Essential Introduction to Film Studies
Starts Tue 9 Oct 2012
18:30 – 20:30
8 weeks
How do we start making sense of movies? Can we identify the various elements of
cinema which combine to form a film’s meaning, and can we start to talk about how
film works? This is what this course sets out to cover, and its aim is to give you a
working vocabulary of key film concepts so that you can express what you think about
film in an informed and structured way.
We will begin with cinematography: where the camera is positioned, whether it moves,
how it moves, and how this affects us. You will be introduced to the concept of miseen-scène – literally, what’s ‘put on screen’ – things such as design, costume, and
lighting tend to signify certain things, and clue us into the dramatic world of the film.
Most films are composed of thousands of shots – so how and why a film is edited is
important. And, of course, even ‘silent films’ are projected with accompanying music,
so we need to think about how sound (effects, speaking, music) are used too. And
let’s not forget colour – from monochrome to Technicolor to naturalistic colour – this
affects our thinking about film as well.
Once we have explored these elements of ‘film language’ we will examine how
narratives are constructed, and will ask whether films are ‘narrated’ to us. The idea of
‘genre’ can help us ‘de-code’ how a particular film is operating (genres also help the
industry to market their products). Acting styles can also create affects for us, and the
presence of a familiar star in a film will carry additional layers of possible meanings.
As part of this course, there are two screenings at Cornerhouse. The first is in week 3,
and is Baz Luhrmann’s 21st century reboot of the musical, Moulin Rouge!. It is a film
where lots of technical aspects are brought to the fore: camerawork, mise-en-scène,
editing, sound and colour – it will give us lots to talk about. The second film is Max
Ophüls’ classic ‘woman’s film’, the sophisticated weepie, Letter from an Unknown
Woman in week 6. It’s a film where the way the story is told is as important as the
story itself, so it will open up ways for us to talk about narration and narrative in film.
Above all, this course aims to enhance your enjoyment of film, by giving you some
tools to talk about movies in a structured and insightful way. Handouts and further
reading suggestions will be provided during and at the end of the course.
All tutor-led course sessions will take place in The Annexe and the two screenings will
be in our cinemas.
Beginners’ level – no prior knowledge required.
Tutors:
Andy Moor, Reader in Cinema History at Manchester Metropolitan University
David Deamer, Associate lecturer in film at Manchester Metropolitan University
Week 1
Tue 9 Oct
18:30 – 20:30
Introduction: What the camera does
Tutors: Andy Moor and David Deamer
The
Annexe
We’ll kick off with an overview of the various elements
we will look at in more detail as the course progresses,
asking the general question ‘can we think of cinema as a
type of language?’ Many films lure us into their storyworlds so that we forget about the technology which has
mediated what we see – not least the camera itself. We
will therefore start to consider where the camera has
been placed and ask questions like: why use a longshot, or a close-up? How might a camera be moved
within a shot? And why?
… and if you don’t have to dash off, perhaps we can
have a drink in the bar afterwards.
Week 2
Tue 16 Oct
18:30 – 20:30
What’s in the Shot: Mise-en-scène
Tutor: Andy Moor
The
Annexe
Mise-en-scène – literally, ‘what’s put on screen’ – means
everything visible within the frame of a shot. It
encompasses setting, location, props, lighting, makeup,
gesture and (of course) acting. We will consider how
different types and combinations of these affect the
meaning of a shot, and think how different genres of film
tend to have a particular palette of elements which we
immediately recognise.
Week 3
Tue 23 Oct
18:10
Film Screening: Moulin Rouge! (12A)
Dir Baz Luhrmann / USA | Australia 2001 / 127 mins
Cinema
Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim
Broadbent and Richard Roxburgh
It is the end of the nineteenth century and where else in
the world would you want to be but Paris! Christian,
against his father’s wishes, heads to Montmartre to
become a writer, and falls in love with Satine, a dancer
at the infamous Moulin Rouge. But their love looks like it
may be doomed… Luhrmann creates a sensory
kaleidoscope of colours and sounds in one of the most
innovative musicals ever made, using mash-ups and
tracks as diverse as The Sound of Music and Smells
Like Teen Spirit and influences as varied as Bollywood
and Shakespeare. A spectacular spectacular!
Week 4
Tues 30 Oct
Sound & Colour
Tutor: David Deamer
The
Annexe
2
18:30 – 20:30
It seems a good idea to draw on what we’ve looked at
so far to think about how last week’s film works. Our
focus, however, will be on sound and colour. The use of
colour (and different types of colouring) can radically
affect the way in which we encounter a film, the way it
affects us, how real it feels and, indeed, when it was
made and when it is set. Sound is a very complex
interweaving of music, effects and voice – and can have
off-screen and on-screen components. Music works in
consort with the visual image to heighten emotion,
prefigure danger. Effects can be in close-up (the ticking
of a bomb) or long-shot (the murmuring of a crowd) and
the voice can be used to in a number of ways too,
including conversation and voice-overs. Using Moulin
Rouge! will allow us to think about the use of sound and
music in film – and also consider what form the musical
– as a genre – can take.
Week 5
Tue 6 Nov
18:30 – 20:30
To cut or not to cut: Editing choices
Tutor: David Deamer
The
Annexe
The last ‘technical’ aspect we will look at is editing. Once
a film is composed of more than one shot, some editing
decision has been made. We will start to examine how
some sequences have been put together, and what
effect the editing choices have had on the finished film.
We will also look at some editing styles – from ‘invisible’
Hollywood editing, to editing that wants you to notice it
(to signal impressions and thoughts or even politics as in
Soviet montage. We will also look at more recent styles
used in action movies. Finally, we will finish with the
‘long take’ – filmmakers who attempt to make movies
with as little editing as possible – and in extreme cases
with new digital technology – no edits at all. The
question will be, what does this resistance to editing
signify?
Week 6
Tue 13 Nov
18:30
Screening: Letter from an Unknown Woman (PG)
Dir Max Ophüls / US 1948 / 86 mins
Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan and Mady Christians
Max Ophüls brought his European sophistication to
Hollywood, and this is his finest American film. We are in
Old Vienna and naïve young Lisa (Joan Fontaine) falls
desperately in love with dashing concert pianist Stefan
(played by matinee idol Louis Jourdan). Hankies at the
ready - this is a weepie-and-a-half – but Ophüls style
raises the pitch of the film. Whose story is this? Lisa’s
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Cinema
voiceover takes us inside her head and heart; but the
camera seems to know more than her; the soundtrack
music seems to pass comment on her, and there’s a
mute servant who seems to see and know all.
Week 7
Tue 20 Nov
18:30 – 20:30
Narrative and Narration
Tutor: Andy Moor
The
Annexe
We are used to the standardized feature film, though it is
by no means the only form of cinema. How are
narratives constructed? What forms of narratives
predominate? How did classical Hollywood develop
such a well-recognized form of narrative? Alongside
these questions, are issues to do with how we find out
what happens in films? Do we know more than
characters in a film itself? Is there an explicit narrator –
perhaps with a voiceover – telling us what is happening?
Is that narrator someone we can trust?
Week 8
Tue 27 Nov
18:30 – 20:30
Stars
Tutors: Andy Moor and David Deamer
The
Annexe
By way of a round-up, we will think about what stars are
and how they too function as elements in a cinematic
language. Do stars bring meanings with them? Do we
import ideas about particular stars when we watch their
latest film? How do we relate to stars? And what’s the
difference between a star and an actor?
References
There are lots of ‘introductory’ books about film studies on the market, and many of
them are very good. We like the one by Richard Barsam mentioned below. A lot of
them are also rather expensive – certainly you do not need to buy any of these.
However, if you want a solid colourful text book to immerse yourself in, then these are
all good (and extremely readable!!!!) and you might be able to find them second hand:



David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction
Jill Nelmes, Introduction to Film Studies
Richard Barsam, Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film
Shorter books which are handy primers for those new to the study of film include:


Susan Hayward, Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts
Andrew Dix, Beginning Film Studies
Dr Andy Moor & Dr David Deamer, July 2012
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