Welcome to Film Studies!

Welcome to Film Studies!

This course is designed to provide you with a wide foundation of Film History and Film Studies, while also giving you experience writing film scripts and film reviews/critiques (as such found in the field of Journalism). You can find the course syllabus on my teacher website. By its end, you will understand the art of film hopefully more than you do now, and will gain a better appreciation for the art of filmmaking. Some of you may like this course of study so much you will take film courses in college, major in film studies, or become professional filmmakers. Others will at least benefit from knowing (and appreciating) the art of film. Please note that you will need a notebook/journal and bring it to class every class period. You will use your journal/notebook when watching films, for brainstorming, and for various responses and exercises. I will be collecting your journal at the end of each quarter of this course and you may sometimes use it for tests/quizzes.

How to Take Cornell Notes (also see handout)
How to Take Notes When Watching Films (also see handout)

To start please read this article and complete the following task(s) in your journal/notebook (use Cornell Notes as practice) to turn in for participation credit during the marking period:

Film Studies Commentary by David Bordwell

#1. Essential question: What's the difference between the way a film reviewer (journalist), a film historian, a film scholar, and a film fan evaluate a film?
#2. List your top 10 favorite films of all time.
#3. Name your favorite genres of film. (i,e. what do you prefer to watch?) Why?

Please read the article above, and answer the questions just above in complete sentences by the end of first period (required - due today). We will then have a discussion about film.

THEN:

After our discussion in your JOURNAL/NOTEBOOK for film studies:

The TOP Films of All Time - A Personal Response by YOU!

For our class, this website by film historian Tim Dirks, will provide you with a lot of excellent information. We will be using the link throughout our course as a reliable source of information.
Please go to the link (on the right side of this post): Film History.

Other Resources:

• IMDB.com (this is the international movie data base, and can be very helpful to you in this course).
• Metacritic (a website where you can find all sorts of film reviews for models regarding how to write a film review--and for your own enjoyment)
• The Internet Script database. This site publishes many contemporary film scripts. It will be important to check your film script formatting and go here to read scripts. There is a link to this page to your right of this post.
• Youtube.com Many of the clips we will be watching in this class come from sites like youtube.com. You are probably already familiar with this website.

Today, I'd like you to spend some time reviewing the top 100 films of all time in the lab. Please read Dirk's information, take a look through the list and note the following (perhaps in 3 columns or sections):

A. Which films on this list have you personally seen? (jot down a few titles in your journal)
B. Which films on this list have you heard about, but never had the chance to see? (jot down a few titles)
C. If a movie looks interesting to you, please jot down its title in your journal.

At the last 5 minutes of class today, please get into groups of 3-4. No one in your group should be someone you sit directly next to. You will likely have to move and meet new people. Discuss your list with your group members. You may also spend any time remaining in class discussing films you love or hate. Why do you love or hate the film? Discuss.

HOMEWORK: Choose one of the films from the Internet Script Database and read a good portion of it for next class's discussion. Note the script format and be able to discuss the script you read with others. Complete the reading of this script by Monday, Feb. 5.