Analyze how one part affects the whole media production.
For this media analysis, you will analyze how one part affects the whole media production. Note that you should select only a single piece of media; you should not be discussing more than one film, for example. You should choose one1 of the following parts to explore: Genre: Explain how the production you chose fits into its genre. Camera: Analyze how the camera’s use (camera angles, for instance) affects the overall production. Lighting: Describe how lighting is used to enhance or detract from the production. Actors/Characters: Analyze how the actors OR the characters themselves enhance or detract from the production. Symbols: Explain what the symbols are and how their usage affects the overall production. Music: Describe how the music enhances or detracts from the media production. Sound Effects: Analyze how the sound effects enhance or detract from the production. Special Effects: Explain what special effects are used and how they affect the viewing experience. Comparison to a Literary Work: (Note: This option may only be chosen if the film you chose is also in print form.) How are the book and film similar? How are they different? Which is better, and why? Your purpose in this assignment is to explain how or why something works; therefore, you should not include a full summary of the media production. Instead, you can provide context where needed so the reader understands what is happening. The body of the essay must 1 Please review the rubric and note that you will not earn full credit if you analyze more than one of these components. focus on your analysis. You can use the ideas contained in the Media Analysis lesson presentation and the Writer’s Handbook link to help you. As with all college writing, your essay should have a strong thesis statement in addition to an introduction, body, and conclusion. Other than your chosen film, television show, and/or book, you are required to cite at least one other credible2 source for this essay. This resource from the course will help you understand more about evaluating sources. Moreover, if you use specific information from the media production and/or print source, such as a quotations, you should include your chosen media source on your Works Cited page, too. Use proper parenthetical citations or signal phrases, and be sure to include MLA documentation and a Works Cited page for this assignment (this resource from the course will help). Political Cartoon Analysis Option #1: Analysis of an Individual Comic Strip or Political Cartoon Choose one comic strip or political cartoon. If you visit the website of a newspaper such as The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc., you should be able to search for comic strips or political cartoons easily. Which techniques does the creator of the comic strip use? How does the creator make his/her point in the comic strip? What do we learn about the characters and/or ourselves from this comic strip or political cartoon? If colors are available, what do they tell us about this comic or cartoon? What language is used and how can that be interpreted? And importantly, which of the key terms from the topic lesson can you discuss in your analysis? For example, how of elements of imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and/or irony help reveal the cartoon’s message? As with all academic essays you write in this course, this essay should have a well-defined introduction with a thesis statement, body, and conclusion. In essence, what are some of the physical elements present in the cartoon1 – characters, text, colors, etc., along with figurative elements such as metaphor and symbolism, that help to explain the cartoon’s message? It can be helpful to focus on a single element in the cartoon in its own body paragraph (including the element in the topic sentence and in the thesis) and describe how it portrays the cartoon’s message before moving to the next cartoon feature in a new paragraph. Sample Thesis Statement: “John Smith uses (add one element from the cartoon), (add a second element from the cartoon), and (add a third element from the cartoon) to show (add the cartoon’s message).”