Film Unit - Film Review Section

Objectives include:  to critique a film based on the roles of various people and types of work involved in making a film.
 

Class One:

1st -  Students take brief notes that summarize the information below on Writing Film Reviews, using the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for commentary.

2nd- Watch the "making of the film ^The Road Warrior^"    if it is available, to find examples of the role of each person involved in each of the elements to be considered.

Students make a chart for each that includes
(example:  Direction / plus example scene or line, / plus why it is good or bad....),
thus chart will have to be seven rows down by three columns wide.

Discuss choices and debate which focus provides the best way to criticize the film in question.

Class 2

3rd - Students form teams and choose one film to review and only 3 elements to focus on.

- Vocabulary and terms from the following handout are prepared for students.

- As a class students and teacher read through the elements carefully, repeating and summarizing each sentence so they are sure they understand what that section of their review must do, and what sort of examples it must include and criticize.

- Students prepare prelinary charts for what scenes, lines, visual elements they could include.

  In general, each section should have at least five examples, so it is suggested that the tasks
  be divided and that groups be made up of 3 students each.

Class 3 and 4

4th -  Two internet research classes, gaining information about the various directors, writers, etc. for the films students choose.
         (Teacher provides link pages)

5th -  Work periods should include time to practicing finding  and reviewing scenes on available video players.
          (20 minutes per group done during two internet research classes)


Class 5 is used as a writing and editing period
 


 

Board Notes and discussion focus points for class 1

Direction   /  control and supervise every element of the films making.  each director has a style of controlling or not controlling the actors, photographers, etc.

Screen writing   / screenplay is the script of lines said by actors.  only a skeleton, but invaluable to good scene structure

Cinematography   /  use of colour, lighting, and camera angles.  the cinematographer controls the way the film is photographed by all cameras.  setting can contribute to theme.  light and shadow can contribute to mood.

Editing    /  finished film is cut together out of thousands of individual pieces and scenes.  can be long scenes and smooth transitions, or short choppy scenes.  effects can be successful or confusing.   (ex. Armageddon)

Sound   /  sound track can also be densely constructed.  effects are like a backdrop to scene, effective or not.

Art Direction /   this is the film's look.  whether it takes place in the past, future, etc.  is it realistic or not.   includes sets and props.
 
 
 

These notes are a summary of the excerpt below:

BYU Reading-Writing Center
source ---> http://humanities.byu.edu/writingctr/Handouts/handouts/Misc/g1.htm
 

Notes on Writing Film Reviews

Writing a film review is very different from writing a traditional review of a novel, poem, or play, and is in many ways more difficult. Film has its own unique "grammar"--a set of rules, practices, and techniques common to the crafting of all films. In addition to the standard elements of literary explication like plot, character, theme, and symbol, a film is composed of many technical and dramatic elements not found outside the complex world of the cinema.

As a would-be film critic, you must understand each of these elements and its contribution to a film's theme or overall effect. In your review you may focus on a single element--such as the editing or cinematography--or you may wish to discuss how several combine in creating a film's theme.

Elements of Film

  1. Direction If a collaborative effort such as a film can be said to "belong" to anyone, it would be the director. Most directors control and supervise every element of their films, from cinematography to sound. Often a general film review will concentrate on the director himself, just as a book review might discuss the author of the book. From the coldly calculating control of Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock to the voluptuous, visual sense of Francis Coppola or Carol Ballard, each director has an individual style. This approach to film reviewing is known as the "auteur" theory, in which the director is considered the "author" of the film under discussion. However, a thorough review will consider other elements and the people responsible for them.   
  2. Screenwriting A film screenplay--even a good one--will rarely stand on its own under examination as a good stage play will. The screenplay is the mere skeleton or framework upon which the rest of the film is constructed. A poor screenplay can be turned into a work of art by a skillful director and technical crew, but a firm structure provided by a competent writer is invaluable. Screenwriters are often neglected in film reviews, so it is important that you consider in your review such things as the writer's use of dialogue and the way he structures his scenes.
  3. Cinematography Since film is primarily a visual medium, cinematography--the use of color, lighting, and camera angles--is an all-important consideration in writing a film review. A wretched film may have gorgeous photography, but often a large portion of a film's quality depends on the talents of the cinematographer. The manner in which a film is photographed may even contribute to the development of its theme. Carol Ballard's film, Never Cry Wolf, depended almost entirely on a dazzling series of exquisite images to develop its dramatic theme of man against nature; the film contains virtually no dialogue. Similarly, the skillful use of light and shadow in a film may create atmosphere and mood in the same way a writer's careful choice of descriptive adjectives does in a novel or poem. In fact, artistic films are often referred to as "visual poetry."
  4. Editing Editing--the construction of a film out of thousands of individual pieces and scenes--is an often neglected but important part of filmmaking. Literally dozens of different films can be constructed out of the hundreds of "takes" collected during the course of making a single movie. It is important that you consider in your review the way the film is edited. Is the film composed of long takes and smooth transitions from scene to scene, or is the film choppy and incoherent, its theme buried in confusing images? The process of editing can often make or break a film.
  5. Sound It might seem silly to consider such a seemingly mundane element as sound in a film review, but the soundtrack of a good film can be as densely structured and as thematically important as the symbolism in a good novel. Francis Coppola's The Conversation would not be the brilliant indictment of government eavesdropping that it is without the clever sound effects that serve as a thematic motif throughout the film. Sound should never be neglected when you analyze a film's theme.
  6. Art Direction The art director is responsible for a film's "look." Whether the film takes place in the past, present, or future, it is the art director's responsibility to realistically create the setting. Just as a skilled novelist evokes the Victorian Age or the world of the 21st century, the art director transports us to other places and times with his sets and props.
As you can see, reviewing a film involves far more than a traditional discussion of the plot or an analysis of the characters. Because the elements of film are so varied and rich, the writer of film reviews must literally learn a new language to properly interpret a film. He must learn film "grammar," so to speak. Reviewing films presents a challenging but rewarding task for any writer interested in literary analysis. For in the end, a fine film should be appreciated in the same sense as a novel or poem--as a work of art. Writers and students of literature would do well to study this complex and fascinating genre.
 
 
 

Links page

http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml  for scripts of films.