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May 5, 2024 · Formalist: Focuses on the technical elements (cinematography, editing, sound, etc.) and how they create meaning. Narrative: Examines the story, characters, and themes of the film. Ideological: Looks at how a film reflects or challenges social, political, or cultural ideas.
Jul 16, 2023 · Learn how to analyze films using various methods, including narrative analysis, cinematography analysis, and sound analysis. Gain a deeper understanding of a film's structure, themes, and message. Enhance your film analysis skills and pursue a career in the film industry with this comprehensive guide.
- Narrative
- Character
- True Stories and Documentary
Story Arc & The Three-Act Structure
So, there’s something wrong with this film. Most likely it is the flow of the story. Scenes sometimes run on for too long but, more often than not, you’ll find that what is actually happening is that one act is dragging or another is too short. For a long time a lot of people lived and died by Syd Field’s three-act structure. However, since Field agreed it was more suited for theatre, and filmmakers chose to rebel against what they thought was a restricted system, less people set store by it....
Plot
At the heart of every narrative is a plot. This is the crux of the story, the intrigue, its twists and turns; if this doesn’t work the film won’t. So if you’re just not ‘getting into’ a film, or are confused by it, the plot is probably the issue. Simplicity can have its good points, in comedies for example, but on the whole it can make a narrative feel rather vacant. On the flip side, over-complication can confuse matters, in such cases the third act is usually rushed in order to provide conc...
Popular Formulas
There are a large band of commonly used story elements and formulas. Film snobs will tell you that Hollywood do the same old thing over and over again, and that their productions are too predictable. However, as mentioned above, on the whole most people may only want to watch a certain type of story. People also thrive on the predictability of these stories, they don’t want a narrative to test them. They want the good guy to win, they want the guy to get the girl. (Notice how all these cliché...
Once you’ve dealt with how well the narrative has worked you will ultimately always turn to character. How realistic are these characters? Are they complex? Are they rich enough for the story they are telling? In many cases, comedies for example, the complexity of a character is less essential, the scenarios are the things. However, in any script o...
All the above critical techniques can likewise be applied to documentary, but with a few caveats. While it’s still important to look at narrative you also need to check for factual evidence and how that evidence has been interpreted. Has the documentary remained objective? If not, why? Is subjectivity important in this particularly story? How has i...
Jul 29, 2024 · To analyze a movie, start by introducing its background, along with any ideas you had about the film before you saw it. Then, briefly describe the movie’s major conflict, and summarize its plot. Next, talk about the themes you found interesting, and explain how the film supported those themes.
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Mar 10, 2014 · To learn how to analyse movies, aside from understanding the camera, lighting and sound, editing and the signs and codes of film language, you need to know how narrative and genre can inform you about the message the creators intended to share with their audience.
This handout provides a brief definition of film analysis compared to literary analysis, provides an introduction to common types of film analysis, and offers strategies and resources for approaching assignments.
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Feb 10, 2021 · Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument.
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