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Johns University College of Professional Studies Division of Mass Communication, Journalism, Television and Film INTRODUCTION TO MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION TVF 1400 CODE 11935

TIME PROFESSOR

Thursday: 7:10-10:00 Prof. Matthew Giordano

E-mail MatthewGiordano2008@gmail.com Office Hours by appointment

TEXT BOOK:

Hollywood Cinema: Richard Maltby, 2nd Edition (Recommended)

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE: Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3 Midterm Exam Final Exam Attendance, attitude, participation TOTAL 10% 10% 10% 20% 20% 30% 100%

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY LATE ASSIGNMENTS AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT ASSIGNMENTS OVER EMAIL!
A project/paper is late if it is turned in for grading or critique after the deadline. All the deadlines are THE BEGINNING of the class unless stated otherwise.

Attendance: We meet once a week; students are expected to attend all classes. If you miss 2 classes, you may be dropped from the class. You do not have any allowed absences. All absences must be substantiated by a valid note or a confirmed emergency situation. Lateness will not be tolerated. Any late entry counts as of an absence. If you work or travel from an outer borough and might be subjected to lateness due to unusual traffic conditions, please inform me in writing. All beepers, cell phones, and other devices must be turned off. If you leave class to answer a cell phone or beeper, I will assume it is an emergency; therefore, you will not need to reenter the class. Tests and Grading: The format of this course, and your grade, is based upon your examinations, papers, weekly assignments, readings, and class discussions. Students who miss an in class assignment will receive a grade of zero. Class attendance, participation, and discussion will count as 30% of your final grade. Papers/Exams/Assignments: Derived from your readings in the textbook, lectures, video, and audio presentations. You are required to read the assigned textbook pages and handouts prior to coming to class.

On all assignments reference your textbook, class lectures notes, visual presentations, and class discussions.
The paper due dates will be determined by me and should include a proper citation of sources!

Additional written assignments may be added throughout the term. Students who miss an in class assignment will receive a grade of zero. All take home assignments must be typewritten (12 pt. Times New Roman font; use MLA or the Chicago Manual of Style.) double-spaced, and attachments on 8 x 11 white bond paper. Use Spell Check, Grammar Check, and a dictionary. Staple and attach cover sheet to your work. Keep a copy for your records. When in doubt ask me for clarification. E-mail correspondence is okay, all assignments, however, must be presented in person. If you miss a class you are responsible for getting the assigned work to me at the due date. Papers: analyze the three act story structure in a Hollywood film, critique of a film, and scene analysis. Some films used in Class in no particular order!: The Godfather, Donnie Darko, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Blue Velvet, Jaws, Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan, Fog of War, City of God. 01/24/13

Film Structure
the nature of film structure and its relation to the ways movies express meaning the production process and its relation to film structure the relation between film structure and the cinema's properties of time and space rule of thirds and angles how camera position can clarify the meaning of an actor's facial expression and gestures the three basic camera angles and describe the ways they influence viewer response

1/31/13

Film Structure
Chapter 8: Hollywood Cinema what the cinematographer contributes to a film's visual design how cinematographers work with film stock, lenses and aspect ratios difference between realist and pictorial lighting designs the creative challenges of light source simulation differentiate between hard and soft light and explain their expressive functions

2/7/13

Narrative Storytelling: The Construction of Meaning/ Production Design/ Music

Chapter 10: Hollywood Cinema the storytelling function came to film early in its history the relationship between narrative and the mass production of film the three basic elements of narrative story and plot and how filmmakers may creatively manipulate this distinction the concept of authorship in cinema and why it is a problematic concept real and implied authors

2/14/13

History of Hollywood Part I

Chapter 5: Hollywood Cinema the development of the Hollywood film industry the adaptation of the three act structure continuity editing (Birth of a Nation), A and B movies, The studio era of production

2/21/13

History of Hollywood Part II

Chapter 6: Hollywood Cinema end of the studio era the rise of the independents birth of the blockbuster competition from television commodity tie-ins with blockbuster films

3/7/13

History of Hollywood Part III

Chapter 7: Hollywood Cinema the importance of foreign audiences further conglomeration rise of the multiplex, VCR, DVD digital era, films now shot specifically for DVD

3/14/13

Genre and Conventions

Chapter 4: Hollywood Cinema the principles of narrative, character behavior and audio-visual design which operate in each mode of screen reality ordinary fictional realism, historical realism, documentary realism, and fictional documentary realism how the cinema functions as a medium which can record properties of the visual world before the camera as well as transform the appearance of that world

3/21/13

Acting
Hollywood Cinema: Chapter 12 the special challenges of film acting that differentiate it from performance in theater the basic types of film performers difference between method and technical approaches to performing four ways in which performance becomes an element of visual design how performance elicits interpretive and emotional responses from viewers

4/4/13 Film Theory/Criticism

Hollywood Cinema: Chapter 17 and 18 what criticism is and what purposes it serves the task of the critic and how criticism functions as rhetoric three basic modes of film criticism three stages in the creation of criticism

4/11/13

Film Theory
Hollywood Cinema: Chapter 18 the nature of film theory and the types of questions it investigates realist models, auteurist models, psychoanalytic models ideological models feminist models cognitive models

4/18/13

International Film Industries

Chapter 7: Hollywood Cinema (214-225) how visual and narrative designs in the international cinema differ from the norms of American filmmaking two key features of the international film art movement of the 1950s the basic film styles of key international auteur's the aims of Italian neo-realism and describe its cinematic techniques

4/25/13

How to Critically Dissect a Film?

Reading (Class Handout) what is the mise en scene how various theories are presented through the mise en scene how does a filmmaker use aesthetics how does a filmmaker use iconography how are messages revealed through various aesthetic choices

5/2/13

Independent Film and Filmmakers

Reading (Class Handout) how is independent film different from Hollywood films how is independent film similar to Hollywood films how are independent films funded

5/9/13 Final Exam