Many students might feel confused when getting a task to write a film analysis essay. Students mainly write essays on the analysis of books or poems. When it comes to films, young people frequently lose the right way to perceive the task.
If you think about it, you might find out that books have many things similar to movies. Both a film and a fictional book have main and secondary characters, setting, a plot, and themes. What is different is that the media they use to tell you the tale. When it comes to a film analysis essay, a student should analyze acting, costumes, setting, and cinematography in addition to standard reviewing of characters and the story itself.
So, to write your film analysis as review writing service professionals do, think over the following tips:
Check Film Analysis Essays of Other Authors
In case you’ve never had to deal with writing a film analysis in your past, checking how other authors complete them might be the way to get the point. By reading film analysis essays of professionals, for instance, you can find the topic or the idea you would like to reveal in your text.
Watch the Film Two Times at Least to Write an Analysis
It is required so you could find more "hooks" for your thoughts and pick up various nuances the viewer can't consider by watching a movie only one time. Use standard playback software functions to notice and catch as many details as possible: pause, rewind, slow-motion, framing, etc.
Film Analysis Essay: Know the Topic
There are numerous perspectives available for you to choose among when you are creating a film analysis essay. A “compare and contrast” option is a widespread and effective choice, for example:
- It is possible to go in for comparing the movie and the book which served as its basis and to find similar and different features between them. For instance, the “First Blood” (1982) movie is grounded on the 1972 novel of the same name by David Morrell. There are significant differences between the movie and the original novel, and you might go in for the analysis of whether the screening reveals the topic better or worse than the original fiction writing does.
- One more option to consider: the film analysis essay written to compare the separate movie to others made by the chosen director. Is a movie of a different style than their other ones? Does it show the development of ideas, topics? Does it incorporate new influences?
- Or you can go even further: write a film analysis essay to compare the chosen movie with other ones of the same genre. The genre itself has concepts, topics, and hints which characterize and shape it. Highlight the chosen movie and compare how it correlates with other solutions: is it original or secondary? Is it likely to what has shot? Do this film use some new ideas?
Film Analysis Essay: Characters
Did the creators reveal and develop every character well? Do you want to believe their characters, to sympathize and to trust them? Actually, movies based on novels are frequently criticized exactly at this point: the book author discovers and explains the important character perfectly while filmmakers fail to reveal the same depth on the screen. This leads to the weakening of the whole story. No matter whether the movie is based on the novel or not, the development of characters is a critical element for it to become successful. In your film analysis essay, explain what you think about this point.
Motives and Topics
What are the main topics serving as the story's engine? Love, fate, redemption, revenge, sacrifice, transformation – these are some frequently used topics. How well the makers transmit their topical motive to the person who watches their film? Which threads do they activate to underline their topics? Answer these questions in your essay to make it complete.
Film Analysis Essay: Featured Points
These were basic tips and questions for you to think over. Actually, everything written above can serve as a useful guide not only for the film analysis essay writing but for creating a book review as well. Points mentioned below are not working for a fictional novel, but critical for films.
Film Analysis Essay: Acting
The actors’ play is an essential puzzle element of any movie. Do actors act in a featured, stylish and unique way? If the period piece is in the movie, how do actors deal with accents and speaking manners of that time? Do they improvise?
Cameraman Job
How do filmmakers use cameras to retell the story? Are wide panning plans used? Is the film beautiful in terms of aesthetics? Are there wide panning shots? Do they prefer spending big budgets on getting advanced CGI effects and animations or prefer natural lighting and cameras held by hand? What's the impact of the shooting style on the story's effect or sense?
Setting and Costumes
The Cleopatra movie of 1963 became one of the most expensive and ambitious films of all times with significant sets and costumes framed. Opposite to it, there is the movie titled Dogville: in fact, it was the incomplete theatrical performance shot as the film with the use of a usual hand camera. They are two extremes to take as final points of your essay. And between them, there stand tens of thousands of films having different setting and costumes to cause various effects on viewers. In your film analysis essay, it would be great to mention the contribution of these two aspects to the sense, atmosphere and an impression the chosen movie made on you.
To Conclude
Writing a film analysis essay is not the most straightforward task a student can get, but it is also among the most exciting assignments. Expressing your opinion on the movie and analyzing its strengths and weaknesses will be much simpler if to find your original approach and to keep up with professional recommendations stated in the article above.
