Contextual studies Introduction - Texts, Contexts and Culture. Thursday 22th September

Contextual studies Introduction - Texts, Contexts and Culture.

“The shock of the new”

• New students, exposed to new ideas and themes. Finding new ways of thinking and seeing.
• New Course, First ones to experience the course. Learning experience for all.
• New tutor

Group A Seminar Group.

Introduction to Louis Heaton: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372780/

-Studied Drama and film at Manchester University.

-Student Filmmaker using cameras, doing editing and directing.

-National film and TV school

-Film critic and arts reviewer

-Documentary producer and director for BBC and C4

-Series producer and executive producer

-Independent film producer

-Special editions producer, Criterion DVD

Birth of cinema - 1895 (Train arriving at a station by The Lumière brothers)

TV shape our culture, what we do and what we talk about. TV is a way for people to get into conversation and what has happened in the latest shows.

Tv has a massive impact on our lives because of what it can show to us, realistic or maybe showing things we would never be able to do.

What is TV texts and contexts? 

Exploring film and television through analysis of visual grammar and genre codes.. Also including conventions and critical theories and how these shape our understandings and interpretations of the visual media.

Our Key lessons in term 1:

• Mise en scene
• Cinematography
• Editing
• Sound
• Documentary

In our group presentation we had to select a TV show for analysis. It must be 10 minutes long and clips may not be any longer than 3 minutes of the presentation.

The presentations will be on the 10th and 17th

500 word essay for December 9th on a TV Show

Useful resources 

Film Art Bordwell and Thompson - key for mine en scene, cinematography, editing and sounds.

Understanding the main genres.

• The sitcom: screening and discussion of BBC comedy pilot Vodka Diaries
• The soap opera: screening and discussion of pilot episode of BBC’s longest running soap, Eastenders.
• Crime drama - screening and discussion of episode of ITV police series, The Bill

Understanding the key critical theories

• Alienation
• classicism
• expressionism
• feminism/gender/race
• gaze theory
• ideology
• modernism and post modernism
• realism
• semiotics
• surrealism
• the other
• the uncanny
• psychoanalysis

Louis advice on how to be a good filmmaker

• Read A LOT!
• Watch A LOT!
• View As much as possible (Looking at things with a critical eye)