Deakin College COM105A Mass Communication II Assignment 2 Sequence Analysis 1 COM105A Sequence Analysis Due date: Week 10 Length: 1400 words (margin 10% above) (Word count does not include the Plot Segmentation.) Weight: 30% Select a three to five minute sequence out of a film of your choice. Provide a Plot Segmentation at the beginning of the analysis (see recommended text, Bordwell & Thompson, 2013, pp. 68-9, pp. 101-2), then using mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound show me the ways in which these four elements combine to help you understand the meaning of this three to five minutes in relation to the rest of the film. Students may select a three (3) – five (5) minute continuous sequence from a film of their choice. However, if the word count reaches approximately 1,540 (1,400 plus 10%, not including in-text citations), then the sequence can be less than three (3) minutes… but never more than five (5) minutes. In short, the word count & a detailed analysis is the key. You MUST use the recommended text (textbook) when answering this question. And make it interesting; this assessment is often difficult to do with some 'mainstream' films. Be sure to check with me first to ensure that your choice is suitable, not only for sequence analysis, but also so that I can adequately mark it. You have 3 choices: 1. Select the same film you chose for your Critical Film Review; 2. Select another film from the list in the Unit Outline (provided another student has not chosen that film); 3. Select a film of your own choice… but the film must be one that has been shown in Australian theatres & I must be able to view your sequence (either via YouTube or another film clip website.) You are required to tell me the precise time the sequence begins & ends. In-class activities will prepare students for this task. Evaluative criteria:  Capacity to clearly address the exact terms of the question and do so in your own words  Ability to accurately use the terms in this course (terms must be referenced, recommended text MUST be used) and demonstrate how they relate to each other  Demonstration of a clear understanding of the course readings and some further research  Construction of an argument that convinces the reader of your position Before you submit your assignment check the following:  Provide a Plot Segmentation at the beginning of the sequence analysis; (see recommended text, (Bordwell & Thompson, 2013, pp. 68-9, pp. 101- 2)), for details on how to complete. The segmentation is NOT part of the word count.  All books, journals and web site information to be fully referenced using the Harvard System or Harvard Style of referencing (footnoting or Oxford system is not acceptable)  Provide a reference list at the end of the Sequence Analysis (not included in the word count). These references have to be cited in the body of the essay whenever applicable; e.g. (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004 p.7)  Follow the written presentation guidelines on page 15 of the Unit Outline  Refer to the Tutorial Exercises on Sequence Analysis & the sample Sequence Analysis on the Portal. Deakin College COM105A Mass Communication II Assignment 2 Sequence Analysis 2 Assignment: Overview – Sequence analysis 1,400 words 1. The sequence analysis worksheet, as well as work we have done with sequence analysis in class, should guide you as to what stylistic and technical details to note. (Bordwell/Thompson's Film Art, especially Chapters 4-7: mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound – are the key). Observations you make watching your chosen sequence following these guidelines represent the 'raw data' on which you will base your analysis. 2. Use your 'raw' findings to write an essay that discusses the sequence and its relation to the film as a whole. Analyse stylistic details (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound): that is, do not just describe them, but try to determine their function in the sequence. Why might these stylistic choices have been made? What do they seem to mean for the sequence and the film? To do this, you will need to make connections between a) the technical and stylistic details you have isolated and b) narrative elements (story, plot and character development) and c) thematic content (message / theme / genre possibly with regard to political, social, religious issues, etc.) in the sequence. How do these elements work together and/or determine each other? How does this interaction within the sequence relate to the film as a whole? Do stylistic, narrative, and/or thematic elements in the sequence reinforce or contrast with the style, narrative, and thematic content of the film as a whole? Two common (and related) problems students have writing this analysis: a) They stick too closely to the narrative, merely re-telling the events within the sequence without enough analysis of what is going on and why; b) Their discussion of the sequence has no overall argument about its significance within the film. Ultimately, to interpret a sequence you need to relate it to the film as a whole, so you have to start with some kind of interpretation of the film as a whole. This is why it is necessary to watch the whole film several times. You need to bring some understanding of the film as a whole to your attempt to analyse a part of the film. Then, as you work with the sequence and understand it better, your understanding of the film as a whole will deepen – which in turn will help you see more in the sequence. In class (on the Portal) you can check out a 'model /sample' paper based on a sequence analysis. The sequence you choose can be at the start, in the middle, or at the end of a film – but you must tell me (at least a week prior to submission), what film you are doing & when your chosen sequence begins. You MUST use the recommended text (textbook) when answering this question. Deakin College COM105A Mass Communication II Assignment 2 Sequence Analysis 3 Sequence Analysis Worksheet (This worksheet is designed to help you prepare your Analysis, it is not the correct format, refer to the Sample Sequence Analysis for the correct format.) A. Mise-en-scene (see Bordwell & Thompson, Ch. 4), or that which is selected, arranged and/or constructed in front of the camera to be filmed. Power, components, setting, costume, makeup, lighting, staging, movement and performance. Sets, locales, their composition and design; composition, design, lighting, and movement of other objects in the frame - including animals and people. Includes the appearance & movements of people: acting, gesture, costume, make-up, etc. Print: both 'diegetic' (billboards, magazines, signs within the story) and 'non-diegetic' (titles over the image or 'in between images': intertitles, as in silent film). B. Cinematography (see Bordwell & Thompson, Ch. 5): Tone, motion, perspective, framing, onscreen / offscreen, camera position, duration of take; film stock; colour, black/white, or tinting; lenses and changes in focus (deep focus, shallow); camera angles (high/low/straight-on), camera movement (panning, tracking, zooming), framing; shot duration; distance of camera to objects (close-ups, medium & long shots etc.). C. Editing (see Bordwell & Thompson, Ch. 6): frequency, smoothness/jumpiness, rhythm; logic of shot-to-shot relations: 1) narrative (plot psychology/drama): especially 'classical' editing as consolidated in Hollywood during the heyday of the studio system (1930s-1950s), including continuity cutting; or 2) thematic: making intellectual/political associations through editing, as in 'Soviet montage' of the 1920s (Eisenstein, et. al.). D. Sound (see Bordwell & Thompson, Ch. 7): Power, fundamentals, dimensions, functions, music, speech, noise (music, dialogue, sound effects); any voice-overs? Use of silence? Diegetic? Non-diegetic? I Mise-en-scene (see above) and Bordwell & Thompson Ch 4 1. Describe briefly what you see in the selected sequence 2. What is the filmmaker trying to communicate in the sequence? 3. How do – visual image, print, speech music, and sound effects – work together to communicate this message? Which is dominant? 4. Consider the importance of: Set design, lighting, costume, make-up, etc. Deakin College COM105A Mass Communication II Assignment 2 Sequence Analysis 4 5. Movement and appearance of people (acting) 6. Can you divide the sequence into individual scenes (indicated, for example, by shifts of location)? II. Cinematography (see above) and Bordwell & Thompson Ch.5 1. Colour, black/white, or tinting; 2. Changes of focus; camera movement, etc. 3. Framing, shot duration; distance of camera to objects; camera angles, etc. III. Editing (see above) and Bordwell and Thompson Ch 6 1. Position of sequence 2. Frequency, smoothness, logic / pattern of shot-to-shot relations IV Sound (see above) and Bordwell and Thompson Ch 7 1. Music, speech, noise (music, dialogue, sound effects) 2. Diegetic vs. non-diegetic (including voice-overs); use of silence