Film Analysis English: Structure & Guide

You watched a film in English class and now you have to analyze it. What do you mean by film analysis? What must be mentioned in a film analysis?

Qualitative Film Analysis English – Structure

The rough structure of a film analysis consists of a introductionan Isynopsisone analysis and one Ending. You can recognize a qualitative film analysis by the fact that it does not only illuminate a film or a scene on one level. You also break down the film into its individual parts and use them to support or refute a thesis.

In the introduction heyou clarify all important aspects of the film and all data about it. It’s best to answer all W-questions about the film for this. The W-questions include:

• What is the title of the movie?
• Who is the director
• When was the film made?
• What is the movie about?

After the table of contents you write a analysis. This is divided into different aspects. But in principle, you can set your own priorities here or have to go into the priorities of the task.

At the Ending In your film analysis, you explain the results of your analysis section and, at best, refer to the introduction.

Film Analysis English – Guide

If you want to write a film analysis, you have to consider several aspects. Follow this guide step by step to make sure you have mentioned or considered all important aspects.

preparation

Before you start your actual film analysis, you should write a brief overview. For this you should first of all yourself W-questions (Who? When? What? Why? How?) about the film and answer them if possible. You use the answers to these questions later in your introduction.

Be sure to write yours too first impression to your film before you delve deeper into your film or scene. So you can possibly respond to the fact that an event initially appears different than it is.

Also, think about one question for your analysis. So you already have a focus for your analysis. For example, when it comes to plastic in the ocean, it could look like this:

In this example, the question was asked whether society is too dependent on plastic, which is destroying the planet. If you then wanted to address such a question, you would shed more light on the depiction of plastic in the film. Maybe the material is presented particularly well or just the opposite. How did the director try to explain to the audience that there is a dependency on plastic. You would break down and describe which stylistic devices were used for this in the respective categories of the film analysis.

At best, you make this question as controversial as possible. A question would be controversial if you choose a controversial topic and create a particularly unusual question. This is how you attract the attention of potential readers.

You don’t have to know the answer to your question directly. However, your analysis should give you the answer to your question.

Note which parts of the film are the most important. You then use this to write your synopsis. You can recognize the most important parts of your film based on whether they advance the plot or help solve a problem.

Make bullet points which aspects you would like to examine more closely in your analysis. With this you don’t lose the common thread and don’t forget a point. Feel free to break them down into different categories, such as:

• Content Analysis
• character analysis
• Cinematic design tools

After you have made your notes, you can start with the introduction to your film analysis.

introduction

Your introduction should create a first overview for your readers. Name all the important ones facts about the film. At best, answer all W-questions (Who? What? When? How? Why?). You are welcome to add your prepared overview.

You will find a list with all the essential aspects as an aid here:

1. title
2. Publication date
3. Genre (The genre is the category your film falls under. Examples include: comedy, thriller, horror, etc.)
4. director
5. topic

Example of the introduction

After you have mentioned all the important basic facts in your introductory sentence, you can in one or two sentences meager reflect the content and subject matter of the film. Really keep it as short as possible. You end up writing a whole synopsis afterwards.

Then ask your question with regard to a problem on which you want to base your analysis.

It could look something like this:

In this example, the content of the film has been broken down into one short sentence. For this, an umbrella term or an overarching theme was used that briefly reflects the film. In this case, the American dream used as an umbrella term and also described in which light it is presented. In addition, the reader is given a first impression of the main character.

But you can also design your introduction like this:

Here the introductory sentence is combined with the explanation of the topic. In the example sentence, the topic of the film was covered with an umbrella term – in this case modern bullying – summarized. This gives readers an overview and a first impression of the film. In order to find a suitable umbrella term for your film, you can ask yourself which theme runs through the entire film or concerns the main character. The question then follows. After you cornerstone for your film analysis, you can start with the synopsis.

synopsis

The synopsis is the main part of your analysis. Here you first present the topic of your film.

In general, your synopsis should be written in such a way that someone who has never seen the film can follow your analysis.

The job of your synopsis is to identify the main plot points of the film meager to represent. Try not to leave out any important information.

It is important that you include your synopsis neutral write That means you don’t judge actions. You only describe your own impressions and perspectives during the analysis.

In addition to your summary of the content, you name all the important ones charactersthe location and the time when the film takes place. The same applies here: Don’t go too deep. Later in the actual analysis you go into all these things.

analysis

Probably the most important aspect of a film analysis is of course the analysis itself focal points more accurate. You take up the question you asked in your introduction again here. The focus of your analysis can be different things. Here is a list with some examples:

• Depiction of the characters’ relationships – for example: is person A a good friend of person B?
• Representation of everyday life – is the life of the characters realistic?
• Criticism of society – successful?

The analysis part of your film analysis can also be divided into several sub-categories. Namely in one Content Analysisone character analysis, the symbolism and in cinematic design tools.

The synopsis usually flows very fluently into the content analysis. Here you go to all the details of the narrative perspective of the movie. You deal with how the director tells the story and what means were used. Please note not to go into the cinematic design elements here, but only to the storytelling method.

You try to address the following aspects:

• course of action – How was it built? Are there flashbacks or something like that?
• perspective – Do the viewers only get the impressions of one person? Is it an objectively told story?
• suspense – How is the tension maintained?
• time – Is there a historical (or political) background?
• End – How does the movie end? Will the problem be solved? If yes how?

character analysis

In the figure or character analysis, you name all the important figures and everything that makes them special. You walk on her Looks, their clothes and opinions in more detail. Also explain if anyone has a main character or a supporting character is. Feel free to mention their social status and how they fit into society. You can also, if necessary, access the backstories of some characters…