I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Film Appreciation

2. Course Prefix & Number:
ENGL 1454

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

Lab Hours: 0

4. Course Description:

This course is an introduction to film as art form, tracking theory—with emphasis on the evolution of directorial and cinematic technique through the context of film history.  Critical evaluations and in class discussion will be integral parts of the course.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

Bemidji State University, ENGL 3607 Film, 3 credits
Mankato State University, ENGL 416 Film Theory and Criticism, 3 credits

III. Course Purpose

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Present a detailed critical appraisal of the effectiveness of a director’s or cinematographer’s technique inside a dramatic context
Demonstrate written communication skills	Compose two critical papers in the MLA format
Demonstrate reading and listening skills	Recognize and name specific techniques (from the reading and lecture) used by a director or cinematographer in a particular shot or scene
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Analyze a film’s ideological stance by citing the techniques used to produce said effects

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Understand film as an expressions of individual and human values.  MnTC Goal 6
• Demonstrate awareness of technique and genre as they apply to film.  MnTC Goal 6
• Assess film as an art form in the context of other art.  MnTC Goal 6
• Articulate the history of film and its evolution.  MnTC Goal 6
• Identify and evaluate mood, theme, style, and genre.  MnTC Goal 6
• Respond critically to works in the humanities with similar or opposing viewpoints.  MnTC Goal 6
• Appraise individual film exemplars against a historical and social context.  MnTC Goal 6
• Respond critically to a director’s and/or cinematographer’s technique within the context of a dramatic situation.  MnTC Goal 6
• Convey an informed personal reaction to film.  MnTC Goal 6

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Photography
• Defining style:  Realism, Classicism, Formalism
• Shots and Angles
• Light, Dark, and Color
• Lenses,  Filters, Stocks, and FX
• The Cinematographer’s role
2. Mise En Scene
• The Frame, Composition, and Design
• Territorial Space and Proxemics
• Open and Closed Form
3. Movement
• Kinetics
• The Moving Camera
• Mechanical Distortions
4. Editing
• D.W. Griffith and Classical Theory
• The Soviets:  Montage and Formalist Theory
• Andre Bazin and Realistic Theory
• The Storyboard
5. Sound
• Technical/Historical Background
• Effects
• Music
• The Spoken Word
6. Acting
• Distinctions:  Stage and Screen
• Styles
• Casting
7. Drama/Story/Writing
• Time, Space, and Language
• The Director as Artist
• The Narrative:  between Realism and Formalism, Classical Paradigm
• The Screenplay:  Point of View and Figurative Comparisons
8. Ideology
• Left-Center-Right
• Culture, Religion, and Ethnicity
• Tone
9. Criticism
• The Work
• The Artist
• The Audience
• Theory through One Hundred Years