State Ranker Essay Guide: How to analyse Films

Studying films as a text can often be a daunting spectacle for many students, due to the very fact that we are (more often than not) only acquainted with analysing the good ol’ novels. Whilst you could probably list over 15 language devices on the top of your head with great ease, this number most likely evaporates quickly if I were to ask you to name filmic techniques.

Additionally, with it being highly likely that you will be studying at least one text in the filmic medium during HSC and one per year from Year 7-11, it is probably in your best interest to start polishing up on not only the panoply of devices that are employed in film, but also to start understanding HOW one should go about deconstructing films to synthesise successful analysis and generate solid paragraphs for your essays that impress markers.

Despite the foreign nature of filmic analysis, there is actually an abundance of things in films that one can appreciate when studying it as a text. Not only is it easier to get through (2 hours versus 350+ pages of a novel), we as human beings are also creatures of vision, having a natural drive to pay attention to stimuli that is visually evocative and memorable. Our memories, being largely driven by what we encode visually, means that you are much more likely to remember a scene from a 2-hour film than a quote from a 350+ paged book. So, why not take advantage of our biological design and enjoy the process of filmic analysis as opposed to resisting what will inevitably be part of the HSC English journey?

Film analysis, like any other text, can be decomposed into two discrete strands: thematic analysis and technical analysis. Whilst they are distinct bands of analysis on the surface, textual integrity asserts that all elements of a text combine together in a cohesive and coherent manner such that all components work synergistically, and harmonically, with one another in order to achieve the intended purpose of the composer. As such, at its core, thematic and technical analysis are indeed dynamically reciprocal to one another, however, for simplicity’s sake, we will examine them as separate constructs first.

THEMATIC ANALYSIS FOR FILMS:

Thematic analysis basically entails examining the conceptual framework of a text. As for film, this process is very similar to when you are studying other texts like novels, plays and poetry.

When you are watching a film and studying a module, ensure that you have a good grasp on what the rubric demands of you and what is at the heart of the rubric itself as this will assist in steering your attention to the important details or aspects of the film. Applying the correct conceptual lens when viewing the film guided by your understanding of the module will prove to be invaluable later on when you are trying to come up with an argument about how your text fits into the module you are studying. 

For example:

The Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences is all about unpacking how composers textually represent the beautifully diverse set of experiences that the individual is able to go through, from the quiet moments of heartbreak and sadness that speak to the frailty of our psyche, to the splendor of our minds and emotions and those moments of clarity and bliss that sprinkle our lives, as a testament to the light that pervades our existence and the beautifully ephemeral nature of every waking moment. The common module is built, and engineered, around the concept that every single human being will go through experiences so unique and individual to them, experiences that dismantle our very assumptions of the limits of intelligence and emotions and challenge our predisposed ideologies of reality as metanarratives of history and of humanity are shaken to its core, as well as the penetrating universality of certain experiences that all individuals collectively endure. As for film, try and think about why the composer may have chosen this particular medium to showcase the human experience?

Is there something that the cinematic medium can achieve in terms of representing a facet of the human experience that is limited by a novel or poem?

Does the filmic form allow for a more immersive responder experience that allows them to relish in the human experiences being portrayed, enabling the audience to sympathise (or more importantly – empathise) with the character’s journey?

In contrast, Module A: Textual Conversations revolves around the dynamic reciprocity between texts of the pasts and the texts that assert themselves to be reimaginations and reconstructions of the original work. This module is all about how composers may reconstruct and reinvent aspects of a past text (characters, ideas, setting, narrative or plot etc.) and through their revisionism, evince the continuities and discontinuities between incongruent epochs. Module A gets us to understand how form and context can contribute to the ways in which ideas are represented, and how texts of the past speaking on a particular idea can be revived, manipulated and altered by a secondary text (See more one our deconstruction of Module A texts Tempest and Hagseed here). Once again, we need to question why the composer of the original or secondary text may have decided to use the filmic medium to elucidate his or her ideas?

Does the secondary composer use the filmic medium because it is more accessible to the audience of his context? For example, does he or she change the form of the original work (that may have been a play or novel or poetry) and transduce it into a film due to its greater relevancy to adjust the work in tandem with the shifts in his context?

In all, understanding the conceptual lens you need to apply (as derived from the module being studied) when watching your film is integral, since this will guide your analysis of the film on a thematic level.  

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS FOR FILMS:

The technical analysis for films is where we see a real distinction in analysis in comparison to other textual mediums. When analysing film, we need to make it very clear to the marker that you are aware of the cinematic techniques the composer utilises. If you fall back on merely quoting dialogue and citing certain scenes, what makes your filmic analysis any different from your analysis of a novel? Thus, form-specific analysis is imperative to demonstrate that you understand the importance of form in shaping your understanding of the composer’s concerns. Always ask yourself:

Why did my composer choose this particular medium as opposed to rendering his or her subject matter in some other form? What is so special about the form chosen that enhances the message being communicated by my composer?

There is an abundance of cinematic techniques which you can familiarise yourself with, and which contribute to the composer’s overall message) such as:

–     Shots (long, wide, establishing etc.)

–     Angle (low, mid-level, high, canted, bird’s eye etc.)

–     Diegetic and non-diegetic music/ score

–     Dialogue

–     Dissolve

–     Intertitle

–     Mis en scène

–     Montage

–     Setting

–     Filtering

–     Framing ratio

–     Lighting (low-key, high-key, chiaroscuro etc.)

–     Colouring (monochromatic, black and white, colourful etc.)

–     Visual symbols

–     Motifs

–     Narrative structuring

My tip of advice is that since you are studying a visual medium, focus on the VISUAL elements. Whilst dialogue is often the technique that most students love to use in their analysis, most likely due to the perceived safety and comfort it provides them since it is no different to analysing novels and books, try and dissect the visual aspects of the film. We emphasise this fact in a comprehensive technique booklet that all JP English students receive upon enrolling, which dissects specifically when prticular visual techniques are used in films.

Once you are aware of the form-specific techniques being deployed by your composer, it is critical that you then link these devices (as you would with any other text form) with your conceptual argument.

For example:

“The amateurish dynamic fostered by Pacino’s impromptu style of dialogue combined with his use of a hand-held camera which lacks the visual sophistication, coherence and smoothness of the traditional theatrical format effectively frames him as cultivating an awkwardness and humility that lies on the peripheries of inexperience – an equivalent to the modern audience who too, is just as oblivious to the poetic essence of Shakespeare’s dialect. In rendering himself a naïf through his stream-of-consciousness stylistic choices, Pacino conjures empathy and trust within responders, and like Richard, conceals his intelligence beneath this veneer of incompetence.”

Above is an extract from a state-rank Module A essay comparing Al Pacino’s film ‘Looking for Richard’ with William Shakespeare’s historical tragedy ‘King Richard III’. Clearly, we can see technical analysis specific to form (dialogue and use of hand-held camera) that connects with the idea being argued. This is what we want to try and achieve when analysing films.

A longer extract of filmic analysis (taken from an essay paragraph) is shown below which synthesises thematic and technical analysis successfully:

“In response to the economic and political downfall of the Weimar Republic following WW1, Lang’s visual narrative highlights the destructive effects of technological modernity and dialectical class strictures that deprive individuals of their liberty. A pervasive sense of oppression infiltrates the opening mis en scène of the workers marching mechanically into the subterranean depths of the industrial world, an intertextual allusion to Dane’s inferno as the workers subsist in a hellish factory where human nature is distorted by technology. The synchronized and rigid movements of the mass workers portray a veneer of order and stability – yet conceals the true state of their paralysed and broken consciousness, echoing the political façade that was constructed by Germany in their attempts to feign valour in the midst of social chaos spurred by financial bankruptcy and governmental collapse. Lang’s expressionist imagery and use of the cinematic medium hence amplifies the ostensibly fragmented state of man’s existence, visually communicating the very essence of his scathing social critique – that man’s inner turmoil is inextricably linked to technological and industrial advancement, as it comes at the tragic expense of personal liberty and social justice.”

BRINGING THIS ALL TOGETHER:

In essence, your film analysis needs to incorporate both conceptual and technical components. When crafting your arguments, these then have to be intertwined with one another.

Remember, every frame, shot, line is considered.

Every cut, piece of costuming, and sound is a purposefully and consciously pursued artistic decision. 

Every second of the film you experience has gone through numerous stages of directorial editing, and as such, it is of utmost importance that you interrogate the motive behind these choices. Following this, linking these filmic decisions to your concept in light of the module being studied will strengthen your essay and ensure that you are developing solid responses. 

However, this is not a skill you develop overnight. It requires countless amounts of drafts to continually
refine your writing. And this is where our english tutors step in! For year 7-10 classes, students are required to do 2 PEEL paragraphs per week which our tutors mark and provide model answers for. We prefer to change it up so that weeks alternate between novel study, poetry, Shakespearean plays and films to make our lessons interesting. These weekly writing exercises develop their sophistication for senior grades, which is when we help students refine their expression in their essays.