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    Corrigan Guide to Writing about Film

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    Corrigan Guide to Writing about Film

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    3K views99 pages

    Corrigan - Guide To Writing About Film

    Uploaded by

    Tim Ridlen
    Corrigan Guide to Writing about Film

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 99
    A Short Guide to Writing about Film ato) Scotor Moreting Manager: Sus McC Conte art Destro {Coverages AVATAR Ze Sans, 00, Cops 2h Centy Fon Manaactorng Byer ets cron Page Maes neg Salat Seer La ‘intra nde: Een es Gaver Printer ih Pn Cor ‘Coprigh © 201,290, 27,200 by Fearon Falwaton. te ATs cred Negeri pon ny np ‘otcoying oring ober, wae he por writen erm af Deprtnct 08 Lae Sv, GH rat 9 88.8 onl Gemcu pereiovepernmeicon orion erty ema tay of Cangrse Cataloging in Peblcaton Data Cogan, Tethy ao as hing Ty Can — Ah eam Ince gp ee a Tlie LT ualisiels a Contents PREFACE x J-WRIFING ABOUT THE MOVIES 1 Why Write about the Movies? 1 ‘Your Audience and the Aims of The Screening Report 8 The Movie Review 9 The Theoretical Essay 11 The Critieal Esay 12 Opinion and Realuetion 15 Exercises 17 ‘2 BEGINNING TO THINK, PREPARING TO WA AND STARTING TO WRITE. 18 Subject Matter and Meaning 22 Silent Dialogue: Talking Back to the Movies 23 LMUTERMS AND TOPICS FOR FILM ANALYSIS. ‘AND WRITING. 26 ‘Themes 37 ulm and the © Nerratice 39 Characters 45 Point of View 46 Introductory Paragraphs 119 Comparative Essays and Adaptations #8 Concluding Paragraphs 121 Mise-en-Seéne and Realism 49 Revisions and Proofreading 123 Realiom 49 ‘Checklist for Writing an Effective Essay 123 Elements of Mie-en-Scbne 531 Exercises 125, Composition and the image 57 The Shai 67 GORESEARCHING THE MOVIES 126 The Edited Image 64 How to negin Research 120 Sound 71 The Materials of Research 131 Animation, 2-D, and New Media 76 Primary Sources 132 Sample Essay. 78 DyDsand Digital Downloads 132 Exercises #2 Seite 1 Secondary Sources: Books, Indeses, Jou ‘and Electronic Sources 134 Film Research on the Internet 141 “Taking Notes on Secondary Sources 144 4-SIX APPROACHES TO WRITING ABOUT FILM Film History 84 Navona Cinemas. 96 Wilting the Paper 145 Genres. 88 ‘Sample Essays 147 Auteurs 89 pxerelses 154 ‘Kinds of Formalism 91 isco ea: T-MANUSCRIPT FORM. 1 Sample Essays 96 Exercises 107 aes Lastminute Corrections. 156 Quotations 158 S-STYLE AND STRUCTURE IN WRITING. 108 iacaaumenging eairese 1400: “The Right Words 111 Common Knowledge 162 Concrete Language 111 Documenting Sources 163 Denotation and Connotation 112 [Notes for Documentation 163 Tone 12 : Works Cited 165 Repetitions and Clichés 113 Notes Supplying Additional Commentary 168 bilective Sentences 114 ‘Common Conventions of Usage 169 Economy 114 Names 169) Varied Sentence Structures 115 Titles 169 Coherent Paragraphs 116 Foreign Words and Quotation Marks 170 Sesiet Language 170 Spelling 171 ast Words 171 SUGGESTIONS POR FURTHER READING 172 APPENDIX: SYMBOLS COMMONLY USED IN MARKING PAPERS. 178 GLOSSARY OF FILM-TERMS 174 WoRKS crreD 178 PHOTO CREDITS. 180 INDEX. 181 Preface “Tis book demonstrates—saniquety, elie thiklng about and iting ant an itty bound ogetber. Ell portant, Stave on and develops te ath stdents write beter about a subject they lo an ike and that few sujet today ane enjoyed ud wader Stud one universally than Hh mie. On he me had, Bort Gide fo Wting abot ln als stents Rhrongh the process of converting ‘fin ad pleas of wethington fate ing ideas ant that sooie, With ranerous stent and professional amples along the way, moves from note taking and fst deals lsd esuine and research projects, demonstating how an arabs a Fin becomes more sie an egos as pat of «compotion process Av the sine thn, the haok assumes Hat we write beter and mone ‘ell abot sje eth whieh we engage conden and connor by Fo ont students tay the movies ane that subject, and A Shore (Guide to Writing abut Fl dss on tat ve ae Frege of ls — rami rn mines ha stent ay eeogaie to ones they may only Tine read or heard hota way of encouraging and eeveloping stings THe im ofthis nk ihre stn fr tstactors of fin sv in presenting the complies ofthe at aad nty of Bl, ae Ta pt to dal withthe wring prem of edents: token tents anity abut wing, by larg pts ha any instrctre mistake aly presume sens are lw and, ding this to enemas ‘torenjonbe and ait communication Bees the fo UPDATES AND ENHANCEMENTS FOR ‘THE EIGHTH EDITION “The allenge os new eon ofthis book that eanges al ato Iris not eles, make the book become to cumbersome. In orer tee this bn up-to-date and res hi eighth ition features sven + New discussions of animation and 2D techlogy. There's m0 donb that ene of he mone tle shin the cern dan th let ten years us Been the ging presence and inpestane WRITING ABOUT THE MOVIES WHY WRITE ABOUT THE MOVIES? ‘Commenting some years ago on his experience atthe mosis, the French wnter Chrsian Mets desc x calnge thot stl fice the student af vies today: We all understand the menses, but owe do seven then ‘Asa measure ofthat common understanding, notice the extent to which monies ae a pat of «cultural fe that we generally take for grated. We all rene and identify with ceetath movies—for their laughs thie thls, or their Inuating images of terror —and Inovier an ihe tre eoguary become part of ur daily ves and oiverstions, The 2010 release The Soctal Network dramatized ‘tered moment in the Intervet gevaltion, specially as tle aiont Mark Zackerberg the founder of Facelok. In 2009, Anam Award winnot The Hurt Locker broght heme to the United Stats the Ivor pin, al eonfesion ofthe goin arn a, while that sae rar Avatar brnght hone a war len planet with aD technology That purportedly would revolutionize how we atl oes. bn 2008 The Dark Knight sta recon Taran opening day with «8664 lon oe, purly av 4 resul af the tragle and mnch-pubiczed death of Feat Lager. the actor who pays the Joke. kn ISM, Star Wars lent its mine tos controversial ritary project. an in 1091, JPR raised son unsettled question about Presilent Join F, Kennedy’ astsin tn that appeared on tekvston and in aesespapers for months before inl ales the mie’ release, Ina sense, Erin Pansy’ 184 words tv probably truer tay than ever before wt el pacts, compar, pater and eas we ltt tit, nd ol at oe jetta so twee tape tthe pens wold be asi ably an privately ou ves ave become ao prea by the movies ‘hat swe rarely bother to think carefully bout them and lesson at al. dowe thik of writing aboot them, [Nonna we might argue that thee litle reason to stage to cxplain—and certainly notin wrting—what we understand pital a ‘tertaiment, Whether in a mene theater o on lt-night Iclevsion wwe nally watch fe because we expect the kind f pleasure seldon ‘sociated orth a inclination to pick up pen and paper. Aller sceing ‘Autor (200), we sight chat brie bond certain characters oF sees ‘we pura enjoyed or died, but we rarely ant to ofr a lengthy anal of iw the st, the construction of the soy, and te characters ‘worked together. There soft an unspoken assumption tha ary Kind of analy ang interfere wth ourenjyment of the ues, ‘Weare les reat to think ante about eher Forno enter tsient If, for tetance, e wach a dance performance ora basketball me, we may cus and happy sce sore of hentia and com Psi, easing tht oar commentary ads to rater than subtracts fom fnrenjnent of them At these tines, nr understanding of an pease Im espertncing the event ate prods ofthe eal awareness tha ou ‘Bxctson refines and claborts on. The person who has inclination o aly wo lle nor analy ast or dace maybe entertained on ‘ome evel butte person whos able to achat ace intligence about the rues and posites ivobedexperences cher Kind of please Ts fat im these cases arab to respond with some anal tenes adds to our enjoyment. Ate not pis the stn i tre ‘four enjoyment of the moves Infrnied audences fen turn to real a ‘view of sh they have sen the night before; many of us enjoy reading shout movies we have oo even sen. Anata hiking and reading ant an entertainment invigorate and ni, and wath wring abet En fr the ute promises and reward, For cumple, when pressured to explain carefully hy she liked Seat, on student seiner that her tinderstnding of and apprelaton forthe fin were mote complex ad ful than she had inital eine (Figure 1.01), Acknowledging that thre was no missing the spectacle pec eft of he f,se eg te think more aout nt only what makes the lin enjoyable, but about thw it communists important leas about humanity. She began ber ‘expuded espone Whe met acusson of tno 2000 Avtar wit noubtety cue on is evehonay 3.0 teckncogy, wo shel not overlook the onpocton and inten. ake Sam Werte) aacaly beccmes amare offi iperiitapzaons an rua goa o tis coporate and pic superiors he undergoes 3 jou ete covey tht Inc fhe veil docs st wah "Ronan ofthe planet he Na Te ouney ake laces sh ftateresa elds and amit th enna fhe planet tot coopetaton rater hn gee and lane. The oar fais enmexaton of Parra cn De Cau tur wari, ng inte tee and Phyl connecting Ifthe movies inforan many pasts of ou ves, we shoukl he ab cjoy thea in many way, clung the challenging please of yt {thik abet, expan, and write about our experience wateang then We goto the moves for many reasons to think oe not to thik, to sta i hem, ota write aout thes. We may go to # movie to consume Ike cst candy wey ota ln were that candy coe ood Br the mind As the fa of Anata fund ot, anaying our response nie des not na enjoyment of Wang bon ln an alr ts to enjoy It and other fins) n ways we were incapable of hefne If watching and understanding i one of the pleasures of the movies, vrltng and explaining ean be another exciting pleasure. Lt keep in mind that writing about the morc not ffm nha at of wo already: When snes ene teres is ‘fenfrced sence, mont of s dics orange abot the fn. Although ‘he diference between talking snd writing abot a ject racial one writing aout a Hn none sense, simpy a more relied nd measined ‘kind of communition, this tine with & weer. Our comments can be shont the perfomance of an actor the excitement elisted by specific Seenes, or ist common questions aout what happened ay # happen, ‘rv the fm made the answers to these questions unclear. Frequently, dese comers evolve from searching for the ight sword or Bing a sasictry description of hw w sequence develope: "T prefer Keaton to Chapin hease Keaton’ funnier. Well, nea, be tells fnner, more complicated stories "thated—no, 1 found much too preditalethe ending of Inception 2010.” Whale eng about movies, even very casual we seach for words to match wha we sa tnd how we react tot Waiting about fina earful and more cle luted step bend this ra inp to deus what we have seen. Gen {his wormal mp, wo ean even enjoy talking and wating abu a movie ‘hat we did't ik A fiend ofthe writer who praised Avatar ths eins Tis eaty mare ngatively than the studeot quad previously Wale he 3D tectnogy Arta 008) a pce te cet boupas of ema one levels al eg and shiny ls do stg bat reas a pot roa tk andres f tes beter The tory} adn slr eborn ar accep by hase so etc is enemys enn bu Arar er ert al well stra te epleaptons The nec ogy raber tan compemensng he sor, bocomse he focal ot ofthe entire movin sel eave Ii room sce plot levee elon. yavming shots of planet Pandora et ‘tema nara woes beoore more interesting hat ory tho leing us eating for the ext .D cierto poy awe "imulston Astarseams coined htt suming we of -D tecincogy mol enamor vows othe exes th mone ooo the clunky aay aa lak of anaes. The ste ‘npica sary of Ameocen ivan finde corporate er isa dl cormenplace in contemporary movies, re een le tn Avatar by ook ebaracer ha a analy ev nario close ‘ed opalas corporate repressive. An nfrtcafly ey ‘eet ant atempt at ape, heute concep, Aalst es a average, puma movi dressed pm ahiny new cahes ‘taruover que As these too friends dicovered, when we derstand th sme movie ‘ryabiereny, trying to explain al understanding can be charge wth {the energy of «goo conversation Pethape more than tmost oer arts and entertainments, the movies frequently lc strong enon ortotlleta eaten, Oten, he ‘ser the reason for aut particular reaction to a move remains wncear Imi we have bathe opportnity tein cacy albu and rtialate hat silat, Moet Jon Dow (2941) eight ele iy nota Ficuously ut of step vith today’s potical complesties; some view: tes of I Love Yow Pil Morris (2000) may Gnd themselves atracted ty the honest depition of gay’ telaonship with dept and pasion but be put off by Jim Carrey’ typcly exaggerated antes, most adencrs 1 Felli’ 8 12 (1963) wl probably recognize the importance ofthe ‘pening sequene, i which aan ts fra his car above trafic a, {tty may be ard pressed to explain quiely hati means in toms the tory that follows. Analying or eactons athe, characters, Sages ke thse cat be away not only of understandings ove beter tao of understanding better howe we view the world an the eke we lie in In the following three parsrapi, we ca sce hw Geely Nowell Sith turned his inital extement about scene in a Antonont Hilo un exploration ofthat particular cene and mpi ne d= coin of hima of the nan complet in Antonin ins Thate i one Bri ene in LAcootrs oot the face af a ery Seyportat ane, bch seems o met eptomine perfect everyting {Ga wnt ai ed orga bat Antoions frm of tema RE the some where Sandro and Clana rey chance a all age omentre inte nein lS Th lage strangely it. They ‘ral rnd fr tell ot Nore noting, Graal ne fon thom tha the wlgr tery dererted, inated, pegs never was ink, There one the whe ig bt the teh tue nl ne, Distt. thy start to moves. Fr a omen tho a besarte wed 20 9 rk tended fo 90 seconds peu me Thea nea the le phage and we cat ‘dose of Santo und Cl naling Seldon of he ot festte momenta the stro he eo, eome for wc hee tase apr Gal peptone What cb eppeond? es ot hc that Sar ell he een ille love, or deny dont a tht rome at ey ave Be tee al lng. No, thee etree, this pane acto fo ‘ould eof desl ad loneliness. Nor api ta qin ‘the man tng fo een ohne the: pat ofthe ‘oman in ter to sade Ber ach ofthe enplantions cones {ape of the tuth ut the we tat ee compe and ‘limes etapes unas, What pesiey happened in tht omen {he spect ol weer xy, and ts dl the characters ely Ifo theses Clan es that Saco interest in he By coming wth ht the ila she haley oreo es co rit hell, ut de ac al dein ther ber is Ie ‘comes hen comes lve at ts mete, the i Tae wich proves the maps, the ela of emptied er creat by thigh ofthe deserter tings hie ter that tes ar ether pares emote mor prey phys so er lo, Ansa! nig ater pry deter ar pur fe he day, cet, bt the tence of her ce eas Where hr pene pe and a eironnet doth ch eters ad yee? Haw i dye tf the yi ‘ate and oer men a the own enti ve bk pao ‘hem? Proper speaking thee scape a shal here be Man sca ogi worth say re han th ‘homed text But he sation swe hopes: Tere ae moments ‘of pines in the ic come hey ome, ing ot [ce wth the lps ene cr th cers a in ite frm hem. Cain eco, het nd enon he lar ‘eu olf rently fo the ter people thera ges heel net to andiitl enjyeat of her yaa sero lth Ans appearance even these soundest i gan her and ‘gate ater tan lt hex pin lo The Ee Vitra ‘Stone dg tht mica scene at Ver wn ber sen ententnnt ces ob tle at ofthe snl sights and oon ‘hess eth wd the rs he done fan aeroplane Inn Asoc noon cher pple rely dad ethene ie {hem The diet sy rom ort rom athe eo le and the sation es acolo he pal cet for mon ofthe tne of eg wae of nel aro ing alo ‘hae late with eer pple, Al he lt to ean ‘soar af flint. Noi te ln emai eth te ligesene Annan version ofthe han comedy 8,9) Iu this esampl, a single yeme becomes the simul fr the sy THe ano pols sd questions this cee: What eat as happened al hot das stan? His obvious sation as wrt eames fram Untying ths scene a FH ere mney tab se. Kv the press (his ana hie orginal euros leads to der readings of lie Aatonnt moxies and finaly, to his discovery of «contcation in the “staring predicate Bt cht ise, For this wer the pleas ‘eof fein his curt ad to the larger plese of understanding ‘to bunt ie and happiness in modern ies YOUR AUDIENCE AND THE AIMS OF FILM CRITICISM, ‘iting sot Bas ca serve one of several Fnetions. Ian help ya do the Falling + Unudertun yonrcrsn response toa nee eter © Gani otters wy you We or die» a { Egihin or intdace something shout w more, « flmmnaker, oF a rip mees that sour eae ay not ke «+ Male corparaans aid contnsts between one mote and others sa vay of derstanding them better ‘Make connection between tie an fer ares of ele to ‘lint bth the clue al the nin predaces Th paps that hone par of or central to srr writing wl we tines depend entirely on your uence: An ea nrc anew mv For sampl, usualy wrten fran salen hat ha not sen the However even when that pare decide on independent peeaps ‘a os poral inert i the eto betwen Spi ine and Suns ‘itr what yo at ellalvays be shape by your ation of your ane td especally by shut on pres thee reer oat ok Tey ik of writing, im ome wap resin convertion, yo wal show the notion ofan ence help shape what yo a or ‘sample, yon are essing an Arercan movie, sich as The Bld Side {2000}, wit aon American, ot dhe way you wake your pst aunt the Finan, pepe he pit isl wl be determined by what yon ele ‘hat iid Ros nd wns os Know alt American cutee ad shen the wanse, (A nnAmerea, for expt, nay need ore i ‘aati about Antercan foetal and college reratnent of high-schol pliers. whilean American will eed very tl infra) Sia

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