module3filmtechniques.docVIP

Module 3: Film Techniques Objectives: Through studying this module, you should learn to: - understand the ways in which still images convey meanings through composition techniques. - understand the connections between techniques employed in comics and in films. - understand the use of different types of techniques to convey certain meanings: shots, angles, lenses, lighting, color, sound, editing. - know how to access and use film databases and review sites. - understand the evolution of techniques and content in film and television history - know basic aspects of screenwriting, storyboarding, video production, and editing using IMovie. - understand aspects of animation and special effects - foster critical response to film through classroom discussion and writing Visual Literacy: Starting with the Image A good place to begin the study of film technique is with the still image. By having students first learn to analyze the composition of single images, they can later begin to better understand how images are used within the larger context of a series of moving images. Understanding how images or signs mean is the study of semiotics, one of the critical approaches in Module 4. Semiotics focuses on how images or signs acquire cultural meanings based on certain codes audiences apply to those images or signs. The meaning of a red image is based on cultural codes for the meaning of red—related to danger, power, sexuality, etc., depending on the cultural context. Or, during the medieval period, images often assumed powerful religious significance. People would destroy images perceived to be sac-religious. Or, they were reluctant to put pictures of people in their bedrooms for fear of being possessed by those people. Visual literacy is an educational movement that emerged in the 1960s that posited the need for students to become more literate about the visual aspects of their media environment. This includes the ability to understand the uses