FILM1000 Introduction to Film Studies Essay Assignment 2025 | SUSS

Part I. Description

Pick one of the following clips. Then, isolate what you take to be one cohesive and meaningful sequence within:

Billy Elliot
Daisies
Floating Life
Soy Cuba

As you watch (and repeatedly re-watch) your chosen segment, take note of as much information as you can about its formal elements, including elements of the mise-en-scene (i.e., sets, costumes and make-up, lighting, performance and staging); elements of the cinematography (i.e., photographic qualities including tonality, speed of motion, varieties of perspective, framing including aspect ratio and all aspects of camera placement, mobile framing, on/off-screen spaces, shot duration/long take); devices of editing; elements of music/sound.

Use the attached shot-by-shot analysis form (available on Canvas too) to succinctly document your observation. There is no page limit for this part of the essay. The length of your form depends on your segmentation and the thoroughness of your engagement with the chosen sequence.

Part II. Analysis

After you have finished the descriptive part of the assignment, write an essay of 1900 words (+/- 10% acceptable, reference included) that proposes a reading of how one or two stylistic elements function in your chosen sequence. Identify your chosen sequence by describing its beginning and end rather than listing the time code (which is meaningless as the time codes of the same sequence in different prints, DVDs, Blu-rays, and streams of the film might not be identical).

Discuss how your chosen stylistic elements are deployed 1) to engage the viewers’ attention and to shape their understanding of the immediate action; and 2) to engage the film’s larger thematic, ideological, socio-political, and/or philosophical concerns. Your analysis should aim to propose an original reading of the film; it should marshal your segment’s formal features as evidence to support your interpretation. Put another way: you are asked to mobilise your formal analysis to say something illuminating about your chosen sequence and the film as a whole.

As you make your argument, you should include a discussion of at least one assigned reading (either required or recommended) on the syllabus. You are welcome to use additional materials sourced from your research, but only in addition to the assigned reading. The reference to the text should explicitly help you make sense of the significance of the formal experimentations on display in your chosen sequence (i.e., its relevance to your argument should be demonstrated).

Your footnotes and bibliographic entries should be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Adopt the notes and bibliography system:

Don’t forget to title your essay.

Grading Criteria

(see the marking rubrics on Canvas or the syllabus for details)

• 85 and above: Outstanding research that exceeds the course expectation.
• 75-84: Excellent audiovisual analysis supported by accurate descriptive language; well-grounded argument with high stakes and refreshing insights.
• 65-74: Very good audiovisual analysis with no or a few mistakes in descriptive language; valuable argument with sufficient stakes.
• 50-64: Good audiovisual analysis with some mistakes in descriptive language; sufficient argument but with low stakes.
• 49 and below: Inaccurate audiovisual analysis with several mistakes in descriptive language; insufficient or no argument; lacking in originality; failure to meet the basic requirements (such as failing to write on one of the designated films, failing to fulfil the citation requirement, and failing to focus on a film sequence).

Late Submission:

According to university policies, work not submitted on or before the due date is subject to a penalty of 5% of the total grade (i.e., 5 points) per calendar day late; if work is submitted more than 10 days after the due date, the mark will be zero.

Citation:

Ostensible failure to adhere to the standards of the Chicago Style (such as improper formatting of the title of a film or an article/chapter or a book; inaccurate citation of the references; incorrect use of footnotes; incomplete bibliography) will result in a deduction of up to 10 points from the final grade of your paper.

*Under no circumstances will plagiarism and contract cheating be tolerated. AI-generated content is also forbidden. All suspected violations of academic honesty will be reported to the university for further investigation.

** Typo, grammatical error, punctuation error, among other writing mistakes will hurt your grade. Please proofread.