This module will examine the rich and diverse history of film, from its origins in photography, science and optical toys up to the modern day, multi-platform landscape of digital cinema. The focus of the module will be both historical and technological, and the main case studies for the module will be drawn primarily from the American narrative cinema of Hollywood, which has ultimately been responsible for introducing mass audiences to the majority of key technological developments that have driven the history of film.
The module will be broadly chronological, organised through a series of specific technological case studies, namely pre- and silent cinema, sound, colour, immersive technologies including widescreen, IMAX and 3D, and digital. Therefore while the module will concentrate upon film primarily within cinema spaces, it will also explore home viewing formats including VHS, laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray, and streaming platforms from YouTube and Vimeo to Amazon Prime and Netflix. Student understanding will be developed and enhanced through weekly in class screenings, readings, and discussions alongside practical exercises and opportunities for formative assessment.
The beginning of the module will focus on the origins of film in photography, chemistry, optics and scientific discovery. It will then chart the rise of the film industry as it was led first by inventors, then by storytellers and showmen, and finally by businessmen in the years before the First World War. Consideration of the global expansion of film and the influence of international movements such as German Expressionism and Soviet Montage on the language of silent cinematic storytelling will culminate in a discussion of the purest form of silent commercial cinema, the Hollywood blockbuster of the 1920s. The module will then go on to look at the impact of synchronised sound on film aesthetics and storytelling. It will examine classical Hollywood narrative as the key paradigm for popular narratives, and chart the rise of the Hollywood genre film.
The third section will concentrate on the development of colour during the silent and sound eras, looking at its impact in the home movie sector and in the development of the prestige Hollywood Technicolor superproduction. The visual aesthetics of colour, both in terms of naturalism and expressive potential, will be explored. The fourth segment will focus on the development of so-called immersive technologies in the 1950s, notably widescreen and 3-D, and will examine the impact of such technologies on film history and economics in the past and the present, looking at the 3D revival and the proliferation of Imax. Building upon this, the final section will address the advent of digital technologies and the democratisation of film. Starting with the arrival of lightweight analogue equipment that fostered documentary filmmaking in the 1960s, this section will look at the rise of independent film in the New Hollywood era of the 1970s, and then in the American Indie sector in the 1990s and beyond. Finally the module will examine new forms of low-budget digital filmmaking, filmed on inexpensive cameras or even on phones, and distributed online via new emerging models for getting students' product to market.
The digital revolution and the democratisation of cinema
Delivery of the module will be through lectures with integrated film screenings, followed by seminar workshops, which will include formative assessment exercises in order to deepen students' understanding of the key issues and ideas. The module will make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas for communication and dissemination of information between students and staff as well as making online learning materials available to all.
All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on business and management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Lectures, seminars and screenings | 88 |
| Guided independent study | 212 | |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
Formative assessments take place in class throughout the year.
The summative assessment will take the form of one in-course 1000 word essay or video essay (A1) and one end of course 2000 word essay or video essay (A2)
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| 1) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key technological developments in the history of film | A1, A2 |
| 2) To show understanding of the relationship in film history between technology, commerce and art | A1, A2 |
| 3) To sympathetically engage with and critically discuss a range of key historical film texts | A1, A2 |
| 4) To critically examine the impact of digital technologies on the Twenty-First Century film landscape | A2 |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 word in course essay or video essay (A1) | Coursework | 70% |
| 1000 word in course essay or video essay (A1) | Coursework | 70% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It is NOT a requirement that any element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Bordwell, D. and Thompson, K. (2009) Film History: An Introduction (3rd edition) (New York: McGraw-Hill)
Braudy, L. and Cohen, M. (eds) (2009) Film Theory and Criticism (7th edition) (Oxford, OUP)
Coe, B. (1981) The History of Movie Photography (London: Ash and Grant)
Grieveson L and Kramer, P. (eds) (2004) The Silent Cinema Reader (London: Routledge)
Maltby, R. (2003) Hollywood Cinema (2nd edition). (New York: Blackwell)
Street, S. (2012) Colour Films in Britain (London: BFI Palgrave)
Brown, W. (2013) Supercinema: Film-Philosophy for the Digital Age (London: Berghahn Books)
King, G. (2000) Spectacular Narratives: Hollywood in the Age of the Blockbuster (London: IB Tauris)
King, G. (2009) American Independent Cinema (London: IB Tauris)
Kramer, P. (2006) The New Hollywood: From Bonnie and Clyde to Star Wars (London: Wallflower)