Introduction To Film Studies: Forms

Module description

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the formal characteristics of film, to acquire a critical vocabulary for describing and analysing films, and to gain practice in discussing and writing about them. This is achieved by focusing on a range of narrative films, examining the various visual, aural and narrative conventions by which they create meaning, and practicing film analysis through discussion and written work. Issues of mise-en-scène, framing, cinematography, editing, sound, narrative structure, and point of view will be discussed as components of cinematic style and meaning. The range of films studied will vary from year to year, but will normally encompass a mixture of feature films, documentary films, experimental films, and/or animation. Introduction to Film Studies: Forms is designed to be taken in conjunction with Introduction to Film Studies: Critical Debates, taught in the second semester. Where 'Forms' focuses on the technical and stylistic properties of films themselves, 'Critical Debates' examines key artistic, philosophical, political, and institutional debates that have marked the study of film.

Assessment details

• Seminar Participation (10%)
• Exercise (15%)
• 1250 Word Essay (30%)
• Examination (2-hours) (45%)

Educational aims & objectives

1. To introduce students to the technology and language of film and the media arts.
   
   
2. To introduce students to t he critical tools for discussing and writing about film as a narrative and non-narrative art.
   
   
3. To introduce students to the contexts for understanding the history of cinema as an international art form.
   
   
4. To introduce students to sociological and cultural contexts for understanding cinema, especially in relation to its audiences and its forms of spectatorship.

Teaching pattern

Ten lectures, ten three-hour screenings, and ten one-hour seminars.

Module description disclaimer

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Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.