Analysis of a Still

The still above from Alfred Hitchcock's film "Rear Window" depicts the majority of the view that the main protagonist can see through his rear window. The film follows the exploits of photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, who suffers from a broken leg from a photography accident and is confined to a wheelchair for the entire film. Since Jeff is not able to leave the house, he begins watching his neighbors through his window and begins to believe that one man murdered his wife and disposed of the body somewhere. Jeff then relies on his friends and his camera to help him solve the crime.

The still gives a very clear view of most of the neighbors that Jeff is able to see. This gives a good impression of the voyeurism in the film with Jeff having such a good view of these peoples’ lives. He can see the newlyweds perfectly framed in the window kissing, which would normally be a private activity. He is able to watch the progression of their marriage from the very beginning just by looking through his window. Jeff is also able to see Miss Torso through her window brushing her hair. She looks as if she is looking into a mirror at herself, so it is almost as if Jeff is spying on her through a one-way mirror. The suspected murderer, Lars Thorwald, can also be seen tending to the garden. This perfectly represents his character because this is the location where he buries his wife’s dead body. The way the still makes it look like he is simply tending to the flowers helps to represent how, to everybody else except for Jeff Jeffries and his friends, Lars just looks like a normal, innocent man, but there is something sinister behind almost everything that he does.

After Lars, the second most important character shown is the dog. With the dog being 

present and almost in the middle of the shot, it can be inferred that the dog is very important 

to the story. The dog plays a very pivotal role in the progression of Jeff’s investigation. It 

unwittingly joins the investigation by beginning to dig up the flower bed after Lars buries the 

body, which can be represented in the still by the way it appears to be watching Lars while he 

is at the garden. The dog is extremely necessary to the storyline because Jeff is able to have 

some idea about where the Lars’ wife’s body was disposed of and, after the dog is killed, it is 

very clear that Lars is a murderer because he is the only one not surprised by its death. If the 

dog had not been involved, Jeff would have dismissed his own theory about Lars and Lisa 

would have never believed him.

Film Analysis Reading Essay

     A film analysis is breaking down a film into component parts to see how it is put together in order to make statements about a film's themes and meanings. There are three forms of analysis that take different levels of meaning: descriptive, interpretive, and evaluative. A descriptive claim is simply a neutral account of the characters and events in the film, and can be strung together to create a plot summary. Descriptive claims also account the visual or audio styles of the film. The second form is an interpretive claim. This presents an argument about a film's meaning and significance, digging deeper than simply describing what's happening. The book gives an example that explains Quentin Tarantino's connection between the American Western and Nazi propaganda in Inglorious Basterds. The claim must be supported by scenes, motifs, parallels, etc. in the film. The third form of analysis is an evaluative claim. This expresses the author's belief that the film is good, bad, or mediocre. This type of claim is based on the critics standards for what makes a good film. The critic must relay details from the film and interpret what the film is trying to convey then decide if it succeeded or not.

Production Schedule

Documentary Script

Weston Taylor

Video	Audio
Image of original C- 3PO art	Star Wars has very clear references to the 1930s film Metropolis. The character of C-3PO was inspired by the android in the silent film.
Image of Rotwang showing his robot hand	Star Wars also has the hands of both Luke and Anakin Skywalker cut off and replaced by robotic hands as a reference to the evil scientist Rotwang, who has a metal hand covered by a black glove.
Image of C-3PO from Episode I without gold plating	Anakin is also the creator of C-3PO, just like Rotwang was the creator of the android.
Image of the Workers City from Metropolis	There are also similar themes between the movies, including a struggle between the lower class and an oppressive upper class.
Image of Moloch Machine from Metropolis	The upper class and their superior and deadly machinery oppress the lower class.
Image of Darth Vader	Darth Vader also mirrors the android of Metropolis, being half human and half machine created to destroy the heroes of the story.

First Independent Film Project

 I think that the sound effects turned out very well. I was relatively successful at integrating them in and making them the right volume to be heard over the music but not be overwhelming. I also think that I integrated the music very well to cut out at the right times to make certain scenes funnier.

I could have done a better job with writing and making the beginning and end of the film less serious because it doesn't fit with the rest of the film. I could have also not cut out an important scene that explains the girl's powers more.

If I had to do the film over again, I would put more planning into every aspect of it. I would plan out my shots before-hand to make them look more creative. I would also  schedule my filming in advance and better control my actors. There were far too many days when my actors cancelled because we didn't know when we could film sometimes until the day of. I would also film all of the scenes instead of cutting some out. I also would find people who are better at acting.