musical analysis of a full-length commercial film

Your paper should be at least 5 double-spaced
pages in 12-point font pages with 1-inch margins. In this paper, you will demonstrate your understanding
of readings, lectures, and discussions up to this point in the term by correctly citing theories, socio-cultural
contexts, history, technological developments, and by applying terminology and concepts in your film
analysis paper. You will be present an argument, rather than a like-dislike critique. You will select a full length
(at least 60 minutes), English-language, commercial film with music and watch it. You may not
choose a film listed in the syllabus, but you may choose a film mentioned in the readings. The film
you select can be any genre. Consult Larry M. Timms Soul of Cinema (pp. 57-223) (Knight Library, call no.
MT95.T59 2003) for a selection of films.
You will create a Cue Sheet for the entire duration of the film, which will be in addition to the 4-5-page
paper. Consult Hearing the Movies by Buhler pp. 114-127 for examples (Knight Library, call no.
ML2075.B84 2010). Your paper should discuss the salient points of the film that you selected with respect
to music and action. Do not rehash every detail of the entire plot. A single paragraph explaining the plot
at the beginning of your paper is sufficient. You must situate your film historically relative to the sociocultural
issues current when it was conceived, and relative to the technological possibilities of the era.
Explain central people who figure into the production of the imagetrack and soundtrack. Superior papers
will cite judiciously from the readings and will footnote sources appropriately. For guidelines on grading,
please review my grading rubric. Put your cue sheet and essay in a single word document.

Quantitative Assessment
Tenets Considered Points Possible Points Earned
1) Format Requirements (1\” margins, double-spaced, black ink) n/a n/a
2) Spelling & Grammar
(Has this essay been edited carefully?)
20
3) Content/Quality of Ideas
(Is anything meaningful said, or is this just like/dislike?)
20
4) Organization/Coherence
(Are ideas presented logically and clearly?)
20
5) Concision
(Efficient or Redundant?)
20
6) Prose
(Elegant or Clumsy?)
20
TOTAL
GRADE
100
_________
_________
Qualitative Assessment
Grade Paper Attributes
A
i) Exhibits thoughtful processing of content and superior integration of concepts and ideas; ii) Adheres to all
formatting requirements; iii) Punctual; iv) Contains very few spelling/grammatical errors; v) Clear and logical; vi)
Concise and efficient; vii) Superior command of formal English demonstrating scholarly diction and diverse
vocabulary; viii) Accurate data; ix) I am impressed.
B
i) Exhibits thoughtful processing and consistent integration of concepts and ideas; ii) Adheres to all formatting
requirements; iii) Punctual; iv) Contains few spelling/grammatical errors; v) Clear and logical; vi) Mostly efficient
with some wordiness; vii) Good command of English; viii) Mostly accurate data.
C
i) Exhibits adequate comprehension and integration of key concepts; ii) Adheres to some formatting
requirements; iii) Punctual; iv) Spelling/grammatical errors somewhat obscure what is communicated; v) Mostly
clear and logical; vi) Redundancy employed to fill space; vii) Adequate command of Englishsome colloquial
language used; viii) Some incorrect data.
D
i) Exhibits partial comprehension and integration of key concepts; ii) Adheres to few or none of the formatting
requirements; iii) Late; iv) Spelling/grammatical errors obscure what is communicated; v) Disorganized, logic can
be extrapolated with effort; vi) Redundancy employed to fill space; vii) Colloquial English used; viii) Mostly
incorrect data and faulty assumptions about how data interrelates.
F
i) Exhibits poor comprehension and application of concepts; ii) Adheres to few or none of the formatting
requirements; iii) Late or not submitted; iv) Contains rampant spelling/grammatical errors; v) Vague and confused;
vi) Redundant and sloppy; vii) Unintelligible and colloquial language with texting abbreviations and/or profanity;
viii) Incorrect data.
Instruction files