Before Viewing:
Read the course glossary and the introductory material to the course.  Have your glossary with you.
You should have already read the written text!  Have that, and the notes you took while reading, with you.
Have a notebook and pen ready to take notes.
Do your best to make sure you won't be interrupted while you're watching the film.

First Viewing:
Follow the basics of the plot and the characters.
Notice broad themes that the filmmaker is pursuing.
Make note (and mark the time) of scenes that seem particularly important, complex, confusing, or wonderful.
Notice any striking techniques (e.g. low lighting, fast-paced editing, long sections without dialogue, etc.) and their impact on you.

After Your First Viewing:
Think about the source text, and judge whether the adaptation was faithful, or interpretive.  
What changed about the details of the novel or story?
Consider whether the director of the film was pursuing the same themes as the writer, and if they came to the same conclusions.
Review the questions on the reverse of this sheet, and get ready to look for the answers as you watch again.
If you have a screening response to write, decide what your thesis will be so that you can look for examples to support it!

Second Viewing:
Narrow down and look for evidence to support your thematic interpretation.
Take copious notes!
Look more carefully at the details of mise en scene, cinematography, editing, and screenplay.
Watch carefully the important or complex scenes that you've noted.  Review sections as necessary.
 
What should you be looking for when you watch a film for class?
Narrative
How is the film structured? Determine the film's pivotal scene(s) and sequencing. How is the story's plot told: through normal exposition? by flashback ? with a narrator (by voice-over)? chronologically or linearly? character-driven? objectively or subjectively? otherwise? What is the point of view from which the film is presented? Does parallelism (the film cuts back and forth between two scenes that are happening simultaneously or at different times) exist between two or more scenes? Are the transitions between scenes meaningful? Is there a climax and resolution (and denouement)? Does the film follow conventions of continuity? Is there closure by film's end?

Themes
Look for the film's central themes, motifs, ideas or dominant messages, as well as the film's sub-text (what you must interpret, rather than what's explicit). Remember that theme is not the same thing as a topic, or a broad concept! (In Free Willy, "Freedom" isn't a theme; "The power of a child's innocence to remind adults what freedom is" is a theme.)
Identify prominent symbols and metaphors within the film and determine their purpose and overall effect. What popular ideologies are reproduced and reinforced in the film? Does the film have an original theme or a traditional one? Is the film's theme adequately or successfully supported by the story, acting, and other film elements?

Characters
Who are the main characters? What are their motivations? What are their ethical values? Their assumptions? Who are the minor characters? How do they assist in telling the story, or developing the major characters? Are they echoes, or foils? Is there a hero or heroine? a villain? an anti-hero? Do the characters seem to be written to be realistic? Are they stereotypical? Do any of the characters change during the course of the film? Do any stay the same? How are characters developed visually? How are they developed through their dialogue?

Directing and cinematography
Have you seen any other films made by the director and/or the cinematographer? Do you recognize titles of the director's or the cinematographer's other films? What evidence do you see that the director has shaped or controlled the making of the film or the telling of the story in a particular way? What visual style is presented? How is the style defined by the use of film techniques, and how do those techniques help establish the film's mood and themes? 
Some specifics to look for:
Framing and composition
Camera positioning
Scale
Color
Focus 
Camera movement
Establishing shots (the initial shot in a scene) 
Variety and interplay of shots

Mise en scene
What elements in the mise en scene help underscore the film's style and themes? How does the setting impact the film? Is the film shot on location or on a set? Does the space seem expansive or tight? How does the setting impact the mood or underscore the themes? Décor: What's been put in the shot? Do inanimate objects serve symbolic purposes, or create a mood? Lighting: How are the shots lit? Does the light seem natural or artificial? What impressions does the lighting create? Acting: Are the performances believable? Is any of the acting memorable? How does typage impact the film? star power? type-casting? Does the actors' non-verbal acting make a big impact on the film? Their costuming? What's occurring in off-screen space?

Editing
Does the film's editing seem "seamless," as in the classical Hollywood style of continuity editing, or is the editing done so that you can't help but notice it? How does one shot transition into the next? Do you see simple cuts, fades, and wipes? Has the editor used a montage to help tell the story? Is there complicated or meaningful cross-cutting or matching that connects the ideas from one shot to the next? Are there jarring techniques, such as a lot of jump cutting or intentionally confusing images at the cuts? Is the pace of the editing generally fast or slow in terms of the typical length of a shot, and of a sequence? Does it change pace? How do these choices develop the style or the themes of the film?

Sound
What impact does the soundtrack music have? What mood does it set? What ideas does it express? Are there sound effects? Is there a combination of diagetic and extra-diegetic sound? Does the sound editing follow or diverge from the visual editing? Does the film use an original score or well-known music? Do certain sounds recur?