7. Use Freeze Frames.

Using freeze frames involves pausing the movie at different points to grasp their place and role in the movie. This will require a list of the elements and ideas you are looking for. The first element to be analyzed is shots and cuts. Identify what shots the director uses in each frame; the length of the shot; the angles used and the reason for using them; the way the shot contributes to the story. Secondly, the color and light style should also be analyzed. The darkness and light in the scene; the source of light; the dominant color and the color of certain objects and their role in reflecting the mood the director and cinematographer try to convey. Then identify the movement of the camera, it’s spanning in and out and the reasons for the movement. The sound is also very important. Analyzing the sound of the scene will entail all the sounds and noises incorporated apart from the dialogue (i.e. sound effects). It is vital to understand their relevance to the scene and their correct application. Identify if they add or deduct value to the scene. Every single frame should be subject to a critical review to state its relevance to the movie meaning.

8. Watch entire film and the extras keenly.

Watching the entire movie is not enough to evaluate a film. It is also vitally important to watch all the extras of the movie. These include the trailers and deleted scenes. The extras will help identify what was left out. The deleted scenes will be mainly used to identify the disliked parts of the movie which the producers saw necessary to clear due to their faults. According to their point of view deleted material would have made the audience lose track of the movie concept.

9. Review the general quality of the movie and its meaning.

After watching the entire movie, analyzing its different aspects it’s high time to focus on the overall quality. This does not take into account particular scenes but analyses film as a whole. High quality will be given to the movie that fulfills its purpose of developing a storyline to the fullest. A film is intended to convey a message to the audience. The character becomes the most important element in conveying the meaning since he or she will be the visual image of the message. The themes and ideas of a movie must be in line with the people’s relevant activities and convey practices of culture, of effects, of the changes. It is not that important what happens, but it is important how it happens, how the characters react to events and various conflicts with other characters. Such conflicts can manifest themselves as dramatic actions or dialogues. Dramatic action is usually not what is said, but what is not said, what is implicit in a movie. In order to understand the meaning of a movie, everything it implies, it is necessary to read between the lines while watching a movie and analyzing it. The plot should not only be entertaining but also educative to the audience. The setting of the movie brings meaning to the viewers as they are able to realize the time and place. Music also helps to convey the meaning. For suspense there will be fast beats, while for love there will be slow soothing beats; there can also be the main song of the movie which will contain the whole meaning of the movie.

It is evident, that in order to analyze a movie, it is necessary to break it down into constituent elements. It’s a good way not only to get skills of film review writing but to learn the essentials of filmmaking. If you are an aspiring filmmaker yourself, it can be very useful to understand how some films become classics and others become distant memories.

Exercise 31. Match the words and their definitions.

entirely freeze frame contrived buff get to know in-depth villain bring out plotline guide ambiguity apparent at times ambience implicit attitude take into account

1. the main evil character in a story ____________________

2. what happens in a book or film ___________________

3. the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more ways _________________

4. a single motionless image in a movie ___________________

5. sometimes, occasionally, from time to time ____________________

6. completely, totally, absolutely, wholly _____________________

7. become acquainted with, familiarize oneself with __________________

8. opinion or feelings about something ____________________

9. carefully worked out, detailed and thorough _________________

10. the atmosphere of an environment, the character of a place or the feeling you have about it ___________________

11. an expert on a particular subject ____________________

12. reveal, uncover, show, make visible or noticeable __________________

13. artificial, unrealistic, unnatural __________________

14. easy to see or understand, obvious, evident ___________________

15. lead the way, direct, supervise, instruct, help by giving advice, show how to do something difficult ____________________

16. not plainly expressed, indirect __________________

17. take into consideration, remember when judging a situation _________________

Exercise 32. Match sentence halves and then translate them into Russian.

1. The Mona Lisa is famous	A. has the ambience of a country town.
She suddenly burst out crying	B. swimming and lying in the sun.
Very often, the writer has to carry	C. for her ambiguous half-smile.
There is no denying that summer films	D. to the idea of a purely electronic library.
I’m not sure whether the author is trying to be clever or controversial, but	E. put the most cash in Hollywood’s coffers.
Despite being a busy city, Dublin	F. to negative results.
I can’t entirely adapt	G. for no apparent reason.
Bob Hoskins’ distinctive manner of speaking did stop him being cast as such famous figures	H. as Benito Mussolini, Nikita Khrushchev and FBI boss Edgar Hoover.
The plotline where an evil villain is planning to take over the world	I. at times more scary than “Boy Meets World”.
We passed the day	J. either way, I don’t like such writing.
“Girl Meets World” is much faster-paced and	K. is greatly overused in action movies.
Aspiring young artists are advised	L. out an in-depth study before starting to write a script.
A negative attitude can only lead	M. to learn by copying the masters.

Exercise 33. Fill in the gaps with the following words in the correct form.

simplicity attitude freeze frame edge ambience villain

distinctive apparent visible in-depth contrived

seamless formidable entirely

deny guide bring out maintain

1. There has been a  … improvement in your work lately.

2. Your hesitation is … understandable.

3. Working with youth helps me … a very positive … toward the future.

4. At the time of its break-up in 2012, EMI held the rights to a  … collection of classical recordings.

5. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill who … the United Kingdom through the Second World War, was also a Nobel prize-winner in literature.

6. Soon it became … that the film was going to be a box office bomb.

7. In the immortal classic “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” Esmeralda charms everyone but feels that because of her race she has … security, happiness, a good home, and prosperity.

8. David Fincher created a persuasive  …  of despair.

9. Elongated portraits are a … feature of Amedeo Modigliani’s art.

10. “X-Men: Apocalypse” opens in Ancient Egypt. We’re immediately confronted with the four horsemen – Pestilence, War, Death and Famine – who are the servants of Apocalypse, the film’s main ... .

11. The 3D epic science fiction thriller “Gravity” is a work of great narrative  …  and

visual complexity.

12. Some plot twists toward the end feel too convenient and … , however.

13. You can sense the director’s empathy in “The Fault in Our Stars”; it softens harsh … , it … a purity of emotions in his actors.

14. The following sections give a brief description of each device; references are provided for more … information.

15. A memorable … is the end of François Truffaut’s 1959 New Wave film “The 400 Blows.”

16. This non-fiction short features a … integration of footage from different sources.

Exercise 34. Substitute the underlined words with their opposites.

1. It takes time to forget people.

2. She is a talentless actress, but a brilliant script with good dialogue and a realistic family crises helps her a lot.

3. The director confirmed that the characters were based on imaginary people.

4. If you don’t know anything about films, this event will satisfy you.

5. I hated the ugliness and complexity of photography.

6. The plotline is absolutely the same.

7. The sequel includes an epic battle scene, the birth of a minor character and a kind hero.

8. There’s nothing like losing to hide the worst in men.

9. I doubt he’ll handle the interview with an effort.

10. He always keeps track of what he wants.

11. The agency commission is added to the company’s loss.

Exercise 35. Translate the collocations below into Russian. Then make up your own

phrases with any ten of them.

throughout Europe; go according to plan; convey to the audience; be driven to despair;

out of desperation; due to unforeseen circumstances; make significant contrast to;

suffer from allergy; in-depth analysis (of); carefully guide smb through rehearsals;

a few days prior to; bring out the best in smb; positive attitude (to); handle with ease;

make allowances for; gradually change; persuasive argument; welcoming ambience;

distinctive feature (of); become apparent to smb; formidable obstacle to; edgy dialogue;

be subject to government approval; entirely different from; be visible to the naked eye;

maintain the right balance between; seamlessly integrate; constituent part;

have a soothing effect (on); overall expenditure; find fault with.

FILM TERMS

Exercise 36. There are a lot of film terms connected with types of shots, editing, sound,

camera movement and angles, that can be useful for a movie analysis.

Do you know them?