Updated 27 April 2007
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English 114: Introduction to Film, Section 2, Spring 2007
EXTRA-CREDIT PAPER FILM ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT
(Due no later than April 30)

For extra credit you may submit a 1750 word paper (about 7 typewritten pages) that meets the criteria below. Any paper that meets these criteria will automatically add 15 points to your final grade point total. Any paper that I judge to be superior will be awarded an additional 5 points.

A paper that does not meet the criteria below will not receive credit, but it will not count against your final grade. Papers that do only a partial job of analysis will receive no credit.

A successful paper (worth 15 points) is one that:

A superior paper (worth 20 points) is one that does all of these things in a way that is especially original, clear, and compelling and is mostly free of errors in grammar, spelling and mechanics.

Any paper that is plagiarized in part or in whole will receive no credit.  The University Policy on Academic Honesty in The Basic Stuff Student Handbook defines "plagiarism" in this way:

Plagiarism

Submission of an academic assignment as one's own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student. The following examples are all acts of plagiarism:

  • submitting the work of others as your own
  • submitting others' work as your own with only minor changes
  • submitting others' work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms
  • multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor's permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism or how to avoid it, contact me!

CRITERIA

1. Subject 2. First Paragraph 3. Second Paragraph 4. Main Body
5. Conclusion 6. Format 7. Sources and Plagiarism 8. Hints and Warnings

Recommended Films:

Almost any mainstream narrative fiction film can be analyzed for this paper, but I do strongly recommend that you see the film more than once--preferably 3 or 4 times.  The MSU library's Educational Resource Center has a wide array of U.S. and foreign films available on DVD.  You can find additional information about many of these films on the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com).  If you have any doubts about your choice of film, please contact me (donald.larsson@mnsu.edu). 

 

Examples of analysis using Buster Keaton's The General
1. SUBJECT
  • Your paper will be about a film viewed outside of class (in a commercial theatre, on cable TV, on campus, or on video. 
  • You cannot use a film that we have watched in class. 
  • If you wish analyze any film not on that list, check with me first. There are literally hundreds of possibilities. In general, any full-length "classic" film, whether silent or with sound, whether from Hollywood or another country, is likely to be acceptable. You should avoid made-for-TV movies.
 
2. FIRST PARAGRAPH
The first paragraph of your paper should contain a brief summary of the film's narrative ("story") (about 100-150 words). Tell us what happens in the film. This should be in your own words. Do not repeat descriptions from other sources.

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3. SECOND PARAGRAPH
The second paragraph of your paper should explain how the film's "plot" differs from its "story," as defined in Chapter 2 of Looking at Movies (about 150-250 words).  Tell us how the events of the narrative are arranged and presented in the film itself.  You should pay special attention to how the use of time differs between story and plot (order, duration, frequency).

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4. MAIN BODY
The main body of your paper (1450 words--about 5-6 typewritten pages) should analyze the use of

(A) MISE-EN-SCENE (especially design elements), or
(B) CINEMATOGRAPHY

(Choose only one of these elements for analysis! Do not mix them!)

 
A. If you analyze MISE-EN-SCENE (drawing upon terms and concepts from Chapter 3 in Looking at Movies): Discuss how the design elements of setting, costumes and make-up, lighting, movement and acting, and the use of space affect our perceptions of the film's narrative, characters, and/or meanings. Be sure to define or explain the terms you use and give specific examples from individual scenes in the film.. Some questions to consider include the following:
  • What are the major settings? What do they establish about the time, place, and narrative of the film? How are individual elements within the settings used? Are any props that are used and handled by the characters provided by setting? What do these elements and props reveal about characters? How do they help to advance the narrative? Do they add to the film's meanings?
  • What do the costumes and make-up reveal about the characters who wear them? What do they reveal about the time and place of the film's story? Are any props provided by costumes? How are they used?
  • In individual scenes, how do the apparent quality, direction, source and/or color of the lighting affect the scene? Why do you think so? What is the effect of the lighting in that scene?
  • How does the staging of movement and expression by actors or other objects reveal characters' traits? Discuss specific characters (or animals, objects, etc.) within specific scenes.
  • How is space used to draw our attention to movement, color differences, balance, and/or variations in size? Discuss specific effects within specific scenes.


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Note: Deal only with those questions (and others you might think of) that are relevant to the scenes being discussed in the film you are analyzing.
B: If you analyze CINEMATOGRAPHY (drawing upon terms and concepts from Chapter 4 in Looking at Movies): Discuss how framing and camera movement, as well as other choices by the cinematographer affect our perceptions of the film's narrative, characters, and/or meanings. You may consider aspects of lighting here as well.  Be sure to define or explain the terms you use. Some questions to consider include the following:
  • How are shots framed in individual scenes? How do camera height, level, angle, and/or distance affect our perception in those scenes?
  • What is the effect of mobile framing in individual scenes? How do pans, tilts, tracking and crane shots affect our perception in those scenes?
  • Is the quality of the images in the film as a whole, or in individual shots, notable for uses of color, or for the manipulation of film stock or exposure to light?   Why do you think so?  What is the effect in these scenes?
  • Are there significant uses of wide-angle, telephoto, or zoom lenses in any scenes? What is their effect?
  • Is the focus in individual scenes hard or soft, shallow or deep? What is the effect of that?
  • Are any apparent process shots (back or front projection, matting) used? Why are they used?

Again, deal only with those questions that are relevant to the scenes being discussed.

REMINDER: Discuss either mise-en-scene or cinematography. Do not attempt to do both! Do not attempt to cover every single example or possible question. Pick a few scenes and discuss them in detail or discuss significant aspects of the major areas or mise-en-scene or cinematography.
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5. CONCLUSION
Your final paragraph (up to 200 words) should discuss some of the kinds of meanings (referential, explicit, implicit and/or symptomatic) conveyed by the film and offer some conclusions about how mise-en-scene or cinematography conveys or affects those meanings. Be sure to define or explain the terms you use.

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6. FORMAT
  • Papers must be typed or word-processed, double-spaced, and have one-inch margins.
  • Your name, section number, and the topic and name of the film you are analyzing should be placed in the upper right-hand corner of your first page. It should look like this:

John or Jane Doe
Tech  ID  # (NOTE CHANGE!)
English 114, Spring 2007
Section # 2
Mise-en-Scene [or Cinematography] in _____

  • Place your name and page number on each page.
  • Clip or staple all pages together or use a folder or binder. [I do not normally bring staplers to class with me!] Please do not use binders with plastic sleeves for individual pages!

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7.  SOURCES AND PLAGIARISM
The paper should reflect your own analysis of the film in your own words. I do not expect you to use any outside sources. If you do use any sources for words or ideas, you must give them full credit in footnotes or endnotes.  

If the paper or any part of it is copied from another source, it will not receive any credit.   You may view and discuss a film with other students, but you are all responsible for putting the paper into your own individual words.  If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please check with me!
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8.   HINTS AND WARNINGS
  • A paper that does not meet all the criteria above will not receive credit!
  • I will not read any papers turned in after April 30. You may turn in papers any time earlier than that. I'll be happy to look at earlier drafts in progress.
  • Do not attempt to analyze a movie that you cannot watch now!. If you try to work from memory with a film you have seen previously, you will wind up forgetting important details or adding details that weren't in the film.
  • Watch the film at least two or three times! I recommend watching the scene(s) you are analyzing at least one time with the sound off. You'll be surprised at the visual details you pick up.
  • Leave yourself plenty of time! Papers done at the last minute on films seen only once tend to fail more often than papers that have been thought over, planned, and rewritten.
  • Organize your discussion!   There are two possible ways to organize the main body of the paper:
    1. By technique    : Note important elements of mise-en-scene or cinematography to be found throughout the film and discuss each one separately.
    2. By scene:   Pick two or three important scenes in the film and discuss how all aspects of mise-en-scene or cinematography work in each one
  • Come see me!  I'll be happy to discuss details of the film, rough drafts, final drafts, or any problems that you run into.

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