Visual Film Essay
Budget: $250 – $750 USD
This task is to choose a 3-4 minute sequence from a film of your choice and perform a deep analysis of the way multiple aspects of film form intersect to convey the movie's implicit meaning. this assignments asks you to perform a deep analysis several aspects of form in one small section of a film.
So, choose at least TWO or as many as FOUR elements to focus on for this analysis - you don't have to talk about EVERYTHING. As you know by now, those elements can include mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, or sound.
But, I would also expect you to address the film's GENRE and MODE or APPROACH and how those aspects of the film contribute to the movie's narrative expectations, characters, and theme. So, you are welcome to choose a fictional narrative OR a documentary OR an experimental film and you could even choose one that is animated! Just be sure that you include some discussion of these elements as part of your project, even if you choose a traditional narrative.
Some questions your project should be sure to answer:
What is the significance of this sequence to the overall film?
A clearly outlined thesis statement that follows the same principles of thesis statements from Essay #1
At least two quotations from our class textbook with the page number included in parentheses at the end
1) Visual Essay in Microsoft Word or Google Docs
This is the simplest option - write a traditional essay but include 5-10 film stills from your chosen movie that help to illustrate your observations and ideas. Label your images as "Figure 1, Figure 2" etc., and refer to them that way in the text of your essay. You should EXPLAIN why you've included these images, not just use them as decoration.
Requirements:
1200-1500 words
Underline your thesis statement
Include a link to your chosen sequence
Explain the images you include; you can also annotate the images with arrows, lines, circles, etc.
How does this sequence advance the narrative or contribute to character development in the movie as a whole?
What is the implicit meaning of the film as a whole and how does this sequence contribute to it?
What are the most important aspects of film form in this sequence, and how do they reflect the above questions?
What role do genre, mode, or approach play in this sequence? How do they shape the action, the characters, or our expectations of what happens or what will happen in the movie?
So, choose at least TWO or as many as FOUR elements to focus on for this analysis - you don't have to talk about EVERYTHING. As you know by now, those elements can include mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, or sound.
But, I would also expect you to address the film's GENRE and MODE or APPROACH and how those aspects of the film contribute to the movie's narrative expectations, characters, and theme. So, you are welcome to choose a fictional narrative OR a documentary OR an experimental film and you could even choose one that is animated! Just be sure that you include some discussion of these elements as part of your project, even if you choose a traditional narrative.
Some questions your project should be sure to answer:
What is the significance of this sequence to the overall film?
A clearly outlined thesis statement that follows the same principles of thesis statements from Essay #1
At least two quotations from our class textbook with the page number included in parentheses at the end
1) Visual Essay in Microsoft Word or Google Docs
This is the simplest option - write a traditional essay but include 5-10 film stills from your chosen movie that help to illustrate your observations and ideas. Label your images as "Figure 1, Figure 2" etc., and refer to them that way in the text of your essay. You should EXPLAIN why you've included these images, not just use them as decoration.
Requirements:
1200-1500 words
Underline your thesis statement
Include a link to your chosen sequence
Explain the images you include; you can also annotate the images with arrows, lines, circles, etc.
How does this sequence advance the narrative or contribute to character development in the movie as a whole?
What is the implicit meaning of the film as a whole and how does this sequence contribute to it?
What are the most important aspects of film form in this sequence, and how do they reflect the above questions?
What role do genre, mode, or approach play in this sequence? How do they shape the action, the characters, or our expectations of what happens or what will happen in the movie?
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