Writing about Film

1)Five kinds of film writing described in this article are

 CULTURAL STUDIES/ NATIONAL CINEMA: It’s about the film reflecting the culture where the film was produced. Depending the country the film was shot they have a different style and that shows national cinema.

 PREWRITING STRATEGIES: You should pay attention to the film. It’s better if you can watch it over and over so that you can observe the different techniques and identify style of the film.

 THE ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION: Understand the terms in film and be aware of all the contributions to the film. Chose an area that you’re more interested and when you watch the film focus only on that area.

 ANNOTATING SHOT SEQUENCES: When watching a film take notes. Do it by scenes, describe the scene and the techniques that are being use in such scene. Annotate if there are CUs or LS, or establishing shots, etc.

 THINK BEYOND THE FRAME: Think about what was around when the film was produced. For example, think about the director of the film and what is his style. Also take in mind the historical events by that time, what the experts think of the film and what are cultural perspectives in this film.

2)”Annotating a Film Sequence” is describing the scene or sequence in detail and by using film terms. Annotate the different shots or camera techniques you can identify. This would identify a pattern and you would understand the intentions the director had while doing this film. You’ll also comprehend why the audience has such reaction.

3)“Thinking Beyond the Frame” is about thinking in the time and place the film was produce, who produced it, what people thought about it, what genre is it and what topic addresses. The author implies that most of this is part of the outcome of the film as a whole; depending on what was going on the director took decisions to that influence the final product. 

                                                                              (Brad Bird, director of Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol)