ENG195 FILM AS ART Fall 2001 Michael Dembrow, Instr.

 

TERM PROJECT

 

For your term project for the course, I'd like you to select to do one of the following:

 

I. Analytical Paper

This is your chance to do some thinking and writing about a topic of interest to you. You might want to watch some additional films by one of the directors whose films we've seen this term and trace a theme or other element in all the films. You might want to look at an adaptation, or a remake. You might want to look more closely at some aspect of a cinematic genre. The list is endless. Here are some things that students have done in the past:

 

… The Grapes of Wrath - Novel and Film

… Cinematic Dream Sequences: The Conversation, Paperhouse, and . . .

… Griffith's Women

… Freedom in the French New Wave: The 400 Blows and Breathless

… Women in Gangster Films

… "Product Placement" in Recent Films

… John Ford's Image of America

… Alfred Hitchcock's Image of America in Three Pictures

… The Role of the Family in Gangster Films

… Women in Science Fiction Films

… Bernard Herrmann's Music: Citizen Kane, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho

… Coming of Age: Paperhouse, Stand By Me, and Star Wars

… The Stranger Comes to Town: Shane and E.T.

… African-Americans and the Gangster Film: New Jack City

… Study of a Remake: Cousin, Cousine and Cousins

… Study of a Remake: The Postman Always Rings Twice

… The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the Birth of the Horror Film

… Hiroshima Mon Amour: From Screenplay to Film

 

It should be approx. 1,000 words long (4-5 pp. double-spaced). As you can see from most of these topics, you shouldn't have to do much research to write this paper. The best topics will focus the paper on a small number of films

 

 

II. Film Scenario/Script

 

This is your chance to create a film story on paper. You'll want to write a scenario/treatment (detailed summary of the story in multi-paragraph form) of your film idea, then choose a good scene or two to render in script form. The treatment and script should each be four to five pages long. At this point, you should focus on your story treatment, coming about with an interesting plot line, rising conflict, etc. On November 13 I'll talk about the conventions of scriptwriting.

 

 

Projects will be due on Dec. 4, our last regular class period. I'd be happy to look at drafts ahead of time. On Nov. 20 I'll be asking you what your topic/script idea is.

 

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