FILM 201 Introduction to Cinema Fall 2016 To Shoot a Film is to Organize an Entire Universe -Ingmar Bergman Professor Ted Hovet OFFICE: CH 110C 745-5782 Office Hours: MW 10:30-11:30; W 3:30-5:00; and by appointment E-MAIL: ted.hovet@wku.edu (I generally respond to e-mails on weekday mornings) Twitter: @THovet TA: Renee Stewart renee.stewart659@topper.wku.edu Regular Class Meeting: MW 1:50-3:10, Cherry Hall 210 Film Screenings (REQUIRED): M 3:30-6:00 Cherry Hall 125 Course Description Introduction to Cinema will provide students with a broad understanding of cinematic style and technique. Through a combination of reading materials and the viewing of representative films, the course will introduce and analyze key terms, concepts, and issues in the study of cinema. Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes To introduce students to major techniques used in narrative motion pictures To have students explore the significance of motion pictures as a medium of communication To encourage students to gain an appreciation for motion pictures as an art form To emphasize the diversity of motion picture traditions beyond mainstream commercial products, including international cinemas To develop students abilities in analytical writing and oral communication Course Policies Students will actively participate in class discussions and activities. All assignments (reading and writing) are due the day listed on the syllabus. No texting, etc. during class. If you miss a class or are late on an assignment contact me with a detailed solution for making up what you missed (absences are excused if these conditions are met). 1
Grading (point totals for each category; more information on these assignments on page seven of this syllabus) 150 Attendance and Participation 150 Quizzes and Presentation 150 Two journals on film viewings and related readings 100 Participation on five discussion boards on film viewings and related readings 200 Two essays on films of your choice 100 Mid-Term 150 Final 1000 = TOTAL POINTS FOR SEMESTER NOTE: I reserve the right to REDUCE the number of total points for the semester if we don t get through our entire schedule. No assignments or points will be added. Course Materials Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. Eleventh Edition. McGraw Hill, 2017 (textbook) ***IMPORTANT*** This textbook will appear on Blackboard as a downloadable e-copy, and you will also have the option to purchase a loose leaf copy at a greatly reduced cost. The cost per text is about 35% to 50% the cost of purchasing a new textbook, even before purchasing online materials. If you would like to purchase a printed copy at a reduced price, you must order it through The WKU Store during the first week of class. **Please regularly check the course Blackboard page for additional readings and resources** Other Information Students are expected to attend all class screenings (Mondays at 3:30 in Cherry Hall 125, unless otherwise announced). Many of these movies are available in other forms, but communal viewing is an important and required part of the class. Not attending a screening counts for an absence on that day. Feel free to research the films we view and discuss, but please be in the habit (in all writing/discussion boards) of crediting your sources. IMPORTANT NOTE ON FILM CONTENT: Film clips and screenings used in class this semester will include material rated R and unrated. These films may include 2
scenes of strong language, violence and sexuality. If you feel that any material may be disturbing or if you have any other reason for avoiding certain kinds of material, please contact me for alternative assignments. ***If you make use of material in your presentations to the class that is rated R or unrated, let me and the class know in advance**** ***SEE PAGE FOLLOWING COURSE SCHEDULE FOR ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION*** COURSE SCHEDULE NOTE: All items on Blackboard under Class Assignments must be ready to discuss at the beginning of the class period they are listed NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated, all screenings take place on Mondays at 3:30 in Cherry Hall room 125 NOTE: This schedule is tentative. If there are changes to any assignments you will be notified at least a week in advance. August 22 Course Introduction Screening: WKFF 2016 Films plus Film Major Convocation MEET IN MMTH AUDITORIUM at 3:30 FILM MAJOR S CONVOCATION at 5:00 August 24 Film Art 2-9, 13-29 and 35-47; two short videos on Blackboard Discussion Board #1: Personal Criteria for a Great Film Part I August 29 Film Art 50-71 (Film Form) Sight and Sound and other polls of great/important films (BB) Discussion Board #1: Personal Criteria for a Great Film Part II Screening: North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959) August 31 Film Art 72-86 (Narrative) and 404-408 (Analysis of NXNW) Journal #1 Due (Upload to BB) 3
September 5 NO CLASS Labor Day Optional Screening: Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012) If you are on campus, come to Cherry Hall at 3:30!!! September 7 Film Art 87-97 (Narration); Film and Violence/Masculinity (Bb) Quiz #1: Narrative and Form September 12 Film Art 112-131 (The Shot: Mise-en-Scene) and video essay Why Framing Matters (Bb Presentations: Examples of Narrative Screening: Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) September 14 Film Art 99-109 (Analysis of Citizen Kane); Orson Welles and Current Young Directors (Bb) Discussion Board #2: Is Citizen Kane a Great Film? September 19 Introduction to Korean Cinema (reading/materials on Bb) Characteristics of Classical Hollywood (Bb) Screening: Poetry (Lee Chang-dong, 2010) **NOTE Screening time will be 7:00** September 21 Film Art 131-154 (Mise-en-Scene continued); Composition in Storytelling (Bb) Presentations: Examples of MES 4
September 26 Reading TBA Quiz#2 MES Screening: Winter s Bone (Granik, 2010) September 28 Film Art 159-177 (The Shot: Cinematography) October 3 Film Art 177-203 (Cinematography continued); Three Visual Essays on Cinematography (Bb) Quiz# 3/Presentations: Cinematography Screening: The Social Network (Fincher, 2010) October 5 In-Class Screening: Our Hospitality (Keaton, 1923) Essay #1 (Narrative, MES, and Cinematography) Due October 10 Mid-Term Exam Screening: Singin in the Rain (Donen and Kelly, 1950) October 12 Film Art 209-235 (Editing) Gender and Hollywood (readings posted on Blackboard) [Last day to withdraw from course] 5
October 17 Film Art 237-259 (Editing, continued); Editing as Punctuation (Bb) Presentations: Examples of Editing Screening: Night Moves (Reichardt, 2014) October 19 Reading: Indie Cinema (Bb) Quiz# 4: Editing October 24 Film Art 263-3000 (Sound) Screening: Under the Skin (Glazer, 2013) October 26 Readings on Under the Skin (Bb) Presentations: Examples of Sound October 31 Reading TBA Quiz#5: Sound Screening: Pan s Labrynth (Del Toro 2006) November 2 Readings TBA Journal #2 Due November 7 French New Wave and Slow Cinema (Assignment on Bb) Screening: The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1960) November 9 Film Art 303-312 (Style) Discussion Board #3: 400 Blows/Dedramatzation 6
November 14 Issues in Cinema: Race (Assignments on Bb) Presentations: Examples of Style Screening: Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989) November 16 Discussion of DTRT November 21 Film Art 387-398 (Animated Film) Presentations: Semester Review MAKE-UP QUIZ Screening: Inside Out (Doctor, 2015) November 23 NO CLASS Thanksgiving Break November 28 Film Art 369-386 (Experimental Film) Essay #2 (STYLE) Due In Class Screening: Meshes of the Afternoon (Deren, 1943). Screening: TBA November 30 Reading TBA Discussion Board #4: The Future of Movies Campus Screening Response DB DUE Dec 2 3:00 Final Exam TBA It seems that the greatest difficulty is to find the end. Don't try to find it, it's there already. ~ Sofia Coppola 7
Additional Course Information Assignment Details (NOTE: All writing assignments must have proper documentation) Journals are (approx.) two-page, typed responses to the film we viewed during the week that the journal is due. This response should explain your reaction to the film and analyze some specific techniques that it used (using concepts covered in the readings). Links to submit journals, with additional instructions, will be available on Blackboard. Discussion boards are forums on Blackboard in which you will create an initial post in response to the specific prompt, and then respond to at least one thread. (The broad topic is on the syllabus, more details will be on the forum assignment page). Essays will ask you to analyze specific techniques covered in class through a film of your choice. For each essay you should choose a film that you are familiar with and can rewatch, with a focus on a few key scenes. 3-5 pages. The essays should show your familiarity with the terms from Film Art and our class discussions. Quizzes will cover key concepts from the reading and key details from class viewings. Presentation: Each student will select a clip from any film to demonstrate one of the major film techniques we cover (mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography, sound, etc.). The presentation, which should be about 3-5 minutes, should help the class further understand the technique. A sign-up sheet for presentations will circulate early in the semester. Mid-Term and Final Exam will consist of short answers on key cinematic terms/concepts as well as essays that apply those terms and concepts to specific examples. In compliance with university policy, students with disabilities who require academic and/or auxiliary accommodations for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services in Downing University Center, A-200. 270-745-5004. This course counts as an elective in the major in Popular Culture Studies. This program offers WKU undergraduates the chance to broaden their understanding of the arts and culture of everyday life including such areas as television, film, music, sports, advertising, customs and rituals. Through innovative interdisciplinary coursework the major helps students critically analyze a wide range of popular cultural forms, their uses by audiences, and their impact on the broader social, political and economic landscape. If you are interested in learning more about this exciting and innovative program, contact your instructor or check out the Popular Culture Studies website at www.wku.edu/pop <http://www.wku.edu/pop>. School of Journalism and Broadcasting Statement on Plagiarism: Plagiarism To represent ideas or interpretations taken from another source as one s own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense. The academic work of a student must be his or her own. Students must give the author(s) credit for any source material used. To lift content directly from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a borrowed passage after having changed a few words, even if the source is cited, is also 8
plagiarism. Disposition of Offenses - Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal. Student work may be checked using plagiarism detection software. ACEJMC Professional Values and Competencies (those emphasized in FILM 201 are marked in bold): The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication requires that, irrespective of their particular specialization, all graduates should be aware of certain core values and competencies and be able to: understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press for the country in which the institution that invites ACEJMC is located, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances; demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications; demonstrate an understanding of gender, race ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications; demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society; understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information; demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity; think critically, creatively and independently; conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work; write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve; critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness; apply basic numerical and statistical concepts; apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world. ADA notice: Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Student Accessibility Resource Center, Room 1074, Downing Student Union. The SARC telephone number is (270) 745-5004 (TDD: 270-745-3030). Please do not request accommodations directly from the instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Student Accessibility Resource Center. 9