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compare with Notoriou.(director Alfred Hitchcock)
Present your interpretation of the theme of a film by one of the directors shown in class (not a
film seen in class). Analyze three or four scenes to support your interpretation
Using mise-en-senn, cinematography, color, actors…….
PAPER GUIDELINES FOR FILM ANALYSIS
Writing a paper involves three stages. All three are necessary to writing a paper that is original,
clear, and cogently argued. This guideline will be helpful in analyzing your selected scene.
1. Preparation
Select a topic: If you stray significantly from the paper topics provided for the class, you must
get my approval for your topic. In selecting the films and topics for your paper, realize that you
will produce a much better paper if you write about films that you are interested in.
Watch the film or films you have selected several times, taking notes: If you find it difficult to
unravel the film?s meaning, you might pay particular attention to the opening and closing
sequences. Often beginnings and endings provide clues to the themes in a film. Think about
camera movement and framing, editing, mise-en-scene, sound, point-of-view shots, narrative
structure, etc. How do they contribute to our understanding of the characters or narrative
development? How is the scene you have selected related to the overall theme?
Take stock of your ideas: Go over your notes, making a list of the ideas that seem particularly
useful. Do any sequences stand out with regard to the topic you are writing on? Are there two
or more sequences that are markedly similar to one another that you might compare? Think
about interesting juxtapositions and metaphors or striking stylistic elements (do you notice a
pattern of unusual point-of-view shots, montages, or camera angles?) How do these elements
relate to the themes you plan to discuss? For example, I?m writing a paper on character
relationships in Tsai Ming Liang?s work. I?ve noticed a pattern of color shifts that highlight the
emotionless states of his characters, contrasted with a city that seems to have come to life. I
work through the films, noting color changes in the film and the changing emotions depicted.
Then I interpret the patterns that I find.
Formulate an argument: Your argument should allow you to tie together your observations and
your research. It should be suited to the length of the paper; don?t make statements that you
can?t support in the amount of space you have to write the paper or with the information you
have at hand. Your argument should be based on your research and your analysis of the scene
you have selected, not an evaluation of it. Do not write a film review (don?t say whether the
film is good or bad).
Write an outline: Even if you don?t stick to it, it is helpful to have a plan before you start to
write. The outline should include your thesis statement and the points you will make to
support your thesis. Each point should be supported by examples from the film or films you are
discussing. It probably won?t be possible for you to include all of your observations about the
film in your paper. Select the examples that best support your argument.
2. WritingDon?t use anything larger than 12-point font. Use one-inch margins.
Your writing must be your own and it must be original: Plagiarism will result in disciplinary
action by the Dean of Students. You must indicate your sources, including readings, lectures,
and discussions from this or other classes (see below for the form your citations should take). If
your paper relies on extensive knowledge of a subject that you have gained outside of this
class, you must discuss it with me. If you want to write on the same topic as you are writing on
for another class, you must speak to me and the other professor about it. If you would like to
revise a paper you have already written, you must speak to me about it. You are encouraged to
discuss your ideas with other students, but your work must be your own.
Citations: You are not expected to do research for your paper, but follow MLA style for all your
citations where applicable. Extensive quotes, of three lines or more, should be indented and
single-spaced. You should include your source whether you use direct quotes or summarize an
argument. This includes information from the course reader, lectures, and discussions.
Citations should include the author?s last name in parentheses followed by the page number. If
you provide the author?s name in the text, you need only include the page number. At the end
of the paper, you will need to include a list of works cited.
Examples:
?Since film noir is as much a style as it is a genre, the manner in which the wild passion of the
fugitives is portrayed is more significant than the plot points which keep them on the run?
(Silver and Brookover 262).
-or
Janey Place and Lowell Peterson describe the requirement of depth of field in film noir:
It was essential in many close or medium shots that focus be carried into the background so
that all objects and characters in the frame be in sharp focus, giving equal weight to each. The
world of the film is this made a closed universe, with each character seen as just another facet
of an unheeding environment that will exist unchanged long after his death; and the interaction
between man and the forces represented by noir environment is always clearly visible (67).
Works Cited
Edelman, Lee. ?Plasticity, paternity, perversity: Freud’s ‘Falcon,’ Huston’s ‘Freud.’? American
Imago v51.n1 (Spring 1994): pp. 69(36).
Silver, Alan and Linda Brookover. ?What is This Thing Called Noir?? Alain Silver and James
Ursini, eds. Film Noir Reader, 6th edition. New York: Limelight Editions, 2001: 243-260Naremore, James. More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1998.
Avoid common errors: Two of the most common errors that students make when writing
about film are 1) focusing exclusively on characters and narrative to the point of neglecting the
manner in which meaning is conveyed filmicly (i.e. through editing, camera movement, sound,
mise-en-scene, etc.) and 2) describing the film rather than formulating an argument about it. It
isn?t enough simply to identify the point-of-view shots in a film. You need to think about how
they function, that is, what effect they have, what meaning they may have.
Support your argument with examples from the film: Examples might include close readings of
specific sequences or analyses of the manner in which certain elements recur throughout a
film. For instance, an essay on the representation of women in Gilda might include a close
analysis of the opening sequence as well as describing how point-of-view shots function
throughout the film.
Correctly identify characters and film titles: The first time you refer to a film, include the
director and year in which the film was released, e.g. Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947).
Subsequent references to the film need only give the title, which should always be underlined.
The first time you refer to a character, you may include the actor?s name in parentheses, e.g.
Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum). But after that, use only the character?s name. (Jeff Bailey
searches for Kathie Moffat. Robert Mitchum does not look for Janet Greer.) It?s terribly
distracting, not to mention confusing, to read a paper in which characters are misidentified. If
you can?t remember a character?s name or aren?t sure of the spelling, look it up. The Internet
Movie Database (http://us.imdb.com) includes this information.
3. Editing
Be sure to read your paper carefully! It?s a good idea to ask a tutor or someone else to read the
paper for you. Double-check the following:
Content: Have you made any assertions that are not supported with examples from the film?
Have you made any sweeping generalizations that are beyond the scope of your paper?
Eliminate evaluative statements (e.g. ?Fritz Lang is a great director.? ?Double Indemnity is an
excellent film.?)
Organization: Have you presented your evidence in the best possible way? Does your
introduction clearly state the argument? Do your paragraphs flow from one to the next, or are
they disjointed and unrelated? Does each paragraph contribute to your paper?s thesis? The
topic of each paragraph should be clearly stated in the first sentence or two and should be
supported with specific examples from the film. Any information that does not directly relate
to your paper?s argument should be confined to footnotes or endnotes, or eliminated
altogether.Style: Have you used inappropriate slang or colloquialisms? Are your verb tenses consistent?
(Actions in a film should be described in the present tense, historical events in the past tense:
Marion Crane is the only guest at the Bates motel. Many motels lost business when the
interstate highways were built.) Have you chosen the best possible words to describe scenes in
the films and to express your points? Are you certain of the meanings of the words you are
using? Do you over-use particular words and phrases?
Spelling and Grammar: You will be marked down for errors in spelling and grammar. Most
word processing programs will check your spelling and grammar for you. If you are uncertain
about English grammar, arrange to meet with a writing tutor in the LRC
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