| Unit name | The Film Director's Vision |
|---|---|
| Unit code | DRAM23133 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Pete Falconer |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Film and Television |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What does it mean to have a directorial ‘voice’ or ‘vision’, and how does it express itself in the works directed by a particular film-maker? This unit will look closely at the work of some key directors in cinema history, to re-examine questions around authorship and the ‘auteur’ by considering the choices made in the realisation of particular sequences. In this way the question of ‘style’ will be considered as a product of relationships between theme, mise-en-scene, working with actors and perfomance, characteristics of rhythm, camera, editing and narrative technique, and the structure of images. The combination of these elements will be considered as an expression of ‘points of view’ that are both literal and social/psychological.
The unit will consider six directors, and look at two films from each. Each director will be the subject of a lecture from the unit leader and a student-led seminar. Directors who to be included in any one running of the unit will be drawn from a pool including Griffith, Eisenstein, Murnau, Lang, Capra, Ford, Welles, de Sica, Hitchcock, Lean, Ozu, Mizoguchi, Powell, Sirk, Truffaut, Tarkovsky, Wajda, Glauber Rocha, Fellini, Antonioni, Coppola, Aronofsky, Sembene Ousmane, Kiarostami, Herzog, Minelli, Fosse, Wenders, Wiseman, Haneke, Chabrol, and others.
Aims
Students will:
Plus as appropriate to the mode of teaching, that is, the combination of seminar and practice-based workshop and/or presentations:
Seminars, workshops, screenings, as appropriate
Optional units may be taught according one of three models, depending on student numbers choosing the option and resource matters. Unit convenors will decide on teaching mode in consultation with HoE and with students in advance of advertising option year-on-year. Contact hours and assessment details will be mapped to teaching mode, as detailed below.
Model A is a seminar-based unit
Model B combines seminars with workshops encompassing an average 30-hour production period
Model C is taught through workshops encompassing an intensive 60-hour production period
Teachers will assign assessments according to the teaching mode employed.
Model A:
3,000-word essay (50%) + student presentation (25%) + 1,500-word write-up (25%), or equivalent.
OR
Model B:
Essay [1,500 words] (33%) +
Workfile (22%): containing evidence to demonstrate student contribution to workshops / practical exercises; contribution to seminars Presentation/performance (22%) Critical analysis [1,500 words] (22%)
OR
Model C:
Workfile (33%): containing evidence to demonstrate student contribution to workshops / practical exercises; contribution to seminars, preparation & execution of technical production role Presentation/performance (33%) Critical analysis [1,500 words] (33%)
