Moving Images, Understanding Media

Preface vii

Chapter 3: Sound and Image

In this unit, students begin to explore the full integration of sound in the

cinema. Th ey learn about the essentials of production recording, sound design,

and mixing. Sound initiates the use of spoken dialogue; therefore, students

begin to explore more fully the basics of writing for the screen. Th ey study

character, motivation, confl ict, and story structure in a series of short fi lms

and a feature fi lm and then develop an idea for a promotional motion picture.

Finally, class members collaborate in groups to produce a promotional short

with dialogue and multi-tracked sound.

Chapter 4: Storytelling with Light

Students return to the visual aspects of the medium to explore the technical,

historical, and artistic developments of cinema from the twentieth to the

twenty-fi rst century. In particular, they study the qualities of light and color

and the parameters and eff ect of screen size. Th is is followed by a coordination

of visual communication with the storytelling skills that have been developed

throughout the textbook. In this unit, students produce their fi rst major

individual project.

Chapter 5: Personal Expression

and Studio Production

In this unit, students explore connections between motion picture creators

and viewers. Films from the contemporary era are used to illustrate a range

of approaches to fi lmmaking, including independent and non-narrative

traditions in motion pictures. Commercial uses of the moving image are also

explored, including promotional subjects and corporate uses. As a warm-up

to the next chapter, we study the use of non-fi ction in motion pictures and

produce a portrait of a person or a place.

Chapter 6: Recording and Presenting Reality

Students investigate key aspects of documentary fi lmmaking through

representative historical and thematic examples, including the mixing of

forms, techniques, and subject matter between fi ction and non-fi ction. Th ey

explore a variety of content domains, stylistic methods, and journalistic

concerns in contemporary non-fi ction motion pictures of diverse lengths

and formats. In this unit, class members focus on directing an individual

non-fi ction short.

Chapter 7: Page to Screen

Students return to the fundamentals of writing for the screen. Th ey explore

the basics of screenwriting, including character development, dramatic

confl ict, and narrative structure. Class members investigate storytelling

examples and write their own short screenplays for production with this

chapter or Chapter 8.

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