Reading

While literary scholars use a variety of critical lenses to study and interpret literature, every student of literature needs basic skills in close reading. This section provides suggestions and examples to help students become careful, detailed readers.

Annotation is not the best method for reading films closely because film is in constant motion. However, a shot list is a useful tool for reading a film scene closely.

A shot list is a table in which the viewer records the details of a scene, shot by shot. The table should include the following:

• • • shot length

    • narrative

    • mise-en-scene

    • cinematography

    • editing

    • sound

See the Film page for descriptions of these terms. The completed shot list documents direct evidence for a close reading essay.