Reading and Composition: Film Analysis--Spring Term
Week 1 March 11-20 Reading and Discussion "8 key points of Media Literacy"
Media Interaction Journal assigned (Due 4/1)
Week 2 March 30-April 3 Elements of Film--Visuals and Mise en scene Film Study: Citizen Kane
Mise en scene essay assigned (Due 4/13)
Week 3 April 6-10 Elements of Film--Story. Six Part Plot Structure, Motif, etc. Film Study: JAWS
Week 4-6 April 13-May 1 The Heroic Journey in Film. Film Study: The Searchers; Batman Begins; The Princess Bride
Formal Analysis Essay--Due May 6. Details TBA
Weeks 7-9 May 4-May 22 Film Noir Unit. Film Study: The Maltese Falcon; Double Indemnity; Rope/A Touch of Evil
Film Noir Prezi Project--Due May 25
Weeks 10-11 May 25-June 5 Science Fiction and Visions of the Future. Film Study: Minority Report; TBA
Media Interaction Journal assigned (Due 4/1)
Week 2 March 30-April 3 Elements of Film--Visuals and Mise en scene Film Study: Citizen Kane
Mise en scene essay assigned (Due 4/13)
Week 3 April 6-10 Elements of Film--Story. Six Part Plot Structure, Motif, etc. Film Study: JAWS
Week 4-6 April 13-May 1 The Heroic Journey in Film. Film Study: The Searchers; Batman Begins; The Princess Bride
Formal Analysis Essay--Due May 6. Details TBA
Weeks 7-9 May 4-May 22 Film Noir Unit. Film Study: The Maltese Falcon; Double Indemnity; Rope/A Touch of Evil
Film Noir Prezi Project--Due May 25
Weeks 10-11 May 25-June 5 Science Fiction and Visions of the Future. Film Study: Minority Report; TBA
Film Precis Assignment
6 precis total to be completed throughout the term. Precis MUST be based on films from one of the following lists: AFI Top 100 Films of All Time; Filmsite.org Greatest 100 Movies of All Time; imdb.com top 250
1& 2 Due April 13; 3 & 4 Due May 11; 5& 6 Due June 1
Paragraph 1: Particulars of the film—director, year of release, actors, other notable facts (short paragraph)
Paragraph 2: Brief synopsis of the film—major plot points, conflicts, characters
Paragraph 3: Respond to/analyze a significant artistic aspect of the film—visuals, performance, story (longest paragraph)
Sample film précis:
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy directed by Victor Fleming, based on a popular children’s story by L. Frank Baum. The film stars a young Judy Garland, along with Ray Bolger,Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr, Development of the film started when the success of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs showed that films adapted from popular children's stories and fairytale folklore could be successful. Although the film received largely positive reviews, it was not a box office success on its initial release. On a budget of 2,777,000 the film made 3,017,000 on its original release but later made a larger profit on re-releases. Notably, The Wizard of Oz was one of the first films released using color film techniques.
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy (Garland) and her dog Toto are swept up by a tornado and somehow end up in the Land of Oz. There Dorothy meets new friends—the Scarecrow (Bolger), the Tin Man (Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Lahr)—who help her on her journey. Dorothy also meets the Wicked Witch of the West who blames Dorothy for killing her sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. She eventually is kidnapped by the Wicked Witch and her army of flying monkeys. In the climactic scene, Dorothy flings a bucket of water on the witch, and the witch screamingly melts away. Afterwards she and her friends make their way to the Great Wizard Oz who eventually returns Dorothy home. In the end, Dorothy wakes up in her bed at home and finds out it was all just a dream.
Harold Rosson was nominated for the 1940 Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. In the opening of the film, everything is a dirty brownish gray (Kansas, the real world), but once Dorothy crosses over into the Land of Oz, things take a brighter look. The world of Oz is filled with bright vibrant colors, both in its atmosphere and in its inhabitants. The colors are complete opposites, just as the worlds are. Dorothy’s home world was a place with little happiness for Dorothy. The Land of Oz, however, was a magical place where Dorothy was able to make friends and go on wild adventures. Rossons choice to separate these two distinct places with color was a brilliant choice visually. Some of the most memorable visual scenes in the film include Munchkinland, with its vibrant flowers, houses, munchkins, and of course, the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City, where everything is predictably shiny and green. Rosson also created the forbidding world of the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeysThese scenes are dominated by purples, blacks and blues and create remarkable contrasts to the mood of most of the rest of the land of Oz
6 precis total to be completed throughout the term. Precis MUST be based on films from one of the following lists: AFI Top 100 Films of All Time; Filmsite.org Greatest 100 Movies of All Time; imdb.com top 250
1& 2 Due April 13; 3 & 4 Due May 11; 5& 6 Due June 1
Paragraph 1: Particulars of the film—director, year of release, actors, other notable facts (short paragraph)
Paragraph 2: Brief synopsis of the film—major plot points, conflicts, characters
Paragraph 3: Respond to/analyze a significant artistic aspect of the film—visuals, performance, story (longest paragraph)
Sample film précis:
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy directed by Victor Fleming, based on a popular children’s story by L. Frank Baum. The film stars a young Judy Garland, along with Ray Bolger,Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr, Development of the film started when the success of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs showed that films adapted from popular children's stories and fairytale folklore could be successful. Although the film received largely positive reviews, it was not a box office success on its initial release. On a budget of 2,777,000 the film made 3,017,000 on its original release but later made a larger profit on re-releases. Notably, The Wizard of Oz was one of the first films released using color film techniques.
In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy (Garland) and her dog Toto are swept up by a tornado and somehow end up in the Land of Oz. There Dorothy meets new friends—the Scarecrow (Bolger), the Tin Man (Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Lahr)—who help her on her journey. Dorothy also meets the Wicked Witch of the West who blames Dorothy for killing her sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. She eventually is kidnapped by the Wicked Witch and her army of flying monkeys. In the climactic scene, Dorothy flings a bucket of water on the witch, and the witch screamingly melts away. Afterwards she and her friends make their way to the Great Wizard Oz who eventually returns Dorothy home. In the end, Dorothy wakes up in her bed at home and finds out it was all just a dream.
Harold Rosson was nominated for the 1940 Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. In the opening of the film, everything is a dirty brownish gray (Kansas, the real world), but once Dorothy crosses over into the Land of Oz, things take a brighter look. The world of Oz is filled with bright vibrant colors, both in its atmosphere and in its inhabitants. The colors are complete opposites, just as the worlds are. Dorothy’s home world was a place with little happiness for Dorothy. The Land of Oz, however, was a magical place where Dorothy was able to make friends and go on wild adventures. Rossons choice to separate these two distinct places with color was a brilliant choice visually. Some of the most memorable visual scenes in the film include Munchkinland, with its vibrant flowers, houses, munchkins, and of course, the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City, where everything is predictably shiny and green. Rosson also created the forbidding world of the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeysThese scenes are dominated by purples, blacks and blues and create remarkable contrasts to the mood of most of the rest of the land of Oz