Cinematic Analysis
To add another dimension to the literary analysis, which many educators are familiar with, cinematic analysis is what the audiovisual elements add to the experience. Since not all are familiar with cinematic language, we include key elements here.
OPENING AND CLOSING SHOTS
Filmmakers assign great importance to the first and last shots of films. They understand the value of a powerful opening and a memorable ending. The opening shot sets the tone of the rest of the film, and the closing shot is the last thing the audience sees, bookending the story and providing a closure.
What is the relationship between the opening and the closing shots? Are the filmmakers playing with opposites, similarities, or is there another relationship? How do they reflect on the rest of the film?
MISE-EN-SCENE
Everything that happens in the frame except editing and sound. Pay attention to setting and sets, acting style, costumes, makeup, and lighting.
SHOT COMPOSITION
The camera work that records the mise-en-scene between edits. Each shot represents many choices made by the film makers. Why have they made these choices? What do they represent?
Elements to consider: angle of view (i.e., regular, wide angle, telephoto), camera angle (i.e., eye level, shot from below, shot from above), tracking/panning/tilt, shot distance (i.e., from close up to long shot), point of view, frame, and lighting.
MONTAGE (EDITING)
Editing (“cuts”) within scenes and in the film in general, creating continuities and discontinuities, juxtapositions, and narrative structure.
Elements to consider: editing pace, shot/counter shot (usually used during dialogues), reaction shot (quick cut to pick out a character’s reaction), and transition between scenes.
SOUND
Sometimes non-dialogue sound is the hardest element to pick out and analyze, yet it is often extremely important and subject to just as much of the filmmakers’ focus as other elements. Note how sound is used—to underscore emotions, to alert the audience to an upcoming event, as an ironic counterpoint, etc. Carefully created and edited sounds (including the use of silences) create rich aural images the same way that mise-en-scene, shot composition, and montage create visual images.
Elements to consider: Dialogue, voice over, sound effects, and score.
—Based on an article by Prof. Michael Goldberg, UW University.