FTVMS 101 - Assignment 2

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Assignment No 2:  Film Essay

Deadline: 

Tuesday, 5 October 2004, 4pm

Marks:

 25%

Word Limit:

 1500

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General Comments:

Tapes of the films will be available for use within the AV Library - there will be NO overnight loan for these tapes.

Overcrowding of the AV Library facilities in the last couple of days before the assignment is due does not provide grounds for an extension.

You may NOT use the film or topic you write on for this assignment in your final exam.

Submit your assignment to turnitin.com and submit a hard copy by the due date.

Mark penalties apply for late assignments.

Plagiarism will be dealt with severely.

Do not exceed the word limit.

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Marking Criteria

This assignment is a formal essay, similar to that expected in the final exam.  To achieve a good grade your essay must demonstrate the following;

Evidence that you have read and understood the question.

That the basis of your essay is based upon close and specific analysis, not just generalised observation.

That you are aware of, and have taken the material presented in lectures and the readings into account.

Evidence that you can think independently and apply the concepts presented in class and in the readings to a range of film contexts.

That your essay answers the question you have selected.

That the essay is well structured and that you have logically organised your ideas and examples.

Competent use of sentence and paragraph structure.

Few, if any mistakes, in spelling and grammar.

An ability to discuss both technical and aesthetic aspects of filmmaking.

An ability to use concise examples to illustrate your analysis.

That considerable care has been put in to the writing, drafting and final presentation of the essay.

Accurate referencing within the essay and a bibliography indicating the use of any secondary sources.

Assignment Instructions

Answer ONE of the following questions:

Do not write significantly more or less than 1500 words

Cite all sources correctly and include a full and correctly formatted bibliography

You may NOT use the film or the topic you choose for this essay in your final exam.

 

1) LUMIÉRÈ BROTHERS, GEORGES MÉLIÈS, EDWIN S PORTER, CECIL HEPWORTH, DW GRIFFITH

These early filmmakers were experimenting with technical and narrative devices that enabled them to explore the storytelling and commercial possibilities of the new medium of film.  Select a range of segments from the short films of at least THREE of the above filmmakers and discuss the importance of their work with regard to technical advancement, storytelling and audience reception.

 

2) BIRTH OF A NATION

No amount of technical expertise demonstrated or artistic effect should be allowed to outweigh the essential racist tone of The Birth of a Nation and yet critics continue to praise the film for its form, ignoring its offensive content. Do you see any way around this dilemma? Discuss the differing responses to the film and use specific textual examples to prove your argument.

 

3) CHARLIE CHAPLIN

Chaplin’s creation of the endearing persona, the ‘little tramp’, rapidly struck a responsive chord with audiences around the world.  Discuss how Chaplin’s use of characterisation, his visual storytelling skills and comic use of elements of mise-en-scène created moments of sublime humour, pathos and social truth telling.

To illustrate your discussion provide close reading evidence from THREE segments from either Modern Times or The Kid.

 

4) BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN

The 'Kuleshov effect' suggests that the actual content of an individual shot is of less importance than the relationship between shots. This insight forms the basis of the Soviet montage movement, used in the service of the Bolshevik State.  Discuss Sergei Eisenstein’s use of montage in the Odessa Steps and TWO other sequences from Battleship Potemkin. Pay particular attention to the way that film form serves an ideological function in Eisenstein's film. 

 

5) KING KONG

The ‘drama of the touch’ is a recurring motif in the physical action and in the subtext of the film.  Through close examination of at least THREE key scenes throughout the film analyse a variety of ways in which this notion of ‘touch’ can be interpreted.

6) CITIZEN KANE

Orson Welles’ notorious ego, which he exerted as co-writer, producer, director and star of Citizen Kane, makes his film a prime example of auteurship. Explore with concise examples the advantages and disadvantages of viewing Citizen Kane from this perspective.

 

7)  TECHNICAL INNOVATION

The history of film making can sometimes be documented as just a series of technical innovations which can ignore the importance of creative partnerships between directors and key technical personnel, such as cinematographers, production designers, special effects artists.  With this in mind consider how innovative technical development and creative direction have combined to add a richness of design and complexity of storytelling to one of the films listed below.

Birth of a Nation, Broken Blossoms, King Kong, Citizen Kane,

 

8) GENRE

Hollywood script guru, Robert McKee, believes that audiences are already genre experts who ‘read’ a film “armed with a complex set of anticipations learned through a lifetime of movie going.”

Select ONE of the following films and analyse how this sophisticated knowledge enables both the filmmaker and the audience added dimension in the interpretation of a film text that may adhere to and/or challenge the conventions of a genre.

Broken Blossoms, King Kong, Mildred Pierce, Psycho, Ben Hur

 

9) STUDIO SYSTEM/STAR SYSTEM

Discuss the ways in which either Mildred Pierce or Ben Hur can be identified as a film text produced by the studio system of the time and then consider how the public persona of the ‘star’ works both inside and outside the text in the interests of the capitalist needs of the Hollywood production system.

 

10) MASCULINITY/FEMININITY

In her autobiography, Fay Wray, who played Ann Darrow in King Kong, said of the 1930s , “In those days , the female characters never knew who their parents were, were not supposed to be funny but were supposed to stand there and look beautiful.”

Consider the extend to which conventional gender roles of the time for men and women were either reinforced or challenged and may now be read ‘against the grain’, in ONE of the following films;

Broken Blossoms, King Kong, Mildred Pierce, Psycho, Ben Hur

Checklist before handing in your assignment

You have followed the instructions on this assignment sheet regarding form and content

You have signed the anti-plagiarism declaration on the cover sheet of your essay

You have submitted your essay to turnitin.com buy the due date

You have handed in a hard copy of your complete essay by the due date.

If you have negotiated an extension, you have stapled the signed extension form onto the outside of your cover sheet.

 

Handing in Assignments:

Attach the appropriate cover sheet, clearly stating your name, student ID number, your tutor’s name, tutorial time and the question and the film you have written on.

Cover sheets are available on top of the essay box outside FTVMS office, 3^rd  Floor,    Arts 1.

Post your assignment into the FTVMS Stage 1 box, 3^rd floor, Arts 1.

NO assignment may be handed directly to a tutor.

Please ensure you keep a hard copy or disc file of your assignments

Marks will be withheld unless the declaration on the front cover is signed.

Marks will be withheld if the assignment is not submitted to turnitin.com

 

Late assignments:

All essay extensions must be personally negotiated with your tutor at least 2 days before the assignment is due.  Extensions are not necessarily always granted.

Ensure that an extension slip is signed by your tutor and attached to the essay cover sheet.

ALL late assignments will be penalised at the rate of 1 mark per day late including weekends.  The FTVMS office is closed on Saturday and Sunday so essays placed in the box over the weekend will be date stamped on Monday morning.

Late essays may not receive any comments.

Very Late Assignments

An essay that is handed in after the marked essays have been give back and before the final cut off date, 22 October, 5pm (end of lectures) will not be marked but will be placed in the exam fold and may be used for consideration regarding final marks.  To be considered it also must be submitted to turnitin.com.

NB: It is better to hand in a late essay than no essay at all.

Plagiarism

Essays suspected of containing plagiarised material may have the mark withheld until after the post-exam paper marking meeting.  If plagiarism is proven, students may be required to meet with the Course Convenor and Head of Department

to discuss further disciplinary action.