- Th 1051 - Introduction
to Film
Analysis Paper Guide
- Guidelines:
- Choose a film you admire.
- Study the film by watching it multiple times on a VCR or
DVD.
- Choose three to five technical elements (e.g., editing,
angles, camera distortions, framing, sound, costumes, proxemics,
etc.) that contribute significantly to the film's overall effect,
and analyze in some detail the contributions of each.
Use terms and concepts discussed in class and the text. Please
avoid analyzing the plot and the acting.
- When examining the specific elements, ask yourself the following
questions:
- What is the director's purpose or primary aim in making the
film?
- Why did the director make the choices he/she made?
- What effect do those choices have on the viewer?
- How do the separate elements of the film relate to and contribute
to the theme, central purpose, and/or total effect?
- Use your analysis of the individual film elements as the
body of your paper; then add an introductory paragraph, transitions,
and a conclusion to shape the paper into a complete essay. (The
final product should be between four and six typewritten pages,
double-spaced.)
- Please don't spend more than one short paragraph describing
the film's plot. Assume the reader has seen the film.
- Please staple your paper and do not place it in a binder
of any kind.
- Points will be deducted if the paper is: too short, not typed,
and/or handed in late.
- Computer disks will not be accepted.
- To view past examples of analysis papers for Introduction
to Film, click here. (The
movies analyzed may not be used for your own analysis paper.)
Evaluation:
Analysis papers are worth 25 points. They will be graded on
the following criteria:
- Originality (the ability to find a valid
and imaginative approach to the film) - 5 points.
- Insightfulness (the ability to arrive at an
informed and perceptive argument, based on terms and techniques
studied in class) - 10 points.
- Specificity (the ability to back up
your arguments with specific examples from the film) - 10
points.
Papers are due Friday, June 7th.
Late papers will not be accepted.