1. Movie Analysis Topics and Areas of Films to Evaluate

2. Theme O What is the unifying, central idea of the film? O Emotional effect or mood O Character development/motivation O Style/structure O Moral implications O Human Nature O Social Problems O Complexity of Human relationships

3. Plot O Story must be credible O Story must be interesting O Story should be simple and complex O Story handles emotional material with restraint O Significance of the title O Plot structure O Conflict

4. Visual Design O Color vs Black and White O Production design/Mise en Scene O Costume and make up O Lighting O Symbolism O Camera work/points of view O Framing Shots—Wide shots, medium shots, close ups, extreme close ups

5. Visual Design O Camera movements O Dolly-zoom O Panning O Focus O Tracking O Hand-held shots

6. Editing O Jump cuts O Transitions O Pacing of the film O Montage O Mise En Scene—emphasizes the content from a single frame, opposite of montage

7. Genres O Suspense O Coming of Age O Drama O Comedy O Rom-Com O Action

8. Creating a Thesis O Where do I begin?? O What do the movies have in common? O What are the strong, creative points about the film? O Is there a characteristic about the director that shows up in his/her films? O What stands out about the films to you? O These things will help you develop subtopics!

9. Things to remember… O ANALYZE, DON’T SUMMARIZE!!! O Talk about what scenes MEAN, don’t just write about what happened. O How does it apply to your thesis? O How does it apply to the overall creativity and artistry of the film??

10. Example: Suspense Films O Themes— O Plot— O Character development— O Framing— O Camera movements— O Visual Design--