TLÜ ÕIS

Film Language

Course code

BFM6130.FK

old course code

BFM6130

Course title in Estonian

Filmikeele alused

Course title in English

Film Language

ECTS credits

4.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2023/2024 Spring semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

lecturer of 2024/2025 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Course aims

The course “Basics of Film Language” aims at giving the students a better theoretical and conceptual understanding of the translation of text (screenplay) into audiovisual text (film). In a step by step approach the learner should be enabled to understand the basic construction of films, film characters and film script. Once this understanding is acquired the course focuses on the translation into film form under different constraints (generic conventions, different film styles and different directing approaches). The final exercise is a group work in which two students have to collaborate on copying an scene from an existing film in order to practically understand even the smallest units of filmic storytelling.

Brief description of the course

Course introduction. The main technical elements. The language of silent film. The language of experimental film. The creation of a film character. Memorable film characters. The transformation of the screenplay. Dramatic blocks and beats. Script and storyboard. Original versus remake: the director’s touch. Genre. Subtext. Form and style. Film Analysis.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- has a deeper analytical understanding of the film form and the translation of text into audiovisual text;
- has a first practical understanding of the complexities of professional filmmaking.

Teacher

Dirk Hoyer

The course is a prerequisite

Directing (Fiction) (BFM6098.FK)

Study programmes containing that course