Print

2019　Studies of Culture and Representation C

Font size  SML

Register update notification mail Add to favorite lecture list
Academic unit or major
Humanities and social science courses
Instructor(s)
-
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Mon3-4(W631)  Thr3-4(W631)  
Group
-
Course number
LAH.H314
Credits
2
Academic year
2019
Offered quarter
2Q
Syllabus updated
2019/3/18
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

Our everyday life is surrounded by “image” more than ever before. "Screens" and ubiquitous—not only movie or television, but also streaming content on computers and mobile devices and digital signage—and we subconsciously absorb the “meaning” these images produce. However, our familiarity with images often compels us to overlook how they affect our emotions. This course understands the characteristic form of audio-visual media, mainly movies, and explores why film expression attracts us. We grasp the techniques of film by breaking down images into its basic components such as direction, shooting, editing, audio/visual effects, and performance. Movies taken up in the class are Hollywood, Japanese, and European, but animated movies or drama is also referenced; for instance—Kurosawa Akira, Mizoguchi Kenji, Ozu Yasujirô, Kawashima Yûzô, Sômai Shinji, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Kitano Takeshi, Miyazaki Hayao, Shinkai Makoto, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Roman Polanski, Jean-Luc Godard, Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick. Because this class has time of practice exercises to analyze movies interactively, the active involvement of participants is welcomed.
The aim of this lecture is to understand various film expressions in the 20th century, and to cultivate the ability for participants themselves to analyze and criticize movies.

Student learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the characteristics of film expression, and explain them to others.
2) Comprehend the history of audio-visual expression in the 20th century.
3) Analytically grasp the expression by film and write critiques of movies or visual images.

Keywords

Cinema history, Auteur, Film expression, Cinematic body, Critique, Film remake, Film adaptation, Animation

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills Intercultural skills Communication skills ✔ Critical thinking skills ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Based on lecture-style presentations with practical sessions. Students are occasionally given exercise problems related to the contents.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Guidance and introduction Study a basic grammar of film and film expressions.
Class 2 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Filming Learn "filming" such as camera position, movement, shot scale, and length of shot.
Class 3 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Sound effects Think about the relationship between sound and image.
Class 4 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Meaning Learn "staging" such as composition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting.
Class 5 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Visual design Consider effects of color or CG.
Class 6 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Cinematic body Consider the body of actor in films.
Class 7 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Cinematic gaze Understand how to constitute "gaze" in films.
Class 8 Mise-en-scène/Mise-en-shot: Film editing Learn montage and continuity editing.
Class 9 Exercise 1: The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinoda Masahiro, 1969) Analysis of the film.
Class 10 Cinematography of Shinoda Masahiro Think about traditional performance art and his avant-garde.
Class 11 Exercise 2: Sonatine (Kitano Takeshi, 1993) Analysis of the film.
Class 12 Cinematography of Kitano Takeshi Think about "play" and "violence" in Kitano films.
Class 13 Film adaptation Analyze the film adaptations of Mori Ōgai's "The Wild Geese" and Endō Shūsaku's "Silence."
Class 14 Film remake Analyze the film remakes of "Ringu" and "Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?"
Class 15 Techniques of animation Analyze Miyazaki Hayao or Shinkai Makoto's animated films.

Textbook(s)

None required.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. Nagoya: Nagoya University Press. ISBN: 978-4815805678 (Japanese)
Kitamura, Kyohhei and Miyoko Shimura eds. Creativity of Film Remaking. Tokyo: Suiseisya. ISBN: 978-4801003002 (Japanese)

Assessment criteria and methods

Class participation (40%) and final report (60%)

Related courses

  • LAH.H113 ： Studies of Culture and Representation A
  • LAH.H215 ： Studies of Culture and Representation B

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

Should the number of applicants for this course exceed the limit, a lottery system will be used to determine which students are admitted. Be sure to attend the first class.

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

kitamura.k.af[at]m.titech.ac.jp

Page Top