Courses

New Curriculum General Course Descriptions

  • FILM HISTORY AND FORM (formerly FILM 25A)

    10

    Film 10 is our gateway class for undergraduates possibly interested in the major: it serves both as an introduction to the early history of cinema (from its nineteenth-century prehistory to the sound cinema of the 1930s) and as an introduction to the technical skills necessary for close analysis of film. Topics considered will include the rise of early film, the gradual development of cinematic narrative, the development of national cinematic styles in the 1920s, the transition to sound, and studio filmmaking of the 1930s. The approach is at once historical and aesthetic: students will learn about the development of new technologies while also studying early filmmakers’ innovative use of various formal devices (such as editing, the close-up, montage, point-of-view shots, and sound). Students in this class will also learn the basic vocabulary of film analysis and techniques for the production of a careful, close analysis of a short segment of film. (Successful completion of this course can be used to declare the major.)