English 114 - Introduction to Film - Schedule

Section 03 • Spring 2010 • Mondays 6:00 - 9:30 p.m. • Wiecking Auditorium

Instructor: Leigh Pomeroy
Phone: 317-9421 (no calls after 9:00 PM)
E-mail: leigh.pomeroy@mnsu.edu

NOTE: This schedule is constantly being revised. Check it at least once a week.
Last revised: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 10:28 PM

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Date

Tentative Film(s)

Subject

What's Due Next Week
Jan. 11 NO CLASS, however ... assignments are due for Jan. 25. See "What's Due Next Week".

Read the syllabus!

Film survey — worth 3 points in the course. Due 8:00 a.m. Jan. 25.

Read/view:
Jan. 18 NO CLASS, Martin Luther King Day. However ... assignments are due for Jan. 25. See "What's Due Next Week".
Jan. 25

NO CLASS TODAY due to weather!

 

Read:

Do the first assignment

Date

Tentative Film(s)

Subject

What's Due Next Week
Feb. 1

Hopefully we will have class today....

Films of the '50s: IMDb list

I will not show Seven Samurai since it is too long for one sitting and I don't want to take two class periods showing it. I will find a suitable replacement, which is...

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Syllabus, schedule, and other details of the course

Why is there no textbook?

Film resources on the Internet

Film survey results

Discuss assignments — readings and film terms

Read:

Study:
Feb. 8

So far in the 21st century: IMDb list • They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? list

Dan Dusek will show and talk about World's Greatest Dad (2009) — starring Robin Williams — on which he was a location manager.

Special guests: Feature film production manager Dan Dusek and music video producer and filmmaker Wes Schuck will be discussing feature film development and production.

Read:
Feb. 15

Films of the '70s: IMDb list

Chinatown (1974)

General film terms

Camera and lighting terms

The 1970s

Sample Test - The sample test is only an example of the type of test I give. It doesn't reflect the films or the material we have covered in this class or this semester.

Questions about the test:

  1. Are we to buy another answer sheet?
  2. Are we taking the test inside of class or on our own?
  3. If we are taking the test in class, are we able to use notes?
  4. What will it cover?

Check out earlycinema.com.

Read:

Study for test
Feb. 22

Early film and silent films

Selections from: Landmarks of early film Vol. 1

Questions to consider:

  1. Early technology ... Was it standardized?
  2. Early film subjects ... What were they? Did the first films tell stories?
  3. Early film technique ... Lighting? Camera movement? Editing?
  4. What was unique about George Méliès's Voyage to the Moon (1902)?
  5. What was the importance of the Lumière Brothers?
  6. What were some of the problems of early filmmaking?
  7. What drove U.S. filmmaking from its New York origins to southern California (and other states)?

Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Notes and questions to consider:

  1. Early films were not entirely an all-male pursuit. Early actresses included Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Marion Davies, Lillian Gish, and Vilma Banky [Source]. Perhaps the most successful early female director was Lois Weber.
  2. Did filmmakers add color to black-and-white films? If so, how did they do it?
  3. Were silent films accompanied by sound? If so, where did it come from?
  4. What was going on in other countries beside s the U.S.?
  5. Who was Sergei Eisenstein? What was he best known for? Answer: montage.
  6. What important futuristic film did Fritz Lang make in Germany in 1927?

Continue with lighting and camera

Early history of cinema and silent films

Test #1. Don't forget to bring your full-size General Purpose Scantron answer sheet #4521 and a pencil!

The test will cover:

  • Film terms 1 & 2 (through "Lighting Terms" only)
  • All films through Chinatown
  • All readings through the 1970s but does NOT include:
    • Film history of the 1960s
    • Early cinema or film history before 1920

Read:

Study:

Date

Tentative Film(s)

Subject

What's Due Next Week
Mar. 1

End of the 1920s: The transition to sound

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Notes and questions to consider:

  1. Your instructor chooses Singin' in the Rain to show in nearly all his film classes for two primary reasons. What are they?
  2. What were some of the problems in first adapting sound to motion pictures?
  3. The Hollywood studio system of the '30s, '40s and '50s trained actors to be multi-talented. What skills were actors taught and why?
  4. Why might actors be considered athletic in those days?
  5. Singin' in the Rain had examples of both montage and tableau. What were they?
  6. What sound recording, syncing and editing challenges might there have been in making Singin' in the Rain — or any musical, for that matter?

Discuss Test #1

The questions and answers for the 1st test are here (white) and here (green).

Survey:

Film Votes
SOME LIKE IT HOT 114
WORLD'S GREATEST DAD 78
CHINATOWN 43

Continue with history of film through the silent era

Genre and sound

Read:

Study:

Extra credit opportunity

Mar. 8

Hooray! You've made it through this far! Spring Break! No class!
Mar. 15

Films of the '30s: IMDb list

Duck Soup (1933)

Frankenstein (1931)

Notes and questions to consider:

  1. Despite the country being in the depths of the Depression, the 1930s are often considered the golden era of Hollywood. Why do you suppose that is so?

The Hollywood system

Read:

Study:
Mar. 22

Documentaries and social issue films

King Corn (2007)

The class will be let out at approximately 8:30 and will then reassemble at 9:00 in Ostrander Auditorium to view the 48 Hour Film Festival Screening. Free nachos and popcorn will be provided. The audience will vote on their favorites and the winning teams will receive prizes.

Editing

Review for test

Read or be familiar with for the test:

Study:

Study for test

Mar. 29

Films of the '40s: IMDb list

Casablanca (1942)

Notes and questions to consider:

  1. How do the choices made in terms of selecting the material and filming the picture reflect the times in which it was produced?
  2. Exposition of the backstory of the main characters is a key element. What choices did the writers make in getting this necessary information into the film?
  3. How did the writers use foreshadowing to bring us up to key points in the film like introducing a major character or a major turning point?
  4. The writers didn't know what the outcome of the film would be until after principal shooting began. Even then, multiple endings were shot. How do you think that affected the believability of the performances?

Test #2. Don't forget to bring your full-size General Purpose Scantron answer sheet #4521 and a pencil!

The test will cover:

Read:

Review:

Study:

New assignment:

  • See Bright Start (2009) on Wednesday, March 31, in AH 101 OR any one of the substitute films on the assignment sheet if you can't make it.
  • Due date: April 12
  • Worth up to 3 points of your total grade

Date

Tentative Film(s)

Subject

What's Due Next Week
Apr. 5

Films of the '80s: IMDb list

Great beginnings in film

Touch of Evil (1958)

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Discuss Test #2

The questions and answers for the 2nd test are here (blue) and here (tan).

Survey results:

Film Votes
King Corn 81
Singin' in the Rain 56
Sherlock Jr. 40
Duck Soup 37
Frankenstein 16

Read:

Study:

Anyone interested in joining the MSU Film Society? If so, contact Prof. Matt Sewell at matthew.sewell@mnsu.edu.
Apr. 12

Films of the '90s: IMDb list • AboutFilm.com list • FilmHead.com list

Top 10 Female Directors in Hollywood

Great beginnings in film (cont.)

Un chien andalou (1929) — An Andalusian Dog

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Go over readings and film terms

View:

Review:

Read:
Apr. 19

Best films of the '60s: IMDb list

Filmsite's greatest films of the 1960s begins here.

Bullitt (1968)

Film structure chart

Writing about film: What's important?

  • Film Titles, Film Titles, or FILM TITLES?
  • General review outline
    • Summary including principal actors. What's the difference between a character and an actor? (Be consistent.)
    • Discussion including director and key creative people (e.g., cinematographer, composer, production designer, etc.)
    • Conclusion: Should the film be seen? Does the film have an importance beyond today?
  • What's important in a review?
    • Economy and readability
    • Use details and specifics
    • In referring to anyone associated with a film or a film reviewer, always use the LAST name after introducing them with both their first and last name
    • And finally ... definitely is spelled "definitely", not "defiantly", which has another meaning altogether ....

Review for Test #3

Study for test

If you want to vote on the film choice for April 26, fill out the survey here. Deadline: Sunday, April 25 at midnight.

Apr. 26

The last film of the class survey results are here.

Avatar wins!

All extra credit is due TODAY! NOTE: I retain the right to REJECT any attempt at extra credit if I feel you have not viewed the complete film. Hence, your writing needs to reflect MORE than just a cursory summary and analysis.

Class evaluations after you complete the test.

Class evaluation forms

Test #3. Don't forget to bring your full-size General Purpose Scantron answer sheet #4521 and a pencil!

The test will cover:

  • All films from March 29 to present
  • Film history of the '40s, '60s, '80s & '90s
  • Film terms 7 & 9
  • All readings from March 29 to present
  • All in-class discussions from March 29 to present

Review for final

Study for final

May 3

No film

Discuss Test #3

The questions and answers for the 3rd test are here (white) and here (blue).

Survey results:

THELMA & LOUISE 90
CASABLANCA 68
DO THE RIGHT THING 40
BULLITT 28

Final exam (covers entire semester). Don't forget to bring your full-size General Purpose Scantron answer sheet #4521 and a pencil!

The final will cover the entire semester.

You DO NOT need to take the final if you have already taken the three tests AND you are happy with your grade!

Nothing.... You're done!

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