Come get it in the yarbles!: A scene analysis.

The final project that I was assigned in the Film as Literature class was a shot-by-shot analysis of a scene of my choice. We were studying Kubrick at the time, so we were restricted to his films, which wasn't a problem, of course. In doing this assignment, I discovered an incredible method for probing deeply into a scene, for gaining a greater understanding of how it affects and reflects the rest of the film.

It's a lot of work, so it isn't something you do casually. However, for that particular scene that you love, that scene that makes you want to watch the whole movie for the umpteenth time, it can truly enhance your appreciation and understanding.

Essentially, it consists of watching the scene in slow motion, and separating it into the component shots. Descriptions are written along certain parameters, which you shall see. From these observations, conclusions can then be drawn on various subjects such as tone, point of view, and character. It was a pain in the ass to do, but when it was done I felt it had been very much worth the while and trial. I bring it up here because it may come in handy during a future discussion here at the Club.

The scene I chose was from A Clockwork Orange. I won't describe it here because I do so in the analysis. The analysis comes in two parts. One part was done on Excel, and was the actual shot-by-shot descriptions. The grid form is very handy for this part of the exercise. The other part was better served by Word. It gives an introduction, a scene description, and the conclusions drawn from the observations. Naturally, the Excel part goes in the middle. If you wish, print it out and read it that way.

Here is the Excel part.

Here is the Word part.

I'd be interested in knowing what you all think of the process and its possible value to this blog, as well as your thoughts on this analysis in particular.