Intro To Film Syllabus

Introduction to Film and Media Arts

Instructor: David Foulds

Office Hours: TBA

TEXTS:

1)    Looking at Movies (5^th Edition) – Richard Barsam

2)    Selections from Film Genre Reader III – Barry Keith Grant (PDFs provided on Canvas)

3)    Selections from Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen by Stephanie Harrison (PDFs provided on Canvas)

INTRODUCTION

Why study film and media? Some might argue that film and media are merely “entertainment,” and as such are not worthy of academic consideration. But think of the verb “to entertain.” Sure, it means to “amuse through performance”, but it also means “to consider.” When we entertain an idea, we put it into action in our minds before we put it into action in our physical world. We “try it out” to see if it will work before we commit. Likewise, film is a “space” where we “play” very serious ideas about our society and culture. It is a safe space that allows us to dive into issues that affect us. Through narrative, we can explore difficult issues that haunt us, we can reflect on our beliefs and fears, we can look critically and creatively at our socio-political world.

But how do filmmakers and media creators achieve this? In order to understand how media is used to communicate these ideas, we need to understand the visual language of cinema. In this course, we will primarily examine how filmmakers have used visuals and sound much how a writer uses a pen. Like a writer, we will look at how filmmakers develop a “style” through an understanding of the tools of the medium.  

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will examine major trends and genres in the world of film and media. Analysis of how plot, theme and character are developed in a visual medium and how the language and syntax of film conveys meaning as compared to media, literature and drama will be emphasized. The relationship of film and media to historical, social, and cultural trends will also be examined. Topics include modes of production, narrative and non-narrative forms, visual design, editing, sound, genre, ideology and critical analysis. 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the themes and concerns of selected genres and directors.
2. Critically analyze film, television and electronic media as a technology, business, cultural production/cultural artifact, entertainment medium and art form.
3. Relate the language and syntax of film and media to usage and story convention.
4. Analyze how the content and form of film alters meaning when compared with how literature, television, and drama convey meaning.
5. Differentiate between the aesthetic considerations of literature, drama, television, and film.
6. Assess how film and media form and themes are altered by political, cultural, historical, social trends.
7. Compare, contrast, and evaluate films and media from different cultures and time periods.
8. Describe the formal aesthetic elements of the cinematic arts. (i.e.: Cinematography, Editing, Mise-en-scene, Sound)

 

ASSIGNMENTS

1)    Formal analysis of film (20%)

2)    Genre analysis of film (20%)

3)    Cultural analysis of film (20%)

4)    Adaptation analysis of film (20%)

5)    Final Exam (20%)

ESSAY PROMPTS: refer to the filmography at the end of the syllabus for choices of films to analyze. All essays are 750-1000 words, double spaced.

1)    Formal Analysis – Choose One:

a.     Write a shot by shot analysis of two or three scenes. How has the filmmaker edited the scenes? How is sound used? How do these techniques propel the story forward? What do they say about character and their motivations?  How do they contribute to theme? How has the editor ‘written’ the story through time?

b.     Write a narrative analysis of the structure of a film. What is the story? What is the plot? Find and discuss the three acts, the inciting incident, the escalating conflict, the climax, and the resolution. Discuss who the protagonist and how he/she drives the plot. What does he/she want and what keeps him/her from getting it? Who/what is the chief antagonist?

c.     Analyze the mise-en-scene of several settings in a film. Think about what is in each shot and how it’s framed. What does each element tell you about the world we are viewing? About the character and their needs? About the overall theme of the film?

2)    Genre Analysis

a.     Choose a genre film. Download and read the selection of readings (3) from Canvas about that genre. Use the readings as a “lens” to analyze your film. How does the film conform to genre conventions? Where does it deviate from them? Start by discussing the genre of choice and what defines the genre. Use quotes from your readings as evidence for your position.

3)    Cultural Analysis

a.     Select a film. Research the time period it was created. What social/political/ideological issues were important at the time? How does your selected film reflect these issues? Be specific using evidence from the film to support your claims.

4)    Film Adaptation Analysis

a.     Select a film that has been adapted from a short story or play (a selection is provided for you on Canvas). Discuss the similarities and differences between the original and the film. How has the filmmaker used visuals instead of words to convey the story? Choose a few specific scenes and analyze how the mise-en-scene conveys the information written in the original. Where has the filmmaker deviated from the original?

Course Schedule:

Week One Introduction: What does it mean to take a film and media arts class? -        Cinematic language -        Formal analysis -        Narrative	Viewing: Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007) 1 hour and 36 minutes Homework: Read Chapter 1, “Looking at Movies” and Chapter 2 “Film Form” in Barsam.
Week Two   Mise-en-scene: It’s all there for a reason. -        Design -        Lighting -        Costume, Hair, Makeup -        Composition -        Kinesis	Viewing: American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999) 2 hours and 2 minutes Homework: Read Ch. 5, “Mise-en-Scene” in Barsam.
Week Three Cinematography: Writing with light. -        The DP -        Film vs Video -        Tonality -        Lighting -        Lenses -        Framing	Viewing: In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wei, 2000) 1 hour and 38 minutes Homework: Read Ch. 6, “Cinematography” in Barsam.
Week Four Editing and Sound:  Where the story is built. -        Kuleshov Effect -        Flashbacks -        Ellipsis -        Rhythm -        Continuity and Discontinuity -        Sound Design -        Foley	Viewing: Delicatessen (Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, 1991) 2 hours Homework: Read Chapter 8, “Editing” and Chapter 9, “Sound” in Barsam. Write Essay 1: Formal analysis paper
Week Five Why are there genres? -        Conventions -        Types of genres o   Gangster o   Film Noir o   Western o   Musical o   Science Fiction o   Horror -        ESSAY 1 DUE	Viewing: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) 1 hour and 50 minutes Homework: Read “Genre” by Andrew Tudor, “The Idea of Genre” by Edward Buscombe and Chapter 10, “Film History” in Barsam
Week Six Revising Genre: I know it when I see it…or do I? -        How to study genre -        What is genre analysis? -        Is film noir a genre?	Viewing: Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) 2 hours and 11 minutes Homework: Read “Notes on Film Noir” by Paul Schrader and “Chinatown and Generic Transformation in recent American Films” by John G. Cawelti
Week Seven Genre under the lens: Comedy -        Slapstick / Screwball / Romantic / Anarchic / Gross-out / Black -        Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, Mel Brooks, Monty Python	Viewing: It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934) 1 hour and 45 minutes Homework: Read “Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage” and http://www.filmsite.org/comedyfilms.html
Week Eight Documentary: the many modes. -        Modes o   Poetic o   Expository o   Observational o   Participatory o   Reflexive o   Performative	Viewing: Harlan County, USA (Barbara Koppel, 1976) 1 hour and 44 minutes Homework: Read “What Types of Documentary Are There?” by Bill Nichols Write Essay 2: Genre Analysis
Week Nine Acting, Stars, and Performance: What’s the difference? -        Stars and character actors -        Method acting -        Natural and non-natural acting -        Directing actors -        ESSAY 2 DUE	Viewing: F. Murray Abraham: On Craft and Career (David Foulds, 2003) 17 minutes. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) 1 hour and 54  minutes Homework: Read Chapter 7 “Acting” in Barsam
Week Ten Film and Society: The Evolving Western and American Values -        1850-1940 American History -        Westerns from The Great Train Robbery to Stagecoach	Viewing: Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) 1 hour and 39 minutes Homework: http://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html Read “Life in the US after World War II”
Week Eleven Film and Society: The Evolving Western and American Values -        World War II -        1950s	Viewing: The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) 1 hour and 59 minutes Homework: Read “Vietnam and the counterculture movement”
Week Twelve Film and Society: The Evolving Western and American Values -        Vietnam and the counter culture	Viewing: The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) 2 hours and 25 minutes Homework: Read “It Had to Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich Write Essay 3: Genre Analysis
Week Thirteen Adaptation: From page to screen. -        What does it mean “to adapt?” -        Analysis of Woolrich’s short story and how it was translated to Rear Window. -        ESSAY 3 DUE	Viewing: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) 1 hour and 49 minutes Homework: Read “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss and “Beginning to Theorize Adaptation” by Linda Hutcheon
Week Fourteen Adaptation: From page to screen. -        Comparison of Aldiss’s text to Spielberg and Kubrick’s	Viewing: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, 2001) Homework: Read Chapter 11, “Filmmaking Technologies and Production Systems” in Barsam
Week Fifteen The business of film and media. -        New media technologies -        Cable / Internet distributions -        Future	Viewing: No film this week. Course review. Homework: Write Essay 4: Adaptation analysis. Prepare for Final Exam.
Week Sixteen -        Essay 4 Due -        Final Exam

Filmography/Further Viewing:

1)    Dramas: The General (1926) dir. Buster Keaton, Sunrise (1927) dir. F.W. Murnau, Casablanca (1942) dir. Michael Curtiz, The Graduate (1967) dir. Mike Nichols, On the Waterfront (1954) dir. Elia Kazan, Taxi Driver (1976) dir. Martin Scorsese, American Beauty (2001) dir. Sam Mendes, Juno (2007) dir. Jason Reitman

2)    Gangster Films: Scarface (1932) dir. Howard Hawks, Bonnie and Clyde (1967) dir. Arthur Penn, The Godfather (1972) dir. Francis Ford Coppola

3)    Screwball Comedies: It Happened One Night (1934) dir. Frank Capra, His Girl Friday (1940) dir. Howard Hawks

4)    Westerns: Great Train Robbery (1903) dir. Edwin S. Porter, Stagecoach (1939) dir. John Ford, The Searchers (1956) dir. John Ford, The Wild Bunch (1969) dir. Sam Peckinpah, McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) dir. Robert Altman

5)    Musicals: 42^nd Street (1933) dir. Lloyd Bacon, On the Town (1949) dir. Stanley Donen, Singin’ in the Rain (1952) dir. Stanley Donen, West Side Story (1961) dir. Jeromoe Robbins and Robert Wise, Dancer in the Dark (2000) dir. Lars von Trier

6)    Film Noir: Maltese Falcon (1941) dir. John Huston, Double Indemnity (1944) dir. Billy Wilder, Sunset Blvd (1950) dir. Billy Wilder, Gun Crazy (1950) dir. Joseph H. Lewis

7)    Neo-noir: Chinatown (1974) dir. Roman Polanski, Blood Simple (1984) dir. Ethan and Joel Coen

8)    Science Fiction: A Trip to the Moon (1902) dir. George Melies, Metropolis (1927) dir. Fritz Lang, THX 1138 (1971) dir. George Lucas, Aliens (1986) dir. James Cameron, A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) dir. Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg

9)    Auteur study – Alfred Hitchcock: Notorious (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958)

10) Race in America: Boyz n the Hood (1991) dir. John Singleton; Crash (2004) dir. Paul Haggis

11) Documentaries: Nanook of the North (1922) dir. Robert Flaherty, Harlan County USA (1976) dir. Barbara Kopple, Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) dir. Werner Herzog, The Laramie Project (2002) dir. Moises Kaufman

12) Experimental Films: Ballet Mechanique (1924) dir. Fernand Leger, Un Chien Andalou (1929) dir. Luis Bunuel, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) dir. Maya Deren, Koyaanisqatsi (1983) dir. Godfrey Reggio

13) French New Wave: The 400 Blows (1949) dir. Francois Truffaut Breathless (1950) dir. Jean-Luc Godard, Jules et Jim (1952) dir. Francois Truffaut, Cleo from 5 to 7 (1952) dir. Agnes Varda

14) French Cinema: Delicatessen (1991) dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro

15) Chinese Cinema: Farewell my Concubine (1993) dir. Chen Kaige, In the Mood for Love (2000) dir. Wong Kar-wai

16) Latino Cinema: Cronos (1993) dir. Guillermo Del Toro, Sin Nombre (2009) dir. Cary Fukunaga

17) Indian Cinema: Pather Panchali (1955) dir. Satyajit Ray, Monsoon Wedding (2002) dir. Mira Nair