Final paper for the movie YI YI

FINAL PAPER

NOTE: 10% of your final grade for this assignment includes a preliminary proposal for your analytical question which was due Oct 28th.

Using your approved film selected from the Criterion Channel, answer the following prompts.

For ALL sections of this assignment:

Provide specific evidence from the film(s)
Use timestamps when referring to specific moments
Use film analysis terminology when appropriate
Answer all parts of the question

SECTION ONE: SCENE ANALYSIS

Choose a significant scene in the film. It should be between 2 and 6 minutes and include at least 10 shots.

1a. Note the scene’s time (start and end), and draw one representative frame.

1b. What is the basic plot of the scene? Focus on story, not filmmaking technique. Remember, this is the plot of the scene and not the whole film. (25 – 75 words)

1c. Summarize the relevant filmmaking techniques employed throughout this scene. This includes mise en scène, and cinematographic/sound/editing strategies. Are any of these techniques different than in the rest of the film, how so? Consider what effect these filmmaking decisions have on the meaning of the scene. (250 – 350 words)

1d. Give a shot-by-shot description for each of the shots of the scene. This should be detailed enough to allow a reader to imagine the scene without being a laundry list. Focus on what strikes you as important and use relevant terminology. (10 shots minimum, 1-3 sentences per shot, formatted however is best for you.)

SECTION TWO: ANALYTICAL QUESTION

2a. What is your Approved Analytical Question? (Check Blackboard – it is in the responses to your “Final Paper Proposal”)

2b. Respond to the question. (300 – 500 words)

SECTION THREE: CONTEXT

3a. Consider how a film’s context has been discussed in our lectures, in assigned articles, or in the textbook chapters (Genre, Distribution, History and Historiography).

What is significant context for understanding your film?

Rather than full paragraphs, brief bullet points or notes are sufficient.

(150 – 350 Words)

Some questions to look into:

Who were the film’s initial audiences?
How does it relate to other work by the filmmaker, or other personnel (actors, cinematographers, etc)?
Is it part of a broader artistic movement? Or genre? If so, how does it relate to other films in its category?
Is there social or historical information that is key to understanding this film, the moment in time the film depicts, or the moment in time that the film was released?

3b. List of sources cited, including the textbook and homework articles. (Minimum 3 sources)

SECTION FOUR: WRITE-UP

4a. Prepare a write-up of your feature, based on your research and analysis. As with our Film Festival Assignment, your write-up should imagine a public audience similar to a festival goer, a blog visitor, or a newspaper reader. (250 – 300 words)

Give the reader some idea of the overall premise of the film, without dragging out the whole storyline.
Highlight anything notable that isn’t plot related – context, tone, form, previous work by the director, the stars, relevance, etc.
For inspiration, look to write-ups on the SDAFF website (and other festivals like tiff.net and https://iffr.com/en/programme/2020/a-z)
(On the other hand, you may not want to read the write-up for your film, since your write-up will need to be your own words and concept, and sometimes other people’s writing can crowd out your own voice and thinking.)
Have fun with the writing. Play with voice. Experiment. Look up your favorite film critics and emulate. Imagine this as an email, etc.
Imagine a reader who is enthusiastic about cinema but might not have previous knowledge of this specific film/maker and wants to know why she should watch the film.
It should entice the viewer to see the film, while being specific about what it is. No false advertisement or exaggerations!

I’m glad you sent your draft. It looks like you’ve done some good work here, however it does not fulfill the requirements of the assignment.

Look at the section in Blackboard titled FINAL PAPER . You will notice there are four sections to the final, with several subsections. You must shape your answers to those specific prompts. Meaning, we need for section one: a drawing (with timestamp), 25–75 words summarizing the plot, etc.

If you would like to make another attempt and send it to us, we’d be happy to take a look.