My Intro Film Class

[InformationGeek]

Just had my second class today, the first was more of introduction into the class itself and showing a couple of VERY old films: A Trip to the Moon and The Great Train Robbery from around 1902 and 1903.

Our first lesson was on Theme and on the elements of it: Focus on Plot, Focus on Emotional Effect or Mood, Focus on Character, Focus on Style or Texture or Structure, and Focus on Ideas.  We watched a few scenes from a couple of movies (Devil Wears Parda, Brazil, The Birds, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and such) and tried to identify which was the theme of the movie just from one scene of it.  It pretty cool.

Our major focus was on Raiders of the Lost Ark and analyzing the main theme of it and also what makes Indiana Jones a appealing hero.  Of course, we got to watch the entire movie for this, which was great since I never actually sat down and watched the movie in one sitting before.

Next week we are focusing on fictional and dramatic elements of films and exploring this in the movie Thelma and Louise.

Anyways, I thought just talk a bit about my class now that I have started my college career.  Good to tell others about what is happening with me.  Last thing, for those who have seen the movie, is Thelma and Louise any good?  I never seen it before and I want hear some people's opinions about it before my next class.  Don't spoil anything though!

[Allhallowsday]

Just had my second class today, the first was more of introduction into the class itself and showing a couple of VERY old films: A Trip to the Moon and The Great Train Robbery from around 1902 and 1903.

Our first lesson was on Theme and on the elements of it: Focus on Plot, Focus on Emotional Effect or Mood, Focus on Character, Focus on Style or Texture or Structure, and Focus on Ideas.  We watched a few scenes from a couple of movies (Devil Wears Parda, Brazil, The Birds, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and such) and tried to identify which was the theme of the movie just from one scene of it.  It pretty cool.

Our major focus was on Raiders of the Lost Ark and analyzing the main theme of it and also what makes Indiana Jones a appealing hero.  Of course, we got to watch the entire movie for this, which was great since I never actually sat down and watched the movie in one sitting before.

Next week we are focusing on fictional and dramatic elements of films and exploring this in the movie Thelma and Louise.

Anyways, I thought just talk a bit about my class now that I have started my college career.  Good to tell others about what is happening with me.  Last thing, for those who have seen the movie, is Thelma and Louise any good?  I never seen it before and I want hear some people's opinions about it before my next class.  Don't spoil anything though!

I like THELMA & LOUISE quite a bit, despite BRAD PITT's appearance ( ) and what some of our esteemed members think.  I won't spoil anything at all, but I will say that HARVEY KEITEL's last shot in the film, on foot chasing after the title characters in their car, reveals the whole point of the movie.  Enjoy your class. 

[Rev. Powell]

Keep us up to date, InfoGeek, it's interesting.

So what did the class decide the "theme" of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was?

THELMA AND LOUISE is a good film, not a great one in my mind.  (I think AHD believes this means I hate it).  You're probably exploring "fictional and dramatic elements" of it because it's a bit of a simple, formula story (though well done).  It's a buddies on the lam pic, us against the world, like BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID but with a feminist slant. 

[InformationGeek]

Keep us up to date, InfoGeek, it's interesting.

So what did the class decide the "theme" of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was?

No.  Once we finished the film, the class ended and that was our homework.  I think the theme is Focus on Plot or Focus on Character like I brought up but I still need think on this more.  This will all be discussed next before.

Yeah, I'll keep everyone up to date on my class.

[El Misfit]

make sure you pay attention to continuity, dialogue, foreshadowing, and the Merry Widow Waltz--umm, just forget the last part, it's from Shadow of a Doubt. 

[The Burgomaster]

I had a class where we watched PSYCHO in great detail and discussed everything from camera angles to use of sound to editing and on and on.  The analysis stretched across several classes.  Then we had to write a paper analyzing in depth the scene with Arbogast on the staircase.  I loved that assignment.

[InformationGeek]

I had a class where we watched PSYCHO in great detail and discussed everything from camera angles to use of sound to editing and on and on.  The analysis stretched across several classes.  Then we had to write a paper analyzing in depth the scene with Arbogast on the staircase.  I loved that assignment.

What a concidence!  Psycho is the third movie we'll be watching and we'll be focusing on the Visual Design of it.

[Allhallowsday]

...THELMA AND LOUISE is a good film, not a great one in my mind.  (I think AHD believes this means I hate it).

So, you're one of them.  I wouldn't expect you'd hate THELMA & LOUISE..., but I would expect you to not get it.    

You're probably exploring "fictional and dramatic elements" of it because it's a bit of a simple, formula story (though well done).  It's a buddies on the lam pic, us against the world, like BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID but with a feminist slant. 

And without the abuse of the horses...     

"Buddies"...?  Who doesn't get what? 

[The Burgomaster]

I watched a lot of interesting movies in film classes (although, I had already seen most of them several times).  We watched stuff like THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, BIRTH OF A NATION, NOSFERATU, PSYCHO, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, M, BLADE RUNNER . . . I wish I had time to go back and finish my degree.

[dean]

I completed my Arts degree a few years ago now, and majored in Cinema studies.  It was a lot of fun and whilst the first year or two mainly comprised of me slacking off and just enjoying the university life, I knuckled down eventually and started getting some reasonable grades. 

As a lead-in to a career its probably not the best move [just going out and making films would be the best move], but I wouldn't change a thing.  Learning the basics into the film-making process from a theoretical point of view, and the history of it all really opened my eyes to new ideas that has thus far benefited my film-making to no end.

That and its a hell of a lot of fun.

I just went through some old threads I posted a while back talking about some of the films we studied in various subjects, with a very brief summary as to the subject for the week and why we watched it. 

It'd be worth looking at the first two threads as they may very well mirror some of the ideas they'd cover in introductory film studies [plus maybe give a few hints as to some nifty arguments to make in any assessment.  ]



 Some Reviews of films I watched over my Cinematic Education. Part One.

Some Reviews of films I watched over my Cinematic Education. Part Two.

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five


Phew, what a trip down memory lane! 

On Thelma and Louise, its not a bad film [not great either] but it touches on quite a few topics that film studies teachers tend to like to talk about, the most obvious of course being the idea of strong female characters.  Again, the quality of the films tends to go up as you further your studies, but they tend to dip you into the basics to start with as that will form the foundation of knowledge for later on.  It may seem stupid and simple at first, but if you can really lock down all of the basic concepts the rest will be that much easier [a mistake I made first time around]

Feel free to bang me out a few questions if you need to regarding your studies as you go along.  I'm currently enrolled in a film and television Masters degree and re-reading those old posts, and generally talking film theory is a good way for me to keep my brain active!

 

[Rev. Powell]

"Buddies"...?  Who doesn't get what? 

Dunno.    Janet Maslin of the New York Times loved the film and she said "It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new."  Anyway, let's see what Info and his class come up with.  

[Allhallowsday]

"Buddies"...?  Who doesn't get what? 

Dunno.    Janet Maslin of the New York Times loved the film and she said "It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new."  Anyway, let's see what Info and his class come up with.  

I've heard it described as a "buddy" pic, but I think that's a gender-specific term and THELMA & LOUISE challenges traditional sex roles. 

[dean]

"Buddies"...?  Who doesn't get what? 

Dunno.     Janet Maslin of the New York Times loved the film and she said "It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new."  Anyway, let's see what Info and his class come up with. 

I've heard it described as a "buddy" pic, but I think that's a gender-specific term and THELMA & LOUISE challenges traditional sex roles. 

There a certainly aspects of a 'buddy film' genre to it [if we take away the gender-specific nature of that term] - two friends going on an adventure who have a bond that isn't romantic [although I'm sure people have tried to read a romantic interest into Thelma and Louise.] 

But to me I've always found it to be more of a road movie/coming of age piece, more than the traditional 'buddy' film anyway.

I guess its an interesting film for study because it is a film that uses, and flips the buddy film aesthetic to certainly challenge traditional sex roles.

[InformationGeek]

Hey guys.  I just finished up my lastest class and I'll give you the scoop:

This week was Fictional and Dramatic Elements, in other words apparently, our focus was on Story according to the teacher.  We started off talking about what makes a good story, how a movie is structures (Linear and non-linear [Something like Pulp Fiction]), the characterization and what defines a character (Appearance, dialgoue, action, and reaction from others), the conflict whether it is external or internal, and we ended on irony.

We watched a bit of The Graduate and we anayzled the opening, a couple of scenes, and the ending.  The ending is considered Cosmic irony and that is meant to leave the audience thinking as they leave the theater (Sort of like what happens to the fish that escape at the end of Finding Nemo as I reasoned. "Now what?").

We watched our feature presentation, Thelma and Lousie.  The movie was good and well done.  Our homework was some basic questions and a rather interesting one.  Are Thelma & Louise heroes and anti-heroes?  I'm sort of leaning to anti-heroes, but I'm still having second thoughts.

That's it for now on this subject.  Next week we are talking about Visual Design and will be watching Psycho.