Shot-by-Shot Group Project Guidelines

This shot-by-shot project will refine your ability to analyze all aspects of film form. Through close study of a specific series of shots, you will demonstrate your command of the terms and concepts first encountered in CMS 2100, now mastered at the senior level for CMS 4310.

You and several classmates will be assigned one of the films by Alfred Hitchcock listed below. You will find your film assignment, group members, and their email addresses listed on our class roll.

All of these DVDs are available via overnight library reserves. If you decide to rent or purchase the film on your own, always use the DVD version for your analysis, since in most cases the image is a higher quality and letterboxed (unless the film was shot in academy ratio, of course), whereas videotapes are not.

How to complete the assignment in 3 steps

1. First, watch the entire film assigned to you as a group. Then, study the film as a group in order to evaluate and describe everything seen and heard in the first ten shots of the film. Do NOT work separately on this project and simply collate your analyses later and certainly do not rely on one member of the group to perform the entire project. This is a GROUP project; you will earn a drastically lower grade if you do not follow these directions and work together on this assignment.

For this exercise, Shot 1 is the first shot after the credit sequence. That is, the shot immediately after the words "Directed by Alfred Hitchcock" and that shot's edit is Shot 1, followed by Shot 2, etc. Each shot analysis will focus upon how mise-en-scène, camerawork, editing, and sound cue us to understand the shot's meanings. Please use the following detailed examples as a guide for your project:

Shot-by-Shot Guide Form

Example 1: Strangers on a Train

Example 2: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955)

2. In addition to your ten shot analyses, you will write as a group a concise essay (1-2 double-spaced pages) explaining how the film's credit sequence in combination with the various formal elements of the first ten shots relate to the meanings and impact of the film as a whole. In what ways does the style of the credit sequence (beyond its list of production personnel) prepare you for the film that follows? How do the font style, graphics, music, and/or sound effects cue you? What formal relationships, questions, and narrative expectations about the film are set up by the credits in conjunction with the first ten shots?

IMPORTANT: You should consult ONLY Bordwell & Thompson's Film Art and Corrigan's A Short Guide to Writing About Film for advice on writing your project. Conduct NO other external research for this assignment. All the information you need is in your keen eyes & ears, your group's collective film-scholar brain, and the film itself, including the credits. Do NOT consult any DVD commentary included with the film, internet sites, books, articles, etc. The point of this assignment is for you to show off your analytical skills, not those of someone else. Use of any additional texts will be considered plagiarism and will result in a zero on the assignment and an F in the course.

Be sure to follow all of the following cautions/rules:

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated; violators will be reported and prosecuted. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the definitions of plagiarism, cheating, illegal collaboration, etc. in the CSU guidelines at: http://adminservices.clayton.edu/studentlife/Student%20Handbook/handbkcode.htm Students who violate these policies may be formally charged with academic misconduct. The minimum penalty in such cases will be a zero on the assignment and an F in the course. As university regulations stipulate, students guilty of academic misconduct may also be suspended or expelled.

Single space each page of your shot analyses, but double space the essay. (Unless otherwise noted, all of our papers should be word-processed, double-spaced, in a standard 12 point font, and with a one-inch margin. Staple pages together in the upper left corner.)

Please save paper. I cannot stress this enough. Do not append cover pages, folders/binders, etc. to your papers, and please try to use recycled paper. I will award extra credit to those who print multiple-page assignments double-sided.

Proof-read and edit all assignments.

Don’t waste space rephrasing questions or formulating lengthy introduction and/or conclusion sections in your assignments; you will often have a limited page allowance, so use your space wisely.

For clarity, please use correct grammar and spelling, and write in active voice (rather than passive voice). Be sure to italicize or underline all titles, and watch your use of gendered language (e.g., do not refer to “he/him” or “man/Man” when you mean “she or he,” “they,” or “human”). I encourage you to use the Center for Academic Assistance in the Library; they are quite helpful. You can reach them at 770/961-3470 or joannquattlebaum@clayton.edu to make an appointment.

3. Your group will give a short (10-minute) presentation to the class to illustrate your shot-by-shot findings. Bring the DVD to class to show clips. See the schedule for the date.