‘What is Cinema?’
Was the title of one of the most important books written on film theory, by Frenchman André Bazín.
Bazín was interested in the and metaphysical aspects of the medium, but “what is cinema”, in more practical terms? It’s a series of decisions, every shot, that deals with everything from composition to sound to quality of light to what shots precede or follow.
Each moment of a film involves many, many decisions: where to place the camera, where to position the actors, choosing how they will dress, should there be music in the background (or not), the relation of a shot to those that precede it and those that follow it, etc.
In this eight-part mini-course, we go over the basic techniques filmmakers have at their disposal in order to convey information and create meaning in film. The first six sessions of this course will introduce the major avenues of expression in the cinema: cinematography, camera movement editing, mise-en-scène, sound and narrative. In the final two sessions, all participants will engage in close, detailed readings of two films that will elucidate not only the filmmakers’ technical choices but the reasons behind those choices.
Each class will be 3 hours long.
Course syllabus:
Language: English
Ability Level: All Levels
Participation Fee: 350 QAR
Fee with our Qatar Museum’s Culture Pass Discount (20%): 280 QAR
Dates: August 1st – August 7th 2022
Programme timings:
Sunday – Thursday: 4:30pm – 7:30pm (Doha time)
Friday: 3:30pm – 6:30pm (Doha time)
Saturday: 11:30am - 1:30pm and 3:30pm – 5:30pm (Doha time)
Bazín was interested in the and metaphysical aspects of the medium, but “what is cinema”, in more practical terms? It’s a series of decisions, every shot, that deals with everything from composition to sound to quality of light to what shots precede or follow.
Each moment of a film involves many, many decisions: where to place the camera, where to position the actors, choosing how they will dress, should there be music in the background (or not), the relation of a shot to those that precede it and those that follow it, etc.
In this eight-part mini-course, we go over the basic techniques filmmakers have at their disposal in order to convey information and create meaning in film. The first six sessions of this course will introduce the major avenues of expression in the cinema: cinematography, camera movement editing, mise-en-scène, sound and narrative. In the final two sessions, all participants will engage in close, detailed readings of two films that will elucidate not only the filmmakers’ technical choices but the reasons behind those choices.
Each class will be 3 hours long.
Course syllabus:
- Class One: The Origins of Cinema; cinematography – all operations involving the camera
- Class Two: Camera Movement
- Class Three: Mise-en-scène—all operations having to do with what is to be filmed by the camera
- Class Four: Editing - Classical Editing and Alternative Editing Strategies
- Class Five: Sound—all operations having to do with pre-recorded audio accompaniment for images
- Class Six: Narrative—the assemblage of series of shots into stories
- Class Seven: Analysis of a Classical Film (film to be seen outside of class)
- Class Eight: Analysis of a Modernist Film (film to be seen outside of class)
Language: English
Ability Level: All Levels
Participation Fee: 350 QAR
Fee with our Qatar Museum’s Culture Pass Discount (20%): 280 QAR
Dates: August 1st – August 7th 2022
Programme timings:
Sunday – Thursday: 4:30pm – 7:30pm (Doha time)
Friday: 3:30pm – 6:30pm (Doha time)
Saturday: 11:30am - 1:30pm and 3:30pm – 5:30pm (Doha time)
