For this option, you will be analyzing and making an argument about a film’s visual
design. Some issues you might consider in formulating your thesis and examples (not a
complete list):
● Consider how all the elements of visual design are used. How are sets and
props significant? Or costume and makeup? How do these act as catalysts?
● How is lighting utilized, and what types of lighting are used (direction, quantity,
etc.)?
● How does the film use color?
● How does the visual design contribute to the film’s mise-en-scene? How does it
convey the film’s subject and themes? How does it direct our attention?
● How does the visual design contribute to mood and atmosphere? How does it
shape the film’s setting? Do we see any recurring visual motifs? If so, why?
● Is the visual design in this scene exemplary of the overall design, or is it radically
different? If it is different, how and why?
Note: It is not sufficient to list and describe multiple elements of the visual design – you
must make an argument about what the visual design does. Limit your focus to
elements addressed in the visual design lecture, not other topics related to
mise-en-scene (composition and temporal design).
