Week One, Topic 1

After watching the George Mlis’ film A Trip to the Moon (1902) think about the differences and similarities between how you believed someone would had processed that movie then emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually (among numerous ways) and how you processed the last big event or blockbuster movie you saw. Tell us what you think are different and similar.

Going beyond the entertainment value of a non-documentary movie, what other value do you get out of seeing movie?

Reference specific vocabulary and concepts from the Course Content to describe what you observed. 

Posted Jan 28, 2020 4:06 PMFebruary 24 to March 1: Welcome to Week 1!  

Hi group and welcome to Arth 334 7381, Understanding Movies!

Note: Please make sure you look at the alternative resources link in each course module in case any links are broken or any additional links are added.)

NOTE:  MOVIES CAN BE FOUND UNDER THE WEEK ONE LEARNING RESOURCES UNDER THE WEEK ONE TAB (SEE CONTENT LINK)

(Formerly HUMN 334.) An analysis of one of the most important means of artistic expression of the 20th century. The goal is to acquire a deeper understanding of the aesthetic qualities of film by considering the stylistic elements of film as it has evolved throughout the century and weighing the special relationship between cinema and literature. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: ARTH 334, HUMN 334, or HUMN 498D.

This course is structured to present various aspects of film-making, with the assumption that the more we know about film, the more we will enjoy watching movies. Good films are rich, multi-layered experiences which require attentive viewing.

This course is a good excuse to go to the movies. Film is the greatest artistic medium ever devised, maybe, and we have access to great films. Try to see a variety of movies, and try to see them more than once! By doing so youll be able to fully value the directors and producers care and craftsmanship that permeates her/his film.

So, we get to watch and discuss movies, via the history of film making for the next 8 weeks!! Over the course of the 8 week period, we will discuss the development and chronology of film, film genres, basic theory including misc en scene and dabble a bit in scene sequence analysis:-))

The link to the Martin Scorsese lecture is not working, so use this one below:

And, for those interested in the color tinted version of Melies’ film, here is a link (the colorizing was done by hand painting the film):

We will be covering the following concepts, skills and issues in the class:

Concepts

film prehistory

film early history

transition to sound

film genres

important filmmakers

international film

documentaries

propaganda film

criteria for quality

editing/montage

cinematography

scriptwriting

directing

acting and acting styles

production design

theme

film economics

production values

career opportunities

critical theories

film vocabulary

technological development

Skills

critical thinking

effective writing

analytical or critical viewing

oral fluency

research

Issues

sexism

racism

violence

economic inequality

adaptation to technological change

what is quality?

what is theme?

aesthetic preconceptions

What we are doing this week:

Discussion forum–On Monday, the 24th,  I will open the discussion forum for week 1. Discussion answers are always due, unless I change it due to a holiday, on Thursday, and participation is due by Sunday.

Readings and Videos–please read the materials, Origins of Film, including the embedded  videos,  and the “Brief Timeline of Film” which can be found in the week 1 module. 

Assignments–We are  responding to and participating in  the discussion question, which needs to be answered by Thursday, 11:59 p.m.,. The participation should be completed by Sunday, 11:59 p.m.,. Additional information:  If you are new to Leo, my advice is to open up every thing, every link, and check the class out. 

Make sure you read the following: the syllabus, the week one discussion questions, and the week one materials which can be found under the week 1 content link. If something confuses you, just ask me for clarification:-)) And, again, welcome to the class!!

A little bit about myself:-))

My name is Francesca Mallory Coley, but I go by Mallory Coley and live in
San Antonio, Texas.  In fact, I  moved back here  18 years ago after living in
Oklahoma and Kansas for the last fifteen years. I moved to Oklahoma to get my Ph.D,
and stayed once I married an Okie!  We met while rock climbing and have been with
hanging out together ever since:-)  I also enjoy, really enjoy star gazing, hiking,
swimming and just enjoying life!

I have been teaching for the past twenty-eight years, five years part-time and the last 25
years full-time.  I have taught a wide variety of courses over the years:  composition,
technical writing, film, intro to literature, Medieval literature, American literature, screen
writing, film theory, critical theory,  honors English, research methodology, humanities, tons of communication courses,
and lots of British literature. As you can probably tell, I enjoy the academic environment
and love teaching. In fact, in July I presented a paper at Oxford University in my area of
specialty, critical theory, and it was published by Oxford in April.

I currently teach full-time at a local university in San Antonio and also part-time online (I
like to travel, so  I have got to pay for it somehow;-) Oh, and the hubby and I bought a
fixer-
upper, so we do lots of work on that as well. I think I have watched every home
improvement show at least twice!

Well, that is a bit about me. Glad to meet everyone:-)