Film Analysis Lecture Notes

Approaches to Film Analysis

• Various perspectives exist:
  • Narrative focus: storytelling medium
  • Director focus: auteur analysis
  • Cultural artifact: reflects historical and cultural context
• Each perspective starts with analyzing the film's creative elements.

Methodology for Beginners

• Suitable for newcomers to film studies.
• Lays groundwork for deeper studies like auteurs, spectatorship, and representation.
• Central Question: How does a film communicate its themes using the five key elements?

Five Key Elements of Film

1. Mise-en-Scene
   • The visual world of the film, including setting, props, weather, and character design.
   • Establishes tone, mood, and aesthetic.
   • Reflects characters' narrative roles.
2. Performance
   • How actors use verbal and non-verbal language.
   • Performance style influences meaning - over the top vs. subtle.
3. Cinematography
   • How the film is shot: shot size, camera movement, framing.
   • Includes film format, color, lighting.
   • Positions audience to view events in a certain way.
4. Editing
   • Assembly of shots and scenes.
   • Controls pace and interprets events through cause and effect.
5. Sound
   • Diegetic and non-diegetic elements, including music, sound effects.
   • Creates meaning through ambient sound and vocal qualities.

Practical Application

• Case Study: Kenneth Branagh's 2021 film "Belfast."
• Importance of understanding director motivation and film context.
• Observations on "Belfast":
  • Cinematography: Realist, monochrome, wide-angle shots, authentic.
  • Performance: Naturalistic, subtle, focus on Buddy's perspective.
  • Mise-en-Scene: Reflects 1960s working-class Belfast.
  • Editing: Slow, seamless, memory-like transitions.
  • Sound: Van Morrison soundtrack, realistic diegetic sounds.

Analytical Lenses

• Wide Angle: Holistic view of the film's aesthetic and major themes.
• Close Up: Detailed scene analysis (e.g., the opening sequence of "Belfast").

Steps for Film Analysis

1. Background research on director's motives and film context.
2. Watch the film attentively without taking notes.
3. Reflect and analyze using wide and close-up perspectives.

Additional Notes

• Practice improves analytical skills.
• Encouragement to engage with further film analyses and suggestions.

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Remember: Analyzing films enriches viewing experience and deepens understanding of cinematic techniques and their impact.