This second essay will deal with the visual media we have looked at over the last few weeks. It will...

This second essay will deal with the visual media we have looked at over the last few weeks. It will focus on "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (Francis Ford Coppola 1993) 

Prompt: Keeping in mind the Uncanny nature of film itself (not for nothing are movies sometimes referred to as "the shadow screen"), write an essay that looks at one aspect of the production of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (costuming, sets, lighting, cinematography, editing, music, art direction etc) and explains how that particular film technique is essential to our understanding of the Gothicness/uncanniness/spookiness of the film. You will need to use examples from multiple scenes. You may want but are not required to include some discussion of Freud's "The Uncanny" to talk about ideas of doubling, animate, lifeless things, or etymology of the words "uncanny" or "unheimlische." Your outside sources should, in some way, relate to what you are discussing. For instance, if you are writing about costuming, you might want to use this brief documentary about the interrelationship between costumes and sets in the film (available on youtube). That said, the outside sources do not have to relate directly to any of the films (if you talk about editing you can cite an article about editing generally etc).

What I do not want: This prompt is wide open so it is useful for me to talk about what I don't want in the paper.

1. Plot Summary--please do not talk about the plot of the film (only do so briefly if it helps to set up the production aspect). Don't make points about the film's storyline, dialogue or characters as ways of proving that the film is Gothic. We know that vampires are involved in Gothic literature and telling us about the focus on a vampire is not what I want. You can however talk about the ways in which the musical cues in the film help us better understand the idea of vampirism, or how specific makeup/costume/set elements make the Vampire a more effective tool in creating a Gothic/uncanny film. Especially do not compare the film to the book. Deviations from the source material can be interesting in some kinds of analytic essays, but this one should not be focused on it.

2. Judgement about the quality of the film--We live in an age of reviews and discussing the merits, demerits, successes and failures of a film are second nature to us. In this particular essay I do not want a personal evaluation. The reason is not to avoid critical discussion of the film's strengths and weaknesses (our class discussion did quite a bit of that), but to make sure that your discussion of the production element comes from a place of facts and observations, rather than personal taste. One wouldn't write a critical literary essay about why one disliked "The Fall of the House of Usher." That belongs in a review. I expect the same level of professional detachment. 

3. A technical description of how a production element works--This is about how the production elements of Dracula and the short films we watched create a Gothic viewing experience. Don't spend lots of time telling me what editing is. Assume that I know how a film is made and only include general details when they specifically relate to a point you are making in the essay. 

The final essay should be 1200 words and contain an introduction with a stated thesis, body and conclusion. 

The rough draft should be at least 600 words to give me a sense of what you are writing.