â€¢ Close Reading/Film Analysis
Isolate a clip of 10-25 consecutive shots from the film in this course that caught your attention for some reason: Moonlight movie.
Write a paper about that clip in which you do the following in some fashion:
â€¢ Describe the clip, particularly where it begins and ends
â€¢ Assume that the director planned or had a hand in all the details, from the script to the shooting to the soundtrack. Examine the decisions, which likely were made in putting together the clip you have chosen.
â€¢ Analyze your reaction to the clip in terms of those directorial choices
Here are some questions to keep in mind as you work through the clip and generate ideas for your paper.
4. How does your clip function in its surrounding context--both its immediate context and scenes similar to it throughout the movie? (Hint: think of what would have been lost if your clip had been edited out of the movie.)
5. What kinds of shots does the director choose? What is incorporated into the frame vs. left off-screen? Why are these choices effective or ineffective? (Hint: play around with other possible ways of shooting the same part of the script. Try mentally substituting long shots for closeup, tracking shots for overhead shots, etc.)
6. How does the audio portion of the clip link up with the images? (Hint: after several viewings, cover or turn off the screen to listen to the sound alone. Make sure you can link changes in the soundtrack to specific images or events onscreen.)
Make certain the final version of your paper contains all of the following:
___ A focused title that lets the reader know what s/he is about to read
___ An introduction which introduces the film and leads into your thesis
___ A thesis statement containing your main point (at end of intro)
___ Topic sentences beginning each paragraph, stating that paragraph's main idea
___ Unified body paragraphs
___ A conclusion that pulls your argument together and reinforces your thesis
___ Careful proofreading/copyediting
___ A Works Cited or References page containing your movie as well as any other outside sources.

â€¢ Close Reading/Film Analysis Isolate a clip of 10-25 consecuti...