Going to the movies (or watching them at home) is a major part of our lives, so of course we want to understand all of the components that go into creating films, and be able to discuss and analyze them with our friends. To do that, we need to understand how films "talk" to us—we need to understand how to "read" a film.

You will need approximately three hours per lesson to complete the class activities.

This is a course in the basics of filmmaking. If watching and talking about movies sounds like your idea of a good time, then this is the course for you.

None, but it helps to have an avid interest in movies and a strong desire to learn what is involved in their creation.

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

• Talk knowledgeably about the art and technology behind movies.
• Understand how (and why) filmmakers do what they do.
• Appreciate why some movies are great—and why others fail.
• Recognize how the art and science of film have shaped the world in which we live.

• A DVD player or VCR to watch the films in the Course Activities
• A source to rent videos (unless you decide to buy them)

The following is a list of the films that you’ll be watching as a part of your class activities. It’s provided here for you in case you need to make arrangements ahead of time to get copies of any of them.

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Landmarks of Early Film, Vol. 1 (or a similar compilation featuring The Great Train Robbery, a sampling of early comedy, and the work of Lumière, Méliès, and Sennett)
• North by Northwest
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• Citizen Kane
• The Player
• Koyaanisqatsi
• Salt of the Earth

• Let’s Talk Movies: A Course Introduction
• Art, Film, and Your Relationship to Them
• The Art of Technology and the Technology of Art
• Movies in Your Life

• Recording: The Birth of the Entertainment Matrix
• Photography: Capturing Souls
• What’s Your Angle?: All About Composition
• Digital vs. Analog: An Introduction

• Fooling Your Eye: Persistence of Vision
• Mise-en-Scène: "Slow Down! You Move Too Fast!"
• Montage: The Whole Is More Than the Sum of the Parts
• The Moving Camera: A Unique Tool

• Movies Without Pictures?
• A Symphony of Tracks: Opera for the Rest of Us
• All Singing! All Talking! (All Dancing?)
• A Sidetrack: Surround Sound

• What Is Semiology and Why Should I Care?
• Seeing Beyond the Sign
• Syntax: Can You Speak "Movie"?
• Speaking Truth to Power: The Value of Documentary

• Putting It All Together, Bit by Bit
• FX: Whom Do You Trust?
• The Industry
• Delivering the Product: Exploitation Windows

• I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas
• Analyze This! (All About These Critics)
• TMI: Too Much Information!
• So You Wanna Be a Film Buff?