Screen studies
BT BW BB BS DT GA PA BC BP BDT BJ BY
Neil Courtney
Subject value of 1.0 (6 points) * First semester * 3 hours per week (one 3-hour period for introduction, screening and discussion) plus a 1-hour tutorial option - available to internal students and distance education students who are able to attend weekend schools * Prerequisites: GSC1401 and GSC1402 or with permission of subject adviser. Business students may substitute GBU1401 for GSC1401. GSC2408 is available for the English and mass communications majors
This subject is an introduction to the study of film and television/video as mediums of fictional and documentary narrative. The syllabus will include examples of major developments in the history of cinema, both as popular entertainment and as an art form. Films will be analysed formally in terms of narrative, editing, mise en scène, shots, lighting and sound, and stylistically in terms of genre and authorship. In broader terms, consideration will be given to some of the different theoretical approaches to screen studies, such as aestheticism, discourse analysis and semiotics. Some attention will also be given to the cultural contexts of the films and to the differences between cinema, television and video watching. For the benefit of distance education students, most of the syllabus films will also be widely available on videotape, and a supplementary list of films will enable these students to choose alternative films to those on the syllabus. Details of the syllabus will be given to all students before the start of the semester.
Assessment
Minor essay (1000 words): 20% * Minor essay (1500 words): 30% * Major essay (2500 words): 50%
Prescribed text
Bordwell D and Thompson K Film art: An introduction McGraw Hill, 1993