Cinematography Theory 3_2

Display Schedule

Subject guarantor

Petra DOMINKOVÁ

Name of lecturer(s)

Petra DOMINKOVÁ

Contents

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

Weekly schedule:

Week 1 [Thu, Oct-03]

Theme: Introduction

• Intro into the class: what we will be doing
• assignments, readings, films
• sign up for the presentations

Week 2 [Thu, Oct-10]

Theme: Photography in / and Film

Discussion: PICTURES FROM THE OLD WORLD (Obrazy starého sveta, Dušan Hanák, Slovak republic, 1972, 74’, b&w)

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

Week 3 [Thu, Oct-17]

Theme: Camera Movement vs. Editing

Discussion: CONTEMPT (Le Mépris;, Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1963, 103’, color)

Reading: Colman, Felicity. Deleuze and Cinema : The Film Concepts. New York, NY, USA: Berg Publishers, 2011. 25-38. Print. (Chapter MOVEMENT: THE MOVEMENT-IMAGE.)

Week 4 [Thu, Oct-24]

Theme: Narration

Discussion: LOST HIGHWAY (David Lynch, USA, 1997, 134’, color)

Reading: Elsaesser, Thomas and Warren Buckland. Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide To Movie Analysis. London: Arnold and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 168-194. Print. (Chapter COGNITIVE THEORIES OF NARRATION (LOST HIGHWAY).)

Week 5 [Thu, Oct-31]

Theme: Transcendental Style

Discussion: NOSTALGHIA (Andrei Tarkovskij, Italy, 1983, 125’, color)

Reading: Bird, Robert. Andrei Tarkovsky: Elements of Cinema. London: Reaktion Books, 2008. (Chapter SHOT)

Week 6 [Thu, Nov-7]

Theme: B&W nowaday

Discussion: FRANCES HA (Noah Baumbach, USA, 2012, 86’, b&w)

Reading: TBA

Week 7 [Thu, Nov-14]

NO CLASS – CAMERAIMAGE

Week 7 [Thu, Nov-21]

Theme: “Slow” Movies / Cinema of Walking

Discussion: ELEPHANT (Gus van Sant, USA, 2003, 81’, color)

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.

Week 8 [Thu, Nov-28]

Theme: Lighting as Storytelling / Presentation of final papers - ideas

Discussion: Raw Deal (Anthony Mann, USA, 1948, 79’, b&w)

Reading: Place, Janey, and Lowell Peterson. “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir.” Movies and Methods (vol. 1). Ed. Bill Nichols. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976. 325–338. Print. + Brown, Blain. Cinematography: Theory and Practice : Imagemaking for Cinematographers and Directors. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Focal Press, 2012. 69-76. Print. (Chapter LIGHTING AS STORYTELLING.)

Week 9 [Thu, Dec-5]

Theme: Color I: Intro

Discussion: THE NEON DEMON (Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark/France/USA, 2016, 118’, color)

Reading: 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, Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften 2012, pp. 7 – 34.

Week 10 [Thu, Dec-12]

Theme: Color II: Symbolism / Presentation of final papers - PWP

Discussion: BLACK NARCISSUS (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1947, 100’, color)

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

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

Week 11 [Thu, Dec-19]

Theme: Summary + Feedback

Papers are due Dec-31st

Learning outcomes

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. deep space, long takes, close-ups, POV, lighting, colour, etc.).

Prerequisites and other 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 available). 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, post-production etc.), s/he needs to inform a professor ahead.

Presentation: Around half of the class time (i.e. approximately 45 minutes) will be devoted to discussion. We will discuss the film and the reading(s) that are assigned for that very day. While all the students will be familiar with the film and the reading(s), one student (or more) will have a special task to be a “leader of discussion”. S/he will prepare presentation will include the close analysis of the film based on the reading (not exclusively, the student may add whatever else s/he will find important for understanding the film) using Powerpoint, Prezi , Google Slides, or any other tools). The handout/presentation will include AT LEAST 5 questions for class. Those questions should be rather complicated, can be even controversial, encouraging the students to think about the film more intensively (not “Did you like the film?). Since everybody in class will be prepared, the “leader” will encourage all students to talk. The student's presentation will last around 45 minutes.

The presentation should NOT include the factual information as are the names of the cast and crew (with exception of director and DP when relevant), the number of awards and prices the film got, the names of the production/distribution companies associated with the film, the titles of the director’s other films etc, unless it is particularly relevant. You should instead focus on YOUR OWN analysis and/or interpretation of the film (with the help of readings assigned) and perhaps also on the additional reviews/analysis of that film available at the Internet. The goal is to get us talking about the certain traits of film style and how it demonstrates itself in the particular film.

Send me the presentation at least 24 hours before the class begins, that is until Sunday evening!

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 unacceptable and will cause student‘s failing from the assignment and may lead to failing from the overall course as well.

The in-class presentations (Dec-08 + Dec-15) are the parts of the assignment and makes each 10% 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 31st

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

Grading Table

Gradepercent1000 points333 points

A100-96 1000-960 333-320

A – 95-90959-900321-300

B+89-87899-870299-290

B86-83869-830289-276

B – 82-80829-800275-267

C+79-76799-760266-253

C75-70759-700252-233

D 69-60699-600232-200

F59-0599-0199-0

Literature

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.

Bird, Robert. Andrei Tarkovsky: Elements of Cinema. London: Reaktion Books, 2008. (Chapter SHOT)

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

Brown, Blain. Cinematography: Theory and Practice : Imagemaking for Cinematographers and Directors. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Focal Press, 2012. 69-76. Print. (Chapter LIGHTING AS STORYTELLING.)

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

Colman, Felicity. Deleuze and Cinema : The Film Concepts. New York, NY, USA: Berg Publishers, 2011. 25-38. Print. (Chapter MOVEMENT: THE MOVEMENT-IMAGE.)

Elsaesser, Thomas and Warren Buckland. Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide To Movie Analysis. London: Arnold and New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 168-194. Print. (Chapter COGNITIVE THEORIES OF NARRATION (LOST HIGHWAY).)

Everett, Wendy. “Colour as Space and Time: Alternative Visions in European Film.” In Colour in Cinema: From Paintbrush to Pixel, ed. by Wendy Everett, 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, Peter Lang. Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften 2012, pp. 7 – 34.

Place, Janey, and Lowell Peterson. “Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir.” Movies and Methods (vol. 1). Ed. Bill Nichols. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976. 325–338. Print.

Evaluation 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

no

Schedule for winter semester 2022/2023:

• Week view
• List

Schedule for summer semester 2022/2023:

The schedule has not yet been prepared

The subject is a part of the following study plans

• Cinematography_3_2021 (required subject)