Analyzing Media Texts (220-0-20)

Instructors

Scott Curtis

Meeting Info

Helmerich Auditorium: Mon, Wed 1:00PM - 2:50PM

Overview of class

This course is an introduction to the study and structure of film and other moving-image media. We will define and examine the expressive and aesthetic power of the basic elements of the moving image. Specifically, the course will investigate—across a variety of different media, modes and genres, and historical periods—the fundamentals of production design; cinematography, especially the shot and its com-position; editing; sound; and narrative structure. The first half of the course examines the separate elements of the moving image; the second half explores how those elements can be organized in various narrative and non-narrative structures.

The goals of the course are (1) to acquaint students with a vocabulary specific to film and other moving-image media; (2) to provide students with the critical tools required for analysis of the moving image; and (3) to develop student skills in writing and argument for humanistic inquiry.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to: (1) identify the elements of the moving image (e.g., kinds of camera movement) and of the soundtrack according to a standard glossary of technical terms; (2) describe patterns of similarity, repetition, difference, and variation in the image and sound tracks; (3) propose connections between those patterns and narrative structure, character psychology, or larger themes and ideas; and (4) explain those connections in a written argument about how patterns in the most salient visual and/or aural elements of a film or program help us to understand its structure, characters, or themes.

Class Materials (Required)

Film Art: An Introduction, Thirteenth Edition, by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Jeff Smith (ISBN13: 9781265762452): $75 (McGraw Hill GO 180 Days Access)

Class Notes

Film screening attendance is mandatory. Students are also required to attend discussion sections, scheduled on Friday.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Radio/TV/Film Major and Minor Students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites.

Associated Classes

DIS - Parkes Hall 212: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM

DIS - University Hall 218: Fri 2:00PM - 2:50PM

DIS - 555 Clark 230: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM

DIS - University Library 4670: Fri 2:00PM - 2:50PM