Always Learning

Short Guide to Writing about Film, A, 6/E
Timothy CorriganTemple University

ISBN-10: 0321412281
ISBN-13:  9780321412287

Publisher:  Longman
Copyright:  2007
Format:  Paper; 190 pp
Published:  12/29/2005


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Description

This best-selling text is a succinct guide to thinking critically and writing precisely about film.

 

Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces students to film terms and the major film theories, enabling them to write more critically. With numerous student and professional examples along the way, this engaging and practical guide progresses from taking notes and writing first drafts to creating polished essays and comprehensive research projects. Moving from movie reviews to theoretical and critical essays, the text demonstrates how an analysis of a film becomes more subtle and rigorous as part of a compositional process.


Features

  • Briefly presents several approaches to film analysis and writing about film–auteurs, genres, ideology, kinds of formalism, and national cinemas.
  • Introduces students to a range of film terms and topics–mise-en-scéne, point-of-view, composition, and realism.
  • Each chapter concludes with short writing exercises that help students view, evaluate, and write about film more critically.
  • A comprehensive Glossary allows students to accurately describe their observations of the details of film practice.
  • Photos feature pedagogical direction in the captions.


New To This Edition

  • Expanded coverage of electronic sources used in writing and research. While emphasizing the pitfalls and limits of relying too much on these electronic sources, this new edition has updated and expanded its guidelines and suggestions where to find those sources and how to use them.
  • New instructions for using DVD materials, highlighting the opportunities the new technology creates, and how it might be incorporated into a student’s viewing and research
  • A new section on the “Screening Report” is added to chapter 1. This shorter, more descriptive kind of writing is an important part of most students work in film courses: it allows students to organize and refine their notes, and so functions a crucial step in preparing for class discussions and examinations. 
  • Fresh examples of more recent films. One of the most significant adjustments in a new edition of this book is integrating recent films into the discussions and illustrations. This will both engage students more immediately and enliven the discussion of academic points.
  • Throughout this edition, writing tips and keys now reflect writing in an electronic age when most students use computers.


Table of Contents

Preface

 

1. Writing about The Movies 

Why Write about the Movies? 

Your Audience and the Aims of Film Criticism 

            The Movie Review 

            The Theoretical Essay 

            The Critical Essay 

Opinion and Evaluation 

Exercises 

2. Beginning to Think, Preparing to Watch, and Starting to Write 

Subject Matter and Meaning 

Silent Dialogue: Talking Back to the Movies 

Taking Notes 

Visual Memory and Reflection 

Exercises 

3. Film Terms and Topics for Film Analysis and Writing 

Themes 

Film and the Other Arts 

            Narrative 

            Characters 

            Point of View 

Mise-en-Scène and Realism 

            Realism 

            Elements of Mise-en-Scène 

Composition and the Image 

            The Shot 

            The Edited Image 

Sound 

Sample Essay 

Exercises 

4. Six Approaches to Writing about Film 

Film History 

National Cinemas 

Genres 

Auteurs 

Kinds of Formalism 

Ideology 

Sample Essays 

Exercises 

5. Style and Structure in Writing 

The Right Words 

            Concrete Language 

            Denotation and Connotation 

            Tone 

            Repetitions and Clichés 

Effective Sentences 

Economy 

            Varied Sentence Structures 

Coherent Paragraphs 

Introductory Paragraphs 

Concluding Paragraphs 

Checklist for Writing an Effective Essay 

Exercises 

6. Researching the Movies

How to Begin Research 

The Materials of Research 

            Primary Sources 

                        Video 

                        Scripts 

            Secondary Sources: Books Indexes, Journals, and Electronic Sources 

Film Research on the Internet 

Taking Notes on Secondary Sources 

Writing the Paper 

Sample Essays 

Exercises 

7. Manuscript Form

Manuscript Copy 

Last-Minute Corrections 

Quotations 

Acknowledging Sources 

            Common Knowledge 

Documenting Sources 

            Notes for Documentation 

            Works Cited 

            Notes Supplying Additional Commentary 

Common Conventions of Usage 

            Names 

            Titles 

            Foreign Words and Quotation Marks 

            Sexist Language 

            Spelling 

Last Words 

Appendix: Symbols Commonly Used

 

In Marking Papers 

 

Glossary of Film Terms 

 

Works Cited 

 

Credits 

 

Index 


Next Edition(s)

  • Short Guide to Writing about Film, 8/E
    Corrigan
    ©2012  |  Longman  |  Paper; 216 pp  |  Instock
    ISBN-10: 0205236391  |  ISBN-13: 9780205236398
    Brief Description  |  More Info



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