Overview
An introduction to the basic analytical and critical skills as they apply to the study of moving images, specifically film. Issues of form, style and genre are addressed.
Moving images surround us; they are part of our daily routine and our lifetime experience; we no longer simply encounter them when we go to the cinema; instead, they are on our phones and our laptops; we see them in our city streets and around airports. In this course we explore how screen studies have conceptualised relations between viewers and moving images. Key concepts to be covered include: narrative and spectacle, the cinematic apparatus, the gaze, entertainment and pleasure, ideology and advertising, censorship and the regulation of image culture, broadcasting and narrowcasting, audience research and media effects debates.
The course is divided into two; in the first section on ‘screen form’ we focus on narrative and fictional moving images: feature and short films, experimental media, adverts and web series. In the second section, ‘screen culture’, our focus is upon the social and cultural questions raised by media. We are interested in the wider permutations of screens, and how communities, fans and audiences produce and consume their own images.
A core focus of this paper is upon introducing you to the construction of critical argument. The three forms of assessment: Journal Exercises, the making of an Audio-Visual Essay, and the Critical Essay are designed to support this focus.
In previous years, students found the best aspects of the paper were:
- Looking closely at the films we watched during the film screenings
- The video essay, as a great way of providing a thesis
- The lectures on censorship, mythical meanings and the male gaze
- Working with other students and tutors
- Learning how to edit in Da Vinci Resolve
About this paper
| Paper title | Screen Form and Culture |
|---|---|
| Subject | Media, Film and Communication |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 1 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,040.70 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Restriction
- FIME 101
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
Students who meet the prerequisite are welcome to enrol in this paper. Prior study of Media is not necessary. Students who have studied NCEA Media will find that the paper extends their understanding into new theoretical areas.
- Contact
- Teaching staff
- Paper Structure
This paper features modules which may include any of the following:
- Close analysis of Film and television style including editing, cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound
- Theorisation of the gaze in cinema
- Discussions of viral videos and complex social narratives
- Teaching Arrangements
Attendance at lectures, screenings and tutorials is essential.
Students will make a video essay for assignment two. A workshop and support will be offered.
- Textbooks
Textbooks are not required for this paper.
- Course outline
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.- Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the paper will:
- Have a foundational knowledge of theoretical approaches to the study of film and media.
- Have a foundational grasp of the use of audio-visual analysis to create an argument.
- Understand the forms that big, small and mobile screens take and their cultural and social permutations.
- Be able to ask questions and create arguments in a scholarly way.
- Assessment details
Assessment will include a timed close analysis, the making of an Audio-Visual Essay and a written Essay.