University of North Alabama

College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Communication and Theatre


Course Syllabus

Com/Th 300: Credit Hours: Course Description: Placement: Class Schedule: Faculty: Textbook: Objectives: Teaching Methods: Student Grades: Important Dates: Lesson Topics with Screenings and Reading Assignments:

History of Film 3 semester hours The study of both the silent and sound film development periods until 1960; and the study of filmographies preparing for Lindsey/UNA Film Festival participation, March 1-4, 2007. Spring 2007 Thursday night, 6:00 -- 8:30 pm Avon Edward Foote, Ph.D. Associate Professor Room 108 Office: (256) 765-4489 E-mail: aefoote@una.edu FAX: (256) 765-4839 Office Hours: Monday 10-12, Wednesday 10-12, Thursday 1-5, Friday 10-12. And by appointment when necessary Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell,   Film History: An Introduction, 2nd edition (McGraw-Hill, 2003). The student is expected to complete the following objectives: To learn about the early inventors and technique pioneers who made possible the earliest experiments in filmmaking and film exhibition for either the silent and sound eras. To be able to list the contributions of Armat, Edison, Porter, Chaplin, Griffith, DeForest, the Warners, Riefenstahl, Welles and Selznick. To be able to recount the significant film events and releases by decade between 1890 and 1960. To know the names of the major studios and the reputations of each. To be enriched by watching some of the greatest films of all times. Assigned readings, lectures, viewing of important historical films, documentaries about films, film festival attendance, class discussion,optional research paper -- all learning activities are under the course management and supervision of the instructor. The following are methods by which the course objectives will be evaluated: Two exams will contribute 40% each to the final grade. To complete 100% credit, the 20% remaining requires Festival attendance on campus and downtown with a written report turned in to professor within one week of the event and follow-up, in-class discussion. Students should plan to attend most of Festival. With prior approval of the professor, students that unable to attend the Festival for most of the sessions and screenings will be required to substitute a research paper. A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=less than 60 Grading Considerations: Research Paper: A paper may be completed by the end of week 15 of at least 8 pages including references and footnotes to count 20 per cent of final grade. The topic must be approved by week 10 after being submitted in writing. Students will follow an appropriate style manual for writing and editing. Attendance: Required by University policy. After four weeks of absences your grade will be become an "F" as announced in University literature. January 15 --- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day February 16 --- University closed for Winter break March 2 --- Middle of term March 1,2,3,4 --- Lindsey/UNA Film Festival March 26 to April 1 --- Spring Holidays April 6 --- UNA closed April 20 --- Last day to drop a class May 3 --- Study Day May 3 -- Final in History of Film May 4 to 10 --- Other Semester Exams MEETS 1 AND 2: Early Technological and Narrative Experimentation. Discuss Edison’s Role. View "Before the Nickelodeon" and early Mutoscope productions. Discuss C. Francis Jenkins from Ohio, junior inventor who improved projector and later sold it to Edison. Jenkins is inventor of US wireless photo transmission and of mechanical television. He first used the term "radio pictures" and is founder of Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Read Chapter 1, "The Invention . . . ". MEETS 3 AND 4: Advances of D. W. Griffith and Friends. View "Birth of a Nation" and excerpts from "Intolerance". Read Chapters 2, "The International Expansion . . . " and Chapter 3, "National Cinemas, Hollywood . . . ". MEETS 5 AND 6: Early Films of Russia, Germany, and France. View very early films of Russia under the Czar, and "Potemkin". Compare Soviet and German filmmaking. Read Chapter 4, "France . . . " Chapter 5, "Germany . . . ", and Chapter 6, "Soviet . . . ". MEET 7: The Race Film. T.S. Stribling and Oscar Micheaux will be discussed. Also, sound arrives. Radio has become keen competition for Hollywood, but sound-on-film, invented by Lee DeForest of Alabama, helps film industry regain its position with the public. Several examples from 1920s silent and 1930s sound films are screened. Also, "Getting the Most from the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival". Read Chapter 7, "The Late Silent . . . ". MEET 8: Attend GEORGE LINDSEY / UNA FILM FESTIVAL. Read Chapter 10, "The Hollywood Studio System". MEET 9: Take Midterm Exam. Read Chapter 9, "The Introduction of Sound . . . " Testing over Chapters 9 and 10 will be in the final exam. MEET 10: RKO’S Contribution to Special Effects and Sound Improvement. View "King Kong", a Radio Pictures production. Read Chapter 11, "Other Studio . . . ". The problems of Docu-drama and "Disneyfication". MEET 11: Oldest Studio in the World. View Ealing Studio, London, comedy. Discuss "Queen", winner of 2007 Golden Globe award, shot in London at Ealing Studios and on location in Britain and France. MEET 12: The Documentary Tradition. View "Nanook Revisited" , "The River" and other examples from early period. See "Olympia" film and and discuss Jesse Owens in first telecasts of Olympics. Read Chapter 14, "Leftist, Documentary, and Experimental . . . ". MEETS 13 and 14: The World’s Greatest Film and Film Noir. View "Citizen Kane" and excerpt from "The Hucksters." Read Chapter 15, "American Cinema in . . . ". MEET 15: International Films and Wrap-Up. Discuss Japan's film industry. View "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by French producer/director. Read Chapter 21, "Documentary and Experimental . . . ".

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