Group Web Project Assignment

Length and Due Dates

Length:  Groups of three will produce an eleven-screen site; groups of four will produce a fourteen-screen site
Proposal Due:  Submit proposal Friday, February 4, by 8:00 p.m. via email
First Draft Uploaded:  Friday, February 11, before class begins. 
Final Draft Uploaded:  Friday, February 18, before class begins.

Assignment

Working with two or three other students, you will create a set of related web pages that integrate text, links, and images or video clips.  The web site may be on Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, or any film group members did not write on for the first essay. 

Groups will create pages analyzing formal, thematic, or historical aspects of their chosen film.  Individual pages within the site may also engage themes common to the chosen film and films viewed for the first essay assignment.  The site must address some of the technical elements studied in the film course and writing link:  narrative structure, mise-en-scène (setting, characters, costumes, or lighting), cinematography (tone, film speed, perspective, or framing), editing (continuity editing, duration of take, discontinuity editing, or shot/reverse shot), or sound (dialogue, noise, or music). 

Groups and individual group members will define topics for the site and individual pages, but the following are possibilities:

• Analyze the function of one technical element, discussing how the element relates to the theme(s) of the film
• Investigate the relationship between the film’s narrative structure and its cinematography, editing, or mise-en-scène
• Segment a particular scene and analyze how the scene functions in the film as a whole
• Offer an analysis of a theme prevalent in the film or common to the chosen film and another Hitchcock film viewed this quarter; themes may include the critique of government or nationalism, the question of how one knows, the issues of appearance, sexuality, or duality/doubling
• Analyze the film’s historical context, discussing how the film engages issues, questions, and concerns contemporary to its period (you may have to do research for this topic)
• Discuss the relationship between what took place behind the scenes of the film and the film itself (you will have to do research for this topic)

General Guidelines

1) Since you are writing to an audience who may or may not have viewed the film, a brief summary (or, better yet, a link to a brief summary) may be included on the group’s main page.  However, individual writers should concentrate on analysis of formal elements, themes or historical context.

2) The Web project offers a unique opportunity to integrate text and image, video, or sound in ways that you cannot do in a traditional essay.  However, you must offer careful analysis of images and sound, despite the fact that the reader can view or listen to your examples.  Let readers know how you want them to interpret the evidence you incorporate.

3) The Web also offers the possibility for non-traditional organizational formats.  Groups need to decide how they want viewers to progress through the pages (at will, in a particular order, etc.).

4) If you plan to do a topic that requires research, let me know.  I can help you develop a search strategy and loan you books.

5) I encourage groups to sign up for pre-proposal conferences the week of January 31 (I will be available on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).

6) As you negotiate the intricacies of Web authoring, don't forget the links to information on writing about film and buidling Web pages. 

Samples

To get an idea of how to approach the Web project assignment, you may view the following samples. 

• The Color Purple
• Fools Rush In: Interracial Relationships in Film
• Racism in Cinema: The Birth of a Nation Exposed
• A Voice Untold: An Analysis of Saving Private Ryan

To view grading criteria for this assignment, click here.