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Your reading for week one is:
The tutorial time this week will be used to show the movie The Virgin Suicides, directed by Sophia Coppola.
Any time there is a movie viewing whether in lecture time or tutorial time there are NO breaks. We watch the movie from beginning to end and if it finishes early, there will normally be discussion about the movie afterwards.
About authors of readings
The authors of material we use and review are people as well. It's important to know at least a little about who an author is and what their experience encompasses. The reason for that is it allows us to make decisions about the level of authority that they have. It helps us determine our level of trust in them, and whether we believe they are knowledgeable.
After this, you will be expected to find your own references regarding authors and the reason they have been selected as experts for our readings.
Why are we looking at this?
It's one of the set films. Several films are shown during your tutorial times.

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Your readings for week two are:

The excerpt from the first chapter of the book The Virgin Suicides, by Geoffrey Eugenides HERE. This is the basis for the movie and it’s a useful comparison between two different media (book/movie).

AND

The opening 9 scenes from the screenplay of the movie The Virgin Suicides, directed by Sophia Coppola,HERE. 

AND

Do some personal research about Sophia Coppola, who is she, what is her history as a film-maker.

Why are we looking at this?

The screenplay for The Virgin Suicides and the book extract clearly show how the imagination is used differently in a book versus a movie.

What will you learn?

Using the widest range of material during the course of your own research about cinema is a useful basis for developing arguments and critically investigating how individual films and cinema in general are constructed.

Key questions:

Why are books developed as movies; Why don’t authors write their own screenplays; What differences and similarities were there between the book and the same scenes in the movie; what techniques does the movie use to recreate the imagery of the book; how does a movie differ from a book; how does the casting for the movie affect your perceptions when visualising characters from the book.

Why are original screenplays developed as movies; how does the process of making an original screenplay differ from that of recrafting from a book;

Other topics covered:

Your tutor will introduce you to all the class assessments for the remainder of the term. You will be shown how to access and use XBMC , the mediastreamer used at AIT. Most of the movies that you will study and all tutorial readings set which include movie viewing will be available on XBMC. You can use the mediastreamer to re-view movies you have previously watched, or you may be asked to use it for readings.

Your tutor will also introduce you to the MED1915 website, our online student handbook and also the blog for your class.

Work in tutorial:

Rewatch the opening sequence from The Virgin Suicides; discuss differences between the book, the script and the movie; discuss whether one is superior to the other, or just different; listen to the two Air songs (Playground Love; Suicide Underground); investigate the lyrics

Lyrics from Air Songs:

  

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Reading for week three

Your readings for week three are:
View the movie Do the Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee. This movie can be viewed on XBMC. It is critical that you watch the movie BEFORE attending the tutorial. You MUST view the movie in your own time as it is not shown in class.
AND
Pages 423-428 from Film Art an Introduction, you should read this AFTER viewing Do the Right Thing as it’s an analysis of the film and will only make sense in that context. Go here to read it.
AND
Do some personal research about Spike Lee, who is he, what is his history as a film-maker.
Why are we looking at this?
You are investigating the concept of mise-en-scene.
What will you learn?What are the key features that you analyse when writing about cinema. What is the importance of mise-en-scene and its constituent elements to our understanding of a movie.
Key questions:
What are all the major elements that go to make up mise-en-scene…can you list them all; are some elements more important or more vital than others; what different ways would it be possible to deconstruct this movie; what is the purpose of this movie; are there any key concepts mentioned or discussed in the analysis that you had difficulty with or were unsure about; why does the analysis use screenshots and are they a useful method; are there other elements that you would add to your own analysis
 

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Your readings for week four are:
View the movie A Bout de souffle (Breathless), directed by Jean Luc Godard. This movie can be viewed on XBMC. It is critical that you watch the movie BEFORE attending the tutorial. You MUST view the movie in your own time as it is not shown in class.
AND
Do some personal research about Jean Luc Godard, who is he, what is his history as a film-maker.
Why are we looking at this?
You are investigating the concept of narrative.
What will you learn?You will be reaching your own understanding of what the French New Wave in cinema was, how it originated and what it was. You will be using this knowledge to compare the techniques and ideals of the New Wave with Hollywood direction and production systems.

Key questions:
What is narrative; what are the major features of narrative; do you need a narrative to construct a movie
Why did the French New Wave originate; was it influenced by Hollywood; did it influence Hollywood; what are some of the key films in the New Wave
Other topics covered:
What was the Cahiers Du Cinema

In the tutorial:
You will be discussing narrative. You will be asked to create a brief presentation in class about one of the movies we have already seen (group exercise)

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Reading for week five
Your readings for week five are:
A reading from the film magazine Cahiers du Cinema, written by Francois Truffaut
AND
Do some personal research about Martin Scorsese, who is he, what is his history as a film-maker.
AND
Do some personal research about Francois Truffaut, who is he, what is his history as a film-maker and critic.
AND
Pages 486-495 from Film Art an Introduction. This is a brief history of the French New Wave.

Why are we looking at this?
You are investigating the concept of narrative.
What will you learn?Has the New Wave had a lasting influence on Hollywood; what are some examples of modern films that have or use some of the techniques used by the New Wave
Key questions:
Has the New Wave had a lasting influence on Hollywood; what are some examples of modern films that have or use some of the techniques used by the New Wave

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Your readings for week six are:
The tutorial this week is a movie viewing. You will be watching the movie Taxi Driver directed by Martin Scorsese.
Key questions:
Why are we watching a movie from the 1970s; do older movies have a place today; what is the importance of this movie; how does this movie relate to Raging Bull which we viewed in Week five