Your final paper for this course will be a film analysis. You may choose any film as long as it is listed in the American Film Institute’s Catalog of Feature Films. If your film is not listed in this catalog, you must choose to analyze a different film that is listed within this catalog. Your film must be a standalone movie with a theatrical release (i.e. it cannot be a television show or episodic internet program). Movies that are sequels are acceptable for this assignment, as long as they are listed in the AFI catalog.
Once you have selected a film, you will watch it and analyze it, ultimately putting into text an analysis that offers the reader greater insight into the nuances of the motion picture and techniques the filmmakers used to craft the story and messages behind it.
By this point you should have a variety of tools with which to tackle this assignment. We have covered multiple aspects of filmmaking, including design elements such as lighting, color, framing, actor and camera movement, etc. We have also discussed historical influences of the evolution of various genres, as well as the film industry as a whole. We have looked at the strong influence directors possess during the filmmaking process. Beginning this week, we’ll look at several ‘criticism’ videos which critically analyze specific films. Pay attention to how the films are analyzed within these videos to get a sense of how to talk about films from an analytical perspective. These short videos will be helpful for thinking of topics and areas of discussion for your selected film. Use as many of these topics as required to craft a thorough analysis that meets the listed criteria of your film analysis.
Your paper must meet the following criteria:
Must be a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file
Document must be uploaded to Canvas in the module when the paper is due (highlighted below). Do not email the paper to me. I will not accept it and you will receive a zero on the assignment.
12 point Times New Roman or Arial font
Written in paragraph form
1200 word minimum (not including references)
MLA Style Bibliography citing your sources, including the movie(s) you cite in your paper. For examples of how to cite movies, interviews, and other non-traditional sources (in MLA style), see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/09/
To reiterate a common mistake in student film analysis papers; do not merely discuss what happens in a film – that is a plot synopsis, and is not what you are being asked to write. While plot is a component of what you’ll write about, you want to tie in other aspects of how the visual and aural experience of your selected film helps to tell a story and deliver deeper meaning about the content of a film.
