Wednesday, September 14
We held a "Socratic Seminar" using as our text Hamlet's first soliloquy, "O, that this too, too sold flesh would melt," with students seated in two concentric circles. Students in the inner circle -- using the notes they had added to their copies of the soliloquy == discussed the speech while the outer circle observed and filled out feedback forms, after which the outer circle commented orally on how the inner circle had done. Then the students in the two circles swapped places, and the procedure was repeated.
Students turned in their annotated texts along with their feedback forms.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, September 13
We watched part of Hamlet, Act I, scene i, in the classic 1948 Olivier film and all of the scene in the most recent film version with David Tennant as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart as Claudius, and briefly discussed differences between them. We looked at ways in which any Hamlet -- even a scholarly edition of the text, let alone a stage or film production is of necessity an interpretation and a modernization.
Students were given a handout of Hamlet's first soliloquy ("O, that this too, too sullied/soid/sallied flesh would melt"), and asked to annotate the text in preparation for a "Socratic seminar" to be held in class Wednesday.
HW due Wednesday:
Please write numerous notes on the handout, explaining what it means and what you think precisely has Hamlet so upset.
We watched part of Hamlet, Act I, scene i, in the classic 1948 Olivier film and all of the scene in the most recent film version with David Tennant as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart as Claudius, and briefly discussed differences between them. We looked at ways in which any Hamlet -- even a scholarly edition of the text, let alone a stage or film production is of necessity an interpretation and a modernization.
Students were given a handout of Hamlet's first soliloquy ("O, that this too, too sullied/soid/sallied flesh would melt"), and asked to annotate the text in preparation for a "Socratic seminar" to be held in class Wednesday.
HW due Wednesday:
Please write numerous notes on the handout, explaining what it means and what you think precisely has Hamlet so upset.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 12
Students took a quizlet over Act I, sene ii of Hamlet and the handout on Shakespeare's Language. We graded it together, going over in detail a passage analyzed syntactically in the handout which displaying inverted word order and lengthy interruptions.
Then we reviewed the first scene of the play (read in class Friday) and began reading together the assigned second scene.
HW due Tuesday:
Reread carefully Act I, scene ii.
Students took a quizlet over Act I, sene ii of Hamlet and the handout on Shakespeare's Language. We graded it together, going over in detail a passage analyzed syntactically in the handout which displaying inverted word order and lengthy interruptions.
Then we reviewed the first scene of the play (read in class Friday) and began reading together the assigned second scene.
HW due Tuesday:
Reread carefully Act I, scene ii.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday, September 9
Students received a handout discussing Shakespeare's language.
We listened to two different recordings of the first scene of Hamlet, then began to compare the two. How do they differ? Which do you suppose is more "Shakespearian"?
HW due Monday:
Review Act I, scene 1.
Read Act I, scene 2.
Read carefully the four-page handout.
Prepare to be quizzed over the material on Monday.
Students received a handout discussing Shakespeare's language.
We listened to two different recordings of the first scene of Hamlet, then began to compare the two. How do they differ? Which do you suppose is more "Shakespearian"?
HW due Monday:
Review Act I, scene 1.
Read Act I, scene 2.
Read carefully the four-page handout.
Prepare to be quizzed over the material on Monday.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday, September 8
Dr. P reviewed with students the unit objective of studying Hamlet as literature, theater, and film, and spoke briefly of the different resources each medium has to work with, from printed words to cinematic images and sound.
We began at the cinematic end, by watching the first few minutes of a film of the play without words, or at least without words that anyone in the class, teacher included, could understand. The film was the famous 1965 Russian Hamlet with a musical score by Dmitri Shostakovich. After watching the beginning (which is not actually the beginning of the play as written) students discussed what they had gleaned about what has happened before the play opens, what is happening at the moment, and how the mood of the film's opening might best be described.
HW due Friday:
Email Dr. P your FEW assignment (which was turned in Tuesday).
Dr. P reviewed with students the unit objective of studying Hamlet as literature, theater, and film, and spoke briefly of the different resources each medium has to work with, from printed words to cinematic images and sound.
We began at the cinematic end, by watching the first few minutes of a film of the play without words, or at least without words that anyone in the class, teacher included, could understand. The film was the famous 1965 Russian Hamlet with a musical score by Dmitri Shostakovich. After watching the beginning (which is not actually the beginning of the play as written) students discussed what they had gleaned about what has happened before the play opens, what is happening at the moment, and how the mood of the film's opening might best be described.
HW due Friday:
Email Dr. P your FEW assignment (which was turned in Tuesday).
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wednesday, September 7
Students took a brief (five question) quiz over yesterday's handout on the history of the English language. We graded the quizzes together, using the occasion to review and amplify what students knew about the subject.
Afterwards we pursued the subject further by stepping back from English to survey (from a great height) the history of the entire Indo-European language family, by means of the chart inside the back cover of our classroom dictionary (American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th ed.).
Students took a brief (five question) quiz over yesterday's handout on the history of the English language. We graded the quizzes together, using the occasion to review and amplify what students knew about the subject.
Afterwards we pursued the subject further by stepping back from English to survey (from a great height) the history of the entire Indo-European language family, by means of the chart inside the back cover of our classroom dictionary (American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th ed.).
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 6
Students turned in their FEW (Frequently Encountered Words) homework, after which we
(1) examined a few older English forms still current in Shakespeare's day, such as the second person singular informal (thou, thy, thine, thee);
(2) discussed more broadly the unending process of change in the English language (as in all other languages) and the role that plays in producing “contested usages.”
Students turned in their FEW (Frequently Encountered Words) homework, after which we
(1) examined a few older English forms still current in Shakespeare's day, such as the second person singular informal (thou, thy, thine, thee);
(2) discussed more broadly the unending process of change in the English language (as in all other languages) and the role that plays in producing “contested usages.”
Dr. P passed out a handout containing “A Brief History of Old English.”
HW due Wednesday:
Read the handout and prepare for a brief quiz thereover.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, September 2
We took a step back from our discussion of the antique aspects of Shakespeare's English to get a quick overview of the history of the English language as a whole, looking at parallel translations of the same text (Matthew 6:9) from four periods: Old English, Middle English (Wycliffe), Early Modern English (King James Version),and Late Modern English.
HW due Tuesday:
Complete the FEW exercise by finding and printing out lines from Hamlet using all of your 25 assigned words which appear in the play. (See Documents page of the class website, room301.org.)
We took a step back from our discussion of the antique aspects of Shakespeare's English to get a quick overview of the history of the English language as a whole, looking at parallel translations of the same text (Matthew 6:9) from four periods: Old English, Middle English (Wycliffe), Early Modern English (King James Version),and Late Modern English.
HW due Tuesday:
Complete the FEW exercise by finding and printing out lines from Hamlet using all of your 25 assigned words which appear in the play. (See Documents page of the class website, room301.org.)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, September 1
Students checked out copies of Hamlet.
We went over an assignment to be done online but resulting in a printed document dealing with Shakespearean vocabulary, specifically 100 of the most "Frequently Encountered Words" (FEW) in Shakespeare's works.
We then began to discuss the influence of Shakespeare's plays, along with the King James Version of the Bible (contemorary with Shakespeare), in keeping somewhat alive older usages in English.
HW due Tuesday, September 6:
Complete the FEW exercise by finding and printing out lines from Hamlet using all of your 25 assigned words which appear in the play. (See Documents page of the class website, room301.org.)
Students checked out copies of Hamlet.
We went over an assignment to be done online but resulting in a printed document dealing with Shakespearean vocabulary, specifically 100 of the most "Frequently Encountered Words" (FEW) in Shakespeare's works.
We then began to discuss the influence of Shakespeare's plays, along with the King James Version of the Bible (contemorary with Shakespeare), in keeping somewhat alive older usages in English.
HW due Tuesday, September 6:
Complete the FEW exercise by finding and printing out lines from Hamlet using all of your 25 assigned words which appear in the play. (See Documents page of the class website, room301.org.)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, August 30
Students received copies of the syllabus and a letter addressed to parents & guardians. Students need to read both documents and show them both to their folks. The letter (or the bottom section) needs to be signed & returned by the end of the week. The syllabus will be the subject of a quiz on Wednesday.
We previewed the course contents and requirements and we assessed students' existing knowledge (not much) of the first text in the course, Shakespeare's Hamlet, the single most famous work of literature in English, next to the Bible.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the syllabus carefully; quiz to begin the class.
Signed forms from parents/guardians need to be returned by Friday.
Students received copies of the syllabus and a letter addressed to parents & guardians. Students need to read both documents and show them both to their folks. The letter (or the bottom section) needs to be signed & returned by the end of the week. The syllabus will be the subject of a quiz on Wednesday.
We previewed the course contents and requirements and we assessed students' existing knowledge (not much) of the first text in the course, Shakespeare's Hamlet, the single most famous work of literature in English, next to the Bible.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the syllabus carefully; quiz to begin the class.
Signed forms from parents/guardians need to be returned by Friday.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Wednesday, June 8
We finished watching Dr. Strangelove. then spoke about the final examination tomorrow. Students will be shown short clips from three or four films and will be required to analyze how a certain specified element (or elements) of filmcraft (camera angle and movement, lighting, mise en scene, film editing, sound editing and musical score) is used in the clip. Students should review the original "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" packet to be sure they understand what is meant by each of these elements.
Final examination tomorrow
Review the packet.
We finished watching Dr. Strangelove. then spoke about the final examination tomorrow. Students will be shown short clips from three or four films and will be required to analyze how a certain specified element (or elements) of filmcraft (camera angle and movement, lighting, mise en scene, film editing, sound editing and musical score) is used in the clip. Students should review the original "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" packet to be sure they understand what is meant by each of these elements.
Final examination tomorrow
Review the packet.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday, June 6
We reviewed remaining requirements in the class, notably the final examination on Thursday, which will require students to analyze film clips for theme and technique. Mr. P announced that he will accept senior checkout forms at the beginning of the class Thursday and will return them at the end of the exam.
Nest we discussed Bonnie and Clyde rather briefly.
Finally, we began watching Dr. Strangelove. Mr. Potratz found it highly amusing.
Final examination on Thursday.
We reviewed remaining requirements in the class, notably the final examination on Thursday, which will require students to analyze film clips for theme and technique. Mr. P announced that he will accept senior checkout forms at the beginning of the class Thursday and will return them at the end of the exam.
Nest we discussed Bonnie and Clyde rather briefly.
Finally, we began watching Dr. Strangelove. Mr. Potratz found it highly amusing.
Final examination on Thursday.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Thursday, June 2
We finished Bonnie and Clyde, then considered possible candidates for a final film in the course.
After eliminating several films because most of the class hasd akready seen them, we were left with following films to choose among Friday:
The African Queen (1951)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The King of Hearts (1966)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Rabbitproof Fence (2002)
We finished Bonnie and Clyde, then considered possible candidates for a final film in the course.
After eliminating several films because most of the class hasd akready seen them, we were left with following films to choose among Friday:
The African Queen (1951)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The King of Hearts (1966)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Rabbitproof Fence (2002)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 31
Students took a 40-pt. quiz over film noir.
We then introduced Bonnie and Clyde by looking at photographs of the actual people (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Parker) whom the film portrays and by listening to Woody Guthrie singing "pretty Boy Floyd," a Robin Hood treatment of another famous depression era bank robber.
We then watched the first few minutes of Bonnie and Clyde.
Students took a 40-pt. quiz over film noir.
We then introduced Bonnie and Clyde by looking at photographs of the actual people (Bonnie Parker and Clyde Parker) whom the film portrays and by listening to Woody Guthrie singing "pretty Boy Floyd," a Robin Hood treatment of another famous depression era bank robber.
We then watched the first few minutes of Bonnie and Clyde.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 27
Students took out their checklist of "Characteristics of Film Noir," and we reviewed Murder, My Sweet in terms of whether and how the film correponds to those various supposed hallmarks of the style/genre.
HW due Tuesday:
Quiz over film noir -- to cover the documentary film, Murder, My Sweet, and the three handouts.
Students took out their checklist of "Characteristics of Film Noir," and we reviewed Murder, My Sweet in terms of whether and how the film correponds to those various supposed hallmarks of the style/genre.
HW due Tuesday:
Quiz over film noir -- to cover the documentary film, Murder, My Sweet, and the three handouts.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 24
After reminding students of the expectations for the outside viewing essay due Wednesday, Mr. P distributed a handout listing several characteristics of what is known as "film noir," and students began watching Murder, My Sweet, noting on the handout any correspondences between the film and the handout.
HW due Wednesday:
Single-element analysis of your outside viewing film.
After reminding students of the expectations for the outside viewing essay due Wednesday, Mr. P distributed a handout listing several characteristics of what is known as "film noir," and students began watching Murder, My Sweet, noting on the handout any correspondences between the film and the handout.
HW due Wednesday:
Single-element analysis of your outside viewing film.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 18
After reviewing the musical themes (the Marseillaise, Die Wacht am Rhein, Deutschland ueber Alles, As Time Goes By) and Rick's past political engagement (Ethiopia 1935, Spain 1936) we finished watching Casablanca.
Due date for Outside Viewing essay postponed until next Wednesday.
Mr. P announced that he will be out of class on Thursday; students will take notes on a documentary about film noir.
HW due Wednesday, May 25:
Single-element analysis.
After reviewing the musical themes (the Marseillaise, Die Wacht am Rhein, Deutschland ueber Alles, As Time Goes By) and Rick's past political engagement (Ethiopia 1935, Spain 1936) we finished watching Casablanca.
Due date for Outside Viewing essay postponed until next Wednesday.
Mr. P announced that he will be out of class on Thursday; students will take notes on a documentary about film noir.
HW due Wednesday, May 25:
Single-element analysis.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, May 11
We continued our analysis of elements of filmcraft in Citizen Kane, moving on today to cinematography and lighting. We re-viewed six minutes of Visions of Light which discuss the style of Greg Toland, Kane's cinematographer, then discussed the thematic uses of the film's intense dynamic contrasts and the different effects Toland achieves with the film's many extreme low-angle shots.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay: single-element analysis.
We continued our analysis of elements of filmcraft in Citizen Kane, moving on today to cinematography and lighting. We re-viewed six minutes of Visions of Light which discuss the style of Greg Toland, Kane's cinematographer, then discussed the thematic uses of the film's intense dynamic contrasts and the different effects Toland achieves with the film's many extreme low-angle shots.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay: single-element analysis.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 10
Students received and read a handout discussing Bernard Herrmann's score for Citizen Kane, and we resumed our analysis of its function in the film. We examined primarily how the "Power motif" and the "Rosebud theme" are used from the film's first scene to its last.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay.
Students received and read a handout discussing Bernard Herrmann's score for Citizen Kane, and we resumed our analysis of its function in the film. We examined primarily how the "Power motif" and the "Rosebud theme" are used from the film's first scene to its last.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 9
Students received the assignment sheet for the second Outside Viewing essay, an analysis of a single cinematic element in a given film (see Documents page).
Students checked out films for the purpose.
We began analyzing Citizen Kane in such a way as to illustrate what students should strive to do on their own in the essay, and students received a note sheet and began taking notes , beginning with sound editing and the musical score.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay.
Students received the assignment sheet for the second Outside Viewing essay, an analysis of a single cinematic element in a given film (see Documents page).
Students checked out films for the purpose.
We began analyzing Citizen Kane in such a way as to illustrate what students should strive to do on their own in the essay, and students received a note sheet and began taking notes , beginning with sound editing and the musical score.
HW due Friday, May 20
Second Outside Viewing essay.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Monday, May 2
Students turned in their descriptions/predictions re the final scene of City Lights, we watched it one final time, and we then spent the balance of the period discussing our different views of the scene. Can the girl love her benefactor now that she knows him for what he is?
Tomorrow:
On to Citizen Kane.
Students turned in their descriptions/predictions re the final scene of City Lights, we watched it one final time, and we then spent the balance of the period discussing our different views of the scene. Can the girl love her benefactor now that she knows him for what he is?
Tomorrow:
On to Citizen Kane.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 29
Students received an assignment sheet for a paper due Monday requiring them to describe in detail the final scene of City Lights and to record what they assume will happen after it.
We watched the remainder of the film, then watched the final scene ("Autumn") one more time as students took notes.
HW due Monday:
Typed paper describing final scene in detail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNhL2Lu3pk starting at 7:35
Students received an assignment sheet for a paper due Monday requiring them to describe in detail the final scene of City Lights and to record what they assume will happen after it.
We watched the remainder of the film, then watched the final scene ("Autumn") one more time as students took notes.
HW due Monday:
Typed paper describing final scene in detail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNhL2Lu3pk starting at 7:35
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 26
Students turned in their online reviews. Mr. Potratz announced that he would be absent Wednesday, that late papers received Thursday would be accepted with a 10% penalty, but that Thursday would be the last day the paper will be accepted.
We watched highlights of the original Frankenstein, then the first half hour of the first and greatest sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.
Students will finish watching Bride of Frankenstein tomorrow in the teacher's absence.
Students turned in their online reviews. Mr. Potratz announced that he would be absent Wednesday, that late papers received Thursday would be accepted with a 10% penalty, but that Thursday would be the last day the paper will be accepted.
We watched highlights of the original Frankenstein, then the first half hour of the first and greatest sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.
Students will finish watching Bride of Frankenstein tomorrow in the teacher's absence.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 25
We discussed M somewhat further, comparing it with Caligari, Nosferatu, and Metropolis. As Metropolis combines a rational, futuristic style (itself presented as having two contrasting faces) with medieval Gothicism, so M combines a highly precise realism with elements of Expressionistic distortion. And M, like Caligari, tells of the pursuit of a madman, or like Nosferatu of a monster, an Ungeheuer.
After this discussion students took notes as we watched snippets from interviews with three people connected with the making of M: Harold Nebenzahl, son of the film's producer; Paul Falkenberg, the film editor; and Fritz Lang himself.
We discussed M somewhat further, comparing it with Caligari, Nosferatu, and Metropolis. As Metropolis combines a rational, futuristic style (itself presented as having two contrasting faces) with medieval Gothicism, so M combines a highly precise realism with elements of Expressionistic distortion. And M, like Caligari, tells of the pursuit of a madman, or like Nosferatu of a monster, an Ungeheuer.
After this discussion students took notes as we watched snippets from interviews with three people connected with the making of M: Harold Nebenzahl, son of the film's producer; Paul Falkenberg, the film editor; and Fritz Lang himself.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 22
We finished watching M, then very briefly discussed the unresolved ending and why Lang chose to end the film in this way.
Students received an assignment sheet (see Documents page) for an online review of their favorite movie, due Tuesday.
HW due Tuesday:
Online review. See Documents page for assignment sheet.
We finished watching M, then very briefly discussed the unresolved ending and why Lang chose to end the film in this way.
Students received an assignment sheet (see Documents page) for an online review of their favorite movie, due Tuesday.
HW due Tuesday:
Online review. See Documents page for assignment sheet.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 18
We finished viewing slides of German Expressionist artworks, including works by Kokoschka, Beckmann, Schiele, Kollwitz, Grosz, and Dix.
We then watched the first fifteen minutes and several further scenes from Fritz Lang's Expressionist sci-fi class Metropolis.
HW due Tuesday:
Review for quiz over Expressionism, including the two handouts, the slides (see Expressionists folder on the Film Studies page), Nosferatu and parts of Caligari and Metropolis.
We finished viewing slides of German Expressionist artworks, including works by Kokoschka, Beckmann, Schiele, Kollwitz, Grosz, and Dix.
We then watched the first fifteen minutes and several further scenes from Fritz Lang's Expressionist sci-fi class Metropolis.
HW due Tuesday:
Review for quiz over Expressionism, including the two handouts, the slides (see Expressionists folder on the Film Studies page), Nosferatu and parts of Caligari and Metropolis.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday, April 15
Mr. P announced that the quiz over German Expressionism would be Tuesday.
We began to review together the assigned handout on Expressionism from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, focusing on key passages and looking at projected photos of works by pre-Expressionist painters Van Gogh, Munch, and Ensor, and at paintings and woodcuts by Nolde, Kirchner, and Kollwitz.
HW due Monday:
Review the Expressionist images on the class website.
Tuesday:
Quiz over Expressionism.
Mr. P announced that the quiz over German Expressionism would be Tuesday.
We began to review together the assigned handout on Expressionism from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, focusing on key passages and looking at projected photos of works by pre-Expressionist painters Van Gogh, Munch, and Ensor, and at paintings and woodcuts by Nolde, Kirchner, and Kollwitz.
HW due Monday:
Review the Expressionist images on the class website.
Tuesday:
Quiz over Expressionism.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 14
We finished watching F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, which we began yesterday. At the end we looked briefly at an article by Patrick Colm Hogan which outlines what Hogan sees as patterns in the film which link with German stereotypes of Eastern European Jews as invasive aliens corrupting German culture (though he does not believe the films creators to be proponents of Nazism).
HW due Friday:
Read the article on Expressionism from the Encyclopaedia Brittanica (Wednesday's handout) if you have not already done so.
We finished watching F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, which we began yesterday. At the end we looked briefly at an article by Patrick Colm Hogan which outlines what Hogan sees as patterns in the film which link with German stereotypes of Eastern European Jews as invasive aliens corrupting German culture (though he does not believe the films creators to be proponents of Nazism).
HW due Friday:
Read the article on Expressionism from the Encyclopaedia Brittanica (Wednesday's handout) if you have not already done so.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tuesday, April 12 We reviewed yesterday's handout ("Where the Horror Came From," by David Hudson) in terms of the historical background of WWI, post-war devastation, and revolutionary failure, and we looked at Sergei Eisenstein's assessment of the dismal, nightmarish quality of German Expressionist film as reflecting that circumstance in contrast to the forward-looking and optimistic Soviet films spawned by the Russian revolution. We also discussed students' despriptions of the style of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari from yesterday's exercise. The strong contrasts of light and dark (with the emphasis on the dark), the exaggerated acting style, makeup and costuming, the distorted, painted sets -- in general the anti-realistic, abstract and emotive nature of the film -- received attention. At least one student had compared the film to the films of Tim Burton -- whom David Hudson cites as strongly reflecting an Expressionist influence.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, April 11 Students received a handout on the social and historical background of German Expressionist film, "Where the Horror Came From" by David Hudson. We watched the beginning of "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari," after which students wrote down at least six bullet points describing the visual style of what they had just seen. HW due Tuesday: Read the handout
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday, April 1
Students turned in their outside viewing essays along with their films. Essays emailed to Mr. P today (by midnight) will be given full credit, but hard copies (showing the meter readings for the analyzed scene) and films must be turned in Monday, April 11.
We then turned to an examination of forties-era cinematic animation (i.e., we kicked back and watched Popeye cartoons).
Students turned in their outside viewing essays along with their films. Essays emailed to Mr. P today (by midnight) will be given full credit, but hard copies (showing the meter readings for the analyzed scene) and films must be turned in Monday, April 11.
We then turned to an examination of forties-era cinematic animation (i.e., we kicked back and watched Popeye cartoons).
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 30
We returned to the two handouts which discuss Russian Constructivism, reread portions of them, and looked at more relevant images onscreen (reviewing several from yesterday in the process). Stage set designs by Meyerhold, montage artworks by Alexander Rodchenko, and Vladimir Tatlin's scale model of the never-built monument to the Second International were among those images.
HW due Thursday: Review handouts and notes for the unit test on early Soviet film in class class Thursday.
HW due Friday: Single-scene analysis essay.
We returned to the two handouts which discuss Russian Constructivism, reread portions of them, and looked at more relevant images onscreen (reviewing several from yesterday in the process). Stage set designs by Meyerhold, montage artworks by Alexander Rodchenko, and Vladimir Tatlin's scale model of the never-built monument to the Second International were among those images.
HW due Thursday: Review handouts and notes for the unit test on early Soviet film in class class Thursday.
HW due Friday: Single-scene analysis essay.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 29 Referring to the "Great Experiment" handout and the box on "Russian Art Movements" on the handout about Dziga Vertov, we examined Russian avant garde art of the Revolutionary period in the context of other images of the time. We looked at projected images of Picasso, futurist designs, Russian icon paintings, and Russian constructivist works themselves. HW due Thursday: Quiz over early Soviet film. HW due Friday: Outside viewing essay
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 28 Mr. P announced that the quiz over early Soviet film will be on Thursday (not Tuesday), that it will be "open handout" and that students should use the next two class periods to make sure their questions about the material are answered. We watched a section of the first reel of Man with a Movie Camera three times: twice to determine our own reading of how juxtaposed images of people doing different kinds of work related to each other (whether by contrast or analogy) and once with Yuri Tsivian's voiceover commentary to hear his read on the question. We also watched two other segments with Tsivian's commentary on the film as a statement on seeing (seeing things anew) and on the preoccupation with the machine. HW due Thursday: Quiz over early Soviet cinema. We then watched part of Ferdinand Leger's modernist film from 1924, Ballet mecanique, and compared it with the Vertov film.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 25
We reviewed expectations for the Single-scene Analysis essay due next Thursday (March 31), stressing that it is not to contain plot summary, and is not to be a review, but is to explain in the first paragraph how the chosen scene is representative of the film's themes, feel, and/or techniques, and then proceed to do a close analysis of a short scene examining the use of at least two major elements of filmcraft.
We then turned to just such analysis (of film editing) in The Man with a Movie Camera, and we listened to Yuri Tsivian's voiceover commentary on the first few minutes of the film.
HW due Monday:
Read yesterday's handouts if you haven't done so already.
HW due next Thursday:
Outside viwing essay.
We reviewed expectations for the Single-scene Analysis essay due next Thursday (March 31), stressing that it is not to contain plot summary, and is not to be a review, but is to explain in the first paragraph how the chosen scene is representative of the film's themes, feel, and/or techniques, and then proceed to do a close analysis of a short scene examining the use of at least two major elements of filmcraft.
We then turned to just such analysis (of film editing) in The Man with a Movie Camera, and we listened to Yuri Tsivian's voiceover commentary on the first few minutes of the film.
HW due Monday:
Read yesterday's handouts if you haven't done so already.
HW due next Thursday:
Outside viwing essay.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 24
Students received three new handouts: one (mostly pictures and mainly review) on montage; one on Dziga Vertov; and one on "The Great Experiment" -- currents in post-Revolutionary Russian art of the twenties.
We watched the last twenty minutes of The Man with a Movie Camera and began to discuss it.
HW due Friday:
Read the three new handouts.
Coming up next Tuesday:
Quiz over Early Soviet Film (seven handouts and two films).
Students received three new handouts: one (mostly pictures and mainly review) on montage; one on Dziga Vertov; and one on "The Great Experiment" -- currents in post-Revolutionary Russian art of the twenties.
We watched the last twenty minutes of The Man with a Movie Camera and began to discuss it.
HW due Friday:
Read the three new handouts.
Coming up next Tuesday:
Quiz over Early Soviet Film (seven handouts and two films).
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 22
We returned to the subject of montage in The Battleship Potemkin and examined the "dialectic" of Eisenstein's editing by looking at the the three cherubs and the three stone lions at the conclusion of the Odessa Steps sequence. We then watched the famous shower scene from Hitchcock's Psycho, with its fifty cuts from seventy-seven camera angles as a similar exercise in creating an effect less from what is shown than from the skillful juxtaposition and pacing of images.
We returned to the subject of montage in The Battleship Potemkin and examined the "dialectic" of Eisenstein's editing by looking at the the three cherubs and the three stone lions at the conclusion of the Odessa Steps sequence. We then watched the famous shower scene from Hitchcock's Psycho, with its fifty cuts from seventy-seven camera angles as a similar exercise in creating an effect less from what is shown than from the skillful juxtaposition and pacing of images.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 21
We returned to our analysis of the Odessa Steps sequence in Potemkin, then watched a clip from The Fast and the Furious which manipulates time in a similar way for dramatic effect. (There's nothing new under the sun.) Finally we turned to Eisenstein's invocation of the Marxist dialectic as a principle of montage (!) as outlined in the yellow handout.
Mr. P announced that there would be no quiz until after we watch and discuss a second Soviet film, The Man with a Movie Camera, at which time there will be a unit test over Soviet montage.
HW due March 31:
First outside viewing paper.
We returned to our analysis of the Odessa Steps sequence in Potemkin, then watched a clip from The Fast and the Furious which manipulates time in a similar way for dramatic effect. (There's nothing new under the sun.) Finally we turned to Eisenstein's invocation of the Marxist dialectic as a principle of montage (!) as outlined in the yellow handout.
Mr. P announced that there would be no quiz until after we watch and discuss a second Soviet film, The Man with a Movie Camera, at which time there will be a unit test over Soviet montage.
HW due March 31:
First outside viewing paper.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday, March 18
Students checked out films for their Outside Viewing essay (due March 31).
We viewed again the Odessa Steps sequence of Potemkin up to the killing of the mother carrying her injured son, referring to Anna Chang's analysis of the visual elements in that scene (blue handout).
Mr. P offered this analysis as an example of what students should attempt in their upcoming essays.
HW due Thursday, March 31:
First outside viewing essay. Single scene analysis.
Students checked out films for their Outside Viewing essay (due March 31).
We viewed again the Odessa Steps sequence of Potemkin up to the killing of the mother carrying her injured son, referring to Anna Chang's analysis of the visual elements in that scene (blue handout).
Mr. P offered this analysis as an example of what students should attempt in their upcoming essays.
HW due Thursday, March 31:
First outside viewing essay. Single scene analysis.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 17
St. Patrick's Day -- Éirinn go brách!
Students received an assignment sheet for the first outside viewing essay, which is to be an analysis of a single scene in the student's chose film (as approved by Mr. P), and went over it briefly. On Friday students will be able to check out a film for the purpose.
We then read from Anna Chen's piece on Potemkin (the blue handout), focusing on her detailed analysis of the famous Odessa Steps sequence.
HW due Thursday, April 7:
Single Scene Analysis, 800 words minimum.
St. Patrick's Day -- Éirinn go brách!
Students received an assignment sheet for the first outside viewing essay, which is to be an analysis of a single scene in the student's chose film (as approved by Mr. P), and went over it briefly. On Friday students will be able to check out a film for the purpose.
We then read from Anna Chen's piece on Potemkin (the blue handout), focusing on her detailed analysis of the famous Odessa Steps sequence.
HW due Thursday, April 7:
Single Scene Analysis, 800 words minimum.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, March 14
We finished watching The Battleship Potemkin (Parts 4 & 5), after which students wrote down at least three similarities and three differences between that film and The Birth of A Nation and we shared what people had written about both form and content. We remarked upon their similarity as political propaganda about rebellions and their difference in which side (ruling class or underclass) each supported. We recorded their similar use of editing and also how much further Eisenstein took editing techniques he had largely learned from Griffith.
HW due Wednesday:
Review the white and blue handouts assigned for today and read the green and yellow ones.
We finished watching The Battleship Potemkin (Parts 4 & 5), after which students wrote down at least three similarities and three differences between that film and The Birth of A Nation and we shared what people had written about both form and content. We remarked upon their similarity as political propaganda about rebellions and their difference in which side (ruling class or underclass) each supported. We recorded their similar use of editing and also how much further Eisenstein took editing techniques he had largely learned from Griffith.
HW due Wednesday:
Review the white and blue handouts assigned for today and read the green and yellow ones.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 10
We followed up yesterday's post-Birth of a Nation, Betty Boop discussion with images of the great black vaudevillian Bert Williams both in and out of blackface, and with "Clayton Bigby, Black White Supremacist." We then talked for some time about the complexities of racial ideology in the U.S.
Afterwards, we watched the first section of Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, stopping just before the mutiny sequence.
We followed up yesterday's post-Birth of a Nation, Betty Boop discussion with images of the great black vaudevillian Bert Williams both in and out of blackface, and with "Clayton Bigby, Black White Supremacist." We then talked for some time about the complexities of racial ideology in the U.S.
Afterwards, we watched the first section of Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, stopping just before the mutiny sequence.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 8
We watched the very end of Birth of a Nation. Students took a quiz over the handouts about D.W. Griffith and Reconstruction, and we graded it together.
Next we watched a 1930 staged interview between Grifith and Walter Huston reeking with nostalgia for the Old South and the KKK, and followed that up with "I'll be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You," a Betty Boop cartoon starring Louis Armstrong; we then pondered its rather complex racial attitudes.
We watched the very end of Birth of a Nation. Students took a quiz over the handouts about D.W. Griffith and Reconstruction, and we graded it together.
Next we watched a 1930 staged interview between Grifith and Walter Huston reeking with nostalgia for the Old South and the KKK, and followed that up with "I'll be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You," a Betty Boop cartoon starring Louis Armstrong; we then pondered its rather complex racial attitudes.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday, March 7
Students finished their checklists of techniques in Birth o9f a Nation while we almost finished watching the film. The glorious Invisible Empire (to the strains of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries")had rescued Elsie Stoneman from Silas Lynch's vile clutches and rescued the Aryan brothers, Northern and Southern, from the marauding crazed negroes, and the two pairs of Stoneman/Cameron lovers had united in a double wedding ceremony. Only the final mystic vision of a peaceful Christian Aryan nation, and the choral singing of our national anthem, remains for Tuesday.
Students finished their checklists of techniques in Birth o9f a Nation while we almost finished watching the film. The glorious Invisible Empire (to the strains of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries")had rescued Elsie Stoneman from Silas Lynch's vile clutches and rescued the Aryan brothers, Northern and Southern, from the marauding crazed negroes, and the two pairs of Stoneman/Cameron lovers had united in a double wedding ceremony. Only the final mystic vision of a peaceful Christian Aryan nation, and the choral singing of our national anthem, remains for Tuesday.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, March 4
Students received two more handouts related to Birth of a Nation, a two-page biography of D.W. Griffith and a six-page excerpt from Howard Zinn People's History of the United States which offers a radically different view of Reconstruction from that of Griffith's film.
We watched more sections of the film, including the Moment of Inspiration (birth of the KKK) and the Death of Flora.
HW due Monday:
Read the two handouts.
Students received two more handouts related to Birth of a Nation, a two-page biography of D.W. Griffith and a six-page excerpt from Howard Zinn People's History of the United States which offers a radically different view of Reconstruction from that of Griffith's film.
We watched more sections of the film, including the Moment of Inspiration (birth of the KKK) and the Death of Flora.
HW due Monday:
Read the two handouts.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, March 3
Students took a brief quiz over the Birth of a Nation handouts, and we graded them together.
Then we returned to watching the film, skipping over many parts, pausing for major developments and new characters (including Silas Lynch), and remarking on important techniques which students recorded on their checklists.
Students took a brief quiz over the Birth of a Nation handouts, and we graded them together.
Then we returned to watching the film, skipping over many parts, pausing for major developments and new characters (including Silas Lynch), and remarking on important techniques which students recorded on their checklists.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Wednesday, March 2
Mr. P announced that there will be a brief quiz Thursday over the two handouts concerning Birth of a Nation which students received Tuesday.
Students received a two-page worksheet (adapted from the filmsite.org handout from yesterday) with a checklist of distinctive techniques used in Birth; students are to supply for each technique at least one example of its use in the film.
We watched the beginning of the film with two main objectives: to identify some of the techniques from the list and to identify the major characters and the movie's underlying premises.
HW due Thursday:
Read/review the two handouts from Tuesday in preparation for a quiz.
Mr. P announced that there will be a brief quiz Thursday over the two handouts concerning Birth of a Nation which students received Tuesday.
Students received a two-page worksheet (adapted from the filmsite.org handout from yesterday) with a checklist of distinctive techniques used in Birth; students are to supply for each technique at least one example of its use in the film.
We watched the beginning of the film with two main objectives: to identify some of the techniques from the list and to identify the major characters and the movie's underlying premises.
HW due Thursday:
Read/review the two handouts from Tuesday in preparation for a quiz.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday, March 1
We watched the cinematographic counterpart to yesterday's documentary on film editing, the first half hour of Visions of Light, a documentary on motion picture photography from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Afterwards, Mr. P briefly introduced Birth of a Nation and distributed two handouts about the film, which we will begin watching tomorrow.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the two handouts.
We watched the cinematographic counterpart to yesterday's documentary on film editing, the first half hour of Visions of Light, a documentary on motion picture photography from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Afterwards, Mr. P briefly introduced Birth of a Nation and distributed two handouts about the film, which we will begin watching tomorrow.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the two handouts.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 28
We reviewed both the "Arts and Sciences" assignment due tomorrow (Tuesday) and the extra credit opportunity (see Extra Credit page on the class website).
Students then took notes while we watched the beginning of The Cutting Edge, a documentary film about film editing, preparatory to watching D. W Griffith's racist masterpiece, Birth of a Nation. Students held on to their notes to use in completing the assignment for Tuesday and are to turn the notes in with assignment.
HW due Tuesday:
Assignment describing the functions of various role-players in the making of motion pictures along with names of famous past practicioners.
We reviewed both the "Arts and Sciences" assignment due tomorrow (Tuesday) and the extra credit opportunity (see Extra Credit page on the class website).
Students then took notes while we watched the beginning of The Cutting Edge, a documentary film about film editing, preparatory to watching D. W Griffith's racist masterpiece, Birth of a Nation. Students held on to their notes to use in completing the assignment for Tuesday and are to turn the notes in with assignment.
HW due Tuesday:
Assignment describing the functions of various role-players in the making of motion pictures along with names of famous past practicioners.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, February 18
Students were reminded of the Arts & Sciences assignment (associated with the Academy Awards) due Tuesday, March 1, and those interested in an extra credit assignment linked to the awards ceremony itself (Sunday, Feb. 27, 5 pm) were advised to look on the Extra Credit page of the class website (room301.org) in a few days.
To fill the final shortened period before the break we conducted a serious investigation into early sound cartoons, specifically two Mickey Mouse classics drawn by the inestimable Ub Iwerks and an early Betty Boop.
HW due Tuesday, March 1:
Arts & Sciences assignment exploring the various roles in the making of films (see Documents page).
Thursday, February 17:
We concluded our analysis of technique and meaning in Shadow of a Doubt, and discussed the film's rather tacked-on ending and its relation to the film's historical context (WWII).
Students received a sheet of particulars for an assignment requiring them to investigate the actual functions of different role-players in film production, selected from the award categories of the Academy Awards. (The annual presentation ceremony will be televised on Sunday, Feb. 27; students are not required to watch.)
HW due Tuesday, March 1:
Arts & Sciences assignment exploring the various roles in the making of films (see Documents page).
Students were reminded of the Arts & Sciences assignment (associated with the Academy Awards) due Tuesday, March 1, and those interested in an extra credit assignment linked to the awards ceremony itself (Sunday, Feb. 27, 5 pm) were advised to look on the Extra Credit page of the class website (room301.org) in a few days.
To fill the final shortened period before the break we conducted a serious investigation into early sound cartoons, specifically two Mickey Mouse classics drawn by the inestimable Ub Iwerks and an early Betty Boop.
HW due Tuesday, March 1:
Arts & Sciences assignment exploring the various roles in the making of films (see Documents page).
Thursday, February 17:
We concluded our analysis of technique and meaning in Shadow of a Doubt, and discussed the film's rather tacked-on ending and its relation to the film's historical context (WWII).
Students received a sheet of particulars for an assignment requiring them to investigate the actual functions of different role-players in film production, selected from the award categories of the Academy Awards. (The annual presentation ceremony will be televised on Sunday, Feb. 27; students are not required to watch.)
HW due Tuesday, March 1:
Arts & Sciences assignment exploring the various roles in the making of films (see Documents page).
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday, February 16
We returned to our analysis of motifs in Shadow of a Doubt, examining the use of stairs (and camera angles and movement associated with the power struggle expressed through images of stairs), shadows, and smoke.
Students learned that there will be an assignment, connected with the Academy Awards, issued tomorrow and due after the break.
We returned to our analysis of motifs in Shadow of a Doubt, examining the use of stairs (and camera angles and movement associated with the power struggle expressed through images of stairs), shadows, and smoke.
Students learned that there will be an assignment, connected with the Academy Awards, issued tomorrow and due after the break.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, February 11
We read together the description and analysis of the first scene of Shadow of a Doubt from the "Classical Hollywood Style" packet, then watched the scene again to see whether we agreed with the packet and what we could add. We remarked on matters of lighting (and shadows, without a doubt), point of view (including eyeline matches), and camera angles.
We read together the description and analysis of the first scene of Shadow of a Doubt from the "Classical Hollywood Style" packet, then watched the scene again to see whether we agreed with the packet and what we could add. We remarked on matters of lighting (and shadows, without a doubt), point of view (including eyeline matches), and camera angles.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thursday, February 10
We watched the last seven minutes of Shadow of a Doubt.
Students then took an "open packet" quiz over "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style."
Finally, we discussed briefly what the packet has to say about that slipperiest of film terms, mise en scene, and began to review Shadow of a Doubt by looking briefly at the opening credits over elegant ballroom dancers whirling to the Merry Widow Waltz.
We watched the last seven minutes of Shadow of a Doubt.
Students then took an "open packet" quiz over "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style."
Finally, we discussed briefly what the packet has to say about that slipperiest of film terms, mise en scene, and began to review Shadow of a Doubt by looking briefly at the opening credits over elegant ballroom dancers whirling to the Merry Widow Waltz.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Wednesday, February 9
Mr. P announced that the quiz over "Classical Hollwood Cinema: Style" is postponed until tomorrow (Thursday) after the conclusion of Shadow of a Doubt. We watched more of that film, stopping before the final scene.
HW due Thursday:
Review the packet in preparation for the quiz.
Tuesday, February 8
Students watched the first 50 minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt.
Mr. P announced that the quiz over "Classical Hollwood Cinema: Style" is postponed until tomorrow (Thursday) after the conclusion of Shadow of a Doubt. We watched more of that film, stopping before the final scene.
HW due Thursday:
Review the packet in preparation for the quiz.
Tuesday, February 8
Students watched the first 50 minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, February 7
We watched two train robbery movies, The Great Train Robbery from 1903 and The Girl and Her Trust from 1912, and we identified advances in sophistication from the one to the other -- advances in film technique and advances in characterization.
Mr. P announced that he would be gone Tuesday and that in his absence students would watch the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, the opening scene of which is discussed in detail in the "Classical Hollwood Cinema: Style" packet.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet in preparation for a test over it.
We watched two train robbery movies, The Great Train Robbery from 1903 and The Girl and Her Trust from 1912, and we identified advances in sophistication from the one to the other -- advances in film technique and advances in characterization.
Mr. P announced that he would be gone Tuesday and that in his absence students would watch the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, the opening scene of which is discussed in detail in the "Classical Hollwood Cinema: Style" packet.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet in preparation for a test over it.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday, February 4
Students received a packet on "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" covering basic elements of filmcraft. They are to read it by Monday, and will be tested on it on Wednesday.
We watched the immortal proto-Lassie classic Rescued by Rover and examined the sequential and parallel editing in the film. We filled out the period with a few minutes of Alaladin, ou le lampe merveilleuse.
HW due Monday:
Read the packet
HW due Wednesday:
Quiz over the packet
Students received a packet on "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" covering basic elements of filmcraft. They are to read it by Monday, and will be tested on it on Wednesday.
We watched the immortal proto-Lassie classic Rescued by Rover and examined the sequential and parallel editing in the film. We filled out the period with a few minutes of Alaladin, ou le lampe merveilleuse.
HW due Monday:
Read the packet
HW due Wednesday:
Quiz over the packet
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday, February 3
Students took a quiz over the beginnings of cinema (based on the packet of short readings), after which we exchanged papers and graded it together in class.
Mr. P them lectured briefly about early film as largely based upon theater of the time and the inevitable slowness of film in finding its own legs and exploiting the new medium to its potential.
We watched a few short nickelodeon films which simply recorded stage performances from the time, including the infamous "May Irwin - John C. Rice Kiss."
Students took a quiz over the beginnings of cinema (based on the packet of short readings), after which we exchanged papers and graded it together in class.
Mr. P them lectured briefly about early film as largely based upon theater of the time and the inevitable slowness of film in finding its own legs and exploiting the new medium to its potential.
We watched a few short nickelodeon films which simply recorded stage performances from the time, including the infamous "May Irwin - John C. Rice Kiss."
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday, February 2
We watched "Winsor McCay and his Animated Pictures," then discussed the frame-by-frame construction which is shared by animation and all cinema and which enabled special effects trickery to proliferate in cinema's earliest years. We watched two of the 500 magic-show-influenced films which Georges Melies made at the turn of the twentieth century ("The Living Playing Cards" and "The Mermaid"), "That Fatal Sneeze"from the Hepworth firm, and finally "Onesieme the Clockmaker," a French comic tour de force which uses undercranking to speed up the pace of life.
HW due Thursday:
Prepare for a quiz over the packet on early cinema. Don't obsess over minor details, but do read the packet carefully.
We watched "Winsor McCay and his Animated Pictures," then discussed the frame-by-frame construction which is shared by animation and all cinema and which enabled special effects trickery to proliferate in cinema's earliest years. We watched two of the 500 magic-show-influenced films which Georges Melies made at the turn of the twentieth century ("The Living Playing Cards" and "The Mermaid"), "That Fatal Sneeze"from the Hepworth firm, and finally "Onesieme the Clockmaker," a French comic tour de force which uses undercranking to speed up the pace of life.
HW due Thursday:
Prepare for a quiz over the packet on early cinema. Don't obsess over minor details, but do read the packet carefully.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tuesday, February 1
Students took a fifteen-question "open book" quiz over the course syllabus. We graded it together and reviewed class procedures in the process.
Near the end of the period we watched "Dream of a Rarebit Fiend" (!) an early comic film with sophisticated double exposures and other visual effects used to express the psychology of the drunken man at its center.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet on early cinema.
HW due Thursday:
Quiz over the packet.
Students took a fifteen-question "open book" quiz over the course syllabus. We graded it together and reviewed class procedures in the process.
Near the end of the period we watched "Dream of a Rarebit Fiend" (!) an early comic film with sophisticated double exposures and other visual effects used to express the psychology of the drunken man at its center.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet on early cinema.
HW due Thursday:
Quiz over the packet.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 31
Students received (1) a syllabus (2) a letter introducing the course and the instructor, with a form to be signed by parents and/or guardians and returned by the end of the week, and (3) a packet of short readings about early cinema.
Mr. P briefly introduced the course, stressing that it is a serious class in film studies concentrating on early silent and black-and-white films.
We then began at something like the beginning, learning about the fabled acreening at the Grand Cafe, Paris, put on by the Lumiere brothers and attended by Georges Melies. We then watched one of the films shown that night, and an assortment of other short early films, including both actualities (Niagra Falls) and magical films (The Motorist, The Golden Beetle), as well as an early example of a fiction film (Daring Daylight Burglary).
HW due Tuesday:
Read the syllabus carefully and prepare for a quiz over it in class.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet on the beginnings of cinema.
Students received (1) a syllabus (2) a letter introducing the course and the instructor, with a form to be signed by parents and/or guardians and returned by the end of the week, and (3) a packet of short readings about early cinema.
Mr. P briefly introduced the course, stressing that it is a serious class in film studies concentrating on early silent and black-and-white films.
We then began at something like the beginning, learning about the fabled acreening at the Grand Cafe, Paris, put on by the Lumiere brothers and attended by Georges Melies. We then watched one of the films shown that night, and an assortment of other short early films, including both actualities (Niagra Falls) and magical films (The Motorist, The Golden Beetle), as well as an early example of a fiction film (Daring Daylight Burglary).
HW due Tuesday:
Read the syllabus carefully and prepare for a quiz over it in class.
HW due Wednesday:
Read the packet on the beginnings of cinema.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 28
We finished Bonnie and Clyde, then briefly discussed the ending of the film and also students' answers to the question about Bonnie and Clyde on the final exam, as well as the question on the exam about the Koyaanisqatsi clip (which several students compared to Man With a Movie Camera, though as Jon Frearson pointed out its import was almost diametrically opposite: a condemnation rather than a celebration of modern technology.
We finished Bonnie and Clyde, then briefly discussed the ending of the film and also students' answers to the question about Bonnie and Clyde on the final exam, as well as the question on the exam about the Koyaanisqatsi clip (which several students compared to Man With a Movie Camera, though as Jon Frearson pointed out its import was almost diametrically opposite: a condemnation rather than a celebration of modern technology.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 26
We took out the turntable and listened to Woody Guthrie sing "Pretty Boy Floyd," a song about a Robin Hood character from Oklahoma in the 1930's similar to Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrows, then looked at some snapshots of the real Bonnie and Clyde in life and in death.
Mr. P introduced the film as an anti-establishment film from the 1960's about anti-establishment figures from the 30's, but suggested that the film's treatment of Bonnie and Clyde is much more complex that adulation of them as foes of the established order and frinds of the common people.
Tuesday, January 25
Students took the final examination.
We took out the turntable and listened to Woody Guthrie sing "Pretty Boy Floyd," a song about a Robin Hood character from Oklahoma in the 1930's similar to Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrows, then looked at some snapshots of the real Bonnie and Clyde in life and in death.
Mr. P introduced the film as an anti-establishment film from the 1960's about anti-establishment figures from the 30's, but suggested that the film's treatment of Bonnie and Clyde is much more complex that adulation of them as foes of the established order and frinds of the common people.
Tuesday, January 25
Students took the final examination.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 24
In preparation for Tuesday's final exam, we reviewed elements of filmcraft from the "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" packet, then practiced for the exam by analyzing brief clips from The Snake Pit and The Crucible.
On Tuesday:
Final exam requiring students to analyze the use of specified elements of filmcraft in projected clips from films we have seen and films we haven't. Review the packet.
In preparation for Tuesday's final exam, we reviewed elements of filmcraft from the "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style" packet, then practiced for the exam by analyzing brief clips from The Snake Pit and The Crucible.
On Tuesday:
Final exam requiring students to analyze the use of specified elements of filmcraft in projected clips from films we have seen and films we haven't. Review the packet.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 21
Students took a quiz over film noir.
Mr. P outlined the final exam on Tuesday. Students will be shown four short clips, two from films we have seen together, two from film's we haven't seen and Mr. P will specify which element of filmcraft (cinematography, film editing, mise en scene, etc.) students are to analyze in the clip. Preparation for the final will consist primarily in reviewing the original class packet on Classical Hollywood Style.
HW due Tuesday:
Final exam (see above). Review "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style."
Students took a quiz over film noir.
Mr. P outlined the final exam on Tuesday. Students will be shown four short clips, two from films we have seen together, two from film's we haven't seen and Mr. P will specify which element of filmcraft (cinematography, film editing, mise en scene, etc.) students are to analyze in the clip. Preparation for the final will consist primarily in reviewing the original class packet on Classical Hollywood Style.
HW due Tuesday:
Final exam (see above). Review "Classical Hollywood Cinema: Style."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 20
Mr. P announced that there will be a quiz over film noir tomorrow, covering the three original handouts on noir, the noir documentary (students received their notes on that film back), The Killers, a new handout, "From Nighthawks to the shadows of film noir" by Philip French, and the images of Edward Hopper paintings now posted on the class website.
We read the French article and looked at the images he comments upon.
Wednesday, January 19
We finished watching The Killers, then went over the Noir Characteristics worksheet, which students then turned in.
Mr. P announced that there will be a quiz over film noir tomorrow, covering the three original handouts on noir, the noir documentary (students received their notes on that film back), The Killers, a new handout, "From Nighthawks to the shadows of film noir" by Philip French, and the images of Edward Hopper paintings now posted on the class website.
We read the French article and looked at the images he comments upon.
Wednesday, January 19
We finished watching The Killers, then went over the Noir Characteristics worksheet, which students then turned in.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 18
We looked at item 1 on the Noir Characteristics worksheet, noting that many noir films were like The Killers in having a literary origin; we also looked at Edward Hopper's famous painting, Nighthawks, noting that it was itself influenced by Hemingway's story.
We then watched more of the film, leaving ten minutes or so for Wednesday.
We looked at item 1 on the Noir Characteristics worksheet, noting that many noir films were like The Killers in having a literary origin; we also looked at Edward Hopper's famous painting, Nighthawks, noting that it was itself influenced by Hemingway's story.
We then watched more of the film, leaving ten minutes or so for Wednesday.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday, January 13
We started the period by reading Hemingway's understated short story "The Killers," which focuses on Nick Adams's initiation into the world's evil, then watched the opening scenes of the 1946 movie version, which stays quite close to the story -- before launching into an involuted series of flashbacks to convey an invented back story.
We started the period by reading Hemingway's understated short story "The Killers," which focuses on Nick Adams's initiation into the world's evil, then watched the opening scenes of the 1946 movie version, which stays quite close to the story -- before launching into an involuted series of flashbacks to convey an invented back story.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday, January 11
We finished watching, and taking notes on, the American Cinema documentary on Film Noir, after which students received three handouts on film noir, one a general introduction to reinforce the documentary, one an article on the continuing cult of noir, and one a worksheet listing Characteristics of Film Noir, to be supplemented by students with relevant examples from the film we will begin watching tomorrow.
Mr. P announced their would be a quiz on film noir covering the documentary, the handouts, and the noir film we will watch.
Students were once again reminded to return their outside viewing films.
We finished watching, and taking notes on, the American Cinema documentary on Film Noir, after which students received three handouts on film noir, one a general introduction to reinforce the documentary, one an article on the continuing cult of noir, and one a worksheet listing Characteristics of Film Noir, to be supplemented by students with relevant examples from the film we will begin watching tomorrow.
Mr. P announced their would be a quiz on film noir covering the documentary, the handouts, and the noir film we will watch.
Students were once again reminded to return their outside viewing films.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Monday, January 10
Students were asked to bring and return all outside viewing films they have borrowed.
We examined Casablanca as presenting not so much a conflict between Love and Patriotism (or social duty) as a battle between Isolationism (both romantic and political) and Engagement.
Mr. P then briefly introduced film noir and we watched fifteen minutes of the American Cinema documentary on noir.
Students were asked to bring and return all outside viewing films they have borrowed.
We examined Casablanca as presenting not so much a conflict between Love and Patriotism (or social duty) as a battle between Isolationism (both romantic and political) and Engagement.
Mr. P then briefly introduced film noir and we watched fifteen minutes of the American Cinema documentary on noir.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, January 7
Casablanca is the source of more famous quotable lines than any other Hollywood movie. Today we competed in groups of three to see who could name the most of the six Casablanca quotes on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Memorable Movie Lines from 100 years (and a couple more besides).
Casablanca is the source of more famous quotable lines than any other Hollywood movie. Today we competed in groups of three to see who could name the most of the six Casablanca quotes on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Memorable Movie Lines from 100 years (and a couple more besides).
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tuesday, January 4
Mr. P announced that he would not be in class tomorrow and that he therefore would postpone tomorrow's essay deadline to Thursday when he returns.
We examined different dramatic uses of low camera angles in Citizen Kane, then reviewed the historical background of our next film, the ever-popular Casablanca, which students will begin watching tomorrow.
HW due Thursday:
Second Outside Viewing Essay.
Mr. P announced that he would not be in class tomorrow and that he therefore would postpone tomorrow's essay deadline to Thursday when he returns.
We examined different dramatic uses of low camera angles in Citizen Kane, then reviewed the historical background of our next film, the ever-popular Casablanca, which students will begin watching tomorrow.
HW due Thursday:
Second Outside Viewing Essay.
Monday, January 3
We examined certain musical and visual motifs in Citizen Kane -- e.g., the snow/blank screen/blank page, the Rosebud theme -- and observed how stylistically unified the film is seen to be on second viewing.
HW due Wednesday:
Second Outside Viewing Essay: Single-Element Analysis. 800 words minimum.
We examined certain musical and visual motifs in Citizen Kane -- e.g., the snow/blank screen/blank page, the Rosebud theme -- and observed how stylistically unified the film is seen to be on second viewing.
HW due Wednesday:
Second Outside Viewing Essay: Single-Element Analysis. 800 words minimum.
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