Palladino CIN 100

CINEMA 100: INTRODUCTION TO FILM

Professor Andrew D. Palladino

SPRING 2012

FRI: 10:10AM-2:15PM (section 3858) --- Bldg. 1P, Room 223 2:30PM-6:20PM (section 3856)
Department of Media Culture Office: 1P-232 Office hours: by appointment Telephone: 718.982.2541 (Media Culture Office) Email (best way to contact): andyp86@aol.com COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Cinema 100 is an introduction to the terms and methods of film analysis. The course emphasizes critical viewing and writing, with attention to cinematography, editing, sound, narrative, authorship, genre, and ideology.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES:

The first purpose of this class is to learn how to read films, or, how to understand and make meaning from what we see cinematically (visually and aurally). The second purpose is to learn how to write about the visual-aural image. We will watch a number of films and you will be asked during your examinations to analyze, through writing, the many ways that meaning is made in the cinema. Finally, the third purpose is for the student to gain an understanding of film history and be able to link past and present forms of filmmaking in order to acquire and develop tastes in both classic and contemporary film.

Please note the following: -Films in this class are old. The films chosen for this class are not for entertainment. They are selected for analysis. If you have chosen this class to be entertained and are not prepared to do the course work, you will not pass this class. -It is necessary to view films more than once, either by renting them at your local video/DVD store, Netflix, or reviewing them at the CSI library (most films are on reserve in the Media Library, 2nd floor). -Though you may have seen a film before, you will not have encountered it the way you will in this class. Be prepared to see films several times. This is homework. -Plagiarism. Be familiar with these guidelines. If you plagiarize you will fail this course. CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity (addressed to instructors): http://web.cuny.edu/academics/info-central/policies.html

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TEXTBOOK: (available in CSI bookstore)

Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction 9th Edition, 2009. (ISBN# 0073386162) **ADDITIONAL READING & STUDY MATERIALS: Weekly film analysis and lecture notes (to be posted weekly on CUNY Blackboard- see below for further details).

CUNY PORTAL / BLACKBOARD:

All students enrolled in the course must have an active CUNY portal account and CSI email address. In addition, students should have access to Blackboard where class attendance and test grades (including quizzes, midterm and, final exams) can be viewed. Notes on selected individual films will be posted on Blackboard after each weeks screening along with selected Power-point lecture slides. These notes are essential study sources for your exams and will provide you with relevant thoughts for your writing. Due to time constraints, I will only draw occasionally upon the film analysis notes during lecture. You are responsible for reading the weekly film analysis notes in addition to your textbook readings- regardless of whether I address them in class!

ATTENDANCE:
Class attendance will be taken via a weekly sign-in sheet. YOU MUST BE ON TIME FOR CLASS AND REMAIN FOR THE ENTIRE FILM. IF YOUR SIGNATURE IS NOT PRESENT ON THE SIGN-IN SHEET FOR THE WEEK, YOU WILL BE MARKED ABSENT FROM THAT CLASS. NO EXCEPTIONS! You are allowed two excused absences*** (official medical note, or from some other recognized authority, is required)*** ***A NOTE REGARDING ILLNESS: At CSI / CUNY, our highest priority is for all faculty and students to receive a well-rounded and productive education in a safe, healthy environment. Basic sanitary considerations such as washing your hands and covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing are highly encouraged. If you are ill (strep throat, high fever, heavy cough, nausea etc...), you are strongly advised not to attend class until you are well. Appropriate adjustments to class attendance and assignments will be made in the case of extended illness.

INCLEMENT WEATHER: Unless the college is closed, you are to assume that class
will be held. In the event of a sudden snowstorm, I will post an announcement / email on Blackboard as
soon as possible, informing you as to whether class will be held or not on that day. For your information, the CSI Snow Emergency Telephone Line is (718) 982-3333 / 4444.

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***In any case of class cancellation, you are responsible for reading the assigned textbook readings and film analysis notes for that week.**** GRADING:
Class Discussion: Be prepared to give your impressions in writing and in class discussion about the films in class. Furthermore, if you have any questions about what is being said, if you need the definition of a term repeated, and so onASK!!! 1. Attendance / Participation (30%). This includes in-class writing assignments and quizzes, which will be given periodically throughout the semester. 2. Mid-term Exam (35%): terminology, short essay, and film identification. All material discussed up to this point in the semester (including screenings) is testable. 3. Final Exam (35%). Two sections: short answer and take-home research essay. The exam is cumulative and includes all screenings. The essay will require two at-home screenings and external library research. Read further for details. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENERAL RULES OF CONDUCT:

CELL PHONE & LAPTOP POLICY:

TURN THEM OFF!!!

If you are caught using a cell phone (talking or texting) during lecture or during the film, the following procedure will apply: 1) You will be told to LEAVE THE ROOM immediately. 2) A notation will be made on your attendance record for the day. YOUR FINAL SEMESTER GRADE WILL BE LOWERED BY FIVE (5) POINTS as a result. LAPTOP COMPUTERS ARE ALSO BANNED FROM LECTURE HALL! If you are bringing one with you for another class, it must be closed and turned off. Class notes will be taken by hand. Should you need to type due to medical circumstances, you must submit a doctors note or some other official documentation. ****NO TALKING DURING THE FILMS! The cell phone / laptop policy additionally applies to anyone disrupting lecture or the films. ****Directives from this syllabus may change at the professors discretion.

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SCHEDULE: Lecture, Screenings & Readings

Week One (January 27th) Introduction-Film Vocabulary and the American Film Industry Screening: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990, 146 minutes) Week Two (February 3rd) Mise-en-scne and the auteur Reading: Chapter 4: The Shot- Mise en Scene Screening: Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941, 119 minutes) Week Three (February 10th) Cinematography Reading: Chapter 5: The Shot- Cinematography Screening: Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951, 101 minutes) Week Four (February 17th) Camera Movement and Cinematography Screening: Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974, 93 minutes) Short film: The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903, 10 minutes) Week Five (February 24th) Continuity or Classical Editing Reading: Chapter 6: Editing- The Relation of Shot-to-Shot Screening: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1943, 102 minutes) Week Six (March 2nd) Alternatives to Classical Editing Screening: The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967, 103 minutes) Week Seven (March 9th) ***MIDTERM EXAM*** Week Eight (March 16th) Silent Cinema Reading: Chapter 7: Sound in the Cinema Screening: The Crowd (King Vidor, 1928, 98 minutes) Week Nine (March 23rd) Sound (The American Film Musical) Reading: Chapter 7 (continued from previous week) Screening: Singin in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952, 102 minutes)

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Week Ten (March 30th) Genre Reading: Chapter 9: Film Genres Screening: The Robe (Henry Koster, 1953, 135 minutes) ***SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS FRIDAY, APRIL 6th AND FRIDAY, APRIL 13th *** Week Eleven (April 20th) Experimental & Avant Garde Cinema Reading: Chapter 10: Documentary, Experimental, and Animated Films Screening: Short films: Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger, 1963, excerpt) Hapax Legomena: Critical Mass (Hollis Frampton, 1971, excerpt) Feature film: Scarface (Howard Hawks, 1932, 99 minutes) Week Twelve (April 27th) The Star System Reading: Chapters 2 and 3 Screening: Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950, 110 minutes) Week Thirteen (May 4th) Politics of Filmmaking: Breaking Away From The Code Reading: PART 5 (Chapter 11): Writing A Critical Film Analysis Screening: Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967, 111 minutes) Week Fourteen (May 11th) Review and Conclusion Screening: The Wizard of Oz (Victor Flemming, 1939, 101 minutes) FINAL EXAM(May 18th) Regularly scheduled class times and rooms _____________________________________________________________________________ _ TAKING NOTES : IT IS REQUIRED THAT YOU TAKE NOTES while watching the films in class (it will take practice to write in the dark). Keep notes on costume, lighting, and camera angles that you find interesting, curious, or innovative. You should think about approaching your note taking thematically. Attempt to look for visual and textual relationships between scenes within a single film as well as among several different films we will be watching throughout the semester.
Below are some thematic categories we will discuss in class and that you may want to consider when taking notes on the films:

1) Representation of home 2) Violence

Palladino CIN 100 3) Performance 4) Use of a sound image vs. the silent image

CINEMA 100 : FINAL EXAM ESSAY ASSIGNMENT:

ESSAYS ARE DUE ON FRIDAY, MAY 11th. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!! ***Papers will be collected in Bldg.1P, Room 223 at start of class***
*** If you are unable to attend class that day (illness, emergency etc), you should arrange for a fellow classmate to hand it in for you.

ESSAYS MUST BE TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED IN MLA FORMAT.

3 - 4 PAGES (not including Works Cited)

The essay is to be both a research paper and a formal analysis of two films. Reference Librarians are very helpful and will direct you to other necessary resources you will need to satisfactorily complete the research essay. ANY CITATIONS, QUOTATIONS, OR IDEAS THAT ARE NOT YOUR OWN MUST BE REFERENCED. IF NOT, YOU ARE PLAGIARIZING. PLAGIARISM AND OTHER FORMS OF CHEATING:

ABOUT IT !!!!

DONT EVEN THINK

YOU WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY FAIL THE CLASS.

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I N S T R U C T I O N S:
This assignment is based on

Alfred Hitchcocks Strangers on a Train (1951). & Alfred Hitchcocks North By Northwest (1959)
Both films are available for re-viewing at the CSI Media Services Office in the Library. In addition, the films are in print on VHS and DVD and are widely available online (Amazon.com) and at local retailers (Best Buy, Barnes & Noble etc). After re-watching both films, please read the appropriate film analysis notes on BLACKBOARD. They are located under Course Documents and will provide necessary background information for your essay.

YOUR ESSAY QUESTION: What are some visual motifs that Alfred Hitchcock puts into service to tell a films story cinematically? Discuss both Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest in your essay. How does Hitchcock use editing, performance, doubling, and camera movement to

Palladino CIN 100 cinematically create both suspense and irony in these films. Did the films reviewers of the period notice these Hitchcockian devices?

***NOTE: The last part of the essay question will require you to locate original 1951 and 1959
newspaper and magazine reviews as well as other relative material to support your answer.

VALID SOURCES FOR AN ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPER INCLUDE:

Original film reviews (New York Times, Variety Magazine, Cinema Today). Books about specific films or directors (filmographies, biographies, and autobiographies). Interview transcripts (with directors or actorsEx: Hitchcock / Truffaut). Video and audio interviews (must be cited properly and written transcription-style in your finished essay). Critical essays by notable film historians (Rudy Behlmer, Leonard Maltin, Roger Ebert).

SOURCES THAT ARE NOT VALID INCLUDE:

- Personal blogs, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter - Wikipedia or any other facsimile. - Product reviews from commercial retail sites (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, About.com) - IMDB (International Movie Database) reviews and plot summaries

ESSAYS WILL BE GRADED OUT OF 40 points TOTAL.

Content, grammar, and proper academic format (MLA with citations) will be considered in grading your essay responses.

THE REMAINDER OF YOUR FINAL EXAM WILL BE TAKEN IN-CLASS AS A SHORT ANSWER EXERCISE.