SYLLABUS - DRAM 2366 Fall 2020

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Title: Film Appreciation
Course Prefix & Number: DRAM2366	Section Number: 350	Term Code: Fall 2020
Semester Credit Hours: 3	Lecture Hours: 48	Lab Hours: 0
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): An introductory course in motion pictures which surveys the film industry as a business, means of communication, but most importantly as an art form. The course places an emphasis on the analysis of the visual and aural aspects of selected motion pictures, the dramatic aspect of narrative films, and the historical growth and sociological effect of film as an art.
Course Prerequisite(s): There is no prerequisite for this course.
Course Type:
o - Academic General Education Course (from Academic Course Guide Manual but not in NCTC Core) x- Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course o - WECM Course

Name of Instructor:	Alison Trapp
Campus/Office Location:	online
Telephone Number:
E-mail Address:	atrapp@nctc.edu

 

 

Name of Chair/Coordinator:	Thom Talbott
Office Location:	CPA 2001B
Telephone Number:	940-668-3324
E-mail Address:	ttalbott@nctc.edu

Instructor:   Alison Trapp
                      Adjunct Faculty - Drama
                      atrapp@nctc.edu
Please Note: While enrolled in one of my courses, students should contact me via CANVAS INBOX. I will typically respond to CANVAS INBOX within 24 hours on weekdays.
Start Date:                 August 24, 2020

Last Drop Day:        November 2 , 2020

Final Exams begin: December 7, 2020

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

Required Text

Looking at the Movies, 6th Edition by Richard Barsam and Dave Monahan

Students are required to obtain six films:

(Hugo (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012), Stagecoach (1939), Jaws (1975), Citizen Kane (1941), and Vertigo (1958)).

It is up to the student to obtain these films they are not provided by the instructor or the college.

GRADING  CRITERIA   12 Chapter Quizzes (worth up to 20 points each.)	240
6 Movie Quizzes (worth up to 20 points each.)	120
18 Discussion Forums Original Posts (worth up to 30 points each.)	540
32 Discussion Responses (worth 10 points each.)	320
Integrity Pledge (10 points) & Syllabus Quiz (20 points)	30
Online Chat (worth up to 50 points each.)	50
1 Critical Film Review (worth up to 100 points)	100
1 Group Project Discussion (worth up to 100 points)	100
Genre Analysis Paper  (worth up to 150 points)	150
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS	1650

 

A= 1650-1485 Points; B=1484-1320 Points; C=1319-1155 Points; D=1154-990 Points; F less than 989 Points

Here is my philosophy for grading the content of this course.  A “C” grade is a grade earned by doing the basic elements of a class.  You, the student, have demonstrated an average understanding of the material and have done the bare minimum asked of you in the class.  A “B” grade means you have achieved a basic understanding of the class material and you have demonstrated an ability to take that material and begin a personal re-interpretation of its lessons. An “A” grade means you have accomplished the prior two steps and demonstrated an excellent command of the vocabulary, techniques, and ideas of the class.  Additionally, you have shown an advanced degree of analytical ability and personal discipline.  “D” and “F” grades are the result of failing to achieve a basic understanding of the material and/or a refusal to engage honestly in the intellectual pursuit of the class.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

	At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
	Analyze film through written response.
	Demonstrate a basic knowledge of film history, form, and genre.
	Describe the collaborative nature of cinema and the many jobs required to develop a motion picture.
	Discuss/Describe the relationship of cinema to society as it relates to his/her perspective.

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA 

Creative Arts

REQUIRED CORE OBJECTIVES

x Critical Thinking

x Communication

• Empirical and Quantitative

x Teamwork

• Personal Responsibility

x Social Responsibility

Last Day to Withdraw

The last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is November 2.

Course Assignments

REEL ONE: OPENING CREDITS INSTRUCTIONS

August 24 – September 6 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 1-1: Demonstrate the ability to navigate in Canvas
• 1-2: Demonstrate the ability to take a quiz in Canvas
• 1-3: Demonstrate the ability to use a Submission Page in Canvas.
• 1-4: Demonstrate how to post to a Discussion Forum in Canvas.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read over the Syllabus. (LO# 1-1)

Assignment #2: Read over the Films To Watch page and learn about where to obtain the films that are required for this course. (LO# 1:1)

Assignment #3: Take the Syllabus Quiz.  DUE AUG 30 (LO# 1-2)

Assignment #4: Post in the Projection Room discussion forum: your name, why you chose to take this Intro to Cinema online course, what is your first memory in regards to movies, and of course, what is your favorite movie and why? You are responsible for one original post. (LO# 1-4)

Assignment #5:  Read the Academic Integrity Pledge. Copy and paste the Academic Integrity Pledge into a Microsoft Word document- -sign it by typing your name and your student i.d.at the bottom then submit it using the Academic Integrity Pledge Submission Page by AUGUST 30. No grades will be entered until I have your Integrity Statement. (LO# 1-4)

Assignment #6: Read over the Critical Movie Review Handout. You will be required to write one critical movie review during the course of the semester. The first can be over any movie that you have seen outside of class. The paper needs to be at three pages in length (12 pt. times roman/double spaced) You will use this handout as your guide. (After this unit closes you can find it in the course document folder.) The Critical Review will be due on Oct 4 by 11:55 PM.(LO#1-1)

Assignment #7: Watch the YouTube video about This Film Is Not Yet Rated and then respond to the question on the Ratings discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO#1-4)

Assignment #8: Watch the video The Film Before The Film then respond to the question on the Art of the Title discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer’s posts. (LO#1-4)

REEL TWO: HUGO (2011) INSTRUCTIONS

WHAT IS A MOVIE? and FORM AND CONTENT

September 7 – September 20 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 2-1: Appreciate the difference between passively watching movies and actively looking at mov
• 2-2: Understand the defining characteristics that distinguish movies from other forms of art.
• 2-3: Begin to look at movies more analytically and perceptively.
• 2-4: Differentiate between form and content in a movie and be able to explain how they're related.
• 2-5: Understand how movie's use light and how lighting helps shape a movie's meaning.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER ONE in Looking at the Movies and then take the What is a Movie? quiz. (LO# 2-1 & 2.2)

Assignment #2: Auguste and Louis Lumiere are credited with the world's first public film screening on December 28, 1895. The showing of approximately ten short films lasting only twenty minutes in total was  held in the basement lounge of the Grand Cafe on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris and would be the very first public demonstration of their device they called the Cinematograph which effectively functioned as camera, projector and printer all in one. Their work consisted mainly of moving images from scenes of everyday life. Ironically, as we look back in retrospect in comparison to what film has developed into today, the Lumiere Brothers believed it to be a medium without a future as they suspected that people would bore of images that they could just as easily see by walking out into the street.

Watch the Lumiere Brothers video and then respond to the question on the Lumiere Brothers discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 2-1, 2-2 & 2-3)

Assignment #3: Watch Hugo (2011) and then respond to the question on the Hugo discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO#2-2 & 2-3)

Assignment #4: After watching the movie, take the Hugo Quiz. (LO#2-3)

Assignment #5: Read CHAPTER TWO in Looking at the Movies and then and then take the Form & Content quiz. (LO# 2-4 & 2-5)

Assignment #6: Watch Disney’s The Little Matchgirl on YouTube and then post in the The Little Match Girl Discussion Forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 2-4 & 2-5)

REEL THREE: CLOUD ATLAS (2012) INSTRUCTIONS

TYPES OF MOVIES

September 21 – October 4 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 3-1: Explain how and why movies are classified.
• 3-2: Understand what genre is and why it is important.
• 3-3: Explain the most significant (or defining) elements of each of the six major American genres featured in Chapter 3 of Looking at the Movies.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER THREE in Looking at the Movies and then take the Film Genre quiz. (LO# 3-1, 3-2, 3-3)

Assignment #2: Watch Cloud Atlas (2012) and then respond to the question on the Cloud Atlas discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 3-1, 3-2, 3-3)

Assignment #3: After watching the movie, take the Cloud Atlas Quiz.

Assignment #4: Read over the infographic for Cloud Atlas (2012) and then answer the question in the Cloud Atlas Infographic Discussion Forum. Did the infographic help you understand the narrative better? What did you think overall about the narrative style of Cloud Atlas? Remember to use examples from the film and infographic to back up your opinions. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 3-1, 3-2, 3-3)

Assignment #5: Critical Movie Review must be submitted on the Critical Movie Review Submission Page . Please see Critical Movie Review Handout for criteria for this report. The paper needs to be at three pages in length (12 pt. times roman/double spaced/1” margins). (LO# 6-4)

REEL FOUR: STAGECOACH (1939) INSTRUCTIONS

Elements of Narrative

October 5– October 18 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 4-1: Understand how narrative structure functi
• 4-2: Differentiate between the story and the plot of a mov
• 4-3: Know the difference between diegetic and nondiegetic elements of a movie's plot. .

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER FOUR pg 121-156 in Looking at the Movies and then take the Narrative quiz. (LO# 4-1, 4-2 & 4-3)

Assignment #2: Watch Maestro (2005) by Geza M.Toth on YouTube and then respond to the question on the Maestro discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 4-3)

Assignment #3: Watch Stagecoach (1939) and take the Stagecoach Quiz.

Assignment #5: Read the short story "Stage to Lordsburg" by Ernest Haycox that was the basis for John Ford's Stagecoach (1939) and then respond to the question in the Stage to Lordsburg discussion forum. (LO#4-1)

Assignment #6: The plot of Stagecoach is based on a familiar convention sometimes called ship of fools. The ship of fools is an allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitant who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot and seemingly innocent of their own direction.

In the twentieth century with the rise of films, the ship of fools plot convention took on a new life. In this case, it is a group of strangers that have been thrown into a situation (usually a confined space: airplane, stagecoach, building, and yes, a boat) and must work together by revealing or concealing their pasts.

Using YouTube find a trailer from another "ship of fools" movie and post the link in the Ship of

Fools discussion forum. You are also responsible for writing a two to three sentence description of why you think it is a "ship of fools" movie. Use examples from the trailer to back up your opinion.

This week instead of posting two responses, I want to you to pick the trailer that best represents the Ship of Fools by making a simple response to the trailer’s post. (LO# 4-1)

Assignment # 7 Sign-up for groups for group projects. Groups are named by the date/time of the group chat session. make sure that you sign-up for a time that you are available to participate in the live online group chat. Group Chats are the week of tba

 

REEL FIVE: JAWS (1975) INSTRUCTIONS

MISE-EN-SCÈNE AND CINEMATOGRAPHY

October 19 - November 1 at 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 5-1: Define mise-en-scène overall and in terms of its constituent p
• 5- 2: Explain how composition is different from, but complementary to design.
• 5-3: Describe the difference among a shot, a setup, and a take.
• 5-4: Understand the basic elements of composition within the frame.
• 5-5: Define the rule of thirds.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER FIVE in Looking at the Movies and then and then take the Mise-en-Scène: Design and the Mise-en-Scène: Composition quizzes. (LO# 5-1 & 5-2)

Assignment #2: Watch Jaws (1975) and then respond to the question on the Jaws Discussion Forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer’s posts. (LO# 5-1 & 5-2)

Assignment #3: After watching the movie, take the Jaws Movie Quiz.

Assignment #4: Read CHAPTER SIX in Looking at the Movies and then take the Cinematography and the Framing the Shot quizzes. (LO# 5-3, 5-4 & 5-5)

Assignment #5: Watch the Spielberg: Shot by Shot on YouTube and then answer the question in the Dive Deep discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 5- 3, 5-4 & 5-5)

REEL SIX: VERTIGO (1958) INSTRUCTIONS

ACTING

November 2-November 15 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR REEL:

• 6-1: Describe how movie acting today differs from that of the classical studio e
• 6-2: Explain why the relationship between the actor and the camera is so importa
• 6-3: Explain the potential effects on acting of framing, composition, lighting, shot types, and shot length
• 6-4: Analyze film through written response

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Watch Vertigo (1958) and then take the Vertigo Movie Quiz.

Assignment #2: Read CHAPTER SEVEN in Looking at the Movies and then take the Acting quiz. (LO# 6-1, 6-2 & 6-3)

Assignment #3: Watch the following four different film versions of the "To be or not to be" speech from Shakespeare's Hamlet on YouTube and then respond to the question on the Acting in Hamlet discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 6-2 & 6-3) David Tennent, Ethan Hawke,  Mel Gibson,  Laurence Olivier

Assignment #4: Respond to the question on the Vertigo: Acting discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 6-1, 6-2 & 6-3)

REEL SEVEN: CITIZEN KANE (1941) INSTRUCTIONS

EDITING

November 16 – November 29 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE REEL:

• 7-1: Understand the relationship between the shot and the cut.
• 7-2:Understand the significance of the rhythm of a movie and describe how editing is used to establish that rhythm.
• 7-3: Describe the fundamental building blocks of continuity editing.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER EIGHT in Looking at the Movies and then take the Film Editor and the Editing: Continuity and Discontinuity quizzes. (LO# 7-1, 7-2 & 7-3)

Assignment #2: Watch Citizen Kane (1941) and then respond to the question on the Citizen Kane Editing discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer's posts. (LO# 7- 1, 7-2 & 7-3)

Assignment #3: After watching the movie, take the Citizen Kane Movie Quiz.

Assignment #4: Watch the YouTube video of the opening of Touch of Evil (1958) and then respond to the question in the Orson Wells: Touch of Evil discussion forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to peer’s posts.(LO# 7-1, 7-2 & 7-3)

REEL EIGHT: SHORT ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL INSTRUCTIONS

SOUND

November 30 - December 6 AT 11:55PM

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE REEL:

• 8-1: Explain the functions of film sou
• 8-2: Explain how sound helps to create meaning in a movie.
• 8-3: Distinguish between the four major types of film sound.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Assignment #1: Read CHAPTER NINE in Looking at the Movies and then take the Sound quiz. (LO# 8-1, 8-2& 8-3)

Assignment #2: Watch the three films that comprise the Short Animated Film Festival and post Short Animated Film Festival Discussion Forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to your peer's posts. (LO# 8-1 & 8-2)

Assignment #3: Watch the Wilhelm Scream video on YouTube and then respond in the Wilhelm

Scream Discussion Forum. You are responsible for one original post and two responses to your peer's posts. (LO# 8-1 & 8-2 )

THE FINAL CREDITS INSTRUCTIONS

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:

1: Analyze film through written response.

2: Demonstrate a basic knowledge of film history, form, and genre.

DRAM 2366: FILM APPRECIATION

The Final Credits – Film Genre Analysis Paper (Final Exam) Due on December 7 at 11:55 PM

 

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