Special Course 1: Film History and Analysis

This course will take a brief look at the major developments and general history of film as an art form, paying special attention to technological advancements. With that grounding, we will continue the exploration of the art by learning about visual storytelling and understanding how to analyze/critique a film with depth and insight.

To provide students with knowledge and skills to understand modern cinema and be able to use analysis to place it within historical and artistic contexts.

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This is an introduction to Film Studies class, covering the origins of film as an art form, specific high points in the history of Hollywood and world cinema, briefly touching on specific genres (horror, comedy, action, etc.) and looking at classic films as well as current releases and how they fit into historical perspectives. Class will consist of lectures, readings and in-class discussions of the current and classic film releases. With that grounding, we will continue the exploration of the art by learning about visual storytelling and understanding how to analyze/critique a film with depth and insight. Introduction - What are we doing here? What is a critic, what is a critique Nowell-Smith Ch 2 – Technology and Wheeler & Foster Ch. 1 - The Invention of The Movies Nowell-Smith Ch 3 - Industry Nowell-Smith Ch 4 – Cinema as Art Form Nowell-Smith Ch 5 & 6 – Cinema and the Outer World/Conclusion: Seven Epochs of Cinema NO CLASS – Holiday Writing a review (If we have time) Spadoni – Form NO CLASS - Spring Break Spadoni – Film Narrative Spadoni - Editing Spadoni - Mise-en-scene and Cinematography Spadoni - Mise-en-scene and Cinematography Spadoni - Sound Special Effects Animation