Mrs. Paugh - Film Composition and Literature
Film Composition and Literature
Course Expectations and Policies
Binder Assignment and Projects
Book and Film Comparison Paper
1. Read one of the four selections offered:
Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Vreeland
Girl with the Pearl Earring by Chevalier
My Name if Asher Lev by Potak
Lost Horizon by Hilton
2. Be certain to read the book you "signed up" to read! Do not make last minute changes!
3. AS YOU READ the book be certain to write your thoughts and reflections about the book AS you read it. You need to write three entries in your journal (1/3 through the book; 2/3 through the book and at the end of the book.) These are reading/reflection log entries NOT plot summaries.
Use one or several of the following methods to indicate your response to the material read:
. respond to a passage you think is significant (usually the easiest way to write)
. develop/discuss themes, characterization, symbolism, or comment on language, style, etc.
. record questions and confusions and provide possible answers
. translate the literature being read into your personal experience; make connections to your past or current memories or experiences
. speculate about what might happen and why
. relate reading to other books, ideas, authors, film, art, etc.
4. Finish the book before _______________ and complete ONE of the following projects.
Write a 2-3 page paper (double spaced, typed, 12 point size font and carefully proofread) in which you respond to the following questions and directions in OPTIONS 1, 2 or 3, (or 4, if applicable) supporting your statements with evidence and examples from the book and the film (if relevant.)
For those reading the "artists' books":
Option One
If the book is one of the three about art or artists (Girl in Hyacinth Blue ; Girl with the Pearl Earring or My Name if Asher Lev), after reading the novel then view a film about an artist's life. Possible suggestions: Vincent and Theo, Lust for Life, Rembrandt, The Agony and the Ecstasy, etc. Do a little research and find a film of interest to you. After you view the film, then write a short review of the film and a comparison/contrast essay about the book and the film. Obviously there will be some similarities because both the book and the film center around artists and their work, but more likely there will be many differences. In conclusion comment on the effect art had on one or more characters in both the film and the book coming to some sort of conclusion about the potential effect that art can have upon us all.
Option Two
Write a Film Treatment* of your book. (Revisit your Basic Film Terms list for the definition of "film treatment.") If you were the novelist, director or a screenwriter assigned to adapt the novel you read to the screen, how would you film it?
Consider and include answers to the following questions:
Who would you cast to play the central characters and why?
What would you keep the same and what would you change to adapt it to film? Would you choose to leave some parts out (obviously you couldn't film the entire book "word for word") and what would you cut and why?
What would be your primary focus?
Would you change the ending? Why or why not?
Where would you film it?
What theme or motif would you choose to emphasize?
*Treatment: An early version of a screenplay, sometimes no more than a few pages long, giving an abbreviated but vivid account of how the action will eventually look. Often used to 'sell' the idea of a the film to a producer, director or banker.
Option Three
READ Chapter 3 in The Critical Eye - "Mise-en-Scene" and describe in detail how you would shoot a specific scene from the book considering most of the elements mentioned in this chapter. Sketch out the scene you have chosen to describe and comment on why you would film it this way. (Don't worry; I am NOT grading your artwork.) Particularly comment on any camera angles you would employ and discuss the "composition" of the scene. Be certain to include why you chose this scene to discuss. What is its particular significance to the novel (and the film you would create from the novel.)
Option Four
For those reading Girl in Hyacinth Blue - Write an in-depth book to film comparison paper comparing Girl in Hyacinth Blue to its T.V. Hallmark film adaptation called Brushed with Fate. (Yes, I have copies of the film available.) You must write a thorough and comprehensive comparison of the book and film including analysis of the casting, decisions as to what was included and what was not included in the film, the film's effectiveness compared to the book, etc.
If your book selection is Girl with the Pearl Earring, write an in-depth book to film comparison paper comparing Girl with the Pearl Earring to its film adaptation called Girl with the Pearl Earring. (Yes, I have copies of the film available.) You must write a thorough and comprehensive comparison of the book to the film including analysis of the casting, decisions as to what was included and what was not included in the film, the film’s effectiveness compared to the book, etc.
For those reading Lost Horizon:
Option One
If your book is Lost Horizon: After reading the novel, view a film about the Far East. Possible suggestions of many: 7 Years in Tibet, Kundun, The Last Emperor, Little Buddha, The Road Home, Ghandi, The King and I, Lost Horizon, The Good Earth etc. Do a little research and find a film of interest to you but one that some how discusses or highlights some of the issues in Lost Horizon. After you view the film, then write a short review of the film and a comparison/contrast essay about the book and the film. Obviously there will be some similarities because of philosophies and setting, but more likely there will be many differences. In conclusion comment upon and come to some sort of reflective conclusions on why you think there has been such an interest in Far Eastern films in the past decade. Why are they so popular and appealing?
Option Two
Write a Film Treatment* of Lost Horizon. (Revisit your Basic Film Terms list for the definition of "film treatment.") If you were the novelist, director or a screenwriter assigned to adapt the novel to the screen, how would you film it?
Consider and include answers to the following questions:
Who would you cast to play the central characters and why?
What you change the time period (the decade) of the film from that of the book? Why or why not?
What would you keep the same and what would you change to adapt it to film? Would you choose to leave some parts out (obviously you couldn't film the entire book "word for word") and what would you cut and why?
What would be your primary focus?
Would you change the ending? Why or why not?
Where would you film it?
What theme or motif would you choose to emphasize?
*Treatment: An early version of a screenplay, sometimes no more than a few pages long, giving an abbreviated but vivid account of how the action will eventually look. Often used to "sell" the idea of a the film to a producer, director or banker.
Option Three
READ Chapter 3 in The Critical Eye - "Mise-en-Scene" and describe in detail how you would shoot a specific scene from Lost Horizon considering most of the elements mentioned in this chapter. Sketch out the scene you have chosen to describe and comment on why you would film it this way. (Don't worry; I am NOT grading your artwork.) Particularly comment on any camera angles you would employ and discuss the "composition" of the scene. Be certain to include why you chose this scene to discuss. What is its particular significance to the novel (and the film you would create from the novel.)