Introduction to the language of film [LROMB002]
Learning outcomes
The course aims to make the student familiar with the analysis of films (description, interpretation, appreciation) through the knowledge of filmic techniques and languages.
Objectives
The aim is to master the lexicon required for film analysis and to be able to analyse all types of film, mainly from a semiological and pragmatic perspective.
Content
Each session focuses on one film, from which comparisons with other films are suggested. The main focus is on contemporary productions and current uses of film language. However, some sessions are devoted to older films that have contributed to the evolution of cinematic language (for example, those of Chaplin, Hitchcock, Bresson, Tati, Godard, etc.). Each session attempts to review a cinematographic process or a theoretical notion useful for the analysis of the film. The course mainly deals with fiction films. However, documentary film, animation film and new audiovisual forms on the Internet are also discussed.
Teaching methods
Every second week, students have the opportunity to see the film that will be studied in the following course. Each session reviews a few excerpts selected according to the focus of the course. These are first submitted to the analysis of the students (participation is therefore encouraged) before being the subject of a detailed commentary by the teacher, in which theoretical notions and explanations of the devices support the work of interpretation. Each year, a meeting is organised with the director of one of the films studied. The directors invited in recent years were: Joachim Lafosse, Benoît Mariage, Benoit Dervaux, Stéphane Brizé.
Evaluations
The examination consists of the presentation of a personal analysis of an unseen film (chosen by the student from a list proposed by the teacher). Three extracts from the film presenting singular exploitations of the cinematographic language must be analysed by the student (20 min oral exam), based on the notions seen in the course. The following are assessed: the relevance of the chosen extracts; the finesse of the analysis and its expression; the mastery of theoretical notions and technical terms. A supplementary question, drawn at random, is based on a theoretical point seen in the course. NB: Sessions are sometimes linked to the course "Critique of film sources" (Anne Roekens). For students who take both courses, the oral exam is common and focuses on the same film.
Recommended readings
The reference works cited in the course are gathered in a bibliography distributed at the beginning of the course and available on webcampus. These readings are not required but are highly recommended. A glossary of technical terms used in the course will also be distributed and available on webcampus. Some extracts of films seen during the course will be available on the "document unamur" platform.
Language of instruction
French / FrançaisLocation for course
NAMUROrganizer
Faculté de philosophie et lettresRue de Bruxelles, 61
5000 NAMUR
