On the previous page, you responded to some key questions about the first two minutes of Dassin’s version of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Perhaps without realizing it, you used your understanding of cinematics—the methods behind filmmaking—to help guide you in analyzing Dassin’s interpretation as a director. Understanding all of the elements that make up a film’s message is essential to appreciating what filmmakers do with a story.
A great place to start when you’re analyzing a filmmaker’s work is to view the story through three different “lenses”—the literary, the dramatic, and the cinematic. Use the slides below to learn more about each of these three perspectives.
As in other forms of literature, the heart of any film is its story. A screenplay’s main purpose is to show what happened, using the basic elements of narrative, like character, plot, and setting. Like fiction and poetry, a film often contains objects and images that act as symbols.
Through the dramatic lens, you’ll elements that are also important to playwrights and actors, including choices that involve set design, costuming, and makeup. This aspect of filmmaking has deep roots in our storytelling history, extending back to the fifth century BCE when the first Greek plays were performed publicly.
When you use the cinematic lens to see a film more clearly, you focus on elements that only filmmakers use. For instance, camera movements that zoom in or out on a subject create meaning, as do the angles the filmmaker uses to frame a scene. Aspects of lighting, music, and sound are all considered cinematic, since they have to be modified for a film to create the appearance of natural lighting or sounds. Lastly, the way scenes are put together when the film is edited, and any special effects that are used, can also be analyzed using the cinematic lens.
Once you feel you understand the different lenses you can use to analyze and appreciate a film, watch the The Tell-Tale Heart film from start to finish.
Before you begin the film, click the button below to access a viewing guide.
Fill out the viewing guide as you watch—or, if you prefer, as you the film a second time. (The notes you take using the viewing guide will help you complete an assignment toward the end of this lesson.) As you watch the film, keep an eye on the timestamps that appear on either side of the bar at the bottom of the film. Each of the viewing guide’s questions are preceded by timestamps to help focus on the correct section of the film. You can watch the entire film first and then answer the questions, or whatever fits your learning style best.
