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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Writing About Film

The first type of film analysis discussed in the "Writing About Film" article would be the most familiar, a formal analysis. Formal analysis of a film requires the viewers to break the film down into individual components and to separately in order to specify how the different aspects of a film contributes to a film as a whole. This forces the viewer to understand the various aspects and potentially techniques that the film implements in order to expand on a broader or more expansive theme.

The next type of writing towards film is film history. Film History analysis entails both the socio-cultural influences on a film as well as individual film's history. Most films are influenced by the historical context of the piece or the time period in which it is produced, therefore affecting the feel and genre of the film that is seen on screen. Additionally the analysis should include how the historical background of a film affects the feel of a film. History of a film can also expand onto the individual film's history such as planning dates, production, release and so forth. Ultimately, historical film analysis should demonstrate understanding of how the the historical context affects the film as a whole.

The third writing subject is an ideological paper. An ideological paper expresses ideals and morals or beliefs (political, social) of a society or culture and explores its effects. An ideological paper should reveal a set of beliefs and can promote certain beliefs; the paper should consider how the beliefs can affect a film.

Cultural Studies / National Cinema. Films can reflect the cultures of nations in which the film is produced. Papers can be branched off the the observations of differences created through different cultures.

Papers can also consider the Discussion of the Auteur. Auteur discussion and criticism of film can reveal in depth background or intent of the film and can be crucial to how a film is portrayed. In the analysis, the writer should be able to link the director's criticism to universal themes of the same genre or other films of the same director as well as synthesize these ideas with the previously stated film analysis.

Annotating a Film Sequence means to take notes while creating the analysis of a piece. Annotating a film is specific and different from other forms of annotations, such as for literature. By taking note of the shots in a sequence, it can help writers understand the style in which the director brought together the film as well as understanding how the shots are able or unable to have an effect on the audience. These annotations should be abbreviated for efficiency. ex) Long Shot - LS, Close Up - CU

Thinking Beyond the Frame includes research into the mind and creations of the film. This can entail the director's background, the history of the film, other analysis or reviews of the film, genre conventions along with cultural and other outside influences. Knowing these aspects can help the viewer to construct a broader understanding of the film's background and contribute to the understanding of the film.