FILM 240: INTRODUCTION TO FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES FALL 2012 T/TH 5:30-6:45pm; screenings T 7:00-9:00pm Instructor: Anthony Stagliano Email: staglian@sc.edu Classroom: MM 214 Screening Room: MM 214 Office: Humanities Classroom Building, RM ___ (office hours typically held at the Colloquium Café outside of the Humanities Classroom Building) Office Hours: TBD
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course introduces students to the critical study of film and related media. In the first few weeks, we will develop the skills and vocabulary to analyze the formal characteristics of audio-visual media. Through the rest of the semester, we will apply those skills to work through key concepts relating media works to one another and to describe what they do to and for audiences, with a special eye to how media constitute and reflect social and material worlds. To succeed in the course, students will need to pay keen attention to course viewings, readings, lectures, and discussions. LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the course students should be able to: • recognize and describe the formal techniques through which various moving-image media create meaning (e.g., editing, cinematography, narrative, sound, interfaces, etc.) • analyze specific examples (e.g., film sequences, web pages) to identify the meanings and/or effects these techniques produce in them • synthesize such analysis to construct interpretive arguments • present analysis and arguments clearly in writing COURSE MATERIALS Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White, The Film Experience: An Introduction, 3rd ed. (at campus bookstores). Listed in the Schedule of Classes as “CW.” Additional Required readings available on Bb as indicated in the Schedule. Important audio-visual artworks, as indicated in the Schedule. Responsibilities and Policies Required Weekly Screenings Weekly screenings are a requirement of the course. If you cannot regularly attend the group screenings, please take the class at another time. To do well on major assignments for the course you will need to watch some materials several times. Required viewing will be available at the Reserve Desk at Thomas Cooper Library for this purpose. The screening program aims to expand your horizons. I have chosen media works not only for their historical and aesthetic significance, but for their likely unfamiliarity to this class, and their challenging nature. You will watch material that will sometimes frustrate, sometimes baffle, sometimes offend, and frequently amaze you, often all at once. Please be aware that some may find part of this material objectionable due to representations of violence, nudity, sexuality, and other controversial subjects. If you have any concerns about such matters, please talk to me immediately.
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