Assessment 1: Film Sequence Analysis (1200w).
Below is a set of 8 film sequences from the films screened in the first part of the course, in which we focus specifically on the formal elements of film. You must select one sequence only as the basis for an analysis that focuses on 2 of the following formal film elements. Ask yourself: in what way are these formal elements used to communicate meaning, provide an effect, or, more generally, achieve an artistic outcome?
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Sound and Music
Consider the effect of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in your sequence. In what way does sound work with (or even against) the visual field? What is the overall effect of sound on your engagement with the sequence as a whole? Can sound enhance the function of visual formal elements? Can sound work autonomously – that is, can its function ever separated from the visual image of film?
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Narrative
Mainstream film has evolved primarily as a narrative form. However, narrative is more than simply ‘story and character’. In your analysis, consider the how of storytelling. How does your sequence reveal a ‘narrational strategy’ above and beyond story, character and theme? How is this story being told to us? And what is the purpose of this mode of storytelling?
film clip