ClassInfo

DC 205 Foundations of Cinema for Non-Majors

Victor Aronovich

Office: Meets in Classroom/Zoom
Spring 2013-2014
Class number: 30279
Section number: 901
Tu 6:00PM - 9:15PM
LEVAN 00305 Lincoln Park Campus

Summary

This course will examine the craft, technology, and aesthetic principles of media production. Drawing on a wide array of historical examples, the course will look at the many expressive strategies potentially usable in the creation of moving image art forms: the importance of story and controlling ideas, storytelling with images, the basics of composition and editing, and an examination of narrative, documentary, and experimental approaches. In addition to analyzing the works of others, students will also produce their own projects thus, putting theory into practice.

The following topics will be covered: the importance of story and expressing ideas; storytelling with images and sound; the basics of image composition and editing; narrative, documentary, and experimental approaches and their intersections.

DC 205 Foundations of Cinema is included in the Liberal Studies program as a course with credit in the Arts and Literature domain.



Texts

Understanding Movies, by Louis Giannetti (Pearson, Allyn & Bacon) 13th Edition


Grading

Each quiz 10% each - total 20%
Papers/Presentations 6% each - total 24%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Class Participation and Attendance 16%
Total 100%


Prerequisites

None


Learning Outcomes and How They Will Be Met

Learning Outcomes

1.Students will be able to explain, in well-written prose, what a work of art is about and/or how it was produced.
2.Students will be able to comment on the relationship between form and content in a work.
3.Students will be able to assess the formal aspects of their subject and put those qualities into words, using, when appropriate, specialized vocabulary employed in class and readings.
4.Students will be able to contextualize a work of art. They will be able to do so with respect to other works of art in terms of defining its place within a broader style or genre. They will also be able to contextualize a work of art in terms of contemporaneous aesthetic, social, or political concerns, discussing how these might shape the work's reception and how that reception might differ amongst various peoples and historical periods.

How Learning Outcomes Will Be Met

DC 205 Foundation of Cinema explores one of the major artistic decisions in filmmaking: using realistic and/or formalistic stylistic approaches to creating moving images on the screen. In broad terms, the realistic style of filmmaking represents the content and the formalistic represents the form. The course explores these two filmmaking styles through various analyses of the multi-dimensional aspects of film production. Cinematography, screenwriting, acting, editing - all these production stages are examined by looking at what constitutes the core of the scenes - form or content.
I lead my students through an exploration of many film scenes and students analyze how filmmakers deliver their message by emphasizing the elements of content or form or both.
As a professional filmmaker with many award-winning films for ABC television, I open up to students the internal process of film creation and let them make decisions regarding creative choices during screenwriting, filming and editing of scenes.
Besides weekly analysis of scenes from various movies, students also watch every class a portion of a whole feature film by a leading filmmaker. During these analytical discussions, students develop an understanding of how form and content relate to each other in the movies.



Writing Expectations and How They Will be Met

Writing Expectations

Students will be expected to complete a minimum of 8 pages of writing for this course.

How Writing Expectations Will Be Met

To evaluate how students meet writing expectations, students are asked to write and orally present four papers, each two pages minimum. These four papers and presentations deal with specific aspects of content/form theories. The first paper/presentation is about finding and analyzing a movie scene that represent either a realistic (content) or formalistic (form) style of filmmaking. Students have to consider if the scene mirrors reality, stresses content over form, or expresses a director?s subjective experience. There are a total of twelve characteristics that students can choose from, and they are required to describe in detail at least four of them. The other papers and presentations deal with Open (content) and Closed (form) Forms, Figurative Techniques, and how Sound can affect a scene. Students also take midterm and final exams where there are many questions and short assays dealing with form or content. Examples: ?What are the essential differences between the styles of realism and formalism? Can one film contain characteristics of each, or are these styles mutually exclusive?"



School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296