Assignment for Film Two
Part 1: View a feature film made between 1970 2000 you have not seen before (or will see later in this class) by a great director or featuring a great actor or actress.
Just as you did in the first paper, comment on the specific film you saw. Pay particular attention to the screenplay, camerawork (cinematography) the editing (montage) and the sound (this can include the music). You may also address special effects. Again, as you did in the first paper, talk about what you like, and what you dislike, about what you saw? Why do you like the things you like, and why do you dislike the things you dislike? Is the film a good film, or is it not?
Part 2: Now that you have commented on the specific film you viewed, see if you can draw some general conclusions about the work of the director and one of the main actors or actresses. Be sure to comment on the overall impression you had of the film, including how you see it as an example of the its genre and time period. Remember, this is not a research paper. I am interested in what you have to say, not in what you can learn by reading up on the film or the filmmaker.
Part 3: Go back to the My Criteria for Quality in Film page. Based on your viewing of this weeks film, add Five new general conclusions. These statements should be numbered (6) through (10). Be sure to include entire page, including all of your previous criteria statements.
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General Instructions
For each of the two papers, you will be responsible for watching a film and write a 3 to 5 page essay in which you respond to prompts which will be provided for each paper (this means at least 3 pages including the My Criteria for Quality in Film page and no longer than 5 pages). These assignments are reaction papers, not plot summaries or research papers. The key element here is that you will be telling the instructor what you have to say about the film, not what others have said.
In a 100-level course, you would perhaps be asked to write about what you saw on the screen. In a 200-level course, you would be asked to say what you think about what you saw. In this 300-level course, you are expected to explain why you think the way you do about the film, and to justify your explanation (using references to subjects found in the weekly content in the LEO classroom.
You will be responsible for turning in these assignments to the proper assignment folder in LEO.
Putting these assignments off until the last possible moment probably will not work very well. Each of them requires you to view an additional film besides the ones you will be watching for the weeks discussion, so you should be sure to leave yourself enough time to view the necessary film, think about it, write a first draft, and then edit and revise.
Part of your responsibility in this course is to make any and all arrangements necessary to allow you to view the films, think and write about them, and turn your assignments in by their respective due dates. Some of the films you watch may be available for streaming via Netflix or another online content provider; others may be available for checkout from your local public library, while others may need to be rented.
Be sure to spell the names of directors, actors, screenwriters, and other people correctly (this can cause points to be taken off of the final grade for that paper). Any name that is not listed in the credits that begin or end the film is a name you do not need to mention.
The papers will be graded based on such elements as evidence that you are reading and viewing the material the course content, references and comparisons to other films you have seen (in or out of class and throughout your lifetime as a movie watcher), and especially to films you have previously written about; use of the film vocabulary introduced in class; clear presentation of your opinions; reasonable explanations and justifications to support those opinions; and college-level writing skills (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). Other criteria will be presented to you as appropriate.
You are better off watching these films on the largest possible screen, and at the highest possible resolution.
