| CODE | MCS2140 | ||||||
| TITLE | Audio-Visual Language | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Whenever we laugh or cry while watching a film, if it excites, terrifies, angers us, or moves us to act, most often it is not because someone has just said "I love you", or because blood splatters on a wall. Rather, it is the insidious work of the formative elements of film language: the lighting and the use of shadows, the colour palette and its evolution, the way elements are shown on screen and how that depiction changes, the way shots are edited (or not), the weaving of sounds with the images (or against them), that presses the intellectual and emotional buttons that affect us, sometimes profoundly and indelibly. The study-unit will proceed by dint of structured exploration of each formative element of film language (Light and Shadow, and Colour; Camera Angles and Framing; Camera Movement; Editing; Sound) and for each case, explored evolutionally from the most basic technical, sometimes scientific, aspects through cognitive facets, culminating in narrative/aesthetic ends. Dovetailing with the other study-units on writing, camera work, production and post-production, and direction, this study-unit will focus on aesthetic attitude to plot, or rather, how the formative elements of film language can lead an audiovisual text to convey a narrative that is distinct from its own plot. Study-Unit Aims: - To further develop the understanding and appreciation of how formative elements function within film language; - To examine technical causes and aesthetic/narrative effects; - To introduce theoretical thinking on various aesthetic approaches; - To inspire critical readings of audiovisual texts; - To provide a crucial and conscious theoretical underpinning to practical work; - To emphasise the importance of responsibility in the face of the manipulation induced by aesthetic choices made. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Increase their knowledge of the various elements of film language; - Become familiar with fundamental technical considerations and their ultimate aesthetic effect; - Be aware of the manners in which formative elements interact, and the necessity of that interaction; - Be conscious of the manipulative impact of aesthetic choices; - Understand basic theoretical contexts for various uses of the elements of film language. 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 creation 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; - Act consciously and responsibly when creating audiovisual work. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Zettl, Herbert (2017). Sight Sound Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics, 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. - Chion, Michel (2019). Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, 2nd ed. (C. Gorbman, Trans.). New York: Columbia University Press. Supplementary Readings: - Bordwell, David & Thompson, Kristin (2019). Film Art: An Introduction, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. - Bordwell, David (1998). On the History of Film Style. London: Harvard University Press. - Thompson, Kristin & Bordwell, David (2018). Film History: An Introduction, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. |
||||||
| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE MCS2080 | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||
| LECTURER/S | |||||||
|
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. |
|||||||