| CODE | DGA2003 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Audiovisual Language and Film Analysis | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Digital Arts | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The successful creation of an audiovisual text calls for, as a necessary condition, the presence of a good foundation in the grammar of audiovisual media. Through formal practice and study, as well as through research into the cognitive effects of the formative elements of film, television, and small-screen media , this study unit will investigate the various visual, aural, spatial and temporal aesthetic fields as identified by Herbert Zettl in Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics (see below). Each field will be discussed individually 鈥� starting from its most basic elements and leading up to the higher manifestations and their implications 鈥� and also in relation (whether through consonance or counterpoint) to the other fields. Lectures will be as hands-on as possible, with in-class demonstrations of various aesthetic phenomena wherever necessary. Select still and motion clips from audiovisual texts, pertinent to the discussion at hand, will also be screened. The latter will be used to demonstrate how, when creating an audiovisual work, one must not only possess familiarity with the various elements of film language, but also the sagacity to use those elements judiciously, coherently, and also, as the case may be, in ways contrary to their established utilisation: in a manner, to understand why certain directors are seen as artists and others as talented craftspeople, when they all have access to the same aesthetic means. Whilst the focus will be on examples taken from live-action films, parallels will be drawn with examples from various forms of animation, illustrating how one mode of filmmaking informs the other. Study-unit Aims: - To make the connections in visual language between classic films and animation; - To further develop the understanding and appreciation of how formative elements function within film language; - To examine technical causes and aesthetic effects; - To introduce theoretical thinking on various aesthetic approaches; - To inspire critical readings of audiovisual texts. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will: - become conversant with the various elements of film language; - become familiar with several technical considerations; - become used to making the connections between film and animation. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - cogently discern between plot and the aesthetic attitude to the plot; - analyse a film critically in technical and aesthetic terms; - approach further courses in audiovisual production with a solid base of fundamental knowledge; - read further on various critical and theoretical preoccupations in the light of the technical and aesthetic considerations which inform them; - use the technical elements highlighted in their own productions; - apply the knowledge gained on the mechanics of formative elements of film to their animation. Required Reading: - Zettl, Herbert (2016). Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics, 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (The price of the 8th edition is rather hefty. You are therefore welcome to source and use a second-hand copy of the 5th, 6th or 7th edition, but not older.) (Strongly) Suggested Reading - Chion, Michel (1994). Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen (C. Gorbman, Trans.). New York: Columbia University Press. (Original work published 1990, as L鈥橝udio-Vision, Paris: Editions Nathan). - Bordwell, David & Thompson, Kristin (2019). Film Art: An Introduction, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. (Older, cheaper editions are equally valid as far as this course is concerned.)- Katatikarn, Jasmine & Tanzillo, Michael (2017). Lighting for Animation: The Art of Virtual Storytelling. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis. Suggested Reading - Bordwell, David (1998). On the History of Film Style. London: Harvard University Press. (For students interested in a deeper analysis of the poetics of cinema) - Hahn, Don (2008). The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age. New York: Disney Editions. - Thompson, Kristin & Bordwell, David (2018). Film History: An Introduction, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.- Wexman, Virginia Wright (2009). A History of Film, 7th ed. Old Tappan: Pearson Education. (Ridiculously expensive to buy 鈥� older editions would work equally well for this course) - Millerson, Gerald (1999). Lighting for Television & Film, 3rd ed. Abingdon: Focal Press. - Birn, Jeremy (2014). Digital Lighting and Rendering, 3rd ed. New Riders. Filmography - Peters, Daniel (2010). A Movie Lover鈥檚 Guide to Film Language. First Light Video Publishing. - Glassman, Arnold; McCarthy, Todd; Samuels, Stuart (1992). Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography. American Film Various excerpts, with respective sources identified in class. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Studio Practice | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Kenneth Scicluna |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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