This writing assignment focuses on two key aspects of film examined in the first half of the course: mise en scene and cinematography. It is comprised of
two parts:
Shot worksheet that breaks down one specific scene; and
Scene analysis essay based on its shot-by-shot breakdown.
The ASSIGNMENT PROMPT (Links to an external site.) and the SHOT WORKSHEET (Links to an external site.) are linked here. The Prompt text is the same as
the text below. For the assignments, please choose one of the two clips below:
Option 1: Lena’s comeuppance scene from Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952): 31 shots, 4:10 length LINKED (Links to an external site.)
• A sample or ‘starter’ on the first four shots, LINKED HERE (Links to an external site.).
The shot worksheet has five categories for documenting and breaking down the assigned scene. The first two categories, shot number and length (its
duration in seconds), should be self-explanatory. The following three are as follows:
Brief descriiption of the shot: Here you should briefly describe the action taking place. It should not be highly detailed, but instead sufficient to identify the
shot, for example, “Gangster and girlfriend enter the theater”; “Rachel looks L [left] at Noah”; “Johnny peers down into miniature maze,” etc.
Most significant aspect of its mise en scene: This category is not meant to be exhaustive. Instead, you should note only the most significant aspects of MES.
These could refer to setting/locale; lighting of characters and/or setting (including color, harsh or soft, highlighting or shadowing); props, costumes, makeup;
placement and movement of figures; acting performance (including facial expressions and manners of speech); foregrounding and backgrounding through
elements within the frame.
Type of shot: Principally for noting features of cinematography, you should note if it is a close-up (CU), medium shot (MS), or long shot (LS). These could be
further specified as needed, for example, medium close-up (MCU) or medium long shot (MLS). Additional useful details could include ‘frontal,’ ‘side,’ ‘top,’
‘rear,’ or ‘from above/below,’ referring to the camera’s position in relation to the shot’s principal subject(s); ‘tracking L’ [left], ‘panning R’ [right], ‘craning down’;
‘Deckard’s POV’ [point of view] or ‘ground-level’ or ‘bird’s eye POV’; ‘LS zooming in to MCU’ or ‘CU zooming out to MS’; slow-motion (‘slo-mo’) or sped-up as
distinct from real time.
It is easy to get caught up in listing every feature of mise en scene (MES), or in providing an overly detailed scene descriiption or notations for type of shot.
Keep in mind that many MES elements may remain constant over several shots, and that the most significant detail therefore might be revealed in subtle or
abrupt changes, and/or changes in the manner in which it is shot. Contrasts may be notable: why are different characters shot, lit, and/or staged differently
within the same scene? Also, shot durations in comparison could be very telling––a quick split-second shot obviously only allows attention to a prominent
detail or details, while a shot stretched out over several seconds allows the viewer the opportunity to take in more details and/or movements and
interactions.
Suggestions:
Rather than measure each shot in isolation, it may be more productive and efficient to note the time stamp for each shot––for example, 0:00, 0:05, 0:12, 0:15,
etc.––and then indicate their relative lengths later––5 sec. (shot #1), 7 sec., 3 sec., etc.
Don’t worry about filling in details for every box before proceeding to the next shot. It will be more efficient to fill in those details that stand out to you most
over several shots, and return later to address empty boxes and gaps. It may turn out that a key element or feature is repeated over several scenes; hence you
could cut-and-paste or refer to it in abbreviated fashion over several shots. If the greenish-tint lighting in The Matrix stands out over several shots, or is
significantly repeated or amplified later, it could be spelled out for an early shot, then referred to later as ‘grn-tint lt,’ or something to that effect. You might
also ‘pile in’ several details into your narrative descriiption initially, then later relocate those elements that belong more properly in other categories, as a
means for addressing unfilled boxes.
The scene analysis is a short paper, 800–1,200 words long, double spaced. It develops an interpretation supported by an examination of the scene’s use of
its formal elements, and assesses the scene’s significance in relation to the film overall. As you compose your worksheet, you should start to see larger
patterns and/or stylistic features emerging. You might realize, for example, that a character’s personality, emotional state, predicament, and/or worldview is
shaped not only by his/her acting but also by the director’s subtle use of lighting, pattern of camera shots and angles. Likewise, the ‘world’ against which a
character rebels, or in which love is possible, might be conveyed not only by the setting but equally by the use of space and perspective, artificial vs. natural
lighting, or the duration of the shot or shots devoted to a key or emblematic feature of that world (which could be the working world in the frame or the
everyday world beyond the frame, etc.).
The purpose of the scene analysis, then, is to grasp the purpose or ‘meaning’ of the scene as it is conveyed through the interrelation of its mise en scene and
cinematography, and the function of the scene in relation to the film overall. Does the scene inaugurate or resolve a problem in the narrative? Does it set up or
subvert an expectation, give us insight to a protagonist or villain, introduce or repeat a pattern, theme, or motif in the film?
Please allow yourself significant time to complete your worksheet well in advance of writing your scene analysis, and significant time to write the analysis
itself. Expect to return to and revise your worksheet, as it would be best to fill it in over more than one viewing of the scene. You might also find it useful or
necessary to revise the worksheet as you compose the scene analysis DO NOT assume that either the worksheet or the analysis is simple and
straightforward. The more careful and thoughtful you are in filling in your worksheet, the stronger and better your analysis will be.
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