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An introduction to the fundamental principles of film form and style. Each class focuses upon a specific filmmaking technique in order to analyse its cinematic function and effect.
This course will provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of film, focusing on the significance of specific filmmaking techniques (shot construction, cinematography, editing, sound, lighting, colour and acting) which contribute to our overall experience of film art. Class discussions will be devoted to broad questions of film form, production, distribution, ideology, gender, and authorship. Students will learn to apply concepts from the assigned readings to specific films drawn from a spectrum of different national cinemas (New Zealand, Japan, Britain, Germany and the US) and historical periods that range from early sound cinema to the present. Through careful analysis of individual films, students will acquire mastery of the critical and technical language of the discipline. Beyond the acquisition of essential and basic critical tools, students will also be introduced to political, modernist, and other alternatives to the commercial conventions of Classical Hollywood Cinema. Classroom explanations and tutorial sessions during the semester will guide students through the screening, reading, and writing assessments. Topics will include: • Classical Hollywood continuity style (alternatives to continuity style)• the critical and technological language of Cinema Studies• the cinematographic apparatus and ideological effects, including such concepts as ‘the gaze’ and male voyeurism• national film industries and film production• sound design and sound editing• cinematography (framing, lighting, camerawork)• the notion of authorship• the remake and ‘the original’• the notion of ‘art cinema’• gender roles; feminist discourse; the body
Basic knowledge of the critical and technical vocabulary of the disciplineBasic awareness of film history, ranging from early cinema to the presentRecognition that different film forms impact on the meaning and effects of film textsBasic knowledge of the various issues associated with the production, distribution, and exhibition of filmsBasic ability to conduct close analysis of scenes and images from filmsBasic ability to identify relationships between films and their social, cultural and historical contexts
Please note that the Monday 12-3pm Workshop is a film screening additional to the tutorials and all students are expected to attend.
Alan Wright
Mary Wiles
Bordwell, David. , Thompson, Kristin; Film art : an introduction ; 9th ed; McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Corrigan, Timothy; A Short Guide to Writing About Film ; 7th edition;
Hayward, Susan; Cinema studies : the key concepts ; 3rd ed; Routledge, 2006.
ScheduleWeek One: IntroductionDo the Right Thing (Lee, 1989)Week Two: Classical Hollywood CinemaCasablanca (Curtiz, 1942)Week Three: The ShotVigil (Ward, 1984) Week Four: Mise-en-ScèneA Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971)Week Five: Waltz with Bashir (Folman, 2008)Week Six: The Great White Silence (Ponting, 1924)Week Seven: Editing IRear Window (Hitchcock, 1954)Term 2Week Eight: Editing IIElephant (van Sant, 2003)Week Nine: Sound IM (Lang, 1931)Week Ten: Sound IITwo-Lane Blacktop (Hellman, 1971)Week Eleven: Film StyleNight of the Hunter (Laughton, 1955)Week Twelve: Contemporary Genre: HorrorLet the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008)
Domestic fee $619.00
International fee $2,688.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities and Creative Arts .