You will submit a 1-2 page reflection for each movie clip (APA Format- make sure you have a title page, abstract and citations).
PLEASE REFER TO THIS VIDEO:
The video discusses different styles of cinematography used through a handful of films.
I want you to do a critical analysis of what you see. Your analysis can focus on just one film in the video, or multiple films, or it can compare and contrast a number of films. I don’t care too much what films or how many films you choose, all I care about is that your paper breaks down how the filmmakers chose to use cinematography to tell their story.
The analysis should be at a college level. Meaning you should do background research either via your text book or the Internet, on the techniques or styles used. This research should allow you to clearly understand why the filmmakers choose the style/techniques they did, to tell their stories.
For example, one film that is covered in the video is ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ a film that is known for its use of grand wide shots. Why do you think the filmmakers chose to tell their story in wide shots? What do those shots add to the film? How do you think audiences reacted to those shots? How did you react?
I am VERY open to what you choose to analyze, as long as it relates to cinematography and how cinematography shapes a film.
If you are struggling with what to write, here is a list of questions you can write about.
1. How was this filmmaker’s use of the cinematography different or original?
2. Why do you believe the filmmakers decided to use cinematography in this way?
3. How did you react to the films cinematography?
4. How do you believe the filmmakers wanted audiences to react to the cinematography?
5. How was the cinematography achieved?
6. How does this films cinematography compare to other films we’ve spoken of this semester?
7. Was the cinematography groundbreaking? Was it lackluster?
8. Would this style of cinematography work for a different film or subject matter?
9. Was the films cinematography acclaimed? If so why do you believe so? If not, why do you believe so?
10. Was the films cinematography memorable?
11. How did the films genre influence its cinematography?
12. How does the filmmakers past work compare to the cinematography of this film?
13. How does the cinematography make you feel? Do you believe audiences shared the same reaction as you?
14. How is the cinematography in the film used to reflect the real world?
While you don’t need to answer all (or even any) of these questions, they are just a guideline to get you started. The point I’m trying to make is that your analysis should be critical and well thought out. Don’t just say “The cinematography was good” I want to know why?
We should be making critical observations that make the readers of our paper think. We should be exploring elements we never thought of before. We should be analyzing filmmakers work, as researchers, discovering something new through careful analysis.
