Script Analysis 1

Course unit code:

311SA1

Course unit title:

Script Analysis 1

Mode of delivery:

zápočet

Range:

2/T

Type of course unit:

compulsory subject

Level of course unit:

Year of study

1st year

Semester when the course unit is delivered

zimní

Number of ECTS credits allocated:

3

Garant předmětu:

Name of lecturer(s):

Study Objectives:

Through the intensive analysis of films, the following principles are examined and explained: three act story structure, plot points, turning points, the function of exposition, the catalyst, rising action, crisis, climax, culmination, resolution, main tension, theme, as well as scenes and sequences, sub-plots, double-plots, multi-plots, and internal scene structure. Analysis will also cover the role of the protagonist, the creation of empathy, the journey of protagonist (spine), active and passive characters, supporting characters, „string characters“, character arcs and character motivation, the role of the antagonist, as well as the use of conflict and obstacles, and a comparison of objective vs. subjective conflict, and action vs. activity.

The concepts of mystery, suspense, surprise, dramatic irony, twists, revelations and reversals are defined as are the dramatic strategies of planting and pay-off, gags, marbling, foxing the audience, and devices such as the obligatory scene, scenes of revelation, scenes of preparation and aftermath, and the advertising of future events.

The course will also explore interpretations of film as a temporal-spatial art by examining pacing, rhythm, accelerating action, and the handling of time and space, montage, transitions, sound, and music. Dialogue, the dramatic use of props and costumes, staging and the creation of atmosphere as employed in the screenplay are also covered. Students will be expected to recognize these dramatic and narrative elements and to present a cogent analysis of a film selected for a mid-term exam and for a final paper.

Mode of delivery:

Lecture

Prerequisites and co-requisites:

None

Recommended optional programme components

Course contents:

The purpose of this course is to study films from a dramaturgical perspective, to demonstrate diverse narrative techniques, dramatic structures and genre forms, and to closely examine the craft of screenwriting. Each film is screened twice: first, in its entirety with an introduction about the film and its creators; the second time, in sequences and scenes accompanied by detailed analysis.

Study materials:

Films:

Closely Watched Trains (1967)

La Strada (1954)

Kolya (1996)

Some Like it Hot (1959)

Stagecoach (1936)

Screenplays published in book form:

Bondanella, Peter and Manuela Gieri, ed. La Strada. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1991.

Menzel, Jiri and Bohumil Hrabal. Closely Watched Trains. Translated by Josef Holzbecher. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971.

Sverak, Zdenek. Kolya. Translated by Ewald Osers. London: Headline Book Publishers, 1997.

Books:

Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Gerald Else. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967.

Bordwell, David. Narration in Fiction Film. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.

Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. New York: Dell Publishing, 1994.

Howard, David and Edward Mabley. The Tools of Screenwriting. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1995.

Hrabal, Bohumil. Closely Observed Trains. Translated by Edith Prageter. London: Abacus, 1990.

Skvorecky, Josef. Jiri Menzel and the History of Closely Watched Trains. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

None

Assessment methods and criteria

40% - mid-term examination

60% - take-home final

Language of instruction:

English

Work placement(s):

Pracovní stáž není u tohoto předmětu zavedena.

Course web page:

Note:

None

Further information:

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans:

• Cinema and Digital Media - Screenwriting (qualification subject)