We were getting ready to screen a film in my Literary Criticism class. I turned out the lights and started the DVD. "How are we supposed to take notes in the dark?" a student asked. Good question. I forgot to coach them on this and regretted it. I stopped the film, turned on one of the two light switches afforded to me and took a straw poll: "How many of you want to leave one light on for note-taking?" Only one person raised her hand -- the same one who asked the question originally. "Majority rules," I said with a shrug, and resumed the film in the dark. "Do your best," I whispered. "Your eyes will adjust."

After the movie, one student chuckled. "I only wrote down one line." Most others had blank pages.

I take the blame for this. Even though time was an issue, I should have helped out before the fact.

But there's only so much help I can give them. When I was a film studies student, I always struggled with this issue myself. I have file folders filled with chicken scratch I can barely read nowadays.

When I teach film courses, I typically offer some advice that worked for me: try to write large block letters, don't be afraid to use several sheets of paper, and trust that you'll be able to read the notes later on. I suggest they buy pen lights or those lighted pens you can purchase in in gift shops (the ones that let people read in bed). I've even allowed them to flick their bics, if they carry a lighter. Anything to assist while keeping the light source low so it won't interrupt others.

We always make do. Tonight I saw a student in the class flip open her cell phone and shine the screen over her paper. I thought that was a good strategy. If I were a student today, I'd probably take notes on my PDA, which is backlit. If I had a tablet PC, that would be even better. (The lit screen might distract others in the room, but itt might even beat this curiously appealing illuminated notepad with moveable writing surface that I found on a patent list online!)

It makes sense to take notes AFTER a screening, jotting down your thoughts before you forget them and cleaning up any scribble you made during the show itself. Some people advocate not taking notes at all during the movie so as not to miss anything, but I think note-taking increases my concentration and attention while I watch. And it's much easier and more productive to take detailed notes (especially for any paper you might be writing) during a private screening at home or in a campus lab, with a finger on the pause and rewind button.

In an advice article posted at Bryn Mawr's Film Studies site, "Taking Notes on Classroom Screenings", Marianna Martin follows Timothy Corrigan's lead from his (very good) book, A Short Guide to Writing About Film, suggesting that if you begin a film with a particular task in mind -- say, paying attention to gender issues, or dialogue -- it helps guide your note-taking so you can stay focused on the movie without losing your place. I like this.

I typically take notes that mention specific shots that I will want to return to later on when I study the film later on, simple crude notes like "cross shadow on forehead, after the murder" which function as mnemonic devices for me. But it's still hard to coach students on this practice. The best thing to do, I've found in the past, is give students a list of questions or "things to look for" that might facilitate note taking. I might phrase them like this: "Welles is known for his extreme camera angles. Look for any out of the ordinary shots in the movie, and consider what they tell us about the relationship between the characters."

It's also good -- in a course where many films will be screened -- to arm students with shorthand for film language. Use it on the board or in handouts: "xcu" might mean "extreme close up" for example.

But the biggest hurdle for note-taking during screenings is letting go of our fixation on perfect penmanship. Perhaps next time I teach a film course proper, I'll run "writing in the dark" drills (just turning out the lights or having students close their eyes and then, say, writing down sentences I randomly spit out) as a method for acclimatating them to note taking during films. Heck, come to think of it, I might even try having creative writing classes freewrite with their eyes closed. Sensory deprivation, after all, can trigger interesting results.

Of course, sometimes it doesn't even matter if the notes are legible. Writing helps us process our thoughts and increases concentration on the text. The act of note-taking will "burn in" some scenes so we'll remember them later, even if we don't have our notes for review.

If anyone reading this has tips on this topic, please share. My research is turning up very little advice.

You can ping this entry by using .