The History of Film Space

Tutor:

Georgij BAGDASAROV

Synopsis:

One of the most important aim of Film is to frame the Space on the flat screen. Our ambition is to come to comprehension of film space as it is present in Western film tradition. Film history as seen from the point of view of both audience and filmmakers will be our hand in this pursuit. Ranging from Soviet montage school to Andre Basin and French New Wave, from D.W.Griffith to TV era we will analyse what influence narration has on film space or the other way round, how space is connected with narrative elements. In this regard, we will discuss the following aspects: how space expands the Film, what kind of space exists in the cinema, and how space appears in the Film until the moment when it disappears.

Prerequisites:

Study Objectives:

Outline and Syllabus:

Assessment:

You will be evaluated on your contribution and efforts to the class. The examinations include essay, brief presentation based on essay topic and discussion.

Attendance of the classes - 30%

Participation in discussion - 10%

Essay - 30%

Final Exam - 30%

Structure of the course:

Nature of Film and Registration of Space. (Lumiere brothers)

Fictional Space (G. Mélies)

Narrative Orientation in Space (D.W.Griffith)

Plane Perspective and Iconographic Image (Soviet Montage and German Expressionism)

Depth of Perspective and Non-Cut Space. (J.Renoir)

Artificial Space and Comic strip instead Montage (Hawks, Ford)

The Frame. First Appearance. (C-T Dreyer)

Space transcending the Film (or Film Frame) (Hitchcock)

Gregg Toland´s Spatial Game. (Wels, Wyler)

Matreshka space. Conflict of Space in „Nouvelle Vague“ (A.Varda, J-L. Godard)

Impersonal space (I.Bergman)

Affective Space (S.Urusevsky)

TV and Film Space in the Coffin.

Expanded spaces. Experimental films and over blending into narrative films.

TV Heritage. Jumbled Space. (L. von Trier, Mike Figgis)

The Spatial Banishment. (B. Dumont, C. Reygadas)

Study materials:

Marilyn Fabe „Closely Watched Films“

Gilles Deleuze „Cinema 1: The Movement-Image“

Gilles Deleuze „Cinema 2: The Time-Image“

Note:

Schedule for winter semester 2009/2010:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

Schedule for summer semester 2009/2010:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans:

• Fotografie EN - bakalář (optional subject)
• Fotografie EN - magistr (optional subject)
• Cinema and Digital Media - Cinematography (optional subject)
• Cinema and Digital Media - Screenwriting (optional subject)
• Cinema and Digital Media - Directing (optional subject)
• Fotografie EN - magistr: restaurování (optional subject)