Cinematography Theory 3

Subject is not scheduled Not scheduled

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Course Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course the student will be able to:

–analyze the cinematography in various films

–understand how the specific DP’s choices influence spectators’ response

–adopt the vocabulary used within film theory concerning the cinematography

Mode of study

Lecture

Prerequisites and co-requisites

No

Course contents

The aim of the course is to discuss the specifics of cinematography from the theoretical and historical point of vies. Students will discuss the films from the different epochs and different regions and will examine the significance of various choices that directors of photography needs to make (e.g. photography vs. film, freeze frame, offscreen space, (un)motivated camera movement).

Course Requirements:

Class Attendance and Participation: I expect students to attend all classes. Students will read the texts required for each lesson and discuss them in the class. Also, students will watch the films assigned (they all will be avaialble). Lively discussion is expected. Students should ask anything that is not clear enough, bring their own ideas, and participate actively in the program of the course. Participation and contribution to class discussion will be taken significantly into account in the final grade. Excessive unexcused absences result in lowering of the final grade! If a student cannot attend the class because of a school-related duty (shooting of film, postproduction etc.), s/he needs to inform a professor ahead.

Presentation: A presentation based on the film and reading. Each student will lead the discussion about the film we watched. This involves preparing a handout OR presentation (PWP, Prezi, etc.) and creating discussion questions for the group. The goal is to get us talking about the specifics of cinematography.

Final Essay: Students themselves will choose the topic for the paper, while focus should be on the cinematography. Students may choose any film they wish, just need to inform me ahead, in case the films chosen is not the one we have seen in class. Papers have to be typed and may be sent via email. Due date is not negotiable. If a student must request an extension, she/he has to do it before the paper is due. All sources (films, books, articles, interviews, websites etc) have to be cited: any time student quotes or paraphrases someone else’s work she/he has to give her/him credit, otherwise it is understood as plagiarism, that is unaceptable and will cause student‘s failing from the assignmnet and may lead to failing from the overall course as well.

The in-class presentation (December-14) is the part of the assignment and makes 5 % of a grade. Essay will have 1.400 words (about 5 pages double-spaced) minimum. Plagiarism is unacceptable, and if any part of the assignment is plagiarized you will receive a failing grade for the essay and may fail from the overall course. Late submission of the essay will result in an automatic fail on the assignment. Due: Dec 21

A student will not write an essay on film s/he has a presentation on.

Recommended or required reading

Antunes, Luis Rocha. “The Vestibular in Film: Orientation and Balance in Gus Van Sant’s Cinema of Walking,” Essays in Philosophy 13. 2 (August 2012): 522 – 549. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1526-0569.1436 Accessed September 12, 2017.

Bellour, Raymond. “The Film Stilled.” Camera Obscura 8, no. 3 (September 1990): 98–124. Print.

Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art. An Introduction. McGraw-Hill 2010.

Brost, Laure. “On Seeing Red: The Figurative Movement of Film Colour.” In Colour in Cinema: From Paintbrush to Pixel, ed. by Wendy Everett, and Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften 2012, pp. 127 – 137.

Brown, Tom. “Breaking the Fourth Wall: Direct Address in the Cinema.” Screens and Stages May 31, 2012, n. pag. URL: https://fttreading.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/breaking-the-fourth-wall-direct-address-in-the-cinema-4/ Accessed September 12, 2017.

Burch, Noel. Theory of Film Practice. Princeton University Press 1981, pp. 17 – 31.

Campany, David. Photography and Cinema. Reaktion Books, Limited 2008, pp. 94 – 118.

Dole, Jake Ivan. “The Author’s Gesture: The Camera as a Body in Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love.“ The Cine-Files 10 (Spring 2016): 1 – 12.

Everett, Wendy. “Colour as Space and Time: Alternative Visions in European Film.” In Colour in Cinema: From Paintbrush to Pixel, ed. by Wendy Everett, and Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften 2012, pp. 105 – 124.

Everett, Wendy. “Mapping Colour. An Introduction to the Theories and Practices of Colour.” In Colour in Cinema: From Paintbrush to Pixel, ed. by Wendy Everett, and Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften 2012, pp. 7 – 34.

Assessment methods and criteria

Assessment and final grade:

The course grade will be calculated as follows:

Participation in discussions and presence (33.3%) = 333 points

Presentation (33.3%) = 333 points

Final Essay (33.3%) = 333 points

Note

petra.dominkova@gmail.com

Detailed syllabus available upon request in FAMU International office.

1. (February 12)

Sound: Introduction

2.(February 19)

The Functions of Dialogue in Narrative Film

3.(February 26)

Dialogue in Melodrama

4.(March 5)

Dance Music

5.(March 12)

Musique concr?te

6.(March 19)

Noise and silence

7.(March 26)

Point of Audition

8.(April 2)

Narration: Introduction

1. (April 9)

Point of View

1. (April 16)

Spectator in the Text

1. (April 23)

Network Narratives

1. (April 30)

Voice-over narration: First-person narrator

1. (May 7)

Voice-over narration: Third-person narrator

1. (May 14)

Final exam: in class essay.

Further information

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans