Fields ENG281 Introduction to Film: Getting Started

You will be given a topic related to one of the technical fields of movie making and a time period to focus on at the beginning of the semester. For this topic, you will be doing two things: a book review and a final paper.

The book review should be typed, double-spaced, 12 point font with MLA format. It should be at least 3  pages long. There will be a separate handout that gives specific details about how to do the book review. (150 points)

For the final paper, you will need to do some research and synthesize it with the information that you have learned in class. During finals week, you will do an informal presentation of this information to the class. Don’t panic. J I repeat, this is informal. There will be no PowerPoints or getting up in front of class. We will just go around the room, and each person will tell the class a few brief highlights of his or her paper. (250 points)

The book review should be typed, double-spaced, with 12 point Times New Roman font. It should be at least 3 pages long and should address all of the points below. Please make sure that you give credit to your sources. You only need two sources: your textbook and the book that you are reviewing. If you have any questions about how to do this, let me know and I can help you.

1. In section 1, you should summarize the main points of your book.
2. In section 2, you should make sure to answer the following questions:
   1. In what time period is your book set?
   2. What historical figures/events/cultural movement/technical skills does the book describe?
   3. What chapter and pages of your textbook does this coincide with? You may have to look at this with an eye to the big picture rather than smaller details. 
   4. Does your textbook talk about this person/technical skill/film? If so, what is the general consensus about it? If not, why do you think he/she/it was left out?
3. In section 3, answer these questions:
   1. Who do you believe the intended audience for your book is?
   2. Would you recommend this book to next semester’s students who want to know more about your book’s subject matter? Why or why not?

You have been researching a technical field throughout the semester. You will now compile your knowledge to write a research paper with three parts.

The paper should be 3-5 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font with MLA documentation. You must have a Works Cited page and use in-text citations. If you need help with this, please ask your instructor or one of the librarians for help. You must use no less than three outside sources (meaning not your textbook) for your research, and they should be academic level sources. (30 points) This means you should use books (or e-books) and database articles. Wikipedia is not to be used for this assignment.

1. History of the field – Discuss how the field has evolved throughout the time period that you have been assigned (either 1890-1949 or 1950-2006). Make sure to highlight the work of at least five people in that time period. (75 points)
2. Importance of the field – Give a brief defense on why this technical field is important and how without it movies would not be the same. (30 points)
3. Analysis – Discuss one scene from a film of this time period and analyze how your field is being used and what effect it has on the final product and the audience. (75 points)

Remember that you will be informally presenting this information to the class during Finals week. (20 points) There will also be 20 points for spelling and grammar, so please proofread your work carefully and use a tutor if necessary.