Forms of Cinema

Assessment: essay (2000 words) [50%], audio-visual media essay (up to 10 min.) [50%] plus critical reflection (750 words) [all elements must be attempted]
This module aims to broaden and deepen students? critical awareness of the diverse formal and experiential possibilities of cinema, both as they have developed in the past and as they are transforming in the contemporary moment. It does this by fostering reflection around two questions: ?what is cinema?? and ?where is cinema?? The module introduces students to different models and possibilities of narrative form and structure in the fiction feature film, as well as to a variety of alternatives to narrative as a means of organising film material, particularly within the fields of documentary and experimental filmmaking. It also encourages critical awareness of the conventional boundaries of cinema, by exploring moving image works not normally classed as such, for example public information films, home movies and archive footage. Alongside this focus on film form and structure, the module explores the different spaces, media platforms and cultural contexts where cinema can be encountered and experienced, and encourages students to reflect on the interdependences of film form and exhibition context. Forms of Cinema provides a foundation for more specialised study of diverse film forms at Level HE2, for example in the modules Audio-visual Criticism, Forms of Fiction, Forms of Documentary and Experimental Cinemas. It is also designed to introduce students following a Film Production pathway within the programme to a wide variety of formal sources and possibilities for innovative and creative filmmaking.