alice in Wonderland, Disc 2, Blu Ray |
| Scoring the Film: Interview, Hans Zimmer | Gladiator, Signature Selection |
| Scoring the Film | A Beautiful Mind: Two Disc Awards Edition |
| Scoring The Aviator: The Work of Howard Shore | The Aviator: 2-Disc Widescreen Edition |
| Danny Elfman Interprets the Two Worlds | Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, Blu-Ray Edition |
Scriptwriting
| From Script to Screen (entire screenplay) | Pleasantville, New Line Platinum Series |
| Script-to-Scene | Back To The Future, The Complete Trilogy |
| Script to Screen Comparisons | Crash, Two Disc Director’s Cut Edition |
| Inside A Scene: Location Scout Notes Notes to Actors; Read the Script; View the Scene |
The Insider |
| Reflections on Writing: Batman Begins | Batman Begins, Blue-Ray DVD |
| Screenplay; Original Screenplay Notes | Hellboy, 2 Disc Special Edition |
Special Visual Effects
| Visual Effects | Flags of Our Fathers 2 Disc Special Ed, Blu Ray |
| Visual Effects (Blue Screen) | The Others Collector’s Edition, 2 Disc DVD |
| Effects (The World is Watching Making The Hunger Games) | 2 Disc DVD + Digital Copy The Hunger Games |
| Effecting Wonderland | Alice in Wonderland, Disc 2, Blu Ray |
| Special Effects: High Speed Compositing Reel | Contact, Special Edition |
| Visual Effects (green screen and more) | Titanic, Three Disc, Special Collector’s Ed |
| Pan and the Fairies (prosthetic & visual effects) | Pan’s Labyrinth, 2 Disc Platinum Series |
| ILM and Minority Report | Minority Report Widescreen |
| Featurette: Water Work: Creating the Water Horse | The Water Horse Legend of The Deep, 2 Disc Sp Ed |
| Visual Effects | Die Hard With A Vengeance, Special Edition |
Stuntwork
| Double Dare | various clips available via YouTube |
| Stunts of Wonderland (Alice In Wonderland) |
