Sound easy? Well it is! Genre analysis is done in three steps.
1 Define the corpus.
That is, agree on a group of films that you think are ‘pure’ example of the genre.
This definition may be done in combination with secondary research.
So: Fantasy Corpus:
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Shrek
2 Decide what features of those films are conventional in terms of their genre.
This Theoretical Process is Outlined Here
This means agreeing on a Repertoire of Elements, which are similar across the corpus and indeed necessary for a film to be given a genre label. In this case ‘Fantasy Film’.
Use films that have been on your watch list for a while.
Find films which have won awards or been critically well received.
Find directors who go against the mainstream. Who are working as independents.
Think of the sorts of films we have studied on the course.
Choose films by a director you admire
Perhaps a foreign language film?
Restrictions:
You cannot choose a film we have studied together during the course or in any other part of your IB studies (Extended Essay). So that means Pan’s Labyrinth, The Dark Knight, Nosferatu, Let The Right One In & all the films we studies for the textual analysis are off limits!
You must use black slates to introduce the task(s) in that role and how long each clip runs. For example:
You should use black slates between tasks.
There should be no copyrighted music in your reel.
The Portfolio Pages
You must define your creative intention for each task!
“Students who fail to clearly state their filmmaker intentions for a film production role will be limited to a mark of 1 in criterion A for that role.”
Use a different colour font and make it bold.
The pages should show development & should link:
Inquiry – What have you learnt? Leads to …
Action – How did you practically apply that learning? Leads to..
Reflection – What did you achieve and how would you improve in future?
“…use the language of the inquiry cycle to show how exploration leads to discovery through action and to appropriate evaluation of the impact of research…”
Inquiry Pages
You should define the production role on the inquiry page.
Quote the sources and then explain what you have learnt.
The inquiry page for the horror film, should include some research on German Expressionism or Horror.
Action Pages
The action pages are where you get practical & technical. You should include comments on:
Narrative / Character development techniques in the screenplay.
Camera Settings
Lighting & Camera Setups
Timelines, transitions and effects in the edit.
Rehearsals, blocking and actors’ notes.
Reflection Pages
The first thing in your reflection page / section must be a sentence on, how far have you met your creative intention. Think…
What went well?
Even better if?
Link back to inquiry & reflect forward (Next time I would…)
There should be some textual analysis of your own work in the reflection pages.
How did your role / decisions contribute to meaning?
Presentation & Layout
The images should take up no more than 20% of the page leaving 80% for your writing.
The images should be relevant and significant – not just YouTube thumbnails
The images must be labelled & referenced on the bibliography page
The link between the images and your words must be obvious.
You should watch the sequence a minimum of five times.
The first watch without stopping to get the gist of the sequence and place it the narrative context of the whole film.
The second and third time should be a stop start screening, where you are looking for specific examples of the film element you are focusing on. You should also consider the immediate emotional impact of the technique (in combination with other micro areas) on the spectator.
The fourth time should be to consider the representation of the characters. What do we now know about the characters that we didn’t know at the beginning of the scene?
The fifth is to try and think about the scene within the whole film how does it contribute to the development of the characters and themes within the whole film
Here are documents to help you make notes on the four micro features as you watch the sequence.
You’ve got one week to conduct the research necessary to help you understand your chosen film:
Character Representation
Narrative
Genre
Visual Style
Historical Context
Critical Reception (Reviews)
By the end of the week you will submit a proposed sequence from your film as well as an essay question which will help you focus on the sequence as well as link your ideas to the whole film. You should take a copy of this document to record the research that you undertake this week.
Reference: Zucker, C. (2001) ‘ “God Don’t Even Hear You,” or Paradise Lost: Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven.”’, Literature Film Quarterly, 29(1), p. 2.
The purpose of scene analysis is to identify narrative, visual and sound elements and to establish the link between minute detail and broader patterns of development in a film’ Pramaggiore, M., 2011
So, let’s get down to the micro…
This is a process of analysis that you should be familiar with:
Identify specific examples of production techniques:
Cinematography
Editing
Sound
Mise-en-scene
These examples should be named with a technical term
Analysethe impact that technique, in combination with others, on the audience?
How do ‘we’ read the text?
Group Essay
How does the scene, ‘Invasion of Jim’s Family Home,’ use film elements to explore the themes in the film and develop the character journey of Jim & Selena?
In this essay you will be working in groups of four. Each member of the group will be responsible for one paragraph as well as the quality of the essay as a whole. It is expected that you comment on and make suggestions for each others’ work.
This is an important opportunity to practice and refine your scene analysis skills, as well as to learn from each other.
You will be responsible for one of the following paragraphs:
An introduction
Analysis of cinematography
Analysis of sound design
Analysis of mise-en-scene
Analysis of editing
A conclusion
Collectively you will be responsible for the introduction and conclusion, which you will write last.
In total the essay should be a maximum of 1,750 words.
The first thing you will do once you’ve selected your chosen film is conduct some research into the film.
This must be done independently, your teacher cannot do this for you. However, we will share our findings in film focused seminars during the week after the screenings:
26th – 28th September.
Your teachers have done some research into the following broad macro areas:
Film Analysis & Motifs
Filmmakers (Auteur)
Genre
Narrative
Task 1
Read through teachers’ the research document and identify one quote from each section that you think you could drop into a textual analysis essay
You should use this use document to copy in the quote, cite the reference (given in the document) and explain how this might be used in your textual analysis.
Task 2 – Context Research
When you do your own research in the week after the screening, you should find most/all of the following research sources to help you understand the macro and context of the film as understood by others. For 28 Days we have found them for you and they are listed below the sub heading.
A not to be missed opportunity is coming to Guernsey. As creative arts students you should try and cultivate an interest and engage with all the visual arts and also try and network and build up your contacts. You should go to this…
