FF:FAVBPa04 The Concepts of Film Theory I - Course Information

FAVBPa04 The Concepts of Film Theory I

Extent and Intensity

4/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

doc. Mgr. Petr Szczepanik, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

prof. PhDr. Jiří Voráč, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

At the end of the course students should be able to:
- understand interrelations between aesthetic, cultural and industrial aspects of films
- work with concepts from theories of media and neoghbouting disciplines to analyze these interrelations
- work with information about production history and context to analyze and interpret film texts.

Syllabus

• The course will consist of historical and comparative analysis of concepts from theories of film and media from 1945 till present. The aim of the lectures is to provide an alternative to the chronological type of reading.
• Selected concepts:
• - mode of production/practice, alternative modes of production: difference between strategic and tactical management; conceptualizing change and persistence of the system; logic of causal relations between modes of production and style
• - institution: production as temporary institutions and project networks
• - authorship (both above- and below-the-line, individual/group, intentionalism)
• - style (creative decisions, group and individual, industrial bases of)
• - division of labor, job-role structures and hierarchies, flexible labor
• - communities of practice: semi-permanent work groups (Helen Blair)
• - learning: explicit and tacit knowledge, apprenticeship, on-the-job training, learning communities
• - generation: wave/movement/school
• - career patterns: inter-firm (boundaryless) careers
• - creative work processes: experiment, improvisation, innovation/convention, imagination, institutionalized routines
• - paratextuality: industrial reflexivity, making-of documentaries
• - gender (female filmmakers, their position in crews and their styles of work)
• - media convergence: transmedia storytelling
• - creative clusters or cultural/industrial milieux (value-adding agglomeration)
• - consumers: as an integral part of the production process (producing consumers, consumers as a concept guiding creative processes)

Literature

required literature
• Jennifer Holt – Alisa Perren (eds.), Media Industries. History, Theory, and Method. Chichester, West Sussex; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell 2009.

recommended literature
• Vicki Mayer – Miranda J. Banks – John T. Caldwell (eds.), Production Studies. Cultural Studies of Media Industries. New York – London: University of California Press 2009.
• Janet Staiger, The Hollywood Mode of Production, 1930–1960. In: David Bordwell – Janet Staiger – Kristin Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960. New York: Columbia University Press 1985, s. 309–338.
• John T. Caldwell, Production Culture. Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television. Durham: Duke University Press 2008.
• Edward Jay Epstein, The Big Picture. The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood. New York: Random House 2005.

Teaching methods

Lectures, class discussion.

Assessment methods

Written tests.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Information on the per-term frequency of the course: Předmět se vypisuje jednou za 3 roky, další termíny jsou: jaro 2008, jaro 2011, jaro 2014 atd.
The course is taught: every week.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2012, recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2012/FAVBPa04