Can you help me with my graduation paper?

K

kittykatro

Active member
I need to write about 40 pages about the aesthetics of Spielberg's cinematography in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan...
What books should I read and what should I write?
 
First: Steven Spielberg is not a cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski is responsible for the cinematography in those films (before any auteur theorist jumps in: under Spielberg's direction, sure, but it is the work of Kaminski).
 
"the aesthetics of Spielberg's cinematography in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan... "

Oh dear. Surely that's not how the question is worded? The poster above is right - the cinematography is Kaminski's, not Spielberg's. I hope you knew that already...
 
Look into the ASC mag, I know they have an article about Saving Private Ryan, and I'm sure they have one about Schindlers list as well.
 
It's not a film university....We study all sort of things: literature, theater,cinema,etc...
I doubt that the people in the comission who will evaluate the papers know anything about cinematography or such things...
 
William_Robinette said:
Then how would they grade a paper on such things?
Click to expand...

It just has to make some sense and respect the proper format. Most students get the maximum grade anyway...
I also doubt that the comission will actually read the whole paper. You must present it in front of them and talk about it for 5-10 minutes.
I talked with my coordinating proffesor and told me what the paper has to contain:

1)some general info about Spielberg and his work
2)general info about Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryab
3)basic notions about cinematography
4)analysis of the cinematography in both movies and comparison
5)conclusions.

The first 3 parts aren't that difficult, it's the last 2 parts that worry me...
.
 
It's nice I think. I don't like beating down the school for not specializing I think the assignment has to do with more paper writing than cinematography. Enlighten them man. Read, and structure what you honestly think into a format where each point is linked to a thesis you want to prove or disprove. You gotta have an idea about something, and read and write about it to find out and present if it's true or not. I think it's fun, and doesn't necessarily mean it's a 'bad' school. On the contrary. The edge you have here is that they're not governed by any 'rules' or notions about cinema. You can go all out. Would make for a lovely discussion.

Yet I'm 100% percent with the post that says writing a paper for someone else is cheating. I'm fully against that. Write your own paper man. If you give it your all, it will not be bad. The format issues and the way you structure it is gradeable. And this is just organization. Topic irrelevant. I think it's cool.

That said, it's the first time I hear the word 'grade' in about 6 years that doesn't mean color...

Kinda like how I haven't used the word joint to describe in between two bones in years... :)
 
Why don't you post a first draft of your paper here (or put it on a website where we can read it) and let us comment on it? Be prepared to receive many different opinions; you'll still have some considerable editing to do to incorporate the changes that make sense for the thesis you want to defend. I'm pretty good at copy editing and can probably make lots of suggestions. (My opinions will be the right ones, of course!) None of us want you to plagiarize or otherwise cheat, but it certainly makes sense to get the opinions of some professionals and specialists on your observations and arguments.

I teach both high school and college level media and technology courses, so I have lots of experience looking at and evaluating (i.e. "grading") student papers.

- Greg
 
Even a cinematographer would be hard pressed to write 40 pages. To write about 'Schindler's List' and 'Saving Private Ryan' would mean learning an incredible amount of techno-babble, film theory and personal philisophy about cinematography.

If you're serious about getting a good grade you'd need to know about:

- Camera effects such as shutter angle, shutter phase, over and undercranking, and in-camera flashing.
- Aesthetic lens choices such as focal length, depth of field, lens coatings and flaring.
- Film stock effects like over and underexposure, flashing the negative, selecting colour or monochrome and film ASA.
- Film lab techniques like cross-processing, push and pull processing, and bleach bypass.

And that's just the start. Think of lighting, production design, camera movement, the cinematographer's own research and philisophy to capturing the image, the director's vision, etc. You can't fake knowing about this stuff; it's taken years for me to grasp the craft to a point where I'm confident that I know what I'm talking about, and I'm sure it's the same for many people here on this forum. Having said that, no one person can learn everything about the art despite their best efforts.

What I mean to say is that it can be done, but not overnight.
 
My goodness, what a scary summation.

Most likely the intent of the "test" is to authenticate your knowledge and understanding of the cinematic goals and techniques used by the director in producing these two films.

You should, first, see the films . . . maybe a couple of times. Also, as RyanT suggested, read some ASC type critiques and reviews of the films. Think about them. You will gain information and insight from them and from which, with your own knowledge, you can start your paper. You could run your thoughts by the forum for comments and make your final swing at it.

Good luck,

Ken
 
To be frank, it doesn't matter if it's a 'film' university or a generic one - Higher Level study involves accuracy as one of the criteria for grading, and it seems you have chosen something you don't already have skills in, or your tutors are totally useless in giving you a subject with such an obvious error. If you or they don't know what cinematography is, you are dead in the water. Rather than us do the work for you, why not tell us what you have noticed about those two movies, and detail the similarities and differences and then we can comment on them, making us part of your research, not the actual content.

Here in the UK we have Degree level study quite tightly detailed as in what constitutes work of that level. This is what we have:
LEVEL 8

Make a significant and original contribution to a specialised field of enquiry demonstrating a command of methodological issues and engaging in critical dialogue with peers..
LEVEL 7
Display mastery of a complex and specialised area of knowledge and skills, employing advanced skills to conduct research or advanced technical or professional activity.
LEVEL 6
Critically review, consolidate and extend a systematic and coherent body of knowledge. Critically evaluate new concepts and evidence from a range of sources. Transfer and apply diagnostic and creative skills and exercise significant judgement in a range of situations.
LEVEL 5
Generate ideas through the analysis of concepts at an abstract level with a command of specialised skills and the formulation of responses to well defined and abstract problems.
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You don't seem to have the body of knowledge for Level 6 - and might just squeeze into 5.

If I was asked this question, no way would I ask for help on the net - I'd be in the library - because you will need LOTS of sources if you don't already know the answer. A book list for this task would need to be very specific, and I doubt any of us could produce one with plenty of research - which is what you should be doing.
 
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