The document provides guidelines for writing a paper proposal and final paper on analyzing the soundtrack of a film. It specifies the page requirements and formatting. For the proposal, the student must choose a film, explain their choice and expectations, provide context about the film and music, and list sources. For the final paper, the student expands on these areas, performs a close analysis of three film clips, and is graded on organization, argument, analysis, source use, and following guidelines.

1. 1. Guidelines for Paper Proposal
Page Specifications
Your project proposal should be between 1 and 2 pages, double-
spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font.
Project Proposal
Choosing your topic
:
1. Pick something that interests you and/or is relevant to your
primary area of study
2. Make sure the topic allows you to focus on music (since this
is a course in the music department)
3. Remember that for your paper, you will have to write about
the soundtrack more broadly and also do close analyses of three
scenes, so make sure your film has enough moments that you
want to analyze in great detail.
4. Make sure your proposed topic has the correct scope for a
paper of about 6-8 pages.
5. Feel free to contact Dr. Kass before putting a lot of work
into your proposal if you want to run your ideas by her.
What to include:
Your proposal should state (a sentence or two for each of the
following):

2. 1. What movie you have chosen
2. Why you have chosen this movie
3. Brief summary of the context of the movie and its music
a. For example:
i. When did the movie premiere?
ii. Who directed it?
iii. Who composed the soundtrack?
4. What you expect to find of interest in the soundtrack to this
film – a kind of hypothesis, which will hopefully morph into the
basis for your thesis statement for your paper.
a. For example (from the movies on the syllabus – off-limits for
your own papers):
i. I have chosen
Harry Potterand the Sorcerer’s Stone
, and I expect to examine how the soundtrack changes from the
scenes in the wizarding world and the scenes in the Muggle
world.
ii. I have chosen
Coco
, and I expect to find many examples of Mickeymousing
because it is an animated film.
5. What outside sources you will use to help you write about the
soundtrack and how they will be helpful (Include at least 3)

3. a. Types of sources:
i. Encyclopedia articles (If you use Wikipedia, explain why
this is the best source available)
ii. Reviews of the film
iii. Reviews of the film’s soundtrack
iv. Blogs about film music
v. Chapters from books
vi.
Keep in mind:
1. The readings assigned for this class should be useful to you
and can be used in your final paper but do not count towards
your three sources in this proposal.
2. You do NOT have to fully read all of the sources that you list
in your proposal before the deadline for this assignment. Just
read/skim enough (or read about them elsewhere – you can find
published reviews for a lot of books) to be able to determine
how these sources will be useful to your paper
How to Find Sources
:
1. Type keywords into the Temple Library’s search box
a. If you find a book on a topic related to your paper, go to the
library to get it, and browse the other books near it on the shelf
– they might be relevant too.

4. b. Ask a librarian for help or advice
2. Type keywords into JSTOR, a database of journal articles
3. Type keywords into Google and limit results to books
4. Type keywords into
http://www.worldcat.org/
, a database that includes the holdings of libraries
internationally.
2. These notes are just a chance for you to work towards writing
your final paper by writing down your thoughts about the music,
and its relationship to the images in the film, as you watch your
film. You can write them in whatever format you choose,
although you know that my preferred format when I take my
own notes is in a table, with separate columns for timestamps,
descriptions of the image, and descriptions of the music and
how the music interacts with the other elements in the film.
Your notes are to help you prepare to write your paper, so make
sure they at the very least include:
Timestamps (so you can go back to moments in the film that
you might need to revisit, and so you can include this
information in your final paper)
Detailed descriptions of some important musical moments,
including information about musical elements such as timbre,
rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, instrumentation, tempo,
range, and dynamics (of course I would love detailed
descriptions of the music throughout the film, but I know it is
hard to type that fast while you are watching, and I won’t mark
you down if some of your notes are vague at this point)

5. Terms such as “audio suture,” “empathetic,” “Mickeymousing,”
etc. to describe how the music interacts with other elements of
the film (when they apply).
Noting down silence on the score – it’s important too!
I will not mark you down if you don’t have notes for every
single minute of the film, but please include notes across the
whole film, not just a few scenes. Again, these notes are to help
you. Once you have a good set of notes, and a good thesis
statement, writing the paper itself should be very
straightforward and not take too long!
3. Guidelines for Final Paper
Page Specifications
Your final paper should be about
6-8 pages
long, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font.
What to include:
Your paper should include the same content as your project
proposal but greatly expanded with more details and supporting
evidence for your claims.
(The following is not necessarily the best order in which to
organize this information)

6. 1. What movie you have chosen
2. How this movie fits into the genre of an epic
3. Why you have chosen this movie
a. What you expected to find of interest in the soundtrack to
this film
i. For example:
1. I have chosen
Harry Potterand the Sorcerer’s Stone
, and I expected the soundtrack to change from the scenes in the
wizarding world and the scenes in the Muggle world.
2. I have chosen
Finding Nemo
, and I expect to find many examples of Mickeymousing
because it is an animated film.
b. Whether you found what you thought you would find.
i. For example:
1. The soundtrack did change from scenes in the wizarding
world to scenes in the Muggle world. In the wizarding world,
the celeste, an instrument with a bell-like timbre, was used to
indicate magical occurrences.
(Note, this is just the start of an example and is nowhere near
detailed or expanded enough.)
4. Summary of the context of the movie and its music
a. For example:

7. i. When did the movie premiere?
ii. Who directed it?
iii. Who composed the soundtrack?
5. What is the soundtrack to the movie like in general?
a. For example (you don’t have to answer all of these, and there
are many other questions you could answer):
i. How is diegetic music used in the film?
ii. Are there leitmotifs? How are they used?
iii. Does the composer often use certain timbres, or are is the
orchestration varied throughout the soundtrack?
iv. Are there instances of anempathetic music?
6. Choose
at least
three clips from the film.
a. Introduce the clips
b. Perform a close analysis of these clips (What does the clip
show? Is it representative of the soundtrack on the whole or is it
an anomaly?)
c. You should reference many more than three scenes in your
paper. These are just two scenes for which you need to give a
very detailed account.
What you will be graded on:

8. · Organization
o The paper has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
o Your paragraph breaks make sense.
o You group similar ideas together.
· Argument
o Include a strong thesis statement in your introduction in
which you clearly state your main point.
o Refer back to your thesis statement throughout your paper,
relating other content back to the thesis statement.
o Your analysis of your clips should support your argument.
o Your argument should be based on your own original ideas.
(i.e. Don’t read an article by someone else and use the main
points in their article as the main argument in your paper.)
· Analysis
o Correct use of terminology and relevant core concepts learned
in class
§ If a term can be used, you should use it.
§ If something we learned about in class can be applied in your
paper, you should at least mention it.
§ Steer clear of vague language and be as specific as you can.
o Choice of clips

9. § You should choose to analyze the moments in the film that
best relate to the arguments in your paper.
· Use of outside sources
o Sources should be used to contribute to background
information for your topic and to enhance your own original
points.
o Remember that the film itself is a source.
§
Include precise time references
when citing the film so that your reader knows which part of the
film you are talking about.
o Sources should be cited correctly.
§ Any language that is not your own should be placed in
quotation marks and cited parenthetically.
§ Any information that is not either common knowledge (i.e.
the date a movie was released) or your own original ideas
should be cited parenthetically.
· If you are in any doubt, CITE!
o Citing too much is fine. Citing too little can lead to
(inadvertent) plagiarism.
§ If you are reading a source for background information and
you are including that information in your paper, filter it
through your own brain first.
· Don’t list the same facts in the same order as your source.

10. · Make connections between the items in the list of facts.
· Relate the facts back to your own ideas.
§ Pick a style and stick to it.
· I don’t care whether you are using APA, MLA, Chicago Style,
etc. but pick one, and format all of your citations consistently.
o Incorporate feedback
§ If I told you to correct anything from your proposal or your
presentation, be sure you do that in your final paper.
§ If your classmates asked you good questions in class, try to
address them in your final paper.
· Adherence to the instructions in this document
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGood overall
analysis of the film as a wholeAble to take a long view of the
film, thinking of overarching creative choices like use of
diegetic music, musical repetition, orchestral forces, etc. Good
use of terminology.
25.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks

11. 25.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGood
organization of materialPresentation flows well
10.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks
10.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStrong main
argument(Connected to most of the content in the presentation)
10.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks
10.0 pts

12. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGood use of
contextual informationUses outside sources well
10.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks
10.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDetailed close
analysisGood use of terminology
30.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks
30.0 pts

13. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeFollows
Guidelines(i.e. length, format of documents)
10.0
ptsFull Marks
0.0
ptsNo Marks
10.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCorrect use of
citationsN.B. Please review the Academic Honesty Policy on the
syllabus