GSC2408

Screen studies

Lecturer to be advised

8 points
* Second semester
* 3 hours per week (one 3-hour period for introduction, screening and discussion) plus a 1-hour tutorial available to internal students and distance education students
* Prerequisites: English major GSC1901 and GSC1402 or equivalents; mass communications major, GSC1901 and GSC1402 or equivalents

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject will have demonstrated an ability to analyse and evaluate screen representations (on film and television) in terms of narrative form; stylistic elements (mise-en-scene, shots, editing, lighting and sound); genre, authorship and historical context; common ground and differences between film and television.

Synopsis 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 Short assignment (1000 words): 20%
* Essay (3000 words): 50%
* Examination (2 hours): 30%

Prescribed texts

Bordwell D and Thompson K Film art: An introduction McGraw Hill, 1993