Course Description
Film and video are often considered to be a distinct semiotic system or art form with their own “language.” This course surveys the variety of structures which can organize moving pictures: from Hollywood continuity editing, Soviet montage and cinema verite to voice-over documentary, talking heads and postmodern voices with no center at all. The course includes silent film, classic Hollywood narrative, avant-garde film and video, documentary and activist video. This course is the prerequisite to many intermediate and upper level Media Studies courses.
 

Course Organization
Class activities include discussion of reading assignments and films, in and out of class (on Tuesdays at 7pm) screenings, and group presentations. Depending on funding and availability, guest speakers (film and videomakers, media artists, programmers, scholars, etc.) will be invited to class, or to the Media Studies cinematheque series - we may elect to go on a field trip or attend out-of-class screenings and lectures, depending on our progress and student interest.

Please turn off all cell phones and pagers during class. These and other diversions are not acceptable during class time, and will lower your grade. 

Class Participation
Your active, well-prepared participation in class discussions is essential to creating a dynamic (i.e. not boring!) learning environment. Although you will not receive a letter grade for class participation, it will figure into your final grade based on my observations.

We may study sexually explicit, political, and otherwise challenging material in this course. These are not included for shock value, but are legitimate investigations of controversial subject matters in media. You are certainly encouraged to explore difficult and complex subject matters in your work, and you should be prepared to consider these issues intellectually and emotionally. Our class is a safe space in which students can express their beliefs and opinions. You always have a voice, but please be respectful of others as well. Abusive language and behavior are not be tolerated. Open-mindedness is encouraged!

Unless an extension is approved by myself in advance of the due date, your grade are reduced by one letter grade (i.e. B to C) per class day your project is late. You are encouraged to meet with me individually during my office hours to discuss your assignments, your grades, and your overall performance in class. I am always open to suggestions and feedback!

Reading Assignments
You should complete all the reading before class so that you can participate actively in discussion. The readings are from required books on sale at Huntley Bookstore, or go to amazon.com or half.com. The required books are also all available on reserve at Honnold:

Required Textbooks
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art, 8th edition, Mcgraw-Hill, 2008.
Robert Kolker, Film, Form, and Culture , 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Optional Textbook
David Cook, A History of Narrative Film , 4th edition, W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.
John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, eds., The Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Oxford University Press, 1998.

Generally, outstanding ('A') students in this class have good attendance and completed all their assignments on time. They are consistently well prepared for class, and actively participate in and advance our discussions with pertinent information, questions, and observations. Their work demonstrate their awareness of the issues at hand, the historical context for the film and videos they are discussing, as well as their ability to articulate their observations and analyses in a clear and concise manner. Only letter grades are given out in this class.

Academic honesty - all work done for this course must be the original work of the student submitting it, and should have been undertaken exclusively for this course. No work done prior to this class maybe used to fulfill the class assignments. Plagiarism will result in the student receiving an F for the class grade.

Extra credit - Students are encouraged to attend screenings, conferences, lectures, exhibitions and web events related to this course. Write a two-page (typed and double-spaced) report of the event or activity. Incorporate the event's relevance to the class as well as your personal responses to it. Proof of attendance is required (keep your ticket stubs, programs, etc.) Students are allowed two extra credit papers. Announcements for events of interest to this class are done in the first 5 mins. of each class.

* I try my best to make my grading criteria as clear as possible, and you are welcome to come and discuss your grades and your class performance with me. However, I only consider legitimate concerns, and be aware that your grade is as likely to go down as it is to go up after I reassess your assignment. I do not tolerate haggling, bribing, threats, and any other pointless arguments. I consider all aspects of your performance before I assign a grade, please respect my assessment as I respect your efforts.
 

Course Schedule:

PART I: THE LANGUAGE OF IMAGES
Tuesday 1/16: Introduction to FIlm as a Language

Screening
__• Excerpts form LUMIERE AND COMPANY (1995), Dir. various
__40 contemporary filmmakers invited to make films with the original Lumiere Cinematographe (in class)
__• Selected works inspired work by Eadweard Muybridge's
__ motion photography (examples 1, 2), 1870s (in class)

Thursday 1/18 & Tuesday 1/23: Pre-Cinema

Screening
__• Selected shorts by Melies, 1897-1912
__• GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903) Dir. Edwin Porter
__• Selected Edison Kinescopes, 1890s (in class)
__• Selected Lumiere films, 1890s (in class)

Terms
__• Reflexivity,diegesis, form, shot, emulsion, persistence of vision

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 2-46, 440-447
Film, Form, and Culture, Intro
History of Narrative Film, pp. 1-27 (optional)

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.1, 2.4

Thursday 1/25 & Tuesday 1/30: Early Cinema: Creating a Narrative System

Screening
__• Selections from BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) Dir. D.W. Griffith
__• Selections from SCAR OF SHAME (1927) Dir. Oscar Michaeux
__• One-reelers by Alice Guy Blanche and Lois Weber, 1915-16 (in class)

Terms
__• Close up, medium close up, medium shot, three quarter shot, full shot, long shot, single shot, two shot, inter-title, parallel action, crosscutting, narrative film

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 74-94
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 156-159
History of Narrative Film, pp. 29-41 (optional)

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.17
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 10-38
History of Narrative Film, pp. 51-74 (optional)

Thursday 2/1 & Tuesday 2/6: Stablizing the System: Continuity Editing in the Studios

Screening
__• HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) Dir. Howard Hawkes
__• DANCE GIRL DANCE (1940) Dir. Dorothy Arzner (in class)

Terms
__• Editing, point-of-view shot, reaction shot, off-screen space, continuity editing, 180' rule, establishing shot, shot/reverse shot, over-the-shoulder two shot, eyeline match, match on action, sequence

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 54-73
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 38-50
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 2.3 (optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 231-251 (optional)

Required Reading Tuessday
Film Art , pp. 218-263, 385-388
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 51-62, 81-93, 108-132 (optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 255-288 (optional)

Thursday 2/8: Soviet Montage, Tuesday 2/13: Editing Quiz

Screening
__• BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925) Dir. Segei Eisenstein
__• MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (1928) Dir. Dziga Vertov
__• THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY (1927) Dir. Esfir Shub (in class)
__• SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (1970) Dir. Jean-Luc Goddard (in class)

Terms
__• Framing: centered, open, tight, canted, high angle, low angle; overhead shot, full face shot, side view, three-quarter view, compilation film, montage

Required Reading Thursday
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 94-103
Film Art , pp. 453-456
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. (1.7, 1.12, optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 113-152 (optional)

In class QUIZ, Tuesday 2/13, on terms and continuity editing

Thursday 2/15 & Tuesday 2/20: Expressionist Mise-en-Scene

Screening
__• SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) Dir. Billy Wilder
__• FROM THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919) Dir. Robert Weine (in class)
__• WRITTEN IN THE WIND (1956) Dir. Douglas Sirk (in class)

Terms
__• Tone, saturation, warm colors, cool colors, key lighting, fill light, back lighting, three point lighting, high contrast lighting, low contrast lighting, expressionism, chiaroscuro, cinematographer, film noir, mise-en-scene

Examples of German Expressionist Painting
__• Kathe Kollwitz
__• Emil Nolde
__• Erich Heckel
__• Lyonel Feininger
__• Ludwig Meidner

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 112-161, 447-450
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 62-69, 103-107
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. (2.8, 1.3 optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 87-111 (optional)

Required Reading Tuesday
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 133-139, 211-221, 232-245
Film Art , pp. 318-337
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , pp. (24-26, Ch. 2.7, 1.4, 2.5, optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 368-385 (optional)

Thursday 2/22: Long Take; Deep Focus, Tuesday 2/27: Mid-term

Screening
__• CITIZEN KANE (1941) Dir. Orson Welles

Terms
__• Deep space, deep focus, depth of field, long take, tracking shot, dolly shot, tilt, pan, crane shot, focal length, focus, focus plane, rack focus, shallow focus, anamorphic lens, widescreen, aspect ratio

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 207-217, 304-316
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 70-74
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.2 (optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 327-353 (optional)

In class MID-TERM, Tuesday 2/27, on Terms/Editing in CITIZEN KANE

Thursday 3/1 & Tuesday 3/6: Discontinuity in Space and Time: Abstract Editing

GROUP PROJECT #1: AUTEUR OR GENRE ANALYSIS
UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1928) Dir. Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali (in class)
MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON (1943) Dir. Maya Deren
SCORPIO RISING (1962) Dir. Kenneth Anger
A BOUT DE SOUFFLE (BREATHLESS) (1959) Dir. Jean-Luc Goddard

Terms
__• Associative editing, abstract form, nouvelle vague, formalism, surrealism, jump cut, non-diegetic insert shot, match on action, cheat cut, fade in/out, dissolve, wipe, graphic match, flashback, flash forward, neo-realism

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 355-370, 450-453
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. (1.8, 3.7 optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. (303-313, 431-465 optional)

Required Reading Tuesday
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 271-278
Film Art , pp. 459-463
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. (3.9, 3.8 optional)

PART II: THE LANGUAGE OF SOUND
Thursday 3/8 & Tuesday 3/20: Breaking Continuity in the Studio: The Musical

Screening
__• SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) Dir. Stanley Donan & Gene Kelly
__• ILLUSION (1983) Dir. Julie Dash (in class)

Terms
__• Diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, internal diegetic sound, external  diegetic sound, synchronous sound, asynchronous sound, off-screen space

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 264-292,456-459
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.5
History of Narrative Film, pp. 387-410 (optional)


3/12-16 Spring Break

Required Reading Tuesday
Michel Chion, Audio-Vision, pp. 3-34
Rick Altman, Sound Theory/Sound Practice, pp. 1-31 (optional)
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 2.9 (optional)
History of Narrative Film, pp. 205-230 (optional)


 

Thursday 3/22 & Tuesday 3/27: Voice-Over and Direct Cinema: Representing American Youth (1)

Screening
__• NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922) Dir. Robert Flaherty (in class)

GROUP PROJECT #2: DOCUMENTARY
AN AMERICAN FAMILY, EPISODE 6 (1972) Dir. Alan and Susan Raymond
HIGHSCHOOL (1968) Dir. Frederick Wiseman
A DEATH IN AN AMERICAN FAMILY (2000) Dir. Alan and Susan Raymond (in class)
WOODSTOCK (1970) Dir. Michael Wadleigh (in class)
AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, one episode (1998) Dir. Jennifer Fox (in class)
AMERICAN HIGH, one episode (2000) Dir. R.J. Cutler (in class)

Terms
__• Documentary, location shooting, realism, real time, sound bridge, voice over, contrapuntal sound, loudness, pitch, timbre, cinema verite, direct cinema, direct sound, hand held shot, zoom

Required Reading Thursday
Film Art , pp. 338-355
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 3.4

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.20
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 222-231

Thursday 3/29 & Tuesday 4/3: Talking Heads Breakdown (1): Representing Class, Race, and Sexuality (in American Movies)

Screening
__• AMERICAN MOVIE (1999) Dir. Chris Smith
__• BAADASSSSS CINEMA (2002) Dir. Isaac Julien (in class)
__• CELLULOID CLOSET (1995) Dir. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (in class)

Required Reading Thursday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.13, 1.17 (optional)

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.14, 1.15

One page paper due Tuesday, 4/10
View a documentary of your choice. IN ONE PAGE describe the formal language it uses: its voice. Then explain what this voice imparts. What does it say? How are the formal system and message related in this film? ONE PAGE!

Thursday 4/5 & Tuesday 4/10: Multiple Sound Tracks and Musical Returns

GROUP PROJECT #3: THE SOUND OF MUSIC
NASHVILLE (1975) Dir. Robert Altman
THE CONVERSATION (1974) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola (clips)
AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) Dir. George Lucas (clips), possibly replace with THE SHINING or 2001?
DANCER IN THE DARK (2000) Dir. Lars von Trier (clips)
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2001) Dir. John Cameron Mitchell (clips)
CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994) Dir. Wong Kar Wai (clips)

Required Reading Thursday
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 139-153
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.5

Required Reading Tuesday
Film Art , pp. 463-475
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 2.6
History of Narrative Film, pp. (425-429, 845-871 optional)

Thursday 4/12 & Tuesday 4/17: Talking Heads Breakdown (2): Representing American Reality

GROUP PROJECT #4: REALITY TV & MOCKUMENTARY
Four groups, each group proposes a show or film to present.

Screening
__• THE WATERMELON WOMAN (1995) Dir. Cheryl Dunye
__• BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) Dir. Eduardo Sanchez & Dan Myrick (clips)

Required Reading Thursday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 3.2
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 159-169

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 3.27
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 209-217 (from 2nd edition)

Thursday 4/19 & Tuesday 4/24: Claiming Voice in a Post-Modern World: Representing American Youth (2)

Screening
__• TOTALLY F***ED UP (1993) or DOOM GENERATION (1995) Dir. gregg araki
__• KIDS (1995) Dir. Larry Clark (clips)
__• IF EVERY GIRL HAD A DIARY (1990) Dir. Sadie Benning (in class)
__• Selected videos produced by youth media workshops (in class)

Example of photographs by Larry Clark 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Required Reading Thursday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.21
Film, Form, and Culture, pp. 171-188

Required Reading Tuesday
Oxford Guide to Film Studies , Ch. 1.11

<Back to Course Listing

Back to top