FILM201

THELANGUAGEOFFILM

Instructor: Prof.RebeccaProvost
EMail: rtprovos@utica.edu
OfficeHours: ByAppointmentIamavailableatflexibletimes.Sendmeanemail!
Time&Place:TuesdaysandThursdays1011:15amHubbard206
Required:Accesstosocialmediaoutletsandtheweb.Anyassignedscreeningsorreadingswillbeavailableonthe
coursewebsitehttp://filmacademy.weebly.com.Youwillalsobemakingyourownwebsites/blogsandweeblyisa
greatstart!Twitter@filmacademyucand#ucflm201.Thesemustbecheckedregularly(morethanweekly).

COURSEDESCRIPTION:
FLM201isanintroductiontothe"reading"andthecomprehensionoffilmasalanguageandtocinemaasaninstitution.
Wewilllookatfilmasamedium:bothwhatisspecifictoit(e.g.,editing)andwhatitshareswithothermedia(suchas
theaterandphotography).Then,wewillpayparticularattentiontostoryornarrativeform.
SincethisisanintroductorycourseandIamwellawarethatcertainmoviesandtypesofmoviesareextremely
popular,Iassumethatyouhaveseenplentyofmoviesbutthatyoulackaconceptualunderstandingofcinema.Inother
words,Iassumethatyourawarenessoffilmsfarexceedsyourvocabularyfordescribingthem.Hence,Ihopethatyou
willregardthiscourseas(1)anopportunitytoexperienceabroaderrangeofmoviesthanyouare,perhaps,usedtoseeing,
and(2)asanoccasiontolearnandpracticeamoreanalyticalpreciseandelaboratedlanguageforthinkingabout,talking
about,andwritingaboutfilm.Finally,youwillusetheoreticalknowledgeaboutfilmtocreateyourown,originalshortfilms.
Althoughweshallattendtohistoricalissuesassociatedwithcinema,thiscourseisnotorganizedasahistoryofthe
movies.Neitherisitaproductioncourse:aguidetofilmmaking.Foralthoughwewillnotshyawayfromthetechnical
aspectsoffilmproductionorresistsituatingmoviesintheirhistoricalcontext,ourultimategoalistolearnsomethingabout
theconstructionofmoviesandtherolecinemaplaysinrelatingindividualstothevaluesandassumptionsoftheirculture.

SpoilerAlert:YouwillnotLOVEorevenlikeeverymoviethatwewatchinoroutofclass.Complainingaboutorloving
themthemwontwinyoubonuspoints.Formulatingconcretereasonsforanyfilmsstrengthsandshortcomingsisalways
welcomeindiscussion.

COURSEASSIGNMENTS:
Youwillhavetheopportunitytodemonstrateourlearningoutcomesbyaccomplishingthefollowingtasks:
1. InandOutofClassParticipation(10%):Thisincludesattendingclassweekly,beingontime,beingrespectful
ofothersduringfilms,lectures,anddiscussions,andprovidingtheclasswithmeaningfulinputregularly.Thisalso
includesparticipatingthroughoutofclassassignments.
2. BlogAssignments(30%):Yourfirstassignmentwillbetocreateawebsitewithablog(orjustablog).Youll
needtoreadourcourseblogonmywebsitetofindthedetails.Fromhereonoutwewillbewritingresponsesand
completingmanyassignmentsontheblog.Youcanalwaysfinduptodateblogassignmentsbycheckingoutthe
courseblogandbycheckingtheTwitteraccount.Theresalsoacoursecalendaronthewebsitethatwillbe
updatedthroughoutthesemesterasassignmentsaregiven.Onceyouvecompletedanyblog/websiteassignment,
pleasewriteacommentonthecourseblogassignment.Thismaysoundconfusingnow,butitwillallmakesense
soon!
Someblogassignmentsmaybegradedothersmayjustcountforacoursegrade.Remember,lateassignments
willnotbeaccepted.
3. Quizzes(20%):Iwillgive35quizzesthroughoutthesemesterthatarecumulativeandmayincludequestions
aboutlecturetopics,readings,inclassfilms,orrecommendedoutsidescreenings.Thesewillbechallenging.All
quizzesareworththesameweight.

4. FirstFilmAssignment(10%):Youwillbeassignedtocreateaoneminutevideoandwriteablogpostthat
linkstothevideo.Detailstocome.Studentswillparticipateinashortfilmfestivalandcriticallyreviewother
studentvideos.


5. SecondFilmAssignment(15%):Youwillbeassignedonyourownoringroupsoftwotomakeashortsilent
filmandwriteablogpostthatlinkstothevideo.Detailstocome.Studentswillparticipateinashortfilmfestival
andcriticallyreviewotherstudentvideos.
5.FinalAssignment(15%):Individuallyoringroupsoftwo,youwillcreateanoriginalshortfilmtobeshownat
theHolidayFilmFestival.Thiswillconnecttoablogentryorwebexperience.Detailstocome.Studentswillbe
requiredtoattendthefilmfestivalandmustparticipateinstudentreviews.

GradeScale:
A94100
A9093
B+8789
B8486
B8083
C+7977
C7476
C7073
D+6769
D6466
D6063
F<60

A=Youperformconsistentandexcellentworkontime.Youcometoclasshavingreadthematerialactivelyand
thoughtfully.Yourwritingmakesinsightfulconnectionbetweenthematerialandtheissuesinvolved.Yourparticipationin
classisextensive.
B=Youshowconsistentwork,butyoumaynothavealwaysunderstoodthematerialandyourwritingmightnotexpress
clarityallthetime.Minorerrorsimpedethewriting.Youchoosetoparticipateduringclassoccasionally.
C=Alsomeansconsistentwork,butyouhaveoccasionallystruggledwiththereadingandyourwritingshowsrecurring
errors.Youmissedanoccasionalassignment.Youmakelittleattempttoparticipateinclass.
D=Youfallbehind,missanassignment,andattempttoturninworklate.Youattendclassbuthavemissedacoupleand
donotcontributetoclassorgroupwork.Yourarelyparticipateinclass.
F=Youcompletelessthan2/3rdsofthework.Moststudentsfailbecausetheystoptryingordontseekhelpbeforeitis
toolate.Yourarelyparticipateinclassdiscussions.Thismayormaynotbeduetoexcessiveabsences.

Attendance:
Attendancewillbetakenduringclassatmydiscretion.Ifyouarenotinclass,youwillbeconsideredabsent.Allstudents
gettwofreeabsences.Failuretoparticipateandattendalmosteveryclassontimewillleadtolossof10%ofyouroverall
coursegrade.Blogassignments,filmassignments,finals,andquizzesmustbedoneontime.Anystudentwhodoesnot
arrivewithinthefirst10minutesofacoursequizwillnotbeallowedtomakeitup.Missedandlatecourseworkwillnot
receiveagrade.

Absences:
Therearegoodreasonstomissclass,butinthisclassthereisnosuchthingasanexcusedor"unexcused"absence.A
missedclassmeansmissedmaterial.Anymissednotesshouldbecopiedfromanotherstudent.Ifyouhavetobeabsent,do
notaskme,WhatdidImiss?Askaclassmate.Donotemailmemissedorlatework.Missedandlateworkwillnotbe
accepted.Donotemailmetellingmewhyyoumissedclass.Speaktome,ifyouwish,afterclass.Medicalexcusesshould
behandledthroughtheDeanofStudentspleasedonotpresentmewithDr.notesorlengthynotesaboutyourhealth.
Thosestudentswhomakeanefforttobeateveryclassanddoallworkwillbeminimallyaffectedbyoneabsence
multipleabsencesarewherestudentsrunintotroublekeepingupwithclasswork.Becarefultellingmeyoumissedclass
becauseyouhadthefluinNovemberwillnotsaveyoufromtheclassesyoumissedearlierinthesemester.

PlagiarismStatement:


Aspartofalearningcommunity,studentsneedtoshareideasideasdocumentedinspeech,inwriting,orasacreative
productwiththeirteacherandtheirclassmates.Academicresponsibilitymeansthatstudentslabortoproduceandto
documentideas.Theydotheirownwork.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenpublishingmaterialsasisexpectedinthis
course.Academicintegritymeansbeingclearininstitutionallydefinedandapprovedwaysabouttheoriginand
ownershipofideas.Takingcreditforideasthatonedidnotgeneratewhetherintheformofspeech,writing,film,music
oranyotherproductisacademicdishonesty,anditwillbedealtwithinaccordancewithUticaCollegepolicy.
InstructorsdohavetherighttoputanFFORCHEATINGonanyplagiarizingorcheatingstudentspermanentrecord.

LateWorkPolicy:
Idonotacceptlatework.Idoacceptearlywork.Ifyouaregoingtobemissingclass,feelfreetoturninanassignment
beforeourmeetingtime.Quizzescanonlybetakenthedaytheyaregivenwithin10minutesofthestartofthefirstquiz..
Blogassignments,films,andpresentationsaredueatthetimetheyaredue.Noexceptionswillbemade.Earlyworkmay
bepublishedtoyourblog.Ifthereisnocourseblogposttocommentyourresponseto,thenpleaseemailalinktoyour
publishedassignment.

SpecialNeeds:
Ifyouhaveadisabilityforwhichyouarerequestinganaccommodation,youareencouragedtocontactbothmyselfand
AcademicSupportServices,3157923032orkhenkel@utica.edu.Anystudentwhohasneedofspecialadaptationsor
accommodationsduetodocumentedlearningorphysicaldisabilitiesshouldnotifymewithinthefirstweekofclass.
Instructors,AcademicSupportServices,andotherappropriatecounselorswillworkwithyoutoadaptandaccommodate
yourspecialneeds.Everyeffortwillbemadetohelpyoumasterthecoursecontentinaneffectiveandappropriateway.

CourtesyandRespect:Sincethiscourseincorporatesdiscussionandtheviewingofartworkitisnecessarytobe
respectful.Whileyoumaynotagreewithallthingsviewedorsaidinclasspleaseberespectfulwhensharingandlistening
orviewingothersideas.Thisalsomeansthatduringscreeningsifyoufallasleepyouwillbemarkedabsentfortheday.
Pleaseseeattendancepolicyforconsequencesofbeingabsent.

ANoteAboutRespect:
Ilovemyphonejustasmuchasyou!Ialsoenjoylatemorningnaps,daydreaming,andchitchatting.Thereare,however,
certainrulesofetiquetteIhopeyouwillfollowinmyclass.Please:
Dontuseyourphoneduringclass.Heyyou!Icanalreadyseeyouplayingwithyourphoneunderthedeskor
halfinyourbagnexttoyourleg.Youarentfoolinganybody,eventhe90yearoldmathprofessoryoullhave
nextsemester.Doyourwholelifeafavorandputthedamnthingdown.Itsonlyanhourand15atmost.
Someday,youllappreciatethatyoustoppedandtookafewminutestodetacheveryday.
Cometoclassanddontcomeinlate.Ifyoucantbeontimeeverydayor19/20classperiods,thenyouseriously
needtoreexamineyourpriorities.EveryhourofclassyoutakeatUCcostsabout$94.90andthatdoesnt
includeroomandboard.Ifyoureluckyenoughtogetascholarshiporgrant,donotshowoffbyditchingclass.
Ifyoureboredorhavesomethingbettertodo,or,or,or...myadvice:fakeittilyoumakeit.Nobodyhas
wonanyheartsbyshowingapathy,disinterest,ordownrightrudeness.

Notfollowingthese3majorruleswillmakeyourcourseexperiencenegative.Theymayalsobegroundsformetoask
youtoleaveclass.