WEEK 2: Read Understanding Movies, Chapter Two (Mise en Scene). Based on the textbook, name three ways in which mise en scene can change the mood in a scene. Illustrate at least one of those by a scene in Raise the Red Lantern.
WEEK 3: Read Understanding Movies, Chapter Four ("Editing"). Based on the textbook, name three ways in which editing advances the plot. Illustrate at least one of those by a scene in Judou.
WEEK 4: Read Chapter Six in Understanding Movies ("Acting") and answer the following questions: 1. What are the different kinds of actors and acting? Which of these can you discern in Farewell My Concubine? 2. Do you feel that Gong Li's acting is influenced by her type-casting and star status? How (or, why not)?
WEEK 5: Read Chapter Five in Understanding Movies ("Sound") and answer the following questions: What kind of sounds contribute to more realistic or formalistic mood? What features can you attribute to the soundtrack in The Story of Qiuju? How does the recurring song help pace the movie?
WEEK 6: Read Chapter Eight in Understanding Movies ("Story") and answer the following questions: What special techniques can a narrative use to achieve specific effects? What is the difference between realistic and formalistic narratives? What kind of narrative is employed in Lifetimes? Give examples.
WEEK 7: Read Chapter Three in Understanding Movies ("Movement") and answer the following questions: Name at least four kinds of camera movement. What effect do these movements have on the viewer? Describe one scene in The Road Home in which the camera moves and describe its significance in the context of the film's plot.
NOTE CHANGE IN ASSIGNMENT ORDER!
WEEK 8: Read Chapter Seven in Understanding Movies ("Drama") and answer the following questions: How does film differ from theater? How do period sets and costumes affect the drama? Give examples from Shanghai Triad.
WEEK 9: Read Chapter Nine in Understanding Movies ("Writing") and answer the following questions: Explain, following Gianetti's text, three ways in which writing and camera work interact. How does The Emperor and the Assassin deal with the plot -- what narrative devices does it use? What points of view does it present?
WEEK 10: Read Chapter Eleven in Understanding Movies ("Theory") and answer the following questions: Explain the difference between theories focused on the work of art, the artist, and the audience. Relate your description to different ways of analyzing Not One Less. What is the auteur theory? How would you explain Zhang Yimou's films according to the auteur theory?