Writing About Film

What are the 5 kinds of film writing described in the article and what are the key details of each. 

• formal analysis, requires that the viewer be able to use the parts of the film to know how these parts affect the film in its entirety. 
• film history, states that all films reflect, influence and have history, offer up a critique or reflection of the values and culture of the time period the film was set, made or released, and that films contribute to and influence historical events that are happening at the time, or influence the perception of a past event. 
• ideological papers, states that all films support, suggest or idealize a belief or set of beliefs, and tries to force these beliefs upon the viewers of the film. 
• cultural studies/ national cinema, film's represent the culture and nation in which the film was created, and might not like films made in other countries that do not follow the norms that the audience developed.
• discussion of the auteur, based on the assumption that one person retains authorship and control.

What does “Annotating a Film Sequence” involve and what are it’s benefits?

First you pick a scene and label all of the shots in that scene. By annotating a scene, it is easier to follow a complex set of camera movements and it is easy to identify patterns, or changes in patterns in either directors or editors choice. 

What does the author imply when she says to “Think Beyond the Frame?”

The author is implying that as a viewer, we must look at what is inside the frame, and use that to deduce reasons as to the director's choices, and what the director wants us to think. We must discover the motives, and we must put ourself in the director's place and find out what is conveyed beyond the scene on camera.