Short Essay – Cinematic Response Paper
DUE: October 18th in your tutorial AND submitted to Moodle by October 19th @ midnight.
Assignment 1: Cinematic Experience Essay
FILM 1401 Introduction to Film (for non-majors)
500-750 words, 2-3 pages
Due in tutorial 18/19 Oct. 2011 AND submitted to Moodle by 19 Oct 2011 by midnight
For most of Film 1401 we will be looking at the language of individual films – things like editing, framing, colour, etc. However, for this essay, you will analyze the various “cinematic structures” that surround the film and shape your experience of a film. By cinematic structures, we mean things like the size and shape of the screen, the technology on which you encounter it, and the architectural space in which you view it. For a more detailed explanation of what we mean by cinematic structures, see section III of this assignment.
You will choose and analyze an interesting cinematic experience that you have experienced personally. Cinematic experience can be defined very broadly here, in the sense this term can describe many visual experiences that combine sound and image on a SCREEN – not just narrative Hollywood films. See the list of examples below in section II for ideas.
The following example should help to clarify how “cinematic structures” can shape your “cinematic experience.” Compare seeing Batman on the opening night on a huge screen with great sound to a sold-out crowd with your best friends – to seeing it on a dvd on a laptop alone in your dorm room on your first night away from home. According to our definition, both are cinematic experiences, but the cinematic structures that surround them change your experience of the film in substantial ways.
I. Form:
Your essay will be 500-750 words, typed, double-spaced, w/ one-inch margins, and in 12pt font. Your essay will be proofread carefully, printed out, stapled, and submitted to your tutorial leader. You will also submit it to turnitin.com, available through the class Moodle site. NO EXTENSIONS! This assignment is very short, so your writing needs to be economical and well-organized. Leave enough time to re-write it so that your essay is thoughtful, creative, and detailed. Consult the cinematic experience rubric to help you write the essay.
II. Picking a Topic:
Pick and describe ONE interesting, “cinematic” viewing situation. Examples may include, but are in no way limited to:
- a special IMAX or 3D screening
- an art house cinema where the film would only be there one day
- a sing-along screening of Mamma Mia, or The Rocky Horror Show
- a film screened at an unusual place, like a park, pool, or gym
- watching a movie in another country while on vacation or visiting relatives
- a drive-in movie theater where the sound comes through your radio
- a $20 film at the Toronto International Film Festival
- a Cinematheque screening of a rare 35mm print at TIFF Bell Lightbox
- playing video games at an old-fashioned arcade – or one that’s full of new immersive games
- watching the jumbo monitors at a live sporting event
- watching youtube on your grandma’s really slow, out-of-date computer
- watching a “movie” on your smartphone
- going to live 16mm avant-garde projector performance at Cinecycle, a downtown screening space that used to operate as a bike shop
- attending a musical performance, dance performance, or theatrical event with projections
- watching a movie on a long, crowded plane ride through airline earphones
- standing inside a camera obscura watching upside-down coloured images of the outside world reflected on the wall.
If you are unsure as to whether the topic you’ve chosen is acceptable, please ask your TA.
III. Writing It:
This is a creative assignment, but one with an argument. Therefore, you need a THESIS. Your thesis should address the following question:
How do the formal structures that frame your chosen cinematic viewing experience work to produce the meaning of the experience for you?
Again, by “the formal structures that frame your chosen cinematic viewing experience,” we mean all the things that SURROUND the “film” — all the architectural, aesthetic, and sensory elements that you might otherwise take for granted. You might ask yourself some of the following questions.
What are the dimensions of the screen? It’s brightness? It’s colour or lack thereof? What is the medium (video, digital, film, slideshow) through which you access it?
What sounds are you supposed to hear? What sounds interrupt that experience? What is the quality of the sound system? How do those sounds reach you (earphones, radio, speakers)?
Where are you sitting in the space? What’s the space/architecture like? How do the seats affect your physical body? What is the quality of the air/temperature? What is the duration of the experience and the time of day? What do you consume (buy, eat, drink, breathe)?
We would also like you to consider the emotional, and circumstantial things that make up that experience:
Who are you with? What is the audience like? Is it your kind of scene?
What’s your emotional state? It this an event you’ve been looking forward to? How did you hear about it?
What distracts you – or allows you to become completely immersed? What social connections does this cinematic viewing situation facilitate? hinder? or simply alter?
You may include other observations.
The most important part of your short essay is analysis and interpretation. How do some of the specific elements of the formal cinematic structure affect the theme or mood of your experience? What are some of the social and cultural meanings that the structures of your cinematic experience produce?
By the way, don’t forget to tell us WHAT you were watching.
DVD COMMENTARY ASSIGNMENT
Due: Rolling Dates:
FILM 1401 - DVD Commentary Assignment – 2011-12 Due: Rolling due dates In this assignment, you and your partner will produce a five-minute DVD commentary on a film excerpt of your choice that you will read over your clip during tutorial. There are lots of different kinds of DVD commentary tracks. Some are silly and full of anecdotes that do little to enrich either our knowledge or enjoyment of the film. Others, especially if made by a director who is articulate and thoughtful (as Paul Greengrass is on his commentary for the Bourne Ultimatum), can teach us a lot about how things like editing, rhythm and temporal ellipses have been employed to shape a spectator’s experience of the film. The same is true of well-crafted commentaries by film critics and scholars (for example, Christopher Faulkner's on Rules of the Game). The best of them lead us through scenes in a way that builds an argument about the film through close observation of the film’s formal choices (for example, its mise-en-scène, cinematography, and structure). Consult your tutorial leader regarding how partners will be assigned and on signing up for the date of your presentation. You and your partner will be able to pick a five-minute scene from any film of your choice. If you cannot be in class on the day of your presentation, please let your partner and tutorial leader know and provide official documentation as soon as possible. Unexcused absences will cause you to earn a zero on the assignment. 1) Look at the syllabus in order to find out what formal element of cinema we will be exploring on the day of your presentation. You are responsible for doing the reading for that week ahead of time, so you will be able to select an appropriate scene (or portion of a scene) in order to demonstrate how that particular formal element operates in the film you choose. 2) You and your partner will do a shot breakdown of the scene you’ve chosen. This is a detailed, shot-by-shot description of what happens in those five minutes. Number each shot and describe what the camera is doing, what the sound is doing, what’s in the background, what movement occurs within the frame etc. There are a couple of examples of good shot breakdowns on the class Moodle site. 3) You and your partner will write a brief analysis (about 750 words) that describes and interprets that scene by focusing on the formal element of the film that we are examining that day in class. In other words, explore a theme or motif in the film in relation to that week’s focus (e.g., some aspect of cinematography, editing, mise-en-scène, film sound or music). Why has the sequence you have chosen been crafted in this way? Come up with a thesis about how your formal element is operating in that scene. How does your analysis of this scene illuminate an important theme that runs through the larger film? 4) Synchronize your reading of your analysis to the scene you have chosen. You will have to rewrite portions in order for your analysis to synch up with what’s going on in the film. Practice by reading your commentary aloud along with the clip. We will ask you to present your analysis in tutorial as voiceover narration. Both partners are expected to perform their commentary live in class, alternating as you go. Your commentary will be followed briefly by some questions from the class. You will submit your shot breakdown and your script in one complete set for both you and your partner on the day of your presentation. You do not need to submit a DVD copy of your clip, but you must be able to cue it quickly to the appropriate place for your in-class performance. A few things to consider: • All the classroom films are on reserve at the Scott Moving Image Library, although you may use any film available on DVD or VHS tape. • The analysis should run approximately 5 min and should fit the scene you’ve chosen. Read at a comfortable pace, the commentary will be around 750 words. The goal should be tight, concise writing. Expect to revise your analysis a few times. • You may want to burn a DVD of the clip that you have chosen using iMovie or FinalCut Pro, but you must rely on your own technology to do so. There are no school facilities designated for this.
