Title: Viewing Films Actively
1Viewing Films Actively
Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we
are naturally endowed with the ability to think
clearly and logically - without learning how, or
without practicing. -Alfred Mander
Paige Mayhew Oklahoma Writing Project
2As students view a film, we want them to pay
special attention to those areas of the film we
consider important and to draw conclusions from
their experience with the film. Only then does a
passive viewer become active for by thinking
about the films content, the student is
interacting with the film. -Resch and
Schnicker
3According to Corrigan Writing about films can
serve one or several functions. It can help
you
- Understand your own response to a movie better
- Convince others why you like or dislike a film
- Explain or introduce something about a movie,
filmmaker, or a group of movies that your
readers may not know - Make comparisons and contrasts between one movie
and others, as a way of understanding them better - Make connections between a movie and other areas
of culture in order to illuminate both the
culture and the movies it produces.
4Analyzing Films
- Three ways of looking at a movie
5Literary Aspects of Film
- Those aspects that films share with literature
- plot
- characters
- setting
- themes
- point of view
- recurring images
- symbols
6Questions to ask when viewing on a Literary Level
- Who are the characters?
- What is the setting?
- What is the plot?
- From whose point of view is the story told?
- What is the films theme?
- Are there any symbols or recurring images?
7The Director
- The director is the main artistic force behind a
film, television show, or play. S/he has the main
responsibility for choosing locations, setting
the scene, directing camera angles. - The thing to remember while watching a film is
that everything could have been presented
differently, it is the director who decides how
you see each - Scene
- Character
- Item
- Shot
8Dramatic Aspects of Film
- Those elements film shares with live drama
- actors portraying characters through dialogue,
costumes, and makeup - sets and/or locations
- directors who leave personal stamp on final
product
9Questions to ask when viewing on a dramatic level
- How effective is the acting? Why?
- How does the set affect understanding and
enjoyment of the story? - How are the costumes and makeup effective in
establishing a character?
10Cinematic Aspects of Film
- Elements unique to film
- Requires some knowledge of technical terms
11Close Up (CU)
- A shot of one face or object that fills the
screen completely. - Gives importance to object
- Allows us to see the emotion of a particular
character
USUAL SUSPECTS
12High Angle (h/a)
- Angles are defined by where the camera is placed
- Camera looks down on what is being photographed
- Takes away power of the subject of shot
HIGH NOON
13Long Shot (LS)
- A relative term
- A shot taken from a sufficient distance to show a
landscape, a building, or a large crowd
BULLIT
14Questions to Ask
- Why was this character shot from this angle?
- What feeling is imposed by the movement of the
camera in this shot? - What other camera angles could have been used to
shoot this shot, why was this the best one to
use?