My Left Foot 4

a
Oral/ written summary of scene
b
Counting the number of shots which make up a scene
c
Listing in detail the content of each shot
When doing 
c
above, students should follow an agreed format like
the one used below: shot number, indication of interior (int.) or
exterior (ext.) location, followed by a description of what is seen on
screen 
and
heard on the soundtrack.
It is important to remember that the goal of this exercise is
observation
, not analysis.
2
Questions
Every scene is of significance to our understanding of the
narrative. Dialogue and action are presented to us in order
to tell us more about the characters and to drive the
narrative forward. In examining individual moments we
need therefore to ask several questions of each. These
include:
• How many shots did you count in the sequence? 
• What actions or dialogue take place?
• What is the purpose of this scene? How does it contribute to the
development of the narrative? 
• What do we know at the end of it that we didn’t know at the
beginning?
• In an opening scene, what do we learn about the characters and
the world in which the film is set? 
• What does a scene tell us about the film’s principal characters?
Has our understanding or feelings about these characters
changed? Why?
• How do the actors’ performances contribute to our response to
these characters?
• What elements of film style, (lighting, colour, mise-en-scène, camera,
music etc.) does the director use? How and why are they used?
• In the context of the Leaving Cert. English syllabus, how can this
scene be considered under one or more of the prescribed
comparative headings?
3
Analysis
Use the information obtained in the shot breakdown and your
responses to these questions to write an analysis of the sequence. 
SAMPLE KEY MOMENT ANALYSIS