BLS 347 (LN 7852):

History of American Documentary Films

Spring 2003

David Goldstein-Shirley, Ph.D.

Documentary Scene Analysis

Due no later than 5:45 p.m. sharp on Thursday, May 8

Understanding a documentary film requires not only a comprehension of its overall themes, techniques, and ideology, but how each element contributes to the whole. As a way of practicing your analytic skills on a smaller (but no less important) scale, you will choose and critically analyze one scene from Academy Award winner Michael Moore's film, Roger and Me (1990). I recommend viewing the Media Center's reserve copy, which you cannot borrow but can view at the Media Center: <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/media/>. (Ask for reserve item BORES BOT-115 on laserdisc). (If you live closer to Seattle, you can view the film at the Media Center in UW-Seattle's Odegaard Library: <http://www.lib.washington.edu/media/>; the call number there is Videorecord WHV 018. I recommend calling ahead of time to make sure it is there when you need it.) Many video stores also have the film.

You probably will need to watch the entire film at least once (it is ninety-one minutes long) and your chosen scene several times to notice different aspects of the scene and to take good notes. (Anticipate increasing demand for the film as we get closer to the assignment due date.)

In your analysis of about 750 words (no fewer than 650, no more than 850), respond, in the form of a thesis-driven essay (not individual answers and not necessarily in this order), to the following questions:

  1. Each scene of a documentary film is like a paragraph in a written paper: it presents one main idea that helps support the main idea or argument of the entire film. What is the main idea or purpose of your chosen scene? How do you know?
  2. What sights and sounds does Moore present in the scene? How do they convey the main idea of the scene?
  3. What filmmaking techniques (camera movement, focus, narration, music and other sound, mise-en-scene, etc.?) do you notice, and how do they contribute (or fail to contribute) to the overall film?

Assume that your reader has seen the film. You do not need to describe everything in the scene. Instead, say just enough about the scene so your reader knows which scene you are discussing. The rest of your paper should be analysis, not description.

Submit your analysis absolutely no later than 5:45 p.m. sharp on Thursday, May 8. Late analyses will lose five points if received no later than 5:45 p.m. sharp on Friday, May 9, and will lose ten points if received no later than 5:45 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, May 13. No analyses will be accepted after that. Deductions will be applied after revision if a revision is submitted (i.e., you cannot reduce the impact of a late penalty by submitting a revision, although you can try to improve the baseline grade of the paper itself; I will average the two baseline scores and then deduct the late penalty). Keep a copy of the completed paper. I expect to return analyses, with my comments, within a week to provide the maximum time for the optional revision (except that I will grade late analyses only when I have a chance to do so).

To submit your paper online, carefully follow these instructions exactly:

  1. You must have an electronic copy of your paper on the computer that you use to submit the paper electronically. That means the paper needs to be a Microsoft Word document located on your computer's hard drive (if you have Internet access at home or work) or on a floppy disk or Zip disk that can be inserted into a computer on campus. Allow time for that. (If you do not own Microsoft Word, you sometimes can purchase a deeply discounted copy through ASUWB <http://depts.washington.edu/asuwb/> or else use one of the campus computer labs.)
  2. Name your Word file exactly in this format: LastnameFirstinitialS1. For example, if you name were Mary Husky, your filename would be "HuskyMS1" (but without quotation marks). Note that there is no space between the last name and the first initial or between the first initial and the "S1" (which stands for Scene analysis, first version). Your file name cannot have a space in it.
  3. Log onto the BLS 347 Blackboard area at <http://bb.bothell.washington.edu>.
  4. Click on the "Tools" button.
  5. In the "Tools" area, click on the "Digital Drop Box" button.
  6. Click on the "Send File" button (not the "Add File" button). The "Add File" button puts the document into your own Digital Drop Box, but not into mine, so I will not receive it or know of its existence. Make sure you use the "Send File" button.
  7. In the box labeled "Title," type your last name (with only the first letter capitalized), then a space, then your first initial (capitalized), then a space, and then the word "Scene1" (capitalized but without the quotation marks). For example: "Husky M Scene1" (but without the quotation marks). Note that for this title, you need to use spaces, unlike the name of your Word document, which cannot have spaces in it. To reiterate: Your file name (document name) cannot have spaces in it, but your document title must have spaces in it. It is important to name your document and title your submission this way so that I can keep track of the hundreds of documents in the Digital Dropbox. Invariably, some students will disregard these instructions, vexing me greatly, so I will deduct two points for incorrectly named or titled documents to provide incentive for careful submission.
  8. Use the "Browse" button to find your computer file that contains your paper. Leave the "Comments" box blank (unless, for some reason, you need to tell me something about your document).
  9. Press the "Submit" button. You should then arrive at "digital receipt" page. I strongly recommend that you print and save this receipt page.
  10. After your document is submitted, log out of Blackboard and close the browser window to protect your Blackboard account.

Be sure to allow some time for unforeseen problems with the electronic submission or other unforeseeable circumstances like illness or computer malfunction. I recommend trying to post your first submission at least a day or two early. I use electronic paper submissions because they form an archive that I can use if I need to (e.g., if I misplace a printed copy of a document).

All of the ideas and writing must be your own, except when you cite the contributions of others (e.g., using the ideas or words of a published author). You may--and are encouraged to--use the Writing Center <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/writingcenter/>.

You may, if you wish, revise your analysis and re-submit it as part of your learning portfolio. The revised analysis will be graded by the same criteria below, and the new grade will be averaged with the original grade. Instructions for submitting revisions will be included in the learning portfolio assignment sheet.

Analyses will be graded as follows:

Completeness (responds appropriately to the requirements)

20 percent

Depth of response (quality of detail and support; sophistication of ideas and argument)

70 percent

Quality of writing (organization; spelling, grammar, diction, punctuation)

10 percent

TOTAL

35 pts.

Although the mechanics of the writing account for only a small percentage of your grade, you should do your best to make your paper mechanically sound. After you produce a draft of your analysis, read "Tips for Better Prose" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html> and edit your paper accordingly. I recommend printing that document, and, after you finish writing your paper, check the items off one by one as you check your paper. Although the mechanics of writing are less important to me than the ideas expressed (which is evidenced in the proportion of your grade allocated to each of these aspects of your essay, as described above), the mechanics inevitably improve the effectiveness of your communication of ideas, which, after all, is your ultimate goal with each piece of writing that you do.

This page last updated April 8, 2003.

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