FIL 3006   INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES

FALL 2003

 

 

Prof. B. Weitz

305-348-3294

DM 459 A

Office Hrs:  MW  9:45-10:45

weitzb@fiu.edu

 

 

Required Text:  Phillips, Wm.  Film:  An Introduction.

 

 

GRADING POLICIES

 

1.       Regular attendance in this class is MANDATORY.  This is not a “correspondence course”.  Since assignments may be given out on a daily basis and I will inevitably make changes to the syllabus, it would behoove you to be present for these announcements. If you do miss class, you are responsible for making up any missed work and it is your responsibility to find out what was done and/or assigned, submit any work promptly and be prepared for the next class.

 

2.     Please be on time and stay for the entire class period. If you arrive late, it is your responsibility to talk to me after class to avoid being marked absent. Absenteeism as well as excessive tardiness will adversely affect your grade.

 

3.     Final grades will be determined by 1) out of class work  2) in class work and  3) class attendance and  informed class participation. Film Studies is not a spectator sport but requires questioning, analysis, and testing of ideas. Regular informed participation in the discussion and analysis is required to successfully complete the course.

 

4.     All out of class work must be typed or printed.

 

5.     All in class work must be done in class.  It cannot be made up (this includes quizzes).  Exams can be made up by prior arrangement and with a valid excuse.

6.     All assignments are due at the beginning of class time.  I have little sympathy for people who come to class the day a paper is due asking for an extension. I know that printers run out of ink, files get deleted from disks, and cars break down, but please find a way to prevent or work around these errors. Starting an assignment well in advance is a good start. The grade will be dropped one half letter for each 24 hour period it is late after I collect the papers in class.

 

7.     If you are having any type of problem or confusion which is preventing you from completing your work, please come talk to me about it.

 

8.   Etiquette (or Pet Peeves)

  • Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, or anything else that beeps or makes noise.  These disturbances are annoying and disruptive to class.
  • Please make every attempt NOT to leave the room during discussions and screening of films or clips. This disturbs others in the class (including myself) and prevents you from seeing the entire screening and understanding the concepts being presented. If you have a condition which prevents you from sitting for two hours at a time, please talk to me at the beginning of the semester, so we can make arrangements

 

Academic Integrity:

Academic honesty is expected of all students.  Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes cheating on quizzes or exams as well as plagiarism. Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating defined as using as one's own, without proper citation, words and/or ideas expressed by others in public arenas such as (but not restricted to) print, electronic publications, and scholarly lectures.  It is your responsibility to be knowledgeable about this topic. Please be aware that there are numerous ways to detect plagiarism beyond the instructor actually identifying the source of the plagiarism. Plagiarism wastes my time and yours—if you are experiencing any kind of difficulty in completing an assignment, PLEASE see me as soon as possible. I will consider instituting the policy on student academic dishonesty for any case of plagiarism or cheating I discover. Evidence of cheating, plagiarism or fabrication of sources will result in a failing grade for the course and report to the appropriate University authorities.

 

 

IN CLASS

ASSIGNMENTS

AUG 28

Introduction

Read Introduction/ Ch. 7

SEP 4

Classical Hollywood Cinema

 

11

Film Genres

 

18

View Films

 

25

Other Cinemas

Read Ch. 8

OCT 2

Narrative Theories

Study for exam

9

EXAM #1

Read Ch. 1

16

Mise en Scene

Read Ch. 2

23

Cinematography

Read Ch. 3

30

Editing

Read Ch. 4

NOV 6

Sound

Read Ch. 11, 12

13

Contexts/Meanings

Study for Exam #2

20

EXAM #2/Submit Film Journal

Finish Film Analysis Project

DEC 4

Film Analysis Project Due

 

 

 

Grade Breakdown

 

Film Analysis Project

20%

2 Exams

25% each

Film Journal

10%

Class Participation

20%

(including attendance, quizzes, discussion, in-class activities)

      

FIL 3006 is an introduction to the "reading" and the comprehension of film as a language and to cinema as an institution. Since this is an introductory course and since I am well aware that certain types of movies are extremely popular, I assume that you have seen plenty of movies but that you lack a conceptual understanding of cinema. In other words, I assume that your awareness of films far exceeds your vocabulary for describing them. Hence, I hope that you will regard this course as (1) an opportunity to experience a broader range of movies than you are, perhaps, used to seeing, and (2) as an occasion to learn and practice a more analytical--precise and elaborated--language for talking and writing about film. Although it occasionally attends to historical problems associated with cinema, this course is not organized as a history of the movies (that's another course). Neither is it a production course: a guide to filmmaking (that too is another course).

Since film is so familiar to us, it is often labeled "entertainment." We often assume that it is easier to understand than literature (which is often regarded as "serious" or as "art"). In fact, film really is entertaining, and it really is complex. It employs two channels--sound and image--and it is culturally ambiguous, blurring distinctions between art, entertainment, and mass communication. It poses major problems for--but it offers new possibilities to--traditional categories of cultural criticism.