The Graduate (Nichols, 1967)
General Instructions: For this week’s discussion, select a moment from The Graduate that utilizes cinematographic techniques in meaningful ways. Your goal is to explain how cinematographic techniques contribute to the mood/tone/meaning of your chosen moment. Be sure to avoid scenes that are covered, in-depth, in the lecture. Write 200+ words.
The Basics: tell us when the scene takes place in the film, and very briefly (one sentence) state what is happening.
The Techniques: IDENTIFY *all* of the cinematographic properties evident in the scene/moment. Only use technique terms from the book.
The Meanings: Explain what this scene achieves in terms of meaning generation. Identify how some or all of the cinematographic techniques contribute to the meanings generated in your chosen moment/scene.
The Meanings and The Bigger Picture: Explain, to the best of your ability, how the meanings generated in the scene/moment link up with broader themes or take-aways from the film overall.
Suggestions: The readings, lectures, and supplementary clips are vital to completing this discussion assignment effectively. The book and lecture, in specific, demonstrate how to analyze techniques for meaning generation. [For reference: cinematographic techniques include: lens choice, focal properties, framing, hue, scale, depth of field, onscreen and offscreen space, speed of motion, camera distance, angle, height, level, movement, and optical point-of-view.] Your post should contain several terms from the chapter.
At Least One Screenshot/Clip Required. Reminder: intentionally collecting and embedding screenshots is a requirement for this class. You are expected to collect YOUR OWN SCREENSHOTS. Its very obvious when students grab ones from another student’s post (!) or Google images (I know, tempting); the point is for you work with intent, to collect screenshots from the specific moment you are writing about. If you’d like to head back to the screenshot/video embedding sandbox, please do!
