11/21/2024 5:43:39 AM	FMA 10 Course Outline as of Summer 2025	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  FMA 10	Title:  FILM APPRECIATION
Full Title:  Film Appreciation
Last Reviewed:9/26/2022

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	4.00	Lecture Scheduled	4.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	70.00
Minimum	4.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	4.00			Contact Total	70.00
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  140.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 210.00

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  MEDIA 10

Catalog Description:

Students will be introduced to the language and technology of filmmaking through the examination of great films and filmmakers.  The course features a broad range of domestic and international cinema and investigates the culture, politics, and social histories of the periods in which the films were produced.  The students become more aware of the complexity of film art, more sensitive to its nuances, textures, and rhythms, and more perceptive in reading its multilayered blend of image, sound, and motion.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

Students will be introduced to the language and technology of filmmaking through the examination of great films and filmmakers.  The course features a broad range of domestic and international cinema and investigates the culture, politics, and social histories of the periods in which the films were produced.  The students become more aware of the complexity of film art, more sensitive to its nuances, textures, and rhythms, and more perceptive in reading its multilayered blend of image, sound, and motion.

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
Area:	E	Humanities
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	C1	Arts		Fall 2011
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	3A	Arts		Fall 2011
CSU Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 2011	Inactive:
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Both Certificate and Major Applicable

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Appraise films and filmmakers from a technical, aesthetic, historical, and cultural point-of-view.

2. Demonstrate proficiency in recognizing and describing film techniques with proper film vocabulary.

3. Differentiate among the various phases of motion picture production.

 

Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze motion pictures utilizing precise film vocabulary.

2. Distinguish among the various phases of motion picture production.

3. Differentiate among multiple film forms, narratives, and genres.

4. Appraise films and filmmakers in terms of style and mise-en-scene.

5. Evaluate a diverse range of international cinema in both a historical and cultural context.

6. Examine motion pictures as a technology, business, cultural product, entertainment medium, and industrial art form.

Topics and Scope

I. Basic Principles of Film Analysis

    A. Themes and motifs

    B. Story and structure

         1. Genre characteristics

         2. Narrative structures

    C. Symbolism and subtext

    D. Form and style

         1. Film grammar

         2. Syntax

    E. Point-of-view

         1. Study films should represent a variety of diverse viewpoints including work by traditionally undererpresented groups.

         2. Study films should include both domestic and international films from a variety of historical eras.

    F. Historical context

II. Film Criticism

    A. The humanist approach

    B. The auteurist approach

    C. The genre approach

    D. The historical approach

III. Phases of Film Production

    A. Development

    B. Pre-production

    C. Production

    D. Post-production

    E. Distribution

IV. Film Aesthetics      

     A. Production design and mise-en-scene

    B. Cinematography

    C. Color and lighting design

    D. Editing

    E. Sound and score

    F. Acting

V. Film Technology

VI. Film Business and Economics

VII. Film Research Methods

    A. Primary vs. secondary Sources

    B. Citation style

Assignments:

1. Weekly reading assignments (40-60 pages)

2. Critical writing assignments that integrate research such as: term paper or equivalent in multiple writing prompts (3000 words total)

3. Quizzes and exams (2-4 total)

4. Student presentation and/or final film project

5. Other assignments may include:

    A. Journals

    B. Film reviews

    C. Blogs

    D. Etc.

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 75%
Critical writing assignments
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 20 - 50%
Quizzes and Exams
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 25%
Class participation, Student presentations and/or film project, other assignments.

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

The Art of Watching Films, 10th edition. Petrie, Dennis and Boggs, Joseph.  McGraw-Hill:  2022.

Film Art:  An Introduction, 12th edition.   Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin.  McGraw-Hill:  2020.

Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film, 7th edition.  Monahan, Dave and Barsam, Richard.  W. W. Norton and Company: 2021.

An Introduction to Film Analysis: Technique and Meaning in Narrative Film, 2nd edition.  Ryan, Michael and Lenos, Melissa.  Bloomsbury Academic: 2020.

Making Movies.  Lumet, Sidney.  Vintage: 1996. (classic)

A Short Guide to Writing About Film, 9th edition.  Corrigan, Timothy.  Longman:  2014.  (classic)

Print PDF