Clemson University The Wonder Ring By Stan Brakhage Film Analysis

I’m working on a film question and need a sample draft to help me understand better.

*******The Wonder Ring (Stan Brakhage, 6 min., silent, 16mm, 1955)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD7uqs4y7tQ
(Section: 3:44 – 4:09) This section has 3 shots, starting with the first frame of the shot with inside the train when it is stopping at the station and ending with the last frame of the relatively long-take shot with the view from the train window.*********

This is the film needed to write about^^^^^^^

A student will write an analysis of the assigned section of the online video chosen from the list posted in myCourses.
The paper should not mention any other sections of the chosen film/video.

A student should watch the entire video at least once, then focus on the assigned section, watching it multiple times,
even pausing it to analyze a still frame, in order to write an analysis not based on memory but from a close viewing
experience. This assignment requires immersion with the work.

An analysis should discuss formal elements in cinema, as well as other possible decisions made by the filmmaker and
how they would work to express a certain idea(s). The paper should not be a summary of the section, rather it should
focus on details of each shot and how shots are juxtaposed. Do not focus on subject matters.

*******Below is a list of elements that a student may want to focus on the analysis.

• ● Visual composition (line, shape, color, contrast, texture, movements, space, etc.)
• ● Camera movements (stationary, handheld, panning, dolly shot, etc.)
• ● Camera position (level/height, angle, distance from a subject, etc.)
• ● Filming speed (slow motion, fast motion, time-lapse, etc.)
• ● Other camerawork (zooming, rack focus, changing exposure, etc.)
• ● Viewpoints (subjective/objective, surveillance camera, etc.)
• ● Lens perspective (wide-angle, normal lens, telephoto, fish-eye, etc.)
• ● Lighting (use of natural light, use of artificial light, direction of light, and use of shadow, etc.)
• ● Spatial relations (planes of action, shallow/deep space, outside of the frame, foreground and background
  relationship, 2D/3D space, etc.)
• ● Montage (graphic continuity, rhythmic, spatial, temporal relations, viewpoints, etc.)
• ● Visual effects (superimposition, transition, negative image, optic illusion, freeze frame, reversed motion, etc.)
• ● Other filmmaking techniques (re-photography, loop printing, direct animation, hand-processing, etc.)
• ● Types of sound (music, ambient/environmental sound, sound effects, voice over, electronic sound, etc.)
• ● Relation between sound and visual (diegetic or non-diegetic sound, direct sound from the optical soundtrack,
  etc.)
• ● Use of different source materials (found footage, still photography, cutout paper, written text, home movie
  footage, etc.)
• ● Choice of medium, format, and/or device (film, analog video, digital video, 8mm, 16mm, interlaced video
  image, use of a scanner, etc.)

A student should look for what is unusual and distinctive about the way the film/video is made, regarding its formal
elements. How do these formal elements contribute to or interact with our understanding of the film? What are the
techniques used to structure the shot? What kinds of strategies are used to express possible concepts? What would be
the filmmaker’s interests to the audience, viewing experience of the work?

There is no particular writing style I would request you to follow, but please keep it formal, not casual. The paper
should focus on your analysis on the assigned section of the chosen film/video – do not write why you have chosen this
film/video over others, and do not write an intro or conclusion, as I am not asking you to generalize or summarize the
main concept/idea of the section or the entire film/video.

Finally, do not include any quotations and do not do any research on the filmmaker or film/video – we want to hear
only your own interpretations and analysis of the film/video.

*****Requirements:

• ● The paper should be between 750 & 1,000 words
• ● The paper should include the name of the filmmaker and the title of the film/video as a title of the analysis paper

• ● The paper should include a student’s name and the course number & name of this course (CINE 122/ARTS
  180B: Innovation and Expression in Film and Video) at the top of the paper
• ● The paper should not have any sort of introduction
• ● The paper should not have a conclusion
• ● The paper should not include any quotations
• ● The paper should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document (.docx) in myCourses