Frasier

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Thomas Frasier
Professor Williams
English 102
24 September 2014
The Stages of Film
In Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy: Writing About Film the Writing studio
from Duke University explains ways to approach film as a visual medium. It offers
suggestions for focus, prewriting tips, and guidance on how to think critically
about a medium many of us think of as a popular entertainment. They explain
different techniques on the images, movements, and sounds of film and how to
analyze these three parts.
According to the handout the first technique is Image (Mise-en-scne and
Framing) Mise-en-scne is a French word meaning put in the scene it refers to
everything that goes into the film before it is photographed.(2) The camera then
creates the Frame part of it (setting the bounds of the image, usually in a
rectangle) as the author states. This article explains that there is multiple ways to
describe the same image this is call a visual analysis. The first step is simply
describing what is happening in the image, the second gives a formal description
of the image and the third explains how the second trait to create meaning. This
explains to us that to create a full visual analysis you need to see more into the
image and describe what is happening. There is no set rule for these steps on
how to describe the image it is how you see them and portray them.

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The second technique is Movement, which has two main types continuous
and discontinuous. The way to understand movement is to ask questions about
the film in your head while watching it. Little questions like how are the
characters moving in the scene, Do the camera angels move or do the subjects
move around the camera.(3) There isnt a simple way to decode different types
of movement. Think about your own reaction to the film and try to figure out what
in the film makes you feel that way. You can also try different techniques like
watching the film without the sound on and then watching the same film with the
sound on but not watching it. This will help you focus on the visual and the
function of the sound in the film.
The third and final technique is Sound, sound maybe a funny thing to
discuss knowing this is a visual literacy handout. The reason why sound is
important is because as we all know all film no madder what they are always
have a sound track to accompany the image track. This is usually made up of
three main components; dialogue, sound effects, and music. These three
components are important when analyzing a scene. The reason why sound is
important to a scene is because a sound draws different emotions to the scene. If
you watch a scary movie with sound off that dramatic scene of the girl being
chased wont be as scary as with the sound on. Think of horror movies and how
the sound track goes with the scenes.
When writing about this article taught it us the three major techniques on
how to analyze visual literacy. Explain to us that there is more to the image of
film than we see. It also explains how to understand the movements in each film

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and how the sounds in film affect the emotion in you when you watch different
films. It offered us suggestions and different techniques and way to get us to
think and analyze popular entertainment.

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Work Cited

Writing lab, duke. "Duke Thompson Writing Program." Duke University.

Duke University, 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.