Film Analysis

Film Viewing Guide (Deconstruction)
“One cannot, Derrida contends, speak the truth without signification, without those processes of substitution (of a signifier for a signified) and differentiation…”
-Rivkin and Ryan, “The Class of 1968”

The film should be treated like a text which is being read closely. A deconstructionist reading involves:
• Viewing with skepticism
• Reading against the text
• Looking for assumptions in the text and challenging them
• Identifying the presumed meaning in the text (the signified) and asserting the difference between it and signifiers.
• Considering numerous interpretations and perspectives on key elements.
• Using all elements of other theories of reading (New Criticism, Structuralism, Feminism, etc.)
• Determining the default intended meaning through an awareness of devices employed and generating contrary meanings with textual evidence.

You should generate a significant amount of notes over the course of the viewing with an awareness of the following elements:

• Narrative (Literary Design)
• Mise-en-scene (Visual Design)
• Cinematography (Camera Work)
• Editing (Sequence, Pacing, Effects, and Omissions)
• Sound (Mood and Atmosphere)
Narrative
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Mise-en-scene
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Cinematography
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Editing
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Sound
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Film Analysis

 1 – Literary Design- consists of the story ideas and the script. The story ideas include the characters and their actions in the story, the setting of the story, and any background story or subtext. The script includes the dialog and some broad actions for the characters. (Some may refer to this element as narrative design, a broader term for storytelling. As we will see through closer viewing, however, all the elements of film form are used for storytelling.

 2 – Visual design – consists of what we see on screen/inside the frame, a very broad category of components.
 – Performance includes the actor’s mannerisms, expressions, and movement.
 – Blocking is the arrangement of actors and props before the camera. Blocking also includes how the actors move around the set during the scene.
 – Lighting includes the amount of light, the specific areas that are illuminated, the shadows, and the quality of light as in soft or harsh. The lighting can contribute to perception, meaning, and mood.
 – Hair and makeup of the actors adds to the storytelling. This also includes special effects makeup like wounds, blood or fake teeth. Somebody has to make those zombies look real.
 – Costume is what the actors wear. Period films will try to create the look of the time with costumes.
 – Set design consists primarily of the how the room or space is set up as well as furniture and props.
 All of these visual components are sometimes referred to as mise-en-scène (pronounced as meez-on-sen, French for “put on stage”).

 3 – Cinematography- deals with the choices that are made for the camera – the placement of the camera, the camera angle toward the subject, the lens choice, and the camera movement. Each of these choices has an affect on the recorded image and how the viewer perceives (consciously or unconsciously) that image.
 4 – Editing- is the sequencing of the shots in the film. Editors decide on the order and the duration of shots, the visual transitions from scene to scene, and visual effects. The editors have two major contributions to the story. The first is the sequencing of shots in terms of how the audience “reads” the film. Cutting from an actor delivering a line of dialog to another actor reacting to what was said. The second is the pacing of the film which helps establish the overall feeling or mood. For example, fast cuts from one shot to another create excitement or tension. Longer duration shots allow the audience to take in more of the visual detail.

 5 – Sound- design deals with the sound components, what we hear in the film. Dialog editing, sound effects, and music contribute to the story. Mood, environment, character, time and place are just a few of the story aspects that can be established or emphasized with sound.