SOCIETY FOR CINEMA AND MEDIA STUDIES RESOURCES

TEACHING

Resources for Teaching Film and Video Courses
by Frank P. Tomasulo, SCMS Committee On Teaching

Note: This document was originally in Cinema Journal 34, No. 4, 1995. © University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819

Most members of the Society for Cinema Studies earn their livings (or hope to earn their livings) teaching film at colleges and universities. Many hold doctoral degrees or are in the process of attaining the Ph. D. The scholarly and research activities that we all engage in ultimately add to the growing body of knowledge and understanding about the cinematic and televisual media. Film scholarship has certainly been highlighted by the SCS through its annual conferences, Cinema Journal, and the organization's many committees and activities. Film pedagogy, however, has not always received the attention it deserves in our academic discipline, given that most of us, in addition to our myriad writing and research pursuits, are also actively engaged in teaching undergraduate or graduate saldents. With that fact in mind, the Committee on Teaching of the Society for Cinema Studies hopes to place renewed emphasis on practical pedagogy within the context of the specificity of the cinema studies field.

Although some doctoral institutions in our field provide a modicum of mentoring in pedagogical techniques before unleashing their graduates onto unsuspecting film students around the country, many do not. Those enlightened universities that do provide some form of teaching instruction to their doctoral or M.F.A. candidates usually confine those efforts to an informal pep talk about local procedures or an occasional classroom visitation by a regular faculty member to the graduate student's discussion section, followed by a written report or casual conversation. Sometimes, the teaching assistant's class is videotaped and analyzed by one of the senior faculty members of the department. But more often than not, the fledgling film instructor is taught how to teach the same way I was taught how to swim--by being thrown into the deep waters without any formal instruction or preparation. (By the way, I sank to the bottom of the pool when this method was tried on me.)

Thanks to the efforts of the SCS Committee on Teaching and Cinema Journal, beginning cinema instructors (and even some old hands) can now avail themselves of both traditional and cutting-edge ideas and resources that can improve their pedagogical abilities. The very nature of the medium of film and the various critical and theoretical methodologies that have been developed to study it require that the academic film community be involved with technology, international distribution patterns, and cross disciplinary teaching perspectives. As a committee, we plan to offer numerous opportunities to discuss teaching strategies and resources: workshop presentations at the annual SCS conferences, articles in Cinema Journal, and brief teaching suggestions in regular SCS mailings. But we do not want this information exchange to be a one-way communication; the SCS Committee on Teaching welcomes your input: questions about (and answers to) common teaching problems, effective strategies for teaching all sorts of cinema courses, resources that you've found useful or have devised yourself, and teaching topics for general discussion among the membership. A partial list of issues might include course development; curricular design; textbook selection; essay, true-false, or multiple choice exams; term paper topics; the "canon" and multiculturalism; race/gender/class/sexual orientation issues; techniques for facilitating discussion; professor-student dynamics; motion picture, videotape, and laserdisc resources; the role of computers and new technologies in the film classroom or library; the role of theory in film production classes (and vice-versa); research facilities and databases; and interpersonal aspects of communicating in a lecture hall or seminar room. These questions represent only a partial list of concerns that could provoke revived interest in teaching cinema studies for both newcomers to the profession and senior faculty members. So, please read our articles, attend our workshops, and join us in sharing pedagogical resources and techniques.

Teaching the Introductory Cinema Studies Course: Some Strategies and Resources
by Frank P. Tomasulo

Any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any [person] at any stage of development.--
Jerome Bruner, The Process of Education

For undergraduate students, the introductory cinema studies course is often the first exposure to learning about the formal properties of the art/medium of film. Frequently, it is also the junior faculty member's first exposure to teaching film. Whether taught in a large lecture hall or a small seminar room (or some combination of the two), a successful beginning cinema class can instill basic concepts and establish habits of mind that can affect a lifetime of further study and film viewing for the student and a lifetime of effective pedagogical practice for the instructor.

In order to foster Bruner's goal of teaching "effectively" to "any [person] at any stage of development," I will focus here on some rather low-tech and even retro methods for enhancing interest and retention in the introductory cinema studies course, where student interest and ability may vary widely within a given class. I assume that whatever else is being taught in such a course (history, ideology, feminism, industry, theory, genre, writing skills, production) etc.) some emphasis is placed on the aesthetics and semiotics of the moving image, that is, that the film text is treated as a signifying system with formal codes and conventions that produce/determine meaning and that the relationship between style and ideology is analyzed (and emphasized) in classroom discussion and written assignments. To the extent that the course offers students some methodology for reading and understanding cinematic imagery and equipping them with a means to confidently order their responses to it, the following suggestions and materials might be of interest.

Sample Syllabi. Two books edited by Erik S. Lunde and Douglas A. Noverr--Film Studies and Film History (both New York: Markus Wiener, 1989)--contain dozens of sample syllabi designed by scholars in the cinema studies field, including Vivian Sobehack, Gerald Mast, E. Ann Kaplan, Robert Sklar, Miriam Hansen, Louis Giannetti, and Diane Carson. These collections contain many sample course outlines for introductory classes and more specialized offerings.

Another source for sample syllabi are the "Course Files" regularly published in the Journal of Film and Video, which should be required reading for beginning film professors A wide variety of film production and cinema studies syllabi are featured, complete with extensive reading lists, filmographies, modules, sample assignments, rationales) and week-by-week descriptions of the learning experience. A collection of such course files has been assembled and edited by Patricia Erens as University Film and Video Association Monograph #5, available for $9.00 ($4.50 for UFVA members) from the Editor, Journal of Film and Video Department of Communication, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 651-3200.

Needless to say, one should use these samples as models only and not plagiarize from them in constructingting ones own course outline. Colleges and universities often expect their new appointments to teach the large-enrollment, lower-division "intro" classes. Thus, having an original syllabus ready, even before landing that first academic position, can be an invaluable aid for the newly minted Ph.D. On the job market. Demonstrating that one has at least thought about the organization of such a course and has even prepared a course outline manifests an abiding interest in teaching and a professional devotion to cinematic pedagogy.

Student Writing. Another pedagogical tool I have found useful is to put sample A papers On reserve in the library at the start of each term. This demonstrates to students that undergraduates are capable of in-depth film analysis and clear writing. These papers can he obtained from former students (this sometimes reqttires written approval), the chapter on "Writing College Papers about Film" (pp. 422 65) in Vivian and Thomas Sobchack's An Introduction to Film (Boston: Little, Brown, 1987), or Timothy Corrigan's excellent book A Short Guide to Writing about Film (Boston: Scott, Foresman, 1989). Most film analysis courses require several writing assignments, yet general writing skills are rarely taught in cinema studies classes: thesis statement, literature review, organization, spelling and grammar, citations, research skills, etc. A simple "Dos and Don'ts" handout or tip sheet on writing about film may help, and being able to point to specific guidelines that the student did not follow can be valuable if a student appeals a grade. (It might also be useful to prepare such a document for job applications since it shows a concern for student writing and learning.)

Film Clips. The Macmillan Film Study Extract series is a selection of twenty 16-mm. film clips from canonical narrative and documentary films that illustrate various cinematic techniques. Each six- to sixteen-minute clip comes with a highly useful brochure that is filled with valuable information and frame enlargements. Montage editing can be studied in the Odessa steps sequence from The Battleship Potemkin and the last-minute rescue scene from Way Down East; sound in M and the Seraghina or steambath sections of 81/2; mise-en-scene in the statues sequence from Last Year at Marienbad, the murder of Batala scene in The Crime of Monsieur Lange, and the opening of Eclipse; set design in the Jane's abduction sequence from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Anastasia's filneral in Ivan the Terrible; camera movement in the opening of Triumph of the Will and the three women, three bombs section of The Battle of Algiers; cinematography and lighting in the drunken dream scene in The Last Laugh and the razor sequence from Spellbound; gaze-object-gaze editing in the key sequence from Notorious and the mother's visit to the prison scene in Mother; music in The World of Apu's honeymoon scene and La Bete Humaine's murder of Severine section; and fantasy elements in the dormitory revolt from Zero for Conduct and the spirit scene in Throne of Blood.

The clips can be used in other ways as well. Since two Hitchcock, Renoir, and Fellini clips are included in the series, the two sequences can be juxtaposed to illustrate auteurist consistency of style and theme. The two German Expressionist scenes can be coordinated to show the differences between Caligari and The Last Laugh. The Triumph of the Will extract can be juxtaposed with The Battle of Algiers clip to spark discussion on "realism." In short, the extracts can be mixed and matched to demonstrate comparisons and contrasts between directorial styles.

Beyond that, each clip can be used to represent more than just a single primary film technique; indeed, each of the brochures has a detailed analysis of all the formal elements in the clip. These booklets also contain sections that discuss the historical and cultural context of the film, provide an ideological and thematic overview, follow recurring motifs, define the director's style, and contain a brief bibliography. Most of the brochures have extensive shot-by-shot illustrations to intensify and exemplify the textual analysis. If one has a 16-mm. analytic projector or uses clips culled from a videotape or laserdisc, one can freeze frame the images that are illustrated in the booklet for in-depth study in class.

The clips and booklets are available from the Extension for Media and Independent Learning, University of California-Berkeley, 2000 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704; (510) 642-0460 and a few other university media resource centers throughout the nation. They usually rent for about $30 each for classroom use.

Educational Video Series. Two important video series contain feature-length films as well as discussions and/or lectures on the individual film and filmmaker. The Cinematic Eye series is available through the South Carolina Educational Television Network. This series originally included thirteen international classics--Shoeshine, La Strada, L'Avrentura, Hobson's Choice, Man of Aran, Rules of the Game, Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, Jules et Jim, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Torment, Smiles of a Summer Night, and The Battleship Potemkin--;and two thorough study guides that include background information on the historical context, production data, significance, and techniques of the individual films. Benjamin Dunlap provided a lecture before and after each selection. Although the series was originally produced and aired on public television in 1977, the insights are still relevant. Now only four of the films are available from SCETV: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Torment, and The Battleship Potemkin. They can be purchased from South Carolina Educational Television, Marketing Department, Box 11000, Columbia, SC 29211; (803) 7373200). The cost is $69.95 per videotape (all four for $250.00).

SCS member Jerry Carlson has produced a more recent series featuring fourteen classic films specifically designed for an introductory film class. Indeed, his telecourse, Introduction to Film Studies, features an hour-long discussion between Carlson and a prominent film scholar on each film in the series. Some of the speakers are Alan Williams (Shoot the Piano Player), Stuart Liebman (Charade), Elisabeth Weis (The Secret Agent), George Custen (The Third Man), Anthony Pipolo (Blood of a Poet and Ballet Mechanique), Leonard Quart (It's a Wonderful Life), Dennis DeNitto (The Battleship Potemkin), Jonathan Buchsbaum (Last Year at Marienbad), and Kristin Thompson (College). The films and discussions are keyed to readings in the course textbook, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson's Film Art: An Introduction, 4th edition (New York: McCraw-Hill, 1993).1 The other films in the series are Mon Oncle, Grand Illusion, La Notte, His Girl Friday, and Detour. SCS members interested in obtaining any of these videotapes at a modest cost can contact Jerry Carlson at City University Television/CUNY-TV, 25 West 42nd Street, Suite 1220, New York, NY 10036; (212) 719-9128.

Use of Slides in the Classroom. Despite the optimistic assumption that "Generation X" students are thoroughly media-literate, ample evidence indicates otherwise. The quotidian reality (even banality) of many students' first papers is enough to call into question the repeated bromide that today's students "bring to film a strong visual orientation and at least a rudimentary visual literacy."2 Students may have been widely exposed to media imagery, but they may not understand film "language." Encouraging students to think cinematically

still involves breaking some habits they may have acquired over a lifetime of watching films and television as entertainment.

"[It is] not the professor, but the artist who is the true schoolmaster" (Herbert Read, Education through Art). In line with this quotation and the goal of improving cinematic literacy, I strongly recommend the use of slides, made directly from film prints, in the introductory film classroom. Frame enlargements display the artistry of the filmmaker in a format that allows for relaxed study and attention to style and meaning. Although video and film clips are important adjuncts to the screening of complete films, the use of slides allows the class to freeze-frame a single image (or group of related shots) and study its formal properties in detail: the camera angle, mise-en-scene, point of view, lighting, set design, costuming, makeup, and props. Details that were not noticed during the screening can be pointed out and analyzed (for instance, the small statue of an elephant, symbol of the Republican Party, on the desk of a "lawand-order" judge in . . . And Justice for All, or the name "Crusader" and the knight's iron mask painted on the sled Mr. Thatcher gives young Charles Foster Kane as a Christmas present in Citizen Kane). Narrative and visual motifs can be highlighted by juxtaposing images from different parts of a given film (e.g., the repeated restaurant, automobile, and lobster scenes in Annie Hall that show the progress and decline of the characters, or the various psychosexual motifs in Meshes of the Afternoon). Production students can be queried about the
location of key and fill lights (and the reasons for that placement) while the slide is held on screen (Red Desert has been particularly useful in this context).

One image that I find particularly useful to analyze in class is the splitscreen psychiatrists' sequence in Annie Hall: the differences between the male and female protagonists is spelled out in the set design, color scheme, lighting, and positioning, even though they are both engaged in the same activity. Annie Hall's side of the screen is brightly lit, with modern, white furniture; Alvie Singer's portion is dimly lit, with heavy wooden furniture and decor. She is sitting up, capable of quick movement and adjustment; he is recumbent on the analyst's couch, physically and emotionally incapable of change. Annie's psychiatrist is off-screen, a visual clue that Annie is not totally dependent on her; Alvie's analyst occupies the strong, dominant screen-right position of the frame, privileging the doctor's power over Singer.

Slides can be produced directly from 16-mm. prints by using a device called the Duplikin II, a tubelike instrument that screws into a standard 35-mm. single lens reflex still camera instead of your regular lens. All you need is a still camera (loaded with slide film), a moderate light source, and the Duplikin. First, find the frame you want to "capture" (there is no need to cut the film), then insert the frame into the front end of the Duplikin (making sure that the film's sprockets engage with the tooth on the Duplikin). Aim your camera at a light source (a 250-watt 320-degree Kelvin bulb is ideal for reproducing color films), and adjust your exposure by moving the apparatus closer to or farther away from your light source, based on the readings of your built-in meter. There is no need to adjust focus, since the Duplikin holds the movie film in a rigid support .

The Duplikin II device for converting 16-mm. frames into slides (or prints) can be obtained from Century Precision Cine/Optics, 10713 Burbank Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601; (818) 766 3715. It lists for $495.00. An adapter ring (included in the price) may be necessary to fit the Duplikin onto your particular 35-mm. still camera body, so be sure to specify which camera body you own.

Notes

1. Software for a teaching program and study guide keyed to the Bordwell and Thompson textbook, as well as to Louis Giannetti s Understanding Movies, 6th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1993), is now available. "Film/TV Analysis: The Meaning of the Moving Image" is an introductory film studies tutorial devised by SCS member Timothy Garrand that provides individualized instruction on film terminology, cinematography, lighting and color, editing, sound, acting, narrative structure, theories, and other key concepts. It features questions and answers and numerous examples of the various techniques. Currently on floppy disk only, the program will be available in a CD-ROM version in 1995. The software can be purchased from Academic Software Corporation, 446 Bull Hill Road, Conesville, NY 12076; (800) 666-3652. The cost is $20.00 for teachers and $25.00 for students.
2. Joy Gould Boyum and Gordon Pradl, "The Necessary Balance in Teaching Film," English Journal 63 (October 1974): 52.

See also ScreenSite's list of mailorder video sources.