Writing about Film

What are the 5 kinds of film writing described in the article and what are the key details of each.
The first kind of film writing described is formal analysis. This requires for the viewer to break a film down into parts and discuss how those parts contribute to the film as a whole. Specific terms need to be known in order to understand. Film history is the second kind of film described. All films are steeped in history so much that they reflect history. This history also echoes the values and ideas of the culture that produced the film. Events during the time period of the making of the movie greatly influence the messages. Films all have their own history behind them, why they were made etc. Most films are only shown to certain age groups because of the levels of language and cultural responses to the culture around. The third kind of film writing is called ideological papers and they promote a set of beliefs. Sometimes beliefs are mainly political, their have propaganda uses. While watching, films may be slowly manipulating and changing our own views without us even knowing. The fourth kind is cultural studies/national cinemas. For example Hollywood films show our nation's love of distraction, our attraction to adrenaline and testosterone, the strong belief of good beating evil etc. Differences between films also reflect the differences in countries and nationalities. The final kind of writing is the discussion of the auteur. This is when we try to view the overall film from the perspective of the director. It's mostly based on the assumption that only one person retains complete control. This criticism doesn't include taking into account the actors, the producers, the screenwriters, those who do make up etc. This is useful because we are able to understand common themes present throughout the film.

What does "Annotating a Film Sequence" involve and what are it's benefits?
Annotating a film sequence is taking notes about each specific shot. By jotting down all the different shots seen, we can then later on see the pattern and associate this with the theme, purpose or genre.

What does the author imply when she says to "Think Beyond the Frame"?
Thinking beyond the frame refers to considering every other little part that helped produce the film as a whole. For example, the people who made the film. What other genres/movies have they made and why are they interested in it. It's also good to think about the production history of the film and how present conditions effected the film's production. Looking at criticisms from others is helpful also because it will help focus on specific parts of the film.