Lecture 1: Course Introduction

1. Lecture 1:Course Introduction Professor Michael Green

2. Professor Michael Green • Lecturer, Film and Media Studies, Arizona State University • I teach courses in Screenwriting, Film Studies, and Cultural Studies.

3. In This Lesson • What kind of distance learning course is this? • How can you succeed? • Assignments • What do we study in this course?

4. What Kind of Distance Learning Course is this? • It’s Not an Automated Course • It’s Not a Self-Paced Course • This Course Emphasizes Interactivity • Asynchronous • Participation is Fundamental to the Success of Our Course – Discussion Board Take the Self-Evaluation of Online Students. It’ll help you better understand how your learning style meets the demand of this environment.

5. The Advantages of this Course • Flexibility… Not Limited by Time, Space • Study Materials Available 24/7 • Lectures (streaming audio w/ PowerPoint) • Websites & Other Resources • Media Clips • Interactive discussion board • But Structured Like a Traditional Course • Complements Multiple Learning Styles • Lots of Interactivity

6. Potential Disadvantages • Students that learn best through face-to-face debate can struggle in this environment. • Ways to Compensate • Arrange for Real-Time Meetings with Classmates • Students that are not well organized tend to not do well in this environment. • Meet all Deadlines • Study in Advance of Assignments

7. How to succeed (get an “A”) in this course Taking An Online Class: Part II Take Take

8. Course Organization • Each lesson contains: • Reading • Screening of Film • Website • Lecture • Clips • Interactivity • (Discussion Board) 8

9. Forms of Interactivity • Threaded Discussions onthe eBoard • Skype • E-mail • Professor Office Hours The Namesake (2006) Directed by Mira Nair

10. Keys To Success: • Go through the Website, or Virtual Classroom, with Care; Know it Well • Keep up with All Lesson Tasks • Do Assignments Carefully, Thoroughly, and Turn Them in on Time • Get to Know Your Classmates • Discuss with Rigor & Respect

11. Guidelines for the Class • To Study Art We Must Debate • Discussing Art Doesn’t Require Being Disrespectful or Insensitive • I expect us to discuss art with passion and perspective. • I expect us to challenge each other’s perception of art with rigor and respect.

12. Assignments Taking An Online Class: Part III

13. Participation • Participation is 25% of Your Final Grade • Participation Grade is Based On: • Keeping Up with Discussion Board Posts • Quality of Posts - how rigorous, critical and original they are; also how well they engage lesson materials such as the screening, readings, lecture and clips. • Length of posts – At least ten sentences • Being on time with the Posts

14. Critical Papers • You will write two critical papers in this class, each of which will be worth 25% of your grade. • Information on the papers can be found on the syllabus and on the course site under Graded Work. • Also under Graded Work you will find a PowerPoint on how to write a critical paper. • Start reading that PowerPoint now!

15. Final Exam • There is also a cumulative exam for the course which totals 25% of your grade. • It will cover readings, lectures, clips and assigned films. • It will be a combination of fill in the blank, identification, short answer & essay questions • It will be due to me via e-mail • No late exams!

16. Keep Up! • You will do well on the exam if you take good notes during the lectures, keep up with the readings, watch the films carefully and participate on the eBoard. • It will be very difficult for you to do well if you get behind. Online courses require a lot of discipline!

17. What Do We Study in This Class? Matewan (1987) Directed by John Sayles Taking An Online Class: Part IV

18. Two Aspects in Every Film: Content and Form • Content – What the story is about • Form – How the film tells its story • The two are inextricable in film as in any art form – you can’t have one without the other. 18

19. Film Content • What the film is about, its narrative. • All films are created by people and are therefore historical, subjective & political. • Even if unintended, everyone tells stories from their experience, their perspective. 19

20. Film Form • Narrative Structure • Mise-en-scene • Cinematography • Editing • Sound • These are the tools of film; the techniques that are used to tell the story in the movie. 20

21. International and American Films • Using the form and content distinction, we will analyze both American and International Films (we don’t call them foreign films). 21

22. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum: “[International] movies have important things to teach us . . . . They’re proof positive that Americans aren’t the only human beings and that the decisions we make about how to live our lives aren’t the only options available.” • Movie Wars, page 108

23. Six Things to Remember • Go through the Website, or Virtual Classroom, with Care; Know it Well • Keep up with all Lesson Tasks • Turn Assignments in on Time, Written at a College Level • Get to Know Your Classmates • Discuss with Rigor & Respect • Enjoy yourself! It’s film, after all.

24. End of Lecture 1 Next Lecture: The Nuts and Bolts of Making and Getting Movies to Audiences