In this homework assignment, you will choose one of these great films; pick one you have not seen before:
Silence of the Lambs 1991 Dir: Jonathan Demme
In the Heat of the Night 1967 Dir: Norman Jewison
Briefly describe the story or narrative of this film in a paragraph or two. What are the two main characters of this film? Pick a scene with two primary characters interacting with each other. Watch this scene repetitively. How did they communicate with each other verbally and non-verbally? Describe the emotions and motivations of these characters. How did the director feature emotions and actions by use of camera positions and angles? Was one character more powerful than another? How did the director convey this? Discuss dialogue delivery. Which shots supported significant narrative beats (emotional high points of a scene) Did lighting support this beat? How? Both films feature stellar acting performances; of the two actors you discussed which one do you feel was better and why. Think about excluding lighting and editing as a helper in your analysis. Make your judgment based on some of these ideas: line delivery, eye contact, actor movement, prop usage and conveying emotion. (Big hint: try this pair: Starling & Lecter or Gillespie & Tibbs, there are also other significant scenes with supporting actors too. )
