Introduction to Film - On Line!
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English 225
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202
FALL
SEMESTER
2009
Tuesdays 2 pm -- film screenings (NOTE: some movies will run past 4 pm!)
Wednesdays 2 or 3 pm or Thursdays 2 pm -- lecture-discussion
-- Three sections --
Christopher Jacobs
Merrifield Hall 110 (mailbox) and Sayre Hall 302 (office) -- Office hours held in Merrifield 122
christopher.jacobs@und.edu
Click Here for SYLLABUS /
SEMESTER SCHEDULE
REQUIRED TEXT:
Richard Barsam, Looking
at Movies Second Edition (cited as LAM)
NOTE: All assigned readings should be completed
(not just started) by the dates shown on the syllabus
HINT: Read the Summaries and Questions for Review at the ends of LAM chapters,
even when not assigned!
Use the textbook’s free DVDs
to review chapters and view film clips that help explain concepts covered.
Use the “Writing About Film”
booklet that came with your text for valuable suggestions on writing papers.
For convenience, easy reference, and much lower cost to students, the syllabus, the film schedule, major assignment details, and several additional readings are on line, accessible through this web page.
This is a general film appreciation class. It will introduce you to the basics of film production, narrative, style, editing, performance, sound, theory, and analysis, among other things. It will also expose you to a variety of films produced in the U. S. and other countries from the very beginnings of the medium in the 1890s, through the so-called "silent era" of the 1910s-20s and the "golden age" of Hollywood in the 1930s-50s, up to the present, including some films in foreign languages with English subtitles. Students interested only in recent Hollywood hits are in the wrong class and should drop immediately. (That’s what video stores are for!) We will be viewing a wide range of films to see how they function as commercial/entertainment/artistic artifacts. This entails examining how we might place them within certain historical/cultural perspectives, and why these ways of seeing film might be more or less important to us as viewers. By the end of the semester you will become adept at viewing films with an eye toward how they affect you as a person. True film enthusiasts will want to keep the textbook and online notes for future reference and as a guide for key films to search out for viewing on your own. DVDs and BluRay discs with audio commentaries and other bonus materials are especially helpful for independent study, and well-chosen titles may provide the equivalent of an official film school education. (You don't have to take a formal, accredited class to learn something!) Students who find the class interesting but too challenging to maintain a good grade may wish to consider auditing or taking the class pass/fail.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
ONE PRE-TEST. This will be given the first
week of class. It will not count towards the final grade. Sort of like a final
exam in reverse, it will include material about film technology, film history,
and filmmaking theory that should be common knowledge by the time the semester
is over. It may even include questions that will be on the regular tests. The
overall class scores on this test will help determine the direction of lectures
throughout the semester, allowing concepts most students already understand to
be touched upon only briefly in order to include more advanced material.
WEEKLY
REACTION PAPERS (16 points). Students will receive one point each for 16 weekly
“reaction papers” a half-page to one-page (200 to 400 words) in length,
discussing the films shown in Tuesday’s class session. These should not be
merely a synopsis, but should reflect some thought about the film(s). They may,
however, be written informally, as they will not be graded. Reaction papers
should be turned in at the Wednesday or Thursday lecture-discussion session
after the screening, and must be turned in no later than the following week to
receive full credit. The second or third week after the film, they may still be
turned in for half-credit, but will not receive any credit if turned in later
than that.
THREE REGULAR TESTS (120 points). These will be given on the normal lecture/discussion days. Each will be worth 40 points, made up of multiple-choice and true-false questions. The third exam will also include some essay questions. Students who miss a test for any reason must arrange a make-up exam through your instructor. Tests will cover a variety of material from the readings, the lectures/discussions, and the films. Notes for study are available on-line based upon the readings and lectures. HINT--Students who miss film screenings should make them up by renting them on video as soon as possible before the test, BUT be aware that some titles may not be carried by local stores!
SEMESTER PROJECT (80 points). Students will
be expected to apply concepts covered in class to specific films they have seen
in one or more writing assignments. NOTE:
This is a college-level class and papers must be in standard formal written
English, typed double-space – grading
will be based upon their grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice, as
well as their content. This
semester each student can choose from three different options:
Option 1 is two 5-page
analytical papers, each worth 40 points (as much as a test). One is to be a
narrative analysis, due shortly before mid-term deficiencies must be turned in.
The other, exploring camerawork and editing, is due shortly before the last
test. More details and specific films for you to watch outside of class are
listed on line (link below).
Option 2 is a 10-page
research paper worth 80 points (as much as two tests). This paper requires you
to view and discuss the work of a single major director (chosen from the list
available on line) or do an in-depth study of one major film and critical
reaction to it since it was first made (list of choices also available on
line).
Option 3 is to write a
short screenplay by the date the first paper in option one is due (worth 40
points), and then produce, direct, and edit it by the end of the semester
(completed movie worth 40 points). If you get your script written by the first
paper deadline, but later find you can’t get the movie produced, you’ll need to
do the second analytical paper from Option 1 as a substitute.)
NOTE: Grading
for the papers will be based upon both understanding of the material and
quality of writing (this is, after all, an English Department class!). For more details
and topic information consult your instructor and/or click on the appropriate
link below. The “Writing About Movies” booklet included with your text (at
least it's included if you bought the book new instead of used), and information on line give suggestions on
what might be included and what should not be included in a film
critique. Basic outlines that may be useful for some assignments are available
on-line for general approaches to criticism
and some specific points for analysis. You
will have to limit your topic(s) considerably for any film discussion under
five pages. Be sure to ask your
instructor if you have any questions on what to write or how to write it.
Papers for Christopher Jacobs sections -- DETAILS --
click here--
ACTIVE
CLASS PARTICIPATION. Students
are expected to participate actively in class discussions. All are encouraged
to ask questions on the material. (This means, if you don't understand or
aren't sure about something, ASK ABOUT IT!! If you have a differing
interpretation or opinion on a film, share it with the class! Discuss! Debate!
Etc.) From time to time, a very brief writing assignment may be given in class,
usually worth two to five points. NOTE: since
all three sections have the same instructor, if you can’t make it to your
scheduled lecture-discussion section for some reason, you may attend one of the
others instead.
Students are expected to watch all the films
scheduled for class. Your weekly reaction papers to each film are worth only one point
each, but not turning any of them could lower your final grade by as much as
two letter grades in borderline cases! As a group they’re the equivalent of one
16-point paper for which you get as many points as weekly assignments that you
turn in (i.e., turning in 12 out of the 16 papers would be like getting a 75%
or a middle C on the semester reaction-paper assignment).
GRADING. Grades will be based on
adequate completion of the assignments and tests (216 points for the tests,
semester project, and weekly reaction papers, plus any smaller in-class
assignments, possibly totaling up to 220-225 potential points for the semester)
using the following standard (and very generous) percentage scale:
90
- 100% = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
59% and below = F
– Fall 2009 Semester –
Film Schedule and Reading Assignments and Notes About Readings
Film Credits and Study Questions
Paper Assignment Options and Details
Some Additional
Readings Not in the Textbook:
(go ahead
and read them now and don’t wait for your instructor to assign them!)
A
Night At The Movies
The Development of the Cinema
D. W.
Griffith: Some Background
The
Production Code of 1930
Orson
Welles: Three Views
Shakespeare
and Film
Some links for
further research, reference, and background information:
(Note that websites can change frequently and some links might be out of
date—inform your instructor of any 404’s)
Internet Movie Database Search
Movie Guide Database
Search
All-Movie Guide Database Search
Movie Information
Collection (more links)
Original Articles
from the Silent Era
”Nitrateville” Discussion Forum on classic
films
The "Silents Majority"
(currently unavailable)
Information
and links on Silent Cinema
Behind the Scenes in the Movie
Industry
Information on
Significant Movies
Information on Film
Formats and Technology
Information on Color and
Widescreen Film Processes
Information on Film Sound
The
American Film Institute Catalog database of silent films
The Journal of
Film Preservation (currently unavailable)
D.W. Griffith--Some background on the controversial film
pioneer
Psychological representation in cinema (1926 Photoplay
article)
History of the Empire Theatre in Grand Forks (with lots of pictures, and now including a page with Quicktime movie clips from the first film ever to play at the historic Empire, The Witness for the Defense (Paramount-Artcraft, 1919), directed by George Fitzmaurice, starring Elsie Ferguson and Warner Oland!)
Current Movie Reviews from the High Plains
READER
Selected Past Movie Reviews from the High
Plains READER
Independent movies made on digital video in
Grand Forks and Fargo
(including trailers in RealPlayer or Quicktime format for selected titles!)
Useful “Usenet” Newsgroups for additional information and for asking
questions of experts:
(use your newsreader or go on the web to Google
Search, formerly http://www.dejanews.com)
alt.movies.cinematography
alt.movies.independent
alt.movies.silent
rec.arts.movies.production
rec.arts.movies.tech
rec.video.desktop
If you have America Online or some other internet newsgroup server
besides the now-defunct News.nodak.edu
or dejanews, you might also want to check out
alt.binaries.pictures.movie-posters
This Page Last Updated August 22, 2009
Street scene in Leeds, England, shot in
1888 by Augustin LePrince
as a several-second long moving picture the year before
George Eastman's invention of film, using a strip of photographic paper!
Click on picture to access the animated version of this and numerous other
movies made before film at the website of Charl Lucassen.
Direct Any Questions or Comments (and report inactive links) to: christopher.jacobs@und.edu