A2 Homework essay

Due for next tuesday:

‘However obvious the techniques used, the spectator will nearly always surrender to the manipulation of their emotions by the filmmaker.’ Discuss how far this is true with reference to the films you have studied for this topic. [35]

A2 Film Studies homework 31.01.17

2000 word essay for spectatorship studies based on review of key sequence from Saving Private Ryan:

Why is the raid on the radar station represented at a distance and from a passive viewpoint?

Due 9th February on blog.

A2 Film homework

As we will be studying Spectatorship next term, please select a DVD/Youtube clip of a film to which you have a strong emotional response. Any kind of response is acceptable (laughter, sadness, anger) and any kind of film (kids films, any genre, whatever…). Bring your film clips in on Thursday and be prepared to discuss and explore how the film elicits these responses from you.

As and A2 Film Studies Homework.

AS Film Studies: Post to your blog micro/macro feature analysis of ‘Wild Bill’ and ‘London to Brighton’, addressing all three key sequences (opening, middle sequence, closing sequence). Discuss Representation, Messages and Values, Themes, your own personal response and social/political contexts and commentary. You should aim for 2000 words. A2 Film Studies Homework: Consider the functions of three of the named characters from ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and how their representation, performance and character arc elicits emotional responses from you. you should include at least one of the following: Upham, Steamboat Willie, or Melish… and at least one of Capt Miller, Ryan or Reiben. you should write 1500 words minimum. post to your blog.

Film Studies Exam Preparation/homework over the Easter Break.

AS Film Studies:

• Ensure you have completed mind maps and ‘blueprint’ essays for Section A, B and C.
• Respond to the following questions, untimed:

Stimulus material: http://www.empireonline.com

A. With reference to the stimulus material and your own case histories, explore the importance of film franchises to producers and audiences.

B. Protagonists in British Crime Films are trapped by their own fate. Discuss.

C. With reference to the endings of the films you have studied, discuss how themes are explored in American Cinema.

 

• Respond to the following questions timed:

Stimulus material: http://www.disney.co.uk/movies/muppets-most-wanted

A. With reference to the stimulus material and your own case histories: How do Producers attract Audiences to their films?

B. How important is the representation of location and regional identity in the films you have studied?

C. How do your chosen films reflect the messages and values of the era in which they were produced?

 

Do watch the films we have studied, order you notes and prepare for another LZP check as as soon as we come back to college.

 

A2 Film Studies:

• Ensure you have complete mind maps and blueprint essays for Section A & B.
• Ensure you have read AW Eaton’s anthology of essays.
• Prepare a PowerPoint presentation on the chapter your group has been given
• You are the feature writer of a mainstream film review magazine. Write a comprehensive review of ‘Hable con Ella’, 1000 words. Address the key themes, your own personal response and link the film to his previous works and any political/social/historical contexts you care to address.
• Respond to the following questions, untimed:

A. Contemporary Iranian films can only be enjoyed with an appreciation of the conditions in contemporary Iran. Do you agree?

B. Respond to the rolling statement: Popular cinema is most successful when it provokes a positive emotional response.

C. Pedro Almodovar’s films are often concerned with notions of gender and identity, to what extent is this true of ‘Talk to Her’?

 

Do watch the films we have studied, order you notes and prepare for another LZP check as as soon as we come back to college.

FM4 Section B essay feedback

Well done those of you who completed the homework on time. There is some good knowledge of the films in your essays, but you need to address the following;

• All students need to address all of the issues we have identified: Shock, repeat viewings, function of dialogue, sound, subjective positioning, historical/political contexts, classic film theory/reception studies/british cultural theory, moral questioning, alignment vs positioning, narrative and sequence structure.
• include personal response.
• sequence analysis needs to be central to your answer.
• discuss war films as a particular case in spectatorship- entertainment through tragic/controversial historical events.
• most of you need to write more.
• do not be lead by the nose with the question.
• be exploratory in your response.

Challenge week tasks for AS and A2 film studies students.

AS Film Studies students to complete:

• 400-1000 word response to Lost in Translation (Coppola, 2003)
• 400-1000 word comparison of Roman Holiday (Wyler, 1953) and Lost in Translation considering micro elements, macro elements, themes, messages and values.

A2 Film Studies students to complete:

• 1000-2000 word comparison of Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg, 1998) and Hurtlocker (Bigelow, 2008) addressing the spectatorship issues of how the viewer is manipulated emotionally through the film. Consider Star/screen persona, miss-en-scene, camera, sound, production/social/historical contexts, reception studies, british cultural theory, classic film theory, narrative structure/editing, moral questioning of viewer and personal response.