INTRODUCTIONTOFILM.docVIP

INTRODUCTION TO FILM Professor: Dr. Aaron Baker Email: aaron.baker@ Office Hours: By Appointment Web Site: /courses/fms100ab COURSE OUTLINE Using a range of films from various national cinemas, this course will introduce students to formal and cultural issues important to understanding movies. We will work with the assumption that these issues are best explored through textual analysis of individual films. This analysis will demonstrate that attention to form -- how filmmakers tell stories through formal systems such as narrative, editing, mise-en-scene and cinematography -- is inseparable from thematic content, or what films are about. For example, the representation of Japanese culture in Rashomon cannot be separated from that film’s use of art film conventions of storytelling, editing and cinematography. Although this course is web delivered, it is neither automated nor self-paced. You are expected to engage in all “Learning Tasks.” Readings: There is one required book for the class, the Pearson FMS 100 Introduction to Film Reader. It can be purchased from A or at the ASU Bookstore. A few additional readings will be posted on the FMS 100 Blackboard site. Read the articles carefully and on time -- by the day for which they are assigned-- as they form the basis of the online eBoard discussions, critical essays, and the final exam. You will not be able to do the essays or pass the final exam if you do not stay up on the readings for the class. Screenings:You are responsible for screening one film per lesson. The specific titles are listed in the Lessons and Assignments under each lesson. You can purchase the titles through A (or another on-line distributor) or rent them at your local video store or from Netflix. Several are available at the ASU Library. They are also available (free of charge) in streaming format if you click on the screening icon for each lesson. Don’t watch these films for entertainment; watch them for study. Li