Category: Film studies

This assignment is intended to help you learn to do the following:
Analyze the fictional and dramatic elements of a film.
Evaluate the editing function of a film.
Critique the sound effects in a film.
Critique acting in a film.
Evaluate the theme(s) of a film.
Analyze why and how certain film making techniques are used in a film.
Analyze the contexts of a film.
Apply different approaches in film analysis.
Overview
Start by choosing a film to watch from the list your professor provided. In this final analysis, you will discuss major techniques supporting the theme, make an allusion (reference) to another film, and comment on a historical or cultural relevance to the film. Chapter 12 in the textbook discusses the basic approach to analyzing a film as a whole.
Paper Guidelines
Write a 1,000- to 1,250-word essay that follows APA guidelines. Word count excludes title page and references. Use the following guidelines to structure your paper.
Title Page:
Your name, date, title of film (italicized)
Year when the film was produced
Director, writer, cinematographer
2 to 3 major stars in the film and their characters’ names
Introduction: Your introduction paragraph will focus on a theme present in the film you chose. You may use the following formula for your thesis statement: “[Name of Film] shows that…”
Body: Your body paragraphs will be used to support your thesis. In 4 to 5 paragraphs:
Analyze how the theme is present throughout the film by explaining its relevance in the film as a whole.
Show how several filmic elements contribute to the theme (such as angles, lighting, color, music, dialogue, motif, etc. See the boldface terms in each chapter or the book’s glossary). Refer to at least 2 credible sources about the film and/or cinematographic contexts surrounding the theme; the bibliography at the end of each chapter has some research suggestions, and you are welcome to contact a librarian at the Franklin Library for assistance, as well.
Write a full analysis of one shot relevant to the theme (e.g., shot type, proxemics, angle, lighting, composition, motif, etc.).
Provide at least one allusion to another film. Explain its relevance to the theme in at least one paragraph.
Remember to cite your sources and films cited both in-text and at the end of the document.
Conclusion: Conclude by stating your overall appreciation of the film, including:
Why it was artful or worthwhile to watch for the theme and techniques.
Why it is socially relevant.
Why it is historically relevant.
Why it is enjoyable to watch (or why not).
References: Include all references used, cited, and formatted, according to APA guidelines.

From the movie of your choosing, select 2 specific sections. State the movie you choose. State what minute in the movie these sections are and then walk through the steps of camera work. What type of shots were used, what angles? Describe each section in detail and then conclude with how the cinematographer conveyed the message. Do you think it could have been done differently? If yes, how?
E.T. (1982)

From the movie of your choosing, select 2 specific sections. State the movie you choose. State what minute in the movie these sections are and then walk through the steps of camera work. What type of shots were used, what angles? Describe each section in detail and then conclude with how the cinematographer conveyed the message. Do you think it could have been done differently? If yes, how?
E.T. (1982)

Benedict Anderson discussed the idea of the nation as an imagined community and says that it is imagined “as acommunity, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship.” In what ways does Hindi cinema critique this imagined community? Answer by paying attention to the codes of melodrama as well as the understanding of other ideological aspects connected to the idea of the nation (gender, religion, etc.). Draw from the articles I have attached to respond to this prompt about the film Deewar(1975). Write this prompt in the context of the film Deewar (1975)

Film: Point Break (1991/dir. Kathryn Bigelow/2 hrs. 2 min./Tubi)
Key terms
· Persistence of vision: The tendency for one image to persist or linger on our retina as the next image enters our perception, contributing to the illusion of motion pictures.
· Frame: the smallest compositional unit of a reel of film: a single photographic image; also, the boundaries of the image.
· Identification: A mode of engagement with film content; something in the film reminds us of our own experience, and we tend to identify with the relevant character and his or her situation.
· Idealization: A mode of engagement with film content; something in the film resonates with our dreams and aspirations: if only our lives were quite like this!
· Shot: A continuously exposed, uninterrupted, or unedited piece of film of any length; a basic unit of film structure with discernible start and end points.
· Form: The visual and aural shape of a film. Form embraces all aspects of a film’s construction that can be isolated and discussed: the elements of narrative, mise-en-scène (the “look of the scene”), camerawork, sound, and editing.
· Classical Hollywood: The so-called “studio era,” roughly from the advent of sound through World War II. Distinguished by an approach to filmmaking that strove for an “invisible style” that allowed viewers to become absorbed by the world of the film.
· Film Noir: A French term for a style originating with American crime films of the 1940s and 1950s, characterized by deep shadows, night scenes, shady characters, and plots involving elaborate schemes and betrayals.
· Motif: Repeated images, lines of dialogue, or musical themes that are significant to a film’s meaning.
· Flashback: A scene that interrupts the chronological flow of story events by referring to an earlier time.
· Flash forward: A scene that interrupts the chronological flow of story events by skipping ahead to a later time.
· Exposition: The presentation of narrative information that provides context for the story and plot, including character development and the establishment of setting and/or location.
· Closure: The resolution of narrative questions and/or problems.
· Deus ex machina: The introduction of a contrived event to solve the problems set in motion in the story.
· A and B stories: A narrative formula that prioritizes one of the narratives while simultaneously tracking a second narrative.
· Ellipses: The omission of significant chunks of story time in the on-screen plot.
· Nondiagetic: A term used to denote material within a film that comes from outside the world of the story.
· Intertitle: A piece of text inserted into the film to cue the audience to the passage of time. Intertitles might also provide dialogue (in silent films), prologue, or epilogue copy.
· Metonymy: A type of metaphor in which a thing is represented through one of its attributes. Most often this rhetorical form uses a part to signify the whole, e.g., “the crown” to signify royalty.
· CGI: (computer-generated imagery) Images that are not photographically produced but are created on a computer.
· Props: Short for property, an object placed in the set. Props may play a significant part in the action.
· Blocking: The choreographed positioning of actors and camera(s).
· Three-point lighting: A balanced lighting scheme that employs three points of illumination: a bright light that directs our eyes to the subject (key light), a balancing (less intense) fill light that softens the shadows created by the key light, and a backlight behind the subject to add highlights.
· Chiascuro: Dramatic high-contrast lighting that exploits gradations and variations of light and dark in an image.
· Long shot: A shot that includes the entire person and background or a shot where the subject appears relatively small. Variations include the extreme long shot and the medium long shot, a shot of a person from the subject’s knees up or a shot where the subject is slightly smaller than a medium shot.
· Medium shot: A shot of a person from the waist up, or a shot where the scale of the subject is of moderate size.
· Canted shot: A shot made by tilting the camera at an angle on the subject.
· Establishing shot: Also known as master shot, it is a shot that orients the audience for the scene that follows.
· Off-screen space: The space in a scene that the audience cannot see but knows to contain someone or something of importance to the story.
· Tracking shot: A shot produced with a camera that moves smoothly alongside, behind, or ahead of the action.
· Long take: A single continuous shot of unusually long duration.
· Subjective point of view shot: A shot that simulates what a character sees.
· Pan: A lateral camera movement along an imaginary horizontal axis.
· Tilt: An upward camera movement along an imaginary vertical axis.
· Deep focus: Describes a shot where both the foreground and background planes are in sharp focus.
· Racking focus: Describes a shot where the focus shifts among foreground, middle ground, and/or background planes.
· Speed of motion: A camera-based special effect that makes the action on screen move at unrealistic speeds (fast, slow, or briefly paused, or stopped). Speed-of-motion effects are created by filming action at faster or slower speeds and then projecting the images at standard speed.
· Cut: The place where one shot ends and another begins; a direct transition from one shot to the next.
· Graphic match: Also known as a cut on form, it is a way of connecting two or more shots through repeated shapes or patterns.
· Non-diegetic insert: An image inserted into a scene that comes from outside the world of the story.
· Overlapping editing: The repeated presentation of a plot event, expanding its on-screen duration and underscoring its significance.
· Elliptical editing: Editing that allows an action to consume less screen time by transitioning between shots that suggest the passage of time.
· Montage sequence: A series of brief shots that summarizes a section of the story.
· Fade: A transitional device in which a shot slowly darkens and disappears (fade-out) or lightens and appears (fade-in).
· Dissolve: A transitional device in which one shot disappears as another appears.
· Screen direction:
· Iris: A transitional device in which the image contracts or expands within a small circle.
· Wipe: A transitional device where one image appears to be pushed aside by the next.
· Establishing shot: Also known as master shot, it is a shot that orients the audience for the scene that follows.
· Shot/reverse shot: An editing pattern that cuts between two characters in conversation.
· Eyeline match: An editing pattern that cuts between a character looking and the object of his or her gaze.
· Crosscutting: The process of cutting back and forth between two or more parallel actions; also known as parallel editing.
· Jump cut: A cut that seems to suggest a glitch or skip in the film.
· Diegetic sound: Sound that originates from within the story.
· Nondiegetic sound: Music, words, or effects from outside the story world that shape our experience of the film but do not originate within scenes.
· Sound bridge: A sound that connects two scenes. It could be a sound that carries over from one scene to the next or a sound from the second scene that is heard before the first scene ends.
· Non-simultaneous sound: Sound from the past or the future within the story world.
· Internal diegetic sound: A character’s thoughts and memories, heard but not spoken aloud.
· Line reading: The way in which an actor says the words from the scriipt; also called line delivery.
· Score: A nondiegetic musical accompaniment written specifically for a film.
· Fourth wall: The imaginary wall or barrier between the audience and the characters that creates the illusion of a separate story world.
· Dubbing: The process of rerecording dialogue and synchronizing it with shots; also known as looping.
· Voice-over narration: Lines spoken by a narrator that are nondiegetic.
· Musical motif: A brief and recurring pattern of notes.
· Foley artist: A member of the sound design team who creates sounds in a studio using various props.
· Sound cue: A musical theme or sound effect that signals the arrival of a character or the performance of an action.

Details of Assignments:
All assignments are considered short essays of at least 1-2 paragraphs. I need you to spell check and make sure your sentence structure is well constructed. Please DO NOT write in bullet points or cut and paste the questions and answer each one separately. The prompts are there to guide you so that you can write your short essay in an essay format.
Prompt:
We are talking about narrative and Genre. What is the genre of the movie you chose and why do you categorize it as such? Can you place it in more than one genre? Is this a genre you enjoy watching or did you chose a movie outside of your general preference? What makes this movie stand out? How is the narrative presented? (linear/non linear). Explain this. How is the narrative used to create suspense as well as interest?
Using the movie
Pulp Fiction (1994)

Assessment 1: Revision Journal (1000 words) due Monday 14th October, by 5pm (10%)
The revision journal consists of two entries at 500 words each, answering two questions (listed below). These exercises are designed to help you practice essential skills for Film Studies, which will help you with both your essay and the exam. Both entries should be written in prose, not as a series of points. In both parts, you should be aiming to produce a concise argument. Dr Mulvogue and/or your tutors will be available via appointment to discuss individual studies both before and after you submit your work. Late submissions will result in a loss of marks and in limited feedback, thus impeding achievement in both this assessment and the one to follow.
1. Analysis of a film sequence. Analyse either of the short sequences chosen from The Beaches of Agnès or Parasite (these sequences will be made available on Moodle). Discuss the way in which your chosen sequence utilises formal aspects addressed on the module such as editing, cinematography, mise-en-scène, and/or sound in order to further the narrative and themes (i.e. implicit ideas, social commentaries, etc.). You do not have to discuss every single feature of the sequence but should choose one or two elements to focus on in making your interpretation.
2. Analysis of film scholarship. Find a scholarly essay in an academic journal on a subject relevant to your sequence analysis (for example, if you chose The Beaches of Agnès, the article could be on the film itself, or on documentary form/aesthetics, authorship, feminist film practices, and so on). In your entry you should do the following: identify the essay’s argument, identify and evaluate the author’s method of supporting their argument. Do you agree with their conclusions? Why or why not? NOTE: You are expected to provide the full reference information according to Chicago Style guidelines.

Details of Assignments:
All assignments are considered short essays of at least 1-2 paragraphs. I need you to spell check and make sure your sentence structure is well constructed. Please DO NOT write in bullet points or cut and paste the questions and answer each one separately. The prompts are there to guide you so that you can write your short essay in an essay format.
Prompt:
We are talking about narrative and Genre. What is the genre of the movie you chose and why do you categorize it as such? Can you place it in more than one genre? Is this a genre you enjoy watching or did you chose a movie outside of your general preference? What makes this movie stand out? How is the narrative presented? (linear/non linear). Explain this. How is the narrative used to create suspense as well as interest?
Using the movie
Pulp Fiction (1994)

Assessment 1: Revision Journal (1000 words) due Monday 14th October, by 5pm (10%)
The revision journal consists of two entries at 500 words each, answering two questions (listed below). These exercises are designed to help you practice essential skills for Film Studies, which will help you with both your essay and the exam. Both entries should be written in prose, not as a series of points. In both parts, you should be aiming to produce a concise argument. Dr Mulvogue and/or your tutors will be available via appointment to discuss individual studies both before and after you submit your work. Late submissions will result in a loss of marks and in limited feedback, thus impeding achievement in both this assessment and the one to follow.
1. Analysis of a film sequence. Analyse either of the short sequences chosen from The Beaches of Agnès or Parasite (these sequences will be made available on Moodle). Discuss the way in which your chosen sequence utilises formal aspects addressed on the module such as editing, cinematography, mise-en-scène, and/or sound in order to further the narrative and themes (i.e. implicit ideas, social commentaries, etc.). You do not have to discuss every single feature of the sequence but should choose one or two elements to focus on in making your interpretation.
2. Analysis of film scholarship. Find a scholarly essay in an academic journal on a subject relevant to your sequence analysis (for example, if you chose The Beaches of Agnès, the article could be on the film itself, or on documentary form/aesthetics, authorship, feminist film practices, and so on). In your entry you should do the following: identify the essay’s argument, identify and evaluate the author’s method of supporting their argument. Do you agree with their conclusions? Why or why not? NOTE: You are expected to provide the full reference information according to Chicago Style guidelines.

Watch Hyenas and read “Djibril Diop Mabety” in Ten Directors ( post colonial African cinema )
and write a response about it the instructions are attached below make sure you read the instructions well and follow it thoroughly.