Film Studies (FILM) 201 - Lecture 01
Introduction to Film Studies
Fall 2007
Lecture: Tuesday 14:00 -16:50
Tutorials: Thursday 14:00 -14:50; 15:00 -15:50

Instructor:	Dr. Charles Tepperman
Office Location:	SS 238
Office Phone:	TBA
E-Mail:	c.tepperman@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:	On Blackboard
Office Hours:	TBA

Course Description

This course introduces basic concepts of film analysis, which are discussed through examples from different national cinemas, genres, and directorial oeuvres. Along with questions of film technique and style, we consider the notion of the cinema as an institution that comprises an industrial system of production, social and aesthetic norms and codes, and particular modes of reception.

Objectives of the Course

This course provides foundational tools and concepts required for film analysis. Students will develop different ways of considering - and writing about - the formal, aesthetic, institutional, and cultural dimensions of the cinema. Intended to prepare students for further work in film studies.

Textbooks and Readings:

- Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction, 8^th edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson. (BT)

- A course reading package will be available from the University of Calgary Bookstore in early October. (RP)

Assignments and Evaluation

Lectures, readings, screenings, and discussions are essential components of the course.  Missing more than three classes or screenings can affect whether you pass this course.  You must see all of the films and should see as many as possible more than once.  Make-up screenings and close analyses can be done on video, but this cannot be considered a substitute for the scheduled screening.  You must come to class prepared to discuss the films and the readings.  Writing requirements include:  

Film Journal on Blackboard**                                                          15%

Shot-by-shot analysis (Oct. 11 - in tutorial)                                    15%

Mid-term Exam (Nov. 15 - in tutorial)                                             25%

Essay (Due Dec. 6 at beginning of tutorial)                                   30%

Tutorial Participation                                                                        15%

** Note on Blackboard "Film Journal" requirement: In order to fulfill this requirement, you must post one response in the "Discussion Board" section of your tutorial's Blackboard site EACH WEEK. These should be thoughtful and detailed reflections on the week's film and/or reading. Responses should be a paragraph or two in length (approx. 250 words) and must be posted no later than the evening before your tutorial. You are encouraged to respond (thoughtfully, respectfully) to your classmates' posts, and/or to post additional comments on the discussion board.

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Week 1 (SEPT 11): The Language of Film

Reading: BT Chapter 2: "The Significance of Film Form"

               (Suggested reading: BT Chapter 1: "Putting Films on Screen")

Screening: Lola rennt / Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, Germany, 1998) 80 min

Week 2 (SEPT 18): The Shot - Placing in a Frame

Reading: BT Chapter 4: "The Shot: Mise-en-Scene"; Chapter 5: Section on "Framing"

Screening: Play Time (Jacques Tati, France, 1967) 124 min.

Week 3 (SEPT 25): Camera Movement - Motion and Mobile Viewpoints

Reading: BT Chapter 5: "The Shot: Cinematography"

Screening: Duo luo tian shi / Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 1995) 95 min

Week 4 (OCT 2): Narration - Juxtaposing Images and Times

Reading: BT Chapter 3: "Narrative as a Formal System"

Screening: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) 119 min

Week 5 (OCT 9): Continuity Editing - Space, Time, and Character

Reading: BT Chapter 6: "The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing"

Screening: It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, USA, 1934) 105 min

Shot-by-shot Analysis - Oct. 11 in Tutorial

Week 6 (OCT 16): Montage: Editing as Style

Reading: BT Chapter 6: Section on "Alternatives to Continuity Editing"; Chapter 10: Sections on "Documentary" and "Experimental Film"

Screening: Stachka / Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, USSR, 1925) 94 min

Week 7 (OCT 23): Sound in Film

Reading: BT Chapter 7: "Sound in the Cinema"; Chapter 10: Section on "The Animated Film"

Screening: Hukkle (Gyorgy Palfi, Hungary, 2002) 78 min

Week 8 (OCT 30): Ways of Looking - Form/Gender/Ideology

Reading: BT Chapter 9: "Film Genres"; RP Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"; Strongly Recommended: RP Robin Wood, "Psycho."

Screening: Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1960) 109 min

Week 9 (NOV 6): Film Stylistics - Realism

Reading: RP André Bazin, "The Ontology of the Photographic Image"; Siegfried Kracauer, "Theory of Film" (excerpt).

Screening: Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, India/UK, 1988) 114 min

Week 10 (NOV 13 - NO LECTURE)

Midterm Exam - Nov. 15 in Tutorial

Week 11 (NOV 20): Film Stylistics - Fantasy and Stylization

Reading: RP Parker Tyler, "Magic and Myth of the Movies"; Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer, "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception."

Screening: El Laberinto del fauno / Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, Spain, 2006) 112 min

Week 12 (NOV 27): Reflexive/Political/Postcolonial Cinema

Reading: RP Bernard Dort, "Towards a Brechtian Criticism of Cinema"; Fernando Solanas and Octavio Gettino, "Towards a Third Cinema" (excerpt); Teshome Gabriel, "Towards a Critical Theory of Third World Films."

Screening: Touki Bouki (Djbril Diop Mambety, Senegal, 1973) 85 min

Week 13 (DEC 4): Ambiguities of Film Style

Reading: BT Chapter 8: "Style as a Formal System"; RP Roland Barthes, "Upon Leaving the Movie Theatre."

Screening: The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin, Canada, 2003) 100 min

Essay - Due Dec. 6 at beginning of Tutorial