Analytical Report – Style, Framing, Key Frame, Editing of a film
This assignment is based on the work undertaken in the first five lectures of the course.
Select a film from the list below, and access the key frame provided in the Power Point file in the Assessment Folder. The key frame is taken from a sequence of the film indicated in the sub-text box of the relevant Power Point image. Using the key frame as your point of focus, undertake an analysis of the mise-en-scène, employing terms and concepts introduced in the first five lectures of the course. Please note, you are not required to include any screen shots in your assignment. Frames must be described using written words.
With the above points in mind, answer the following:
1. Indicate where the sequence fits in relation to the film as a whole and identify any aspects of style that you think are significant in relation to the classical/formalist/realist model proposed by Boeck. (200 words, 5 marks)
2. Undertake a preliminary description of the framing of the mise-en-scène by the key frame as indicated in section 3.2 of the Lecture Notes. Note significant objects and character positioning. (200 words, 5 marks)
3. Identify the work of the camera in framing the mise-en-scène and interacting with it, through any of the following: types of shot used, angles, lighting, colour, tonal contrast, type of lens, mobile framing. Note how shots are articulated, e.g. shot-reverse shot, eye-line matches, graphic matches, shot transitions, parallel editing, flashback, or any other techniques related to editing. Note any camera gestures, e.g. zooms, close-ups, long-shots, long-takes, that you think contribute significantly to the sequence. Identify any aspects of sound that you think contribute to the articulation of elements in the mise-en-scène, e.g. diegetic/non-diegetic sound, bridging sound to link shots. Identify any interesting framing techniques, for instance how characters are either centrally framed or decentred, whether the camera is mobile or static, or any other aspects that you think are significant, drawing on any of the issues raised in Lectures 1-5 of the course. (1100 words, 30 marks)
List of films: (Only select ONE (1) film)
* Some Like it Hot (Wilder 1959)
* Lost in Translation (Cappola S. 2003)
* Far from Heaven (Haynes 2002)
* Citizen Kane (Welles 1939)
* The Birds (Hitchcock 1963)