PROCESS NOTES:

January 6th: I read multiple articles on Woody Allen’s directing style to get an idea for what my thesis should be or what I”m interested in learning more about. I read over the response I made for a homework on Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, which was the writing that made me want to do an Honors Project, and I realized I wanted to expand on one specific idea. The two quotes we had to focus on in the homework, I really want to go more into depth on in some way. As of now, I am trying to form a question or thesis that will allow me to used those quotes to explain my idea.

February 14th: I initially wanted to write something solely about Woody Allen and his filmmaking style, but when I actually started writing out my ideas for what I would include, my thoughts started to change on what I truly wanted to write about. Because this is a topic I care a lot about and genuinely love exploring, I didn’t want to simplify my thoughts into one idea about one director, instead, I started to write about the advantages and “beauties” of filmmaking as a whole, not just about Woody Allen’s filmmaking alone. I decided I would use his style and ideology as an example (piece of evidence) for my overall thesis. I basically did a free write on what I believe filmmaking is and what I find most intriguing about it and ended up with a statement saying how the denotation of film has changed over time as directors began to use the medium to explore grounds beyond simply telling a story. Because of my initial interest in writing about Woody Allen, I am still using his ideology in my first paragraph which proves one of the “beauties” of filmmaking. For my second paragraph I am using director, Harmony Korine, as an example of a current director who uses the medium in a very experiential way with an incentive of providing the audience with emotions solely based off of the visuals in his films. I’m currently writing the second paragraph and thinking about the best piece of evidence for my third.

-I decided to make it more of a combination of a critical reflection and an essay; somewhat “informal” language, speaking in the “I” voice, reflecting on my realizations and opinions, but in the structure of an essay.

March 14th: Stephen and I decided that my third paragraph would not be an additional depiction of another director or movie, but instead, would be a comparison between the ideas in the first two paragraphs and a transition into the conclusion, which explains my perception of the ultimate beauty of filmmaking. I’ve completed a final draft that I sent to Stephen with a couple questions on any remaining changes I need to make.

Project by: Max Reilly (11th Grade)
Faculty Advisor: Stephen MacGillivray

Please write a description of the project you are proposing. Why do you want to take this on, and what do you hope to learn?

In my History of Cinema class, we’ve gone into depth on multiple directors and their directing styles since the beginning of filmmaking. We’ve had to write 150 word responses about each film we’ve watched and their director’s style and I wanted to expand my writing on at least one of the prompts, surpass 150 words, and do more extensive research the prompt I’ve chosen. I picked Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” to study because it has many elements that were incredibly unique in comparison to, not only, the other films we’ve watched, but films altogether. Aside from “Annie Hall”, Woody Allen is a very complex, interesting character whose ideology is very intriguing and has me asking so many questions. I want to write an analytical essay on his movies, filmmaking styles, choices, etc. The thesis and main idea will be discussed more thoroughly with Stephen once I begin writing it, but we have narrowed it down to a few options. The main idea would probably be, either, comparing two or more of his films/understanding their similarities, his preference of art over life/his use of the film medium, or why he chooses to star in his films/his choice of names for each character.

What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project?

Not only do I want to thoroughly research Woody Allen and his work more because filmmaking and directing is a subject I’m very passionate about, but I also wanted to practice my writing skills and developing an analytical essay about a topic other than, for instance, a novel. I would demonstrate completion with printed copies of my work.

When do you plan on meeting?
After school, once a week, or as many times as needed.