With the unbundling of Mass Communication programme in Nigeria, the face of communication education in the country has changed. The programme has transited into a full college/faculty while individual courses have adapted to the change. While several new courses now exist in the seven new departments, some of the courses you used to know before have also taken a new shape. We have done a thorough research on what these courses offer in universities across the world; and we have provided prototype syllabus for students to study ahead. This is also to assist lecturers who might be facing new challenges with several new courses to have an idea of what the syllabus of each course offers. Here’s is the course compact for Introduction to Film and Multi-Media Studies (FMS 201).
COURSE COMPACT
Faculty: Communication and Media Studies Department: Film & Media Studies
Course Code: FMS 201 Unit(s): 2 Semester: FIrst
Course Title: Introduction to Film and Multi-Media Studies
Lecturer: Programme: B.Sc.
(A). BRIEF OVERVIEW OF COURSE
Rapid developments of digital technologies have impacted the film business across the world. From the time cinema was invented at the end of the 19th century to the present information technology era, film and cinema have evolved from the traditional photographic era to the digital era. Film, television, and digital media have become increasingly ubiquitous and complex in the 21st century. This underscores the need to understand, control, and create media in the workplace and professional, civic and private lives with a view to adapting to evolving trends in the society.
This course explores the specificity, history, and function of media forms, focusing on the language of cinema and important issues, film/media theories, movements, and histories of media throughout the globe. It exposes students to the dynamics of film as an art, a text, a technology, a commercial product, a psychological experience, and a social practice. The course will emphasize specific aspects of film style and narrative form through analysis of scenes from films. Students will be trained to comprehend, analyze, and participate in local and global film and screen media cultures and industries. They will further gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the many ways of making and distributing screen media, including video production, computer animation, and studies and practices in multimedia, interactive media, and new technologies.
The course is structured to develop skills of students in film analysis, expose them to the vocabulary of film form and how to construct an argument about what a film’s sounds and images mean, including how it structures and achieves its meanings. At the end, students will be conversant with an introduction to the theories, methods, and concerns of film and media studies as a discipline, and they would have been equipped with the requisite practical knowledge to work in the field. The course will prepare them for careers in media and technology, education, journalism, filmmaking, and audio-visual archives.
(B). COURSE OBJECTIVES/GOALS
By the end of this course, students will have learned:
Basic concepts associated with film and the cinema
History, functions, and specificity of media forms,
Film style and narrative form
Language of cinema
Film/media theories
Movements and histories of media throughout the globe
Formal analysis of film narrative and cinematic technique (the art of film)
Contextual approaches to film
Various film genres
Basics of film production
(C). METHOD OF LECTURE DELIVERY
Lectures
Quizzes
Assignments
Practical Classroom Sessions
(D). COURSE OUTLINE
1. Introduction
Conceptual understanding of Film and Multimedia
Brief history of the cinema
Functions of film
Movements and histories of media throughout the globe
Significance of film in the society
Course overview
2. Three Basic Types of Films
Realism
Classical
Formalistic
3. Film Theories
What is film theory?
Brief history of film theory
Elements of film theory
A look at basic film theories
4. Dimensions of Film
Film as an art
Film as text
Film as technology
Film as commercial product
Film as psychological experience
Film as social practice
5. Film Style
What is film style?
Key elements of film style
Categories of film style
How to choose your film style
6. Film Genre
What is film genre?
Basic film genres
Genre Hybrids
7. Film Narrative
Defining film narrative
Components of film narrative
Purpose of film narration
Dimensions of film narrative
Narrative theory and film literature
How to read a film
8. Contextual Approaches to Film
Understanding the concept of approaches to film
Semiotic approaches
Structuralist approaches
Contextual approaches
9. Film Criticism
What is film criticism?
Approaches to film criticism
Film as an aesthetic form
Basics of film analysis and review
Writing a critical film review
10. Specificity of Media Forms
What is medium specificity?
Medium specificity film theory
Origin of medium specificity
Medium specificity and new media art
What differentiates film from other modes of representation?
Boundaries and intersections between expressive media
Medium specificity in Cinema
Medium specificity in photography
11. Brief Look at Major Film Industries Across the World
Hollywoood
Bollywood
Nollywood
Cinema of China
Cinema of Japan
Cinema of the United Kingdom
South Korean Film Industry
Cinema of France
Others
12. New Technologies and the Film Industry
Introduction: how new technologies have impacted the film industry
Basics of graphics design, photo editing and motion graphics animation
Principles of digital photography
Computer animation
Interactive media
Preparing videos for online streaming and playback on different devices
Multimedia practices
13. Film Production
What is film production?
Elements of film making
Pre-production stage
Production stage
Post-production stage
Brief look at film distribution
14. Mise en scene
What is mise en scene
Elements of mise en scene
15. Film Careers
Critics
Teachers
Creators (Production team)
Distributors
Archivist
Others
16. Class Activities
(E). RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
Nelmes, J. (2012). Introduction to Film Studies, 5th Edition. London: Routeledge.
Barsam, R. & Monahan, D. (2016). Looking at Movies, 5th edition. New York: Norton.
Oyero, O., Amodu, L. O. & Usaini, S. (2015). Film History and Production Techniques. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden.
(F). IMPORTANT LINKS:
How to Choose Style for Your Film
Medium Specificity in Post-Media Practice, by Alssio Chierico
Medium Specificity – A Syllabus
Film Theory: A Beginner’s Guide
Understanding film theory: An Essential Guide, by Jason Hellerman
A Guide to Basic Film Genres and How to Use Them, by Jourdan Aldredge
Film Basics: Learning to “Read” and Write About Films
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