film dissertation structure

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Dissertations

Listed by year of graduation

• Dissertation: " Aluminum Lesbians: Recycling Lesbian Legacy in Classical Hollywood"
• Chair: Mark Lynn Anderson (English)
• Readers: Jules Gill-Peterson (English), Nancy Glazener (English), David Pettersen (French & Italian)
• Dissertation: " Process over Product: Kinesthetic Cinema, Sporting Bodies, and Media Milieux"
• Readers: Randall Halle (German), Adam Lowenstein (English), Neepa Majumdar (English)
• Dissertation: White Design: Engineering the Visualization of Race and Racism in Social Media
• Chair: Jinying Li (English) & Zachary Horton (English)
• Readers: Mark Lynn Anderson (English), Brenton Malin (Communication), Elizabeth Reich (English)
• Dissertation: From Women's Cinema to Women's Horror Cinema: Genre and Gender in the Twenty-First Century
• Chair: Adam Lowenstein (English)
• Readers: Lucy Fischer (English), Neepa Majumdar (English), David Pettersen (French & Italian)
• Dissertation: Soviet Tableau: Cinema and History under Late Socialism (1953-1985)
• Chair:  Nancy Condee  (Slavic)
• Readers:   David Birnbaum  (Slavic),   Randall Halle  (German),  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English),  Vladimir Padunov  (Slavic),  Dan Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  Cinema in Fragments: Transmediating Popular Hindi Cinema on Small Screens
• Chair: Neepa Majumdar (English)
• Readers: Nancy Condee (Slavic), Jinying Li (English), Aswin Punathambekar (Communication Studies, University of Michigan), Jennifer Waldron (English)
• Dissertation:  The Interstate Logic: How Networks Change the Cinematic Representation of Time and Space
• Chair:   Lucy Fischer  (English)
• Readers:  Randall Halle  (German),  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English)
• Dissertation:  "Quiet on Set!": Craft Discourse and Below-the-Line Labor in Hollywood, 1919-1985
• Chair:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English)
• Readers:  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English),   Randall Halle  (German), Dana Polan (NYU),  Dan Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  The Matter of Identity: Digital Media, Television, and Embodied Difference
• Chair:  Jane Feuer  (English)
• Readers:  Brenton J. Malin  (Communication), Jinying Li (English),  Jennifer Waldron  (English)
• Dissertation:  The Rehearsal for Terror: Form, Trauma, and Modern Horror
• Chair:  Marcia Landy  (English)
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Dan Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  FEEL IT ALL AROUND: ART MUSIC VIDEO, ART CINEMA, AND SPECTATORSHIP IN THE STREAMING ERA
• Chair:  Adam Lowenstein  (English)
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English),   Randall Halle  (German),   Dan Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  The Cinematic Animal: Animal Life, Technology, and the Moving Image
• Readers:  Neepa Majumdar  (English),   Adam Lowenstein  (English), Akira Lippit (Cinema & Media Studies, University of Southern California)
• Dissertation:  Sustaining Life During the AIDS Crisis: New Queer Cinema and the Biopic
• Readers:  Lucy Fischer  (English),   Randall Halle  (German),   Marcia Landy  (English)
• Dissertation: Pataphysical Networking: Virtuality, Potentiality and the Experimental Works of the Collège de 'Pataphysique, the Oulipo, and the Mouvement Panique
• Dissertation: "Everything new is born illegal." Historicisizing Rapid Migration through New Media Projects
• Chair: Randall Halle (German)
• Readers: Nancy Condee (Slavic), Sabine von Dirk (German), John B. Lyon (German)
• Dissertation:  Impasse in Multilingual Spaces: Politics of Language and Identity in Contemporary Francophone Contact Zones
• Chair:  David Pettersen  (French & Italian)
• Readers:  Nancy Condee  (Slavic),  Neil Doshi  (French & Italian),  Giuseppina Mecchia  (French & Italian)
• Dissertation:  Press Play: Video Games and the Ludic Quality of Aesthetic Experiences across Media
• Readers:   Randall Halle  (German), Jinying Li (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  Dan Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  Shopping the Look: Hollywood Costume Production and American Fashion Consumption, 1960-1969
• Chair:  Neepa Majumdar  (English)
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Jane Feuer  (English),  Brenton J. Malin  (Communication)
• Dissertation:  Another Habitat for the Muses: The Poetic Investigations of Mexican Film Criticism, 1896-1968
• Readers:  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Joshua Lund  (University of Notre Dame)
• Dissertation:  Frame and Finitude: The Aporetic Aesthetics of Alain Resnais's Cinematic Modernism
• Co-Chairs:  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Daniel Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Readers:  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English)

Natalie Ryabchikova

• Dissertation: The Flying Fish: Sergei Eisenstein Abroad, 1929-1932.
• Chair: Mark Lynn Anderson (Film)
• Readers: William Chase (History), Nancy Condee (Slavic), Randall Halle  (Film), Vladimir Padunov (Slavic)

Kelly Trimble

• Dissertation:  The Celebrification of Soviet Culture: State Heroes after Stalin, 2017
• Chair: Vladimir Padunov (Slavic)
• Readers: David Birnbaum (Slavic), Nancy Condee (Slavic), Randall Halle (German)
• Dissertation:  A Hidden Light: Judaism, Contemporary Israeli Film, and the Cinematic Experience
• ​Chair:   Lucy Fischer  (English)
• Readers:  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English), Adam Shear  (Religious Studies)
• Dissertation:  Global Russian Cinema in the Digital Age: The Films of Timur Bekmambetov
• ​Chair:   Nancy Condee  (Slavic)
• Readers:  Vladimir Padunov  (Slavic),  Randall Halle  (German),  Daniel Morgan  (Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Dissertation:  The Flying Fish: Sergei Eisenstein Abroad, 1929-1932
• ​Chair:   Vladimir Padunov  (Slavic)
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  William Chase  (History),  Nancy Condee  (Slavic),  Randall Halle  (German)

Anne Wesserling , Visiting Assistant Professor, University of North Georgia

• Dissertation: Screening Violence: Meditations on Perception in Recent Argentine Literature and Film of the Post-Dictatorship
• Chair: Daniel Balderston  (Hispanic Languages & Literature)
• Readers: John Beverley  (Hispanic Languages & Literature), Gonzalo Lamana  (Hispanic Languages & Literature), Adam Lowenstein  (English)
• Dissertation:  The British War Film, 1939-1980: Culture, History, and Genre
• Readers:  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English),  David Pettersen  (French & Italian)
• Dissertation:  Unseen Femininity: Women in Japanese New Wave Cinema
• Readers:  Nancy Condee  (Slavic),  Marcia Landy  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English)
• Dissertation: Visualizing the Past: Perestroika Documentary Memory of Stalin-era
• Readers: Nancy Condee (Slavic), David J. Birnbaum  (Slavic), Jeremy Hicks  (Languages, Linguistics, Film)

Gavin M. Hicks

• Disseration: Soccer and Social Identity in Contemporary German Film and Media  
• Readers: John B. Lyon  (German), Sabine von Dirke (German), Clark Muenzer  (German), Gayle Rogers (English)
• Dissertation:  Film Dance, Female Stardom, and the Production of Gender in Popular Hindi Cinema
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English), Ranjani Mazumdar (Cinema Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University)
• Dissertation:  Overlooking the Evidence: Gender, Genre and the Female Detective in Hollywood Film and Television
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Brenton J. Malin  (Communications)

Christopher Nielsen , Educator, Institute for Health and Socioeconomic Policy/National Nurses United

• Dissertation: Narco Realism in Contemporary Mexican and Transnational Narrative, Film, and Online Media
• Chair: Juan Duchesen-Winter (Hispanic Languages & Literature)
• Readers: John Beverley (Hispanic Languages & Literature), Joshua Lund (Hispanic Languages & Literature), Giuseppina Mecchia  (French & Italian)
• Dissertation:  New Korean Cinema: Mourning to Regeneration
• Readers: Kyung Hyun Kim (East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of California, Irvine),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English)
• Dissertation:  “Insubordinate” Looking: Consumerism, Power, Identity, and the Art of Popular (Music) Dance Movies
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Randall Halle  (German)
• Dissertation:  Sustaining Feminist Film Cultures: An Institutional History of Women Make Movies
• Readers:   Mark Lynn Anderson  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  Randall Halle  (German Language),  David Pettersen  (French & Italian)

Yvonne Franke , Assistant Professor of German, Midwestern State University

• Dissertation:  The Genres of Europeanization - Moving Towards the "New Heimatfilm"
• Readers: Lucy Fischer (Film), John B. Lyon (German), Sabine von Dirke (German)

Olga Kilmova ,  Visiting Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh

• Dissertation: Soviet Youth Films under Brezhnev: Watching Between the Lines
• Chair: Nancy Condee (Slavic)
• Readers: Vladimir Padunov  (Slavic), David J. Birnbaum  (Slavic), Lucy Fischer  (Communication), Alexander V. Prokhorov (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  The Toy Like Nature: On the History and Theory of Animated Motion
• Chair: Daniel Morgan
• Readers:  Marcia Landy  (English), Mark Lynn Anderson  (English), Scott Bukatman (Film & Media Studies, Stanford University)
• Dissertation:  Cinematic Occupation: Intelligibility, Queerness, and Palestine
• Readers:  Mark Lynn Anderson  (English), Troy Boone  (English), Todd Reeser (French & Italian)

Yahya Laayouni , Assistant Professor of Arabic and French, Bloomsberg University of Pennsylvania

• Dissertation: Redefining Beur Cinema: Constituting Subjectivity through Film
• Co-Chairs: Giuseppina Mecchia  (French and Italian) & Randall Halle  (German)
• Readers: Todd Reeser (French and Italian), Mohammed Bamyeh  (Sociology & Religious Studies), Neil Doshi  (French & Italian)
• Dissertation:  Image to Infinity: Rethinking Description and Detail in the Cinema
• Chair:   Marcia Landy  (English)
• Readers: Troy Boone ,  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English),  Randall Halle  (German)
• Link to professional profile >
• Dissertation:  Screen Combat: Recreating World War II in American Film and Media
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English),  Randall Halle  (German)
• Dissertation:  Modern Kinesis: Motion Picture Technology, Embodiment, and Re-Playability in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twenty-First Centuries
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Giuseppina Mecchia  (French & Italian)
• Dissertation:  Research in the Form of a Spectacle: Godard and the Cinematic Essay
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English)
• Dissertation:  Immaterial Materiality: Collecting in Live-Action Film, Animation, and Digital Games
• Readers:  Marcia Landy  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Randall Halle  (German)
• Dissertation:  Nation, Nostalgia, and Masculinity: Clinton/Spielberg/Hanks
• Readers:  Marcia Landy  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Brent Malin  (Communications)
• Dissertation:  Body Image: Fashioning the Postwar American
• Readers:  Jane Feuer  (English), Marianne Novy (English), Carol Stabile (English, University of Oregon)

Natalia Maria Ramirez-Lopez , 

• Dissertation: MARGINALIDAD Y VIOLENCIA JUVENIL EN MEDELLÍN Y BOGOTÁ: NARRATIVAS LITERARIAS Y FÍMICAS DE LOS AÑOS 80 Y 90 EN COLOMBIA
• Chair: Hermann Herlinghaus  (Latin American Literature, University of Freiburg)
• Readers: Aníbal Perez-Linán (Political Science), Bobby J. Chamberlain  (Hispanic Languages & Literature), Gerald Martin (Hispanic Languages & Literature)

Dawn Seckler , Associate Director of Development, Bridgeway Capital

• Dissertation: Engendering Genre: The Contemporary Russian Buddy Film
• Readers: David MacFadyen (University of California, Los Angeles), Lucy Fischer  (Film), Nancy Condee (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  The Ethnic Turn: Studies in Political Cinema from Brazil and the United States, 1960-2002
• Readers:  Adam Lowenstein  (English), Shalini Puri,  Neepa Majumdar  (English),  John Beverley  (Hispanic)
• Dissertation:  Acting Social: The Cinema of Mike Nichols
• Readers:  Mark Anderson  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English), David Shumway (English, Carnegie Mellon University)
• Dissertation:  Ruins and Riots: Transnational Currents in Mexican Cinema
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  John Beverly  (Hispanic)
• Dissertation:  The Word Made Cinematic: The Representation of Jesus in Cinema
• Readers: Troy Boone ,  Adam Lowenstein  (English), Vernell Lillie (Africana Studies)
• Dissertation:  Fathers of a Still-Born Past: Hindu Empire, Globality, and the Rhetoric of the Trikaal
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English), Ronald Judy  (English),  Nancy Condee  (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  Excavating the Ghetto Action Cycle (1991-1996): A Case Study for a Cycle-Based Approach to Genre Theory
• Readers:  Jane Feuer  (English),  Neepa Majumdar  (English), Paula Massood (Cinema and Media Studies, Brooklyn College, CUNY)
• Dissertation:  "The World Goes One Way and We Go Another": Movement, Migration, and Myths of Irish Cinema
• Readers:  Adam Lowenstein  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English),  Nancy Condee  (Slavic Languages and Literatures)
• Dissertation:  The Writing on the Screen: Images of Text in the German Cinema from 1920-1949
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English),  Lucy Fischer  (English), Linda Shulte-Sasse (German, McAllister College)
• Dissertation:  Mantras of the Metropole: Geo-Televisuality and Contemporary Indian Cinema
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English); Eric Clarke (English);  Colin MacCabe  (English); M. Prasad (Film Theory, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad)
• Dissertation:  Hollywood Youth Narratives and the Family Values Campaign 1980-1992
• Readers: Troy Boone  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English), Carol Stabile (Communications)
• Dissertation:  Reading Scars: Circumcision as Textual Trope
• Chair: Philip Smith  (English)
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English), Mariolina Salvatori, Greg Goekjian (Portland State University)
• Dissertation:  Dreaming in Crisis: Angels and the Allegorical Imagination in Postwar America
• Chair:  Colin MacCabe  (English)
• Readers: Ronald Judy  (English), Jonathan Arac ,  Nancy Condee  (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  Laying Down the Rules: The American Sports Film Genre From 1872 to 1960
• Readers:  Jane Feuer  (English), Moya Luckett, Carol Stabile (Communications)

Elena Prokhorova

• Dissertation: Fragmented Mythologies: Soviet TV Series of the 1970s
• Readers: Carol Stabile (Communications), Jane Feuer (English and Film), Martin Votruba (Slavic), Nancy Condee (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  Nickels and Dimes: The Movies in a Rampantly American City, 1914-1923
• Readers: Moya Luckett,  Jane Feuer , Gregory Waller (University of Kentucky)
• Dissertation:  As Far As Anyone Knows: Fetishism and the Anti-Televisual Paradoxes of Film Noir
• Readers: Valerie Krips, James Knapp, Henry Krips (Communications)

Alexander Prokhorov , Associate Professor, College of William and Mary

• Dissertation: Inherited Discourse: Stalinist Tropes in Thaw Culture
• Chair: Helena Goscilo (Slavic)
• Readers: Lucy Fischer (Film), Mark Altshuller (Slavic), Nancy Condee (Slavic), Vladimir Padunov (Slavic)
• Dissertation:  “Dig If You Will The Picture”: The Cinematic, the Black Femme, and the Image of Common Sense
• Chair:   Marcia Landy  (English)
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English), Amy Villarejo (Cornell), Wahneema Lubiano (Duke)
• Dissertation:   French Film Criticism, Authorship, and National Culture in the Mirror of John Cassavetes’s Body, His Life, His Work
• Readers:   Marcia Landy  (English), James Knapp
• Dissertation:  In The Shadow of His Language: Language and Feminine Subjectivity in the Cinema
• Chair:   Colin MacCabe  (English)
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English), Lynn Emanuel, Patrizia Lombardo (French and Italian)
• Dissertation:  Being In Control: The Ending Of The Information Age
• Chair: Paul Bové  (English)
• Readers: Jonathan Arac ,  Marcia Landy , Carol Stabile (Communications)
• Dissertation:  The Emergence of Date Rape: Feminism, Theory, Institutional Discourse, and Popular Culture
• Readers: Nancy Glazener  (English),   Lucy Fischer  (English), Carol A. Stabile (Communications)
• Dissertation:  Gender and the Politics and Practices of Representation in Contemporary British Cinema
• Readers: James Knapp,  Marcia Landy  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English), Sabine Hake (German)
• Dissertation:  Telling the Story of AIDS in Popular Culture
• Chair:   Jane Feuer  (English)
• Readers: Eric Clarke (English),  Marcia Landy  (English), Danae Clark (Communications)
• Dissertation:  Technology, the Natural and the Other: The Case of Childbirth Representations in Contemporary Popular Culture
• Readers:  Marcia Landy  (English), Dana Polan, Iris M. Young (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh)
• Dissertation:  Lesbian Rule:  Cultural Criticism and the Value of Desire
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English), Gayatri Spivak (Columbia)
• Dissertation:  Feminism, Postmodernism, and Science Fiction: Gender and Ways of Thinking Otherwise
• Chair:  Philip Smith
• Readers:  Marica Landy  (English),  Lucy Fischer  (English), Dana Polan, Tamara Horowitz (Philosophy)
• Dissertation:  Camp and the Question of Value
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English), Eric Clarke (English), Janet Staiger (University of Texas–Austin)
• Dissertation:  Culture in a State of Crisis:  A Historical Construction in Cinematic Ideology in India, 1919-75
• Readers: Paul Bové  (English),  Colin MacCabe  (English), Keya Ganguly (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Dissertation:  The Ethics of Transgression: Criticism and Cultural Marginality
• Chair: Paul Bove  (English)
• Readers:   Lucy Fischer  (English),  Marcia Landy  (English), Dana Pollan, Danae Clarke
• Dissertation:  Sally Bowles: Fascism, Female Spectacle, and the Politics of Looking
• Readers:  Marcia Landy  (English), Dana Polan, Sabine Hake (German)

Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings? In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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Film Dissertation

Module overview.

The dissertation is an extended piece of work of 8,000 words in length which is the result of an in-depth study of an area of film studies. The subject matter could be a movement, a director, a studio or production company, a national cinema, genre or theoretical issue. It should not replicate assessed work in the other final year module.

Linked modules

FILM1001 or FILM2006 or FILM1027 or FILM1020

Aims and Objectives

Learning outcomes, subject specific intellectual and research skills.

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• demonstrate originality of thought and approach, moving beyond a simple synthesis of secondary materials
• organize your ideas in a systematic and fully developed fashion
• make relevant connections between different critical methodologies and use, where appropriate, interdisciplinary modes of approaching the subject
• craft a structured and fully developed exposition of those same conclusions
• analyse, evaluate and synthesise primary and secondary sources
• engage with critical debate through sustained argument over an extended piece of work
• arrive at a series of informed and nuanced conclusions as a consequence of sustained inquiry and reflection

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• a chosen area of investigation which reflects and embodies your own particular expertise and enthusiasm
• relevant theoretical approaches applicable to your chosen area of study
• how rigorous intellectual inquiry within a relatively narrow field of study can nevertheless inform and enhance a wider engagement with one or more constituent disciplines

Transferable and Generic Skills

• employ the appropriate use of web-based research and display general competence in using electronic research methods and data
• employ general research skills such as information retrieval and library searches
• engage in interpretation and critical commentary in order to develop at length a chosen line of argument.
• where appropriate, develop relevant empirical research techniques

The dissertation is an extended piece of work, usually divided into chapters and amounting to 8000 words in length. The topic and content are determined by you. The module provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate how much you have learnt and acquired in years one and two of your degree programme. It will enable you to develop in depth an area of study of your own choice, however, the topic will be chosen in consultation with a member of the Film Studies teaching staff.

The dissertation must conform to the guidelines with respect to format, house style and referencing as laid down in the programme handbook. The final draft must have a clear structure and the standard of written English must demonstrate your familiarity with the basic principles of grammar, punctuation and sentence construction. The ability to communicate in a clear, coherent, and attractive fashion will enhance the overall quality of the dissertation.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods.

Teaching methods include

• one-to-one supervision with your tutor
• a series of workshops and seminars on a range of topics related to the preparation for and writing of the dissertation

Learning activities include

• engaging in genuinely independent learning through gathering, assimilating, synthesising, and interpreting information pertinent to your chosen topic of inquiry

R Preece (1994). Starting Research: An Introduction to Academic Research and Dissertation Writing . Cassell.

S Stein (1999). Learning, Teaching and Researching on the Internet . Longman.

T. Bowell and G Kemp (2001). Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide . Routledge.

R. Berry (2000). The Research Project: How to Write It . Routledge.

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

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Film Analysis

What this handout is about.

This handout introduces film analysis and and offers strategies and resources for approaching film analysis assignments.

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument. The first step to analyzing the film is to watch it with a plan.

Watching the film

First it’s important to watch the film carefully with a critical eye. Consider why you’ve been assigned to watch a film and write an analysis. How does this activity fit into the course? Why have you been assigned this particular film? What are you looking for in connection to the course content? Let’s practice with this clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Here are some tips on how to watch the clip critically, just as you would an entire film:

• Give the clip your undivided attention at least once. Pay close attention to details and make observations that might start leading to bigger questions.
• Watch the clip a second time. For this viewing, you will want to focus specifically on those elements of film analysis that your class has focused on, so review your course notes. For example, from whose perspective is this clip shot? What choices help convey that perspective? What is the overall tone, theme, or effect of this clip?
• Take notes while you watch for the second time. Notes will help you keep track of what you noticed and when, if you include timestamps in your notes. Timestamps are vital for citing scenes from a film!

For more information on watching a film, check out the Learning Center’s handout on watching film analytically . For more resources on researching film, including glossaries of film terms, see UNC Library’s research guide on film & cinema .

Brainstorming ideas

Once you’ve watched the film twice, it’s time to brainstorm some ideas based on your notes. Brainstorming is a major step that helps develop and explore ideas. As you brainstorm, you may want to cluster your ideas around central topics or themes that emerge as you review your notes. Did you ask several questions about color? Were you curious about repeated images? Perhaps these are directions you can pursue.

If you’re writing an argumentative essay, you can use the connections that you develop while brainstorming to draft a thesis statement . Consider the assignment and prompt when formulating a thesis, as well as what kind of evidence you will present to support your claims. Your evidence could be dialogue, sound edits, cinematography decisions, etc. Much of how you make these decisions will depend on the type of film analysis you are conducting, an important decision covered in the next section.

After brainstorming, you can draft an outline of your film analysis using the same strategies that you would for other writing assignments. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind as you prepare for this stage of the assignment:

• Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment, so your thesis should answer what the prompt asks. Check with your professor if you are unsure.
• In most cases, the director’s name is used to talk about the film as a whole, for instance, “Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo .” However, some writers may want to include the names of other persons who helped to create the film, including the actors, the cinematographer, and the sound editor, among others.
• When describing a sequence in a film, use the literary present. An example could be, “In Vertigo , Hitchcock employs techniques of observation to dramatize the act of detection.”
• Finding a screenplay/script of the movie may be helpful and save you time when compiling citations. But keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
• Go beyond describing basic film elements by articulating the significance of these elements in support of your particular position. For example, you may have an interpretation of the striking color green in Vertigo , but you would only mention this if it was relevant to your argument. For more help on using evidence effectively, see the section on “using evidence” in our evidence handout .

Also be sure to avoid confusing the terms shot, scene, and sequence. Remember, a shot ends every time the camera cuts; a scene can be composed of several related shots; and a sequence is a set of related scenes.

Different types of film analysis

As you consider your notes, outline, and general thesis about a film, the majority of your assignment will depend on what type of film analysis you are conducting. This section explores some of the different types of film analyses you may have been assigned to write.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the interpretation of signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors and analogies to both inanimate objects and characters within a film. Because symbols have several meanings, writers often need to determine what a particular symbol means in the film and in a broader cultural or historical context.

For instance, a writer could explore the symbolism of the flowers in Vertigo by connecting the images of them falling apart to the vulnerability of the heroine.

Here are a few other questions to consider for this type of analysis:

• What objects or images are repeated throughout the film?
• How does the director associate a character with small signs, such as certain colors, clothing, food, or language use?
• How does a symbol or object relate to other symbols and objects, that is, what is the relationship between the film’s signs?

Many films are rich with symbolism, and it can be easy to get lost in the details. Remember to bring a semiotic analysis back around to answering the question “So what?” in your thesis.

Narrative analysis

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. This type of analysis considers the entirety of the film and the story it seeks to tell.

For example, you could take the same object from the previous example—the flowers—which meant one thing in a semiotic analysis, and ask instead about their narrative role. That is, you might analyze how Hitchcock introduces the flowers at the beginning of the film in order to return to them later to draw out the completion of the heroine’s character arc.

To create this type of analysis, you could consider questions like:

• How does the film correspond to the Three-Act Structure: Act One: Setup; Act Two: Confrontation; and Act Three: Resolution?
• What is the plot of the film? How does this plot differ from the narrative, that is, how the story is told? For example, are events presented out of order and to what effect?
• Does the plot revolve around one character? Does the plot revolve around multiple characters? How do these characters develop across the film?

When writing a narrative analysis, take care not to spend too time on summarizing at the expense of your argument. See our handout on summarizing for more tips on making summary serve analysis.

Cultural/historical analysis

One of the most common types of analysis is the examination of a film’s relationship to its broader cultural, historical, or theoretical contexts. Whether films intentionally comment on their context or not, they are always a product of the culture or period in which they were created. By placing the film in a particular context, this type of analysis asks how the film models, challenges, or subverts different types of relations, whether historical, social, or even theoretical.

For example, the clip from Vertigo depicts a man observing a woman without her knowing it. You could examine how this aspect of the film addresses a midcentury social concern about observation, such as the sexual policing of women, or a political one, such as Cold War-era McCarthyism.

A few of the many questions you could ask in this vein include:

• How does the film comment on, reinforce, or even critique social and political issues at the time it was released, including questions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality?
• How might a biographical understanding of the film’s creators and their historical moment affect the way you view the film?
• How might a specific film theory, such as Queer Theory, Structuralist Theory, or Marxist Film Theory, provide a language or set of terms for articulating the attributes of the film?

Take advantage of class resources to explore possible approaches to cultural/historical film analyses, and find out whether you will be expected to do additional research into the film’s context.

Mise-en-scène analysis

A mise-en-scène analysis attends to how the filmmakers have arranged compositional elements in a film and specifically within a scene or even a single shot. This type of analysis organizes the individual elements of a scene to explore how they come together to produce meaning. You may focus on anything that adds meaning to the formal effect produced by a given scene, including: blocking, lighting, design, color, costume, as well as how these attributes work in conjunction with decisions related to sound, cinematography, and editing. For example, in the clip from Vertigo , a mise-en-scène analysis might ask how numerous elements, from lighting to camera angles, work together to present the viewer with the perspective of Jimmy Stewart’s character.

To conduct this type of analysis, you could ask:

• What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
• How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
• How does a scene work to express a broader point to the film’s plot?

This detailed approach to analyzing the formal elements of film can help you come up with concrete evidence for more general film analysis assignments.

Reviewing your draft

Once you have a draft, it’s helpful to get feedback on what you’ve written to see if your analysis holds together and you’ve conveyed your point. You may not necessarily need to find someone who has seen the film! Ask a writing coach, roommate, or family member to read over your draft and share key takeaways from what you have written so far.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. 1988. L’analyse Des Films . Paris: Nathan.

Media & Design Center. n.d. “Film and Cinema Research.” UNC University Libraries. Last updated February 10, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/filmresearch .

Oxford Royale Academy. n.d. “7 Ways to Watch Film.” Oxford Royale Academy. Accessed April 2021. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/7-ways-watch-films-critically/ .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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50 Film Analysis

Film analysis, what this handout is about.

This handout provides a brief definition of film analysis compared to literary analysis, provides an introduction to common types of film analysis, and offers strategies and resources for approaching assignments.

What is film analysis, and how does it differ from literary analysis?

Film analysis is the process in which film is analyzed in terms of semiotics, narrative structure, cultural context, and mise-en-scene, among other approaches. If these terms are new to you, don’t worry—they’ll be explained in the next section.

Analyzing film, like  analyzing literature (fiction texts, etc.) , is a form of rhetorical analysis—critically analyzing and evaluating discourse, including words, phrases, and images. Having a clear argument and supporting evidence is every bit as critical to film analysis as to other forms of academic writing.

Unlike literature, film incorporates audiovisual elements and therefore introduces a new dimension to analysis. Ultimately, however, analysis of film is not too different. Think of all the things that make up a scene in a film: the actors, the lighting, the angles, the colors. All of these things may be absent in literature, but they are deliberate choices on the part of the director, producer, or screenwriter—as are the words chosen by the author of a work of literature. Furthermore, literature and film incorporate similar elements. They both have plots, characters, dialogue, settings, symbolism, and, just as the elements of literature can be analyzed for their intent and effect, these elements can be analyzed the same way in film.

Different types of film analysis

Listed here are common approaches to film analysis, but this is by no means an exhaustive list, and you may have discussed other approaches in class. As with any other assignment, make sure you understand your professor’s expectations. This guide is best used to understand prompts or, in the case of more open-ended assignments, consider the different ways to analyze film.

Keep in mind that any of the elements of film can be analyzed, oftentimes in tandem. A single film analysis essay may simultaneously include all of the following approaches and more. As Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie propose in Analysis of Film, there is no correct, universal way to write film analysis.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the analysis of meaning behind signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors, analogies, and symbolism.

This doesn’t necessarily need to be something dramatic; think about how you extrapolate information from the smallest signs in your day to day life. For instance, what characteristics can tell you about someone’s personality? Something as simple as someone’s appearance can reveal information about them. Mismatched shoes and bedhead might be a sign of carelessness (or something crazy happened that morning!), while an immaculate dress shirt and tie would suggest that the person is prim and proper. Continuing in that vein:

• What might you be able to infer about characters from small hints?
• How are these hints (signs) used to construct characters? How do they relate to the relative role of those characters, or the relationships between multiple characters?

Symbols denote concepts (liberty, peace, etc.) and feelings (hate, love, etc.) that they often have nothing to do with. They are used liberally in both literature and film, and finding them uses a similar process. Ask yourself:

• In Frozen Elsa’s gloves appear in multiple scenes.
• Her gloves are first given to her by her father to restrain her magic. She continues to wear them throughout the coronation scene, before finally, in the Let It Go sequence, she throws them away.

Again, the method of semiotic analysis in film is similar to that of literature. Think about the deeper meaning behind objects or actions.

• Elsa’s gloves represent fear of her magic and, by extension, herself. Though she attempts to contain her magic by hiding her hands within gloves and denying part of her identity, she eventually abandons the gloves in a quest for self-acceptance.

Narrative structure analysis

Narrative structure analysis is the analysis of the story elements, including plot structure, character motivations, and theme. Like the dramatic structure of literature (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), film has what is known as the Three-Act Structure: “Act One: Setup, Act Two: Confrontation, and Act Three: Resolution.” Narrative structure analysis breaks the story of the film into these three elements and might consider questions like:

• How does the story follow or deviate from typical structures?
• What is the effect of following or deviating from this structure?
• What is the theme of the film, and how is that theme constructed?

Consider again the example of Frozen. You can use symbolism and narrative structure in conjunction by placing the symbolic objects/events in the context of the narrative structure. For instance, the first appearance of the gloves is in Act One, while their abandoning takes place in Act Two; thus, the story progresses in such a way that demonstrates Elsa’s personal growth. By the time of Act Three, the Resolution, her aversion to touch (a product of fearing her own magic) is gone, reflecting a theme of self-acceptance.

Contextual analysis

Contextual analysis is analysis of the film as part of a broader context. Think about the culture, time, and place of the film’s creation. What might the film say about the culture that created it? What were/are the social and political concerns of the time period? Or, like researching the author of a novel, you might consider the director, producer, and other people vital to the making of the film. What is the place of this film in the director’s career? Does it align with his usual style of directing, or does it move in a new direction? Other examples of contextual approaches might be analyzing the film in terms of a civil rights or feminist movement.

For example, Frozen is often linked to the LGBTQ social movement. You might agree or disagree with this interpretation, and, using evidence from the film, support your argument.

Some other questions to consider:

• How does the meaning of the film change when seen outside of its culture?
• What characteristics distinguishes the film as being of its particular culture?

Mise-en-scene analysis

Mise-en-scene analysis is analysis of the arrangement of compositional elements in film—essentially, the analysis of audiovisual elements that most distinctly separate film analysis from literary analysis. Remember that the important part of a mise-en-scene analysis is not just identifying the elements of a scene, but explaining the significance behind them.

• What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
• How does the film attempt to achieve its goal by the way it looks, and does it succeed?

Audiovisual elements that can be analyzed include (but are not limited to): props and costumes, setting, lighting, camera angles, frames, special effects, choreography, music, color values, depth, placement of characters, etc. Mise-en-scene is typically the most foreign part of writing film analysis because the other components discussed are common to literary analysis, while mise-en-scene deals with elements unique to film. Using specific film terminology bolsters credibility, but you should also consider your audience. If your essay is meant to be accessible to non-specialist readers, explain what terms mean. The Resources section of this handout has links to sites that describe mise-en-scene elements in detail.

Rewatching the film and creating screen captures (still images) of certain scenes can help with detailed analysis of colors, positioning of actors, placement of objects, etc. Listening to the soundtrack can also be helpful, especially when placed in the context of particular scenes.

Some example questions:

• How is the lighting used to construct mood? Does the mood shift at any point during the film, and how is that shift in mood created?
• What does the setting say about certain characters? How are props used to reveal aspects of their personality?
• What songs were used, and why were they chosen? Are there any messages in the lyrics that pertain to the theme?

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing film analysis is similar to writing literary analysis or any argumentative essay in other disciplines: Consider the assignment and prompts, formulate a thesis (see the  Brainstorming Handout  and  Thesis Statement Handout  for help crafting a nuanced argument), compile evidence to prove your thesis, and lay out your argument in the essay. Your evidence may be different from what you are used to. Whereas in the English essay you use textual evidence and quotes, in a film analysis essay, you might also include audiovisual elements to bolster your argument.

When describing a sequence in a film, use the present tense, like you would write in the literary present when describing events of a novel, i.e. not “Elsa took off her gloves,” but “Elsa takes off her gloves.” When quoting dialogue from a film, if between multiple characters, use block quotes: Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left margin. However, conventions are flexible, so ask your professor if you are unsure. It may also help to follow the formatting of the script, if you can find it. For example:

ELSA: But she won’t remember I have powers? KING: It’s for the best.

You do not need to use quotation marks for blocked-off dialogue, but for shorter quotations in the main text, quotation marks should be double quotes (“…”).

Here are some tips for approaching film analysis:

• Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Focus your argument by choosing a specific issue to assess.
• Review your materials. Rewatch the film for nuances that you may have missed in the first viewing. With your thesis in mind, take notes as you watch. Finding a screenplay of the movie may be helpful, but keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
• Develop a thesis and an outline, organizing your evidence so that it supports your argument. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment—make sure that your thesis answers what the prompt asks, and check with your professor if you are unsure.
• Move beyond only describing the audiovisual elements of the film by considering the significance of your evidence. Demonstrate understanding of not just what film elements are, but why and to what effect they are being used. For more help on using your evidence effectively, see ‘Using Evidence In An Argument’ in the  Evidence Handout .

New York Film Academy Glossary Movie Outline Glossary Movie Script Database Citation Practices: Film and Television

Works Consulted

We consulted these works while writing the original version of this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find the latest publications on this topic. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the  UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. L’analyse Des Films. Paris: Nathan, 1988. Print. Pruter, Robin Franson. “Writing About Film.” Writing About Film. DePaul University, 08 Mar. 2004. Web. 01 May 2016.

Film Analysis Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Film Studies Dissertation (P4123)

30 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

The dissertation module allows you to work on a sustained Film Studies project of your choosing that builds on appropriate critical, theoretical or historical approaches encountered in your study of the subject.

It functions both as a summary experience, enabling you to draw together and reflect on skills and knowledge acquired earlier in the course, and as a self-directed project that allows you to focus on material you have chosen and planned.

Introductory lectures, tutorials, research workshops and peer review will guide you through the process of choosing the subject, devising research questions, and preparing and refining the proposal and dissertation.

Contact hours and workload

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

This module is offered on the following courses:

• American Studies and Film Studies (with a study abroad year) BA
• Art History and Film Studies BA
• Drama and Film Studies (with a study abroad year) BA
• Drama and Film Studies BA
• English and Film Studies BA
• Film Studies BA

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Film Writing: Sample Analysis

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Summary: A sample analysis of a filmic sequence that makes use of the terminology on the OWL’s Writing About Film page .

Written by Kylie Regan

Introductory Note

The analysis below discusses the opening moments of the science fiction movie  Ex Machina  in order to make an argument about the film's underlying purpose. The text of the analysis is formatted normally. Editor's commentary, which will occasionally interrupt the piece to discuss the author's rhetorical strategies, is written in brackets in an italic font with a bold "Ed.:" identifier. See the examples below:

The text of the analysis looks like this.

[ Ed.:  The editor's commentary looks like this. ]

Frustrated Communication in Ex Machina ’s Opening Sequence

Alex Garland’s 2015 science fiction film Ex Machina follows a young programmer’s attempts to determine whether or not an android possesses a consciousness complicated enough to pass as human. The film is celebrated for its thought-provoking depiction of the anxiety over whether a nonhuman entity could mimic or exceed human abilities, but analyzing the early sections of the film, before artificial intelligence is even introduced, reveals a compelling examination of humans’ inability to articulate their thoughts and feelings. In its opening sequence, Ex Machina establishes that it’s not only about the difficulty of creating a machine that can effectively talk to humans, but about human beings who struggle to find ways to communicate with each other in an increasingly digital world.

[ Ed.:  The piece's opening introduces the film with a plot summary that doesn't give away too much and a brief summary of the critical conversation that has centered around the film. Then, however, it deviates from this conversation by suggesting that Ex Machina has things to say about humanity before non-human characters even appear. Off to a great start. ]

The film’s first establishing shots set the action in a busy modern office. A woman sits at a computer, absorbed in her screen. The camera looks at her through a glass wall, one of many in the shot. The reflections of passersby reflected in the glass and the workspace’s dim blue light make it difficult to determine how many rooms are depicted. The camera cuts to a few different young men typing on their phones, their bodies partially concealed both by people walking between them and the camera and by the stylized modern furniture that surrounds them. The fourth shot peeks over a computer monitor at a blonde man working with headphones in. A slight zoom toward his face suggests that this is an important character, and the cut to a point-of-view shot looking at his computer screen confirms this. We later learn that this is Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer whose perspective the film follows.

The rest of the sequence cuts between shots from Caleb’s P.O.V. and reaction shots of his face, as he receives and processes the news that he has won first prize in a staff competition. Shocked, Caleb dives for his cellphone and texts several people the news. Several people immediately respond with congratulatory messages, and after a moment the woman from the opening shot runs in to give him a hug. At this point, the other people in the room look up, smile, and start clapping, while Caleb smiles disbelievingly—perhaps even anxiously—and the camera subtly zooms in a bit closer. Throughout the entire sequence, there is no sound other than ambient electronic music that gets slightly louder and more textured as the sequence progresses. A jump cut to an aerial view of a glacial landscape ends the sequence and indicates that Caleb is very quickly transported into a very unfamiliar setting, implying that he will have difficulty adjusting to this sudden change in circumstances.

[ Ed.:  These paragraphs are mostly descriptive. They give readers the information they will need to understand the argument the piece is about to offer. While passages like this can risk becoming boring if they dwell on unimportant details, the author wisely limits herself to two paragraphs and maintains a driving pace through her prose style choices (like an almost exclusive reliance on active verbs). ]

Without any audible dialogue or traditional expository setup of the main characters, this opening sequence sets viewers up to make sense of Ex Machina ’s visual style and its exploration of the ways that technology can both enhance and limit human communication. The choice to make the dialogue inaudible suggests that in-person conversations have no significance. Human-to-human conversations are most productive in this sequence when they are mediated by technology. Caleb’s first response when he hears his good news is to text his friends rather than tell the people sitting around him, and he makes no move to take his headphones out when the in-person celebration finally breaks out. Everyone in the building is on their phones, looking at screens, or has headphones in, and the camera is looking at screens through Caleb’s viewpoint for at least half of the sequence.  

Rather than simply muting the specific conversations that Caleb has with his coworkers, the ambient soundtrack replaces all the noise that a crowded building in the middle of a workday would ordinarily have. This silence sets the uneasy tone that characterizes the rest of the film, which is as much a horror-thriller as a piece of science fiction. Viewers get the sense that all the sounds that humans make as they walk around and talk to each other are being intentionally filtered out by some presence, replaced with a quiet electronic beat that marks the pacing of the sequence, slowly building to a faster tempo. Perhaps the sound of people is irrelevant: only the visual data matters here. Silence is frequently used in the rest of the film as a source of tension, with viewers acutely aware that it could be broken at any moment. Part of the horror of the research bunker, which will soon become the film’s primary setting, is its silence, particularly during sequences of Caleb sneaking into restricted areas and being startled by a sudden noise.

The visual style of this opening sequence reinforces the eeriness of the muted humans and electronic soundtrack. Prominent use of shallow focus to depict a workspace that is constructed out of glass doors and walls makes it difficult to discern how large the space really is. The viewer is thus spatially disoriented in each new setting. This layering of glass and mirrors, doubling some images and obscuring others, is used later in the film when Caleb meets the artificial being Ava (Alicia Vikander), who is not allowed to leave her glass-walled living quarters in the research bunker. The similarity of these spaces visually reinforces the film’s late revelation that Caleb has been manipulated by Nathan Bates (Oscar Isaac), the troubled genius who creates Ava.

[ Ed.:  In these paragraphs, the author cites the information about the scene she's provided to make her argument. Because she's already teased the argument in the introduction and provided an account of her evidence, it doesn't strike us as unreasonable or far-fetched here. Instead, it appears that we've naturally arrived at the same incisive, fascinating points that she has. ]

A few other shots in the opening sequence more explicitly hint that Caleb is already under Nathan’s control before he ever arrives at the bunker. Shortly after the P.O.V shot of Caleb reading the email notification that he won the prize, we cut to a few other P.O.V. shots, this time from the perspective of cameras in Caleb’s phone and desktop computer. These cameras are not just looking at Caleb, but appear to be scanning him, as the screen flashes in different color lenses and small points appear around Caleb’s mouth, eyes, and nostrils, tracking the smallest expressions that cross his face. These small details indicate that Caleb is more a part of this digital space than he realizes, and also foreshadow the later revelation that Nathan is actively using data collected by computers and webcams to manipulate Caleb and others. The shots from the cameras’ perspectives also make use of a subtle fisheye lens, suggesting both the wide scope of Nathan’s surveillance capacities and the slightly distorted worldview that motivates this unethical activity.

[ Ed.: This paragraph uses additional details to reinforce the piece's main argument. While this move may not be as essential as the one in the preceding paragraphs, it does help create the impression that the author is noticing deliberate patterns in the film's cinematography, rather than picking out isolated coincidences to make her points. ]

Taken together, the details of Ex Machina ’s stylized opening sequence lay the groundwork for the film’s long exploration of the relationship between human communication and technology. The sequence, and the film, ultimately suggests that we need to develop and use new technologies thoughtfully, or else the thing that makes us most human—our ability to connect through language—might be destroyed by our innovations. All of the aural and visual cues in the opening sequence establish a world in which humans are utterly reliant on technology and yet totally unaware of the nefarious uses to which a brilliant but unethical person could put it.

Author's Note:  Thanks to my literature students whose in-class contributions sharpened my thinking on this scene .

[ Ed.: The piece concludes by tying the main themes of the opening sequence to those of the entire film. In doing this, the conclusion makes an argument for the essay's own relevance: we need to pay attention to the essay's points so that we can achieve a rich understanding of the movie. The piece's final sentence makes a chilling final impression by alluding to the danger that might loom if we do not understand the movie. This is the only the place in the piece where the author explicitly references how badly we might be hurt by ignorance, and it's all the more powerful for this solitary quality. A pithy, charming note follows, acknowledging that the author's work was informed by others' input (as most good writing is). Beautifully done. ]

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Theses and dissertations are a key source for finding the latest scholarship, additional material such as data sets, and detailed research. They can also help you find out what has been written on a topic, uncover other sources through citations, and get inspiration for your own research project. Use the resources below to search for PhD theses from universities in the UK and abroad. If you're a PhD student yourself, you can use the resources to make sure that your topic hasn't already been written about by other doctoral students.   

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The Library received all Ph.D. and M.Phil. theses and M.Sc. (Regulation 3.5.) theses up to 30 September 2016. Theses submitted after this date are kept in the University of Essex Research Repository . We do not normally hold dissertations and theses connected with other degrees - the exception being LL.Ms. All of our theses are kept in Store and can only be consulted in the library - you'll need to use the online store request form or fill in a form at the library helpdesk to request them.

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Theses and Dissertations: Library E-resources

• EThOS EThOS aims to provide a 'single point of access' where researchers the world over can access all theses produced by UK Higher Education. The database can be searched by anyone, but individual users need to register to get access to the full text of theses. Many theses are free to download instantly, whilst others will only be available once digitisation has been requested. The hub automatically harvests e-theses from Institutional Repositories and digitises paper theses from participating institutions to offer the single point of access. Many UK institutions support Open Access to their theses, so download of their digital and digitised theses is free to the researcher. A small number of participating institutions may not be able to offer Open Access and in this case the researcher may have to pay for the digitisation. Where a thesis must be digitised before supply, you can expect a short delay. However, you will be informed when the thesis is ready for collection and you can then log on to the system and download it.
• ProQuest dissertations and theses ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) is the world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses. As the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and as the database of record for graduate research, PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. It also includes PQDT UK & Ireland content. More than 70,000 new full-text dissertations and theses are added to the database each year through dissertations publishing partnerships with 700 leading academic institutions worldwide, and collaborative retrospective digitization of dissertations. Full-text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Some will be native PDF, some PDF image. Each dissertation published since July, 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637. Where available, PQDTGlobal provides 24-page previews of dissertations and theses. Note: Full text for certain publications is subject to market availability more... less... Shibboleth login

Theses and Dissertations: Free Websites and Portals

• EBSCO Open Dissertations Created from a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs, EBSCO Open Dissertations is a free electronic theses and dissertations database offering access to more than 800,000 ETDs, including those previously available in American Doctoral Dissertations.
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• Open Access Theses and Dissertations Resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations from universities around the world.
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Focusing on the transnational and the peripheral elements of film, we develop and expand the entire realm of film scholarship. Working on areas from Deleuze to Korean cinema, from digital cinema to Eastern Europe, from transnational auteurs to documentary and activist films, and many areas in between, we promise a vibrant and engaging research environment for students and scholars.

For more information please visit the Department of Film Studies home page.

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How to Write a Film Studies Essay

Films are designed to be heard and seen, to appeal to our aural and visual senses. Just like any art form, films are also designed to be understood and felt, to appeal to our minds and emotions. The best measure of a film’s credibility is determined through assessing the elements that comprise the whole process. This is achieved through a film study, this post discusses how to write a film studies essay.

Film study essays require more work than movie reviews. This is because they entail that you engage on a level further than storytelling. The essays offer a critical analysis of a complete film. Analyzing a film gives rise to a variety of topics, including the role of propaganda with respect to political and social issues, the influence of cinema on your culture, as well as the emergence of auteur paradigm. The topics are fascinating and they enhance the insight and inspiration of film students. This is a crucial ingredient in the course of writing film studies essays.

The initial step when writing a film studies essay involves narrowing the scope of interest to a specific area. This stage calls for extensive investigation from a wide variety of sources to enhance insight into the area of study. An individual should provide key details and thematic issues under the scope of the study. This enables you to maintain the focus of the film analysis of a scene or sequence that may have escaped the audience’s attention during past viewings. This section also focuses on presenting crucial details on the formalism, genre, historical implications, national background, auteur, and the ideology behind the film. In the course of writing the film analysis, you should pay attention to length, source, and style requirements.

When writing about a specific film, it is always assumed that the targeted audience is familiar with the film under analysis. Such an analysis is always introduced by presenting the major topics of interest while avoiding getting into lengthy details. Special focus should feature while investigating the style and structure of a particular film. This section focuses on the screen events and ignores other outside factors like the historical context, the life history of the director and others. A good film essay should provide the most fascinating and crucial features of the style and structure of the film. Details like sound, lighting, and cinematography contributing to the meaning of the film should also feature.

A good film study essay should also consider the common sequences of form and content. This includes editing, lighting, cinematography, narrative, characterization, thematic concerns and others. This enables the target audience to ascertain how a film diverges or conforms from a genre category. A film study essay writer should consider a film’s historical moment as genre varies with time. At this point, it is important to emphasize the common structures, techniques, and themes associated with the genre of the film. If the genre conforms to expectations, it is necessary to make that acknowledgement.

Analyzing the historical features of a film is an important requirement in writing a film study essay. This approach investigates and positions the unique historical flash of the film’s content, as well as its production or release. You should inquire whether the historical moments /events are depicted in a particular film. Having a historical background enhances the understanding of the narrative or techniques employed in the film. An objective argument should be provided as it will help clarify the film’s place in history. The argument should show how the film relates to the evolutions resulted by technological advancements in the film industry. A film study essay writer should compare the subject matter of specific films to their unique historical moments. A documentation of the reception of a film by a certain audience will come in handy.

Some film studies have theoretical content in their analysis. This form in general requires the writer to have a good comprehension of film history, film technicalities, or film theory. Generally, the essay presents some of the complex and larger structures of the cinema, as well as how the audience understands them. The analysis should center on the national arena,auteur, and the ideology of the film.

An analysis of the national cinema assesses a film through considering each country’s unique mode of studying the cultural implications resulted by these effects. This also helps the audience create the distinction between local and foreign films. It is crucial to determine whether the meaning of the film is changed when a film is observed outside of its culture. After identifying the dominating culture in the film, a cultural research should be carried out to enable a deeper understanding of the themes.

A film’s auteur reflects a director’s individual creative vision and it makes him appear as the film’s author. This is always achieved by a filmmaker who exercises creative management  over his works and possesses a strong personal style. Auteur theory is one of the most persistent  theoretical forms. This analysis focuses on how directors and other dominant figures like actors and producers employ pervasive themes and styles in their volume of work. Though a director rarely has total control over a film, it is important to establish the degree of influence. This will help to ascertain how the historical circumstances of a film’s production promote or discourage the unity of the director’s work. This section should also show the most distinguishing indicators of the director’s control over the film.

The political and social implications of a film are captured in its ideological analysis. Every film has an objective to pass a particular message to the society. An ample film study essay should have a clear underlying message that the film is trying to pass to the society. An analysis of culture, gender, characterization and other tenets help reveal the main message(s) in the film. Ideology can also be broken down into Hollywood Hegemony (observes how classical film designs distort and dominate people’s perception), class analysis( investigates how economic and social arrangements are represented in and surrounding a film influence and reflect the distribution of social command), feminist analysis ( investigates the level of women representation in front and behind the camera both positively and negatively), race studies( determines how various races have been positively or negatively embodied behind and in front of the camera, post colonial analysis ( from an international perception, how the subjugation and subsequent reemergence of native culture is revealed and represented in a particular film.

Before writing a film studies essay, one should offer a brief overview of the narration. However, care should be taken to avoid coming up with a synopsis of the film’s story as it is more of an analysis. The author should reveal plot complications or the film’s ending only if they relay directly to the analysis. If possible, a writer should write the film analysis with the movie at hand. A sufficient understanding of the films sould be reflected by the writer before embarking on writing the analysis. If the analysis is about a part of the movie shot from the point of view of one of the actors, one should write about the subjective camera task. A proper utilization of a film making terms will strengthen the command of the film studies essay.

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4 thoughts on “How to Write a Film Studies Essay”

Good points. Good for me. Can I write a film analysis thesis using phenomenology and hermeneutics but not film theory? Thanks.

Hi, you can write using either but there is more reference material relating to phenomenology.

You have done a great job writing this essay to keep us informed. Please add more

Thanks Lacey – We are always adding new content. Be sure to keep an eye out.

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Home > FACULTIES > Film Studies > FILM-ETD

Film Studies Theses and Dissertations

This collection contains theses and dissertations from the Department of Film Studies, collected from the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Rise of Marvel and DC's Transmedia Superheroes: Comic Book Adaptations, Fanboy Auteurs, and Guiding Fan Reception , Alex Brundige

Contemporary French Queer Cinema: Explicit Sex and the Politics of Normalization , Joanna K. Smith

Rob Zombie, the Brand: Crafting the Convergence-Era Horror Auteur , Ryan Stam

Transnational Monsters: Navigating Identity and Intertextuality in the Films of Guillermo del Toro , Sean M. Volk

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Tragedy, Ecstasy, Doom: Modernist Moods of "West Side Story" , Andrew M. Falcao

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Music, Cinema and the Representation of Africa , Natasha Callender

Clash of the Industry Titans: Marvel, DC and the Battle for Market Dominance , Caitlin Foster

The New French Extremity: Bruno Dumont and Gaspar Noé, France's Contemporary Zeitgeist , Timothy J. Nicodemo

'Subbed-Titles': Hollywood, the Art House Market and the Best Foreign Language Film Category at the Oscars , Kyle W. J. Tabbernor

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Fighting, Screaming, and Laughing for an Audience: Stars, Genres, and the Question of Constructing a Popular Anglophone Canadian Cinema in the Twenty First Century , Sean C. Fitzpatrick

New York Beat: Collaborative Video and Filmmaking in The Lower East Side and the South Bronx from 1977-1984 , Andrew G. Hicks

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Film production'

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Wille, Kirstin. "Film production in Cambodia conditions and structure of the Cambodian film production market, demand and supply in consideration of film genre." Erfurt Thüringisch-Kambodschan. Ges, 2009. http://www.tkgev.org/film-production-in-cambodia.html.

Kieran, Jonathan P. "For Want Of: A Punk Rock Short Film." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2015. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1992.

Goksu, Emel Iraz. "Hemicellulose Based Biodegradable Film Production." Master's thesis, METU, 2005. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12605940/index.pdf.

Theuer, Timothy. "Submit: A Narrative Film Production." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2005. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/232.

Song, Dae Hyun. "Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production on Short Film "Draw Me Invisible"." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/321962.

Carter-Hansen, Jill, University of Western Sydney, and of Performance Fine Arts and Design Faculty. "Travelling light - with a case for discovery : the making of the film Songs of the Immigrant Bride." THESIS_FVPA_XXX_CarterHansen_J.xml, 1997. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/680.

Harmon, Joseph C. "The Cuddle Club." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2015. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1970.

Thomas, M. "Gelatin film formation related to capsule production." Thesis, Cardiff University, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.372355.

BREA, JOANA DE OLIVEIRA. "SUBTLE RESISTANCIES: FILM CREATION AND PRODUCTION INSTANCIES." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2008. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=12940@1.

Vales, Marcela. "The Golden Ring: A Narrative Film Production." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2005. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/285.

Gooch, Sara Anne. "Mediating the mill: steel production in film." Diss., University of Iowa, 2012. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2879.

Stratton, Sabra. "Get Out of My Hair." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/978.

Lange, Shara K. "Documentary Production & Documentary Problems." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2012. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3666.

Raymond, Mark C. "Going In circles." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2014. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1938.

Cheng, Alexandra. "TERMS: A Short Film." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1807.

Ho, Isabella Mei-yu. "The BFI and film production : a history of policy and practice from the Experimental Film Fund to the Production Board." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.437470.

Xing, Zishuo. "Unfolding the Spectrum of Emotions." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1243.

Merz, Caroline. "Why not a Scots Hollywood? : fiction film production in Scotland, 1911-1928." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22054.

CASEIRO, IGOR AJUZ DE ABREU. "APPLICATIONS OF RFID IN A FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2011. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=18171@1.

Nozaic, Claire. "An introduction to audio post-production for film." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/17405.

El, Khachab Chihab. "Technology, labor, and mediation in Egyptian film production." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3968411a-84aa-4478-887b-b2c59be71522.

Mynatt, Trenton T. "Splitting Maul." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2016. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2176.

McNamee, Robert V. "Writing for film : the role of the Production Board of the British Film Institute." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1994. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bf4bcf2d-4120-4c59-a196-05d9f771a9dc.

Crockett, Emmett J. III. "Timelocked: A Thesis." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2019. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2600.

Ationu, A. "Comparison of fixed Acetobacter film fermenter systems." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.382281.

Beaudet, Madison. "Can the Good Man Be Happy? The Production of "Beyond Memory"." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2016. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2129.

Meiser, Cory. "Documentary Film: Love's Story." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5312/.

Norwood, Tracy L. "The Blanket of the Dark." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2017. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2389.

Ziemsen, Eva. "Developing a learning model for teaching film production online." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63862.

Holtmeier, Matthew. "The modern political film : biopolitical production and cinematic subjectivity." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3624.

Mulligan, Talley. "Lekhost a Tize: An Experiment in Film Production Methodology." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2003. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/46.

Barquinha, Pedro. "Transparent oxide thin-film transistors: production, characterization and integration." Doctoral thesis, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/5380.

Kaimal, Kiren G. "Light: Journey of a Lifetime." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2008. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/709.

Mackay, Jem. "www.swarmtv.net : non-hierarchy through open source approaches to distributed filmmaking." Thesis, University of the Arts London, 2015. http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/8756/.

Elliott, Emma M. "Damn Spot: Navigating Emotional Trauma in the Body." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2019. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1252.

Lopez, Laura. "BAKER:THE MAKING OF AN INDEPENDENT THRILLER." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/2096.

Johnson, Jeb E. Mr. "Exploring Hollywood Cinema: A Look at Cinematic Techniques and the Classical Hollywood Ideology." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/350.

Bentley, Christina Mitchell. ""THAT'S JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT": THE CHILDREN'S HORROR FILM IN THE 1980'S." Lexington, Ky. : [University of Kentucky Libraries], 2002. http://lib.uky.edu/ETD/ukyengl2002t00033/00cmbthe.pdf.

Karamanlioglu, Mehlika. "Xylan-based Biodegradable And Wheat Gluten-based Antimicrobial Film Production." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/3/12609376/index.pdf.

Barcsay, Katherine Eva. "Profit and production : Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice on film." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5152.

Xu, Wei Wei. "Career management : a study of the Chinese film production industry." Thesis, Kingston University, 2012. http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/23025/.

Cliche, André. "Optimisation de la production de glace dans un film tombant." Mémoire, Université de Sherbrooke, 2005. http://savoirs.usherbrooke.ca/handle/11143/1304.

Ribera, Deborah. "(Re)Presentation: An Affective Exploration of Ethnographic Documentary Film Production." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1428658018.

Costello, Anthony John. "Lost nights." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26369.

Lee, Yun-ping, and 李芸萍. "An Observation on Taiwan Independent Film Production──A Case Study of HMC Film Productions." Thesis, 1999. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/08057077932501480217.

Theuer, Timothy Louis. "Submit a narrative film production /." 2005. http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/u?/NOD,207.

Irvine, Andrew Robert. "Plus/minus." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26417.

KYAWK, DAD YIN, and 趙德胤. "Low-Cost Independent Digital Film Production." Thesis, 2010. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/21495567688747565685.

Kaeja, Allen. "Transcending media : adapting the dance production 'Asylum of Spoons' from stage to film /." 2009. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51545.

Edwards, Timothy Serpell. "Pō." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/26357.

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