Film Analysis: The Shining
For this assignment, you are to see a film this semester and fill out your worksheet. Use the skills you learned for the Art Worksheet, but now you have to analyze the combination of sound and moving images.
Step 1 Select a Film
Selecting a film to watch is more than picking a movie with favorite actors or a genre you like (science fiction, superheroes, detective mysteries, romance). The film you pick should have enough interesting content to write about. It helps to inform yourself with two kinds of film reviews. First, professional critics have seen many movies and write from a well-informed point of view, but theirs is just one point of view. Beyond the perspective of Professional critic, there are the reviews from moviegoers, like yourselves, who post their responses on blogs and theater websites. Viewer reviews can be just as valid as professional reviews, so long as they explain why they feel the way they do about a film. Both kinds of reviews can help you narrow your choice of a film, and in the end, pick a film you feel like writing about.
11 pts: State the title of the film you chose and a write brief synopsis of the film in your words (90 to 100 words):
Citations and References
If you decide you use ideas from the film reviews or any source, write the name of the source here AND Cite the source(s) where you use them:
REMEMBER
1. You must view the film for this worksheet personally and you must see it in a theater this semester. (Free screenings at the Union also count as a theater). Even if you choose an older film made in 1945 or later, we want you to see the film in a theater. At a theater, you sense the effects of the sound and moving images as they were intended. Films reproduced for television or on DVD on a home system lose the effect you sense in a theater.
2. Connect your review of the film with the cultural and social ideas we address in class. How do you think audiences relate the narrative on screen with other narratives in the press or entertainment media? Superheroes, for example, save the day when complicated agencies of government and military fail.
3. Look over the Film Worksheet before you attend the film, so you know what to look for in the film. Taking notes during the film is usually a problem, but you can make your notes afterward. You might be surprised at how much you will recall about the film and your experience of viewing it.
Late Paper Policy:
You will lose points for assignments turned in late after the final deadline.
1 day late: 20%
2 days late: -40%
3 days late: -60%
4 days late: -80%
Step 2 Organize your data
This step is about your experience of viewing the film and how the director kept you engaged.
Step2.1: The audience and the space, and you
Your experience as a moviegoer is as important as the film itself.
State where you saw the film.
Analyze and describe the environmental conditions in the theater and how your circumstances affected your perception of the film.
25 pts: Type your response below in at least 200 words:
Step 2.2 The director and you
An important part of film critique is how the director holds the audience’s attention
In the classic film Pulp Fiction, the director manipulates the pace of the film, switching between 1) scenes where two characters have a long conversation and the camera is still and 2) lots of action fast camera work. When the film slows down you become aware of how long even one minute can seem, but when the pace picks up, time is compressed and you don’t notice the minutes passing.
All the effects and drama of the film play with your attention span (and your imagination) to help you forget where you are. Every piece of equipment from the huge screen, to the sound system supports the director’s attempts to take you into their world. This is one of the reasons we require you to attend a theater.
So, how do you think the director pulled you into the world of the film you viewed? Were there surprises that kept your attention? Were effects overstated? Were they tiresome or ridiculous?
25 pts: Type your response below in at least 200 words:
Step 2.3 Analyze the film technically
To help you pick out aspects of the film that you can analyze, read the following list and include the vocabulary and examples from the film in your responses. Pick at least two aspects from each category (i.e., Literary, Dramatic, and Cinematic). Scroll down to write your response.
Pick two Narrative aspects
* Narrative (the story, story line, what the storyline is based on; binary oppositions; disruption of an equilibrium and how a new equilibrium sets in).
* Characters (heroes, villains, helpers, main characters, supporting characters, and how characters function and contribute to our understanding of the story).
* Setting (physical environment in which filming occurs, indoor or outdoor setting, its significance).
* Plot
Pick two Production Design aspects
* Acting (the performance of actors, whether it is convincing or not).
* Costumes (formal clothes, informal clothes, their color, and their contribution to the film).
* Make-up (style, color, whether it is exaggerated or plain, the effect it creates, colors).
Pick two Cinematic aspects
* Camera angles, movements, and positions (low camera angle, high camera angle, close-up, extreme close-up, tilted camera, and how these affect our understanding).
* Sound and vision (sound effects, soundtrack music, visual effects).
* Lighting (illumination in a scene. Soft light harsh light and shadow, colors manipulated? ).
Respond below:
1. Narrative Aspects – Type your response here in at least 100 words (5 pts)
2. Production Design Aspects – Type your response here in at least 100 words (5 pts)
3. Cinematic Aspects – Type your response here in at least 100 words (5 pts)
Step 3. Analyze the film
In this step, you will interpret the film and tell the significance of it, along with how you would describe its audience.
Choose THREE of these questions to answer, which best fit your analysis so far.
24 pts: Enter responses after each question, below, each response in at least 200 words. Include examples from step 2.3.
1. Who is telling the story? Why is it being told? Does it appear to have a purpose? In Jurassic Park, for example, we see the film through the eyes of children as they watch adults face consequences and lose control of prehistoric animals. Other films may have a narrator, whose words tie sections of the film together.
(media agencies, authorial voice, influences from marketing, economics, ideology)
2. Who is likely to view this film, why? Does it have an audience following and what are they like? (i.e., Trekies that follow Star Trek)
3. What genre? What genre does this film fit into, and what makes you say that? A 'genre' refers to clearly understood type of film, such as a 'western,' a 'romantic comedy,' a 'horror,' or a 'science fiction' film (note that some films overlap and combine genres--for example, Alien can be said to be both a science fiction and a horror film). What aspects of the film tell you that it fits into a genre or genres (the narrative, the character types, the production design, the visual language)?
4. How is it made? What film technologies are used? is the film a one-time story or part of a sequence of films?
5. How does it convey meaning? Film language is broader than the convention of written literature. Look for codes and conventions, content "between the lines." Are there symbols we see throughout, but are never put into words? Body language? Other visuals or sounds other than words?
6. How does it represent its subject - especially with reference to a time period? Do you recognize stereotypes, familiar or strange representations of the past? Does it ridicule or glorify a stereotype? Are characters exaggerated? Diminished?
Meets Word count requirement, give or take 5 words
Uses evidence from Previous steps (2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
Your name
Subject and Section
Professor’s name
Date of submission
Overview of the Film
Over the decades, The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, is one of the highly admired horror movies. The story revolves around Jack Torrance who applied as a caretaker of an isolated hotel in the mountains of Colorado for the winter. Jack brought his family – his wife and his gifted son – to keep him company throughout the season. He was warned about the risk of cabin fever and was told about the previous caretaker who had a mental breakdown and killed his entire family. During their stay, strange things started occurring and Jack was slowly influenced by the sinister presence that drove him into violence (, n.d.).
The audience, space, and you
The original instruction includes viewing the film in a theater to be able to describe the general characteristics and how the environmental conditions will affect the impression of the film. However, due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it was not required to see a film in the theater. Thus, I watched The Shining on a laptop from a streaming service – Netflix.
Compared to watching a film from a streaming service on a laptop or any gadgets, cinema-like environments such as in theaters provide audiences a deeper immersion into the movie. Several studies have shown that viewers are more drawn into watching the movie with a larger screen as well as with a different audiovisual effect. When going to theaters, moviegoers experience greater presence or the feeling of being in the situation itself. And with the advancement of technology, some cinemas provide 3D glasses for the viewing experience to make it more real. Given the circumstance, watching it on a laptop or mobile device feels like the viewer is just looking on a display, waiting for the plot to unfold. Moreover, the soundtrack and sound effects used to provide a better movie experience that could be engaged the viewers more in the theater compared to the sound effects at heard when watching at home (Troscianko, Meese, & Hinde, 2012).
Another benefit of watching a movie in cinemas is the experience of watching it with various people as well as with your friends and loved ones. Depending on the genre of the movie, the different reactions of other people will keep you more drawn into the movie. There is a feeling of sharing entertainment with everyone else in the cinema. In my case, watching a horror movie alone on my laptop doesn’t give me the same thrill of watching it at a theater. The movie itself provided the suspense but not the environment where I watched the film.
The director and you
The Shining was directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. Throughout the movie, one can notice how it was meticulously done. There were scenes that may have been difficult to shoot during that time but the director found ways to capture it smoothly.
This movie is one of the earliest films that used the technology of Steadicam, which separates the camera from the movement of the operator. There were scenes wherein a low angle has to be captured especially on scenes where the focus is on a little boy, Danny, who is the protagonist of the movie. The director wanted to show the audience the viewpoint of Danny and it reflected on the scenes of the movie. This is especially noticeable in the scene of Danny riding his bicycle Big Wheel wherein it was shoot at almost ground level (David, 2014).
Stanley Kubrick also made use of various cinematic techniques to increase the anticipation of the scenes in the film. The high-angle was used in the scene of Danny playing with his toys where it illustrated Danny’s vulnerability to the sinister presence of the Overlook Hotel. The thrill of the scene was enhanced through the combination of filming it from above and the sound effects used. On the other hand, low-angle was used in scenes such as when Danny was riding his tricycle through the hallways of the hotel. It was shot with the camera behind Danny to intensify the suspense because the viewers won’t know what lies ahead of the little boy. This was more heightened by the speed of the action, whether or not, there is an approaching danger. In another scene, Kubrick tried another strategy through extreme angles to capture the audience's attention and at the same time, getting a cinematic impact. This was shown in the scene where Jack was leaning against the door calling for Wendy to open, wherein the camera was positioned below Jack, capturing his manipulative facial features ().
Technical analysis of the film
Narrative aspect
The character's functions and actions create the structure of every movie. In The Shining, the main characters were Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrence. At the start of the film, Jack can be mistaken as the protagonist of the story with his ambitious, intelligent, and sympathetic character who took the job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel for a fresh start. However, as the plot unfolds, his character clearly depicted that he is the antagonist, possessed by the evil spirits within the walls of the hotel. His wife, Wendy Torrence, has a timid and fragile character who tried to be sympathetic to her husband’s increasing violence during their stay in the hotel. She is courageous enough to trap the “evil” in the storeroom that could make her the hero of the movie but can be also perceived as the victim as she had shown to be more naïve to what is happening than Danny. Danny, their son, is ultimately considered as the hero and the protagonist of the movie as he saved himself and his mother, Wendy, from the sinister presence in the hotel using his telepathic gift. He used this ability to be in contact with Dick who provided their escape. Dick Hallorann, the hotel’s chef, shared the same ability with Danny and calls it “the shining”. He is also another heroic character who enabled the escape of Danny and Wendy upon receiving the worrisome visions sent by Danny (, n.d.).
The isolated and remote setting of The Shining contributed greatly to the chills of the movie. As an adaptation from Stephen King’s book, most of the scenes took place inside the Overlook Hotel. The setting of the movie plays a significant part in the movie because the plot revolves around the sinister presence within the walls of the hotel and how it affected Jack who gr...
👀 Other Visitors are Viewing These APA Essay Samples:
-
A Note About a Musical Drama Film "Dreamgirls"
1 page/≈275 words | 1 Source | APA | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |
-
Photography. Visual and Performing Arts. Janieta Eyre.
1 page/≈275 words | No Sources | APA | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |
-
Impressionism RobertL Herbert. Visual & Performing Arts Essay
2 pages/≈550 words | No Sources | APA | Visual & Performing Arts | Essay |