Two Filmmakers provides an opportunity for you to examine the works of two film directors in close detail. It will acquaint you with key films from these filmmakers’ oeuvres, and situate them within the critical discourses surrounding these figures and their work, and wider debates concerning film authorship. The module is designed to enhance your ability to critically assess films and academic scholarship, and to develop your understanding of historically significant critical paradigms that sought to theorise authorship in relation to the moving image. This year the two filmmakers will be Ernst Lubitsch and Gus Van Sant.
Animation is a genre and process with its own distinctive language and characteristics. No longer viewed as simply ‘cartoons for children’, animation has become a cultural phenomenon that extends into live action cinema. The popularity of animation in popular culture is now equalled in academia where animation is a burgeoning field in film and television studies. This module will explore animation from various angles, including its history, aesthetics, and production, but, also, will examine various animation contexts, including specific processes, types of animation, and topics within animation.
This module is organised in four parts (after an introductory week and a final week devoted to preparing for the essay plan):
I. History and Industry
II. Technologies
III. Television
IV. Anime