Film Analysis Project
If you want to be a better writer, you have to read and write a lot. If you want to be a good filmmaker, you have to watch movies.
Your next task will be to watch and analyze a film of your choosing. Rather than selecting one film for everyone to watch, you may work by yourself, or in groups and watch a film of your choice. You will use these films as the basis for your analysis project.
Your analysis project will contain several steps.
Step 1: review/read the terms under the "Movie Terminology for Analysis" section below. You will also want to review some of the terms from the Film and Home Movie vocab sheet we did a while ago (if you need your copy of this, I have them saved in the drop box). You can also review the terms we did in the documentary study guide as many of them apply to films as well.
Step 2: select your movie. While there aren't any restrictions on what movie you can select, be sure it is a movie of substance with enough in it for you to analyze.
Step 3: save the "Guide to Critical Film Analysis" questions (posted below) to your computer.
Step 4: while you have the Guide to Critical Film Analysis questions open, watch your movie. You will probably want to read through the questions first so you can be mindful of what elements you should examine as you watch your film.
Step 5: complete the Guide to Critical Film Analysis questions as you watch the movie. You may need/want to rewatch some key scenes so you can analyze what the filmmaker is doing in the scene. Be sure to not only pay attention to the dialogue and actors, but look at key elements like camera angles, shots, lighting, music, background, mise-en-scene, etc.
Step 6: after watching the film, think about it as a whole. How did the author create unity (or maybe disunity) in the way he/she constructed the film.
Your next task will be to watch and analyze a film of your choosing. Rather than selecting one film for everyone to watch, you may work by yourself, or in groups and watch a film of your choice. You will use these films as the basis for your analysis project.
Your analysis project will contain several steps.
Step 1: review/read the terms under the "Movie Terminology for Analysis" section below. You will also want to review some of the terms from the Film and Home Movie vocab sheet we did a while ago (if you need your copy of this, I have them saved in the drop box). You can also review the terms we did in the documentary study guide as many of them apply to films as well.
Step 2: select your movie. While there aren't any restrictions on what movie you can select, be sure it is a movie of substance with enough in it for you to analyze.
Step 3: save the "Guide to Critical Film Analysis" questions (posted below) to your computer.
Step 4: while you have the Guide to Critical Film Analysis questions open, watch your movie. You will probably want to read through the questions first so you can be mindful of what elements you should examine as you watch your film.
Step 5: complete the Guide to Critical Film Analysis questions as you watch the movie. You may need/want to rewatch some key scenes so you can analyze what the filmmaker is doing in the scene. Be sure to not only pay attention to the dialogue and actors, but look at key elements like camera angles, shots, lighting, music, background, mise-en-scene, etc.
Step 6: after watching the film, think about it as a whole. How did the author create unity (or maybe disunity) in the way he/she constructed the film.
Guide to Critical Film Analysis Click Here
Movie Terminology for Analysis
General Terms
Shot: continuous, unedited piece of film of any length
Scene: a series of shots that together form a complete episode or unit of the narrative
Storyboard: Drawn up when designing a production. Plans AV text and shows how each shot relates to sound track. (Think comic strip with directions - like a rough draft or outline for a film.)
Montage: The editing together of a large number of shots with no intention of creating a continuous reality. A montage is often used to compress time, and montage shots are linked through a unified sound - either a voiceover or a piece of music.
Parallel action: narrative strategy that crosscuts between two or more separate actions to create the illusion that they are occurring simultaneously
Shots
Long Shot: Overall view from a distance of whole scene often used as an establishing shot - to set scene. Person - will show whole body.
Medium or Mid Shot: Middle distance shot - can give background information while still focusing on subject. Person - usually shows waist to head.
Close Up: Focuses on detail / expression / reaction. Person - shows either head or head and shoulders.
Tracking shot: single continuous shot made with a camera moving along the ground
Reverse shot: shot taken at a 180 degree angle from the preceding shot (reverse-shot editing is commonly used during dialogue, angle is often 120 to 160 degrees)
Subjective Shot (P.O.V. Shot): Framed from a particular character's point of view. Audience sees what character sees.
Camera Movement
Pan: Camera moves from side to side from a stationary position
Tilt: Movement up or down from a stationary position
Tracking: The camera moves to follow a moving object or person
Camera Angles
Low Angle Camera: shoots up at subject. Used to increase size, power, status of subject
High Angle Camera: shoots down at subject. Used to increase vulnerability, powerlessness, decrease size
Editing (the way shots are put together)
Cut: The ending of a shot. If the cut seems inconsistent with the next shot, it is called a jump cut.
Fade in or out: The image appears or disappears gradually. Often used as a division between scenes.
Dissolve: One image fades in while another fades out so that for a few seconds, the two are superimposed.
Sound
Soundtrack: Consists of dialogue, sound effects and music. Should reveal something about the scene.
Score: musical soundtrack
Sound effects: all sounds that are neither dialogue nor music
Voice-over: spoken words laid over the other tracks in sound mix to comment upon the narrative or to narrate
Shot: continuous, unedited piece of film of any length
Scene: a series of shots that together form a complete episode or unit of the narrative
Storyboard: Drawn up when designing a production. Plans AV text and shows how each shot relates to sound track. (Think comic strip with directions - like a rough draft or outline for a film.)
Montage: The editing together of a large number of shots with no intention of creating a continuous reality. A montage is often used to compress time, and montage shots are linked through a unified sound - either a voiceover or a piece of music.
Parallel action: narrative strategy that crosscuts between two or more separate actions to create the illusion that they are occurring simultaneously
Shots
Long Shot: Overall view from a distance of whole scene often used as an establishing shot - to set scene. Person - will show whole body.
Medium or Mid Shot: Middle distance shot - can give background information while still focusing on subject. Person - usually shows waist to head.
Close Up: Focuses on detail / expression / reaction. Person - shows either head or head and shoulders.
Tracking shot: single continuous shot made with a camera moving along the ground
Reverse shot: shot taken at a 180 degree angle from the preceding shot (reverse-shot editing is commonly used during dialogue, angle is often 120 to 160 degrees)
Subjective Shot (P.O.V. Shot): Framed from a particular character's point of view. Audience sees what character sees.
Camera Movement
Pan: Camera moves from side to side from a stationary position
Tilt: Movement up or down from a stationary position
Tracking: The camera moves to follow a moving object or person
Camera Angles
Low Angle Camera: shoots up at subject. Used to increase size, power, status of subject
High Angle Camera: shoots down at subject. Used to increase vulnerability, powerlessness, decrease size
Editing (the way shots are put together)
Cut: The ending of a shot. If the cut seems inconsistent with the next shot, it is called a jump cut.
Fade in or out: The image appears or disappears gradually. Often used as a division between scenes.
Dissolve: One image fades in while another fades out so that for a few seconds, the two are superimposed.
Sound
Soundtrack: Consists of dialogue, sound effects and music. Should reveal something about the scene.
Score: musical soundtrack
Sound effects: all sounds that are neither dialogue nor music
Voice-over: spoken words laid over the other tracks in sound mix to comment upon the narrative or to narrate
Film Review Project
Look at the examples of video review below for a variety of films. Rather than writing a film review, you will each create a 3-5 minute review for the film you used for the Guide to Critical Assessment of Film above. Your film review should include the following information:
The Background of the Film
A brief synopsis of the film--you don't want to give anything away but want to hook people who might be interested in this type of film.
Include an analysis of the cinematic quality (key scenes, lighting, tone, mood, music)
Include an analysis of the key actors and their performance
Include an analysis of the plot and writing of the film
You will each record yourself sharing your reviews on film. You may choose the format of how to present your review. You can include scenes from the movie you're reviewing if you can download them from YouTube. These will need to be downloaded and converted, so plan ahead so you can finish on time.
You may also simply be on camera filming yourself as you review your movie.
Your reviews should be fluid so you will need to prepare what you say beforehand. Your reviews should not ramble but should be planned out and practiced.
The Background of the Film
A brief synopsis of the film--you don't want to give anything away but want to hook people who might be interested in this type of film.
Include an analysis of the cinematic quality (key scenes, lighting, tone, mood, music)
Include an analysis of the key actors and their performance
Include an analysis of the plot and writing of the film
You will each record yourself sharing your reviews on film. You may choose the format of how to present your review. You can include scenes from the movie you're reviewing if you can download them from YouTube. These will need to be downloaded and converted, so plan ahead so you can finish on time.
You may also simply be on camera filming yourself as you review your movie.
Your reviews should be fluid so you will need to prepare what you say beforehand. Your reviews should not ramble but should be planned out and practiced.
Film Review Examples
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