Learning goals:



- Understand and be able to apply basic principles of narrative theory, and adapt them to the specificities of audio-visual forms



- Understand and be able to use different methodologies to analyse film (and other audio-visual) texts



- Use concepts and analytical tools for the analysis of audio-visual forms



Skills developed in this course and included in the list of competences to be developed within the Audio-visual Communication



Degree:



1. Analyse, interpret, explain and critically understand facts, social processes, texts and communication projects.



2. Study and understand the meaning and uses of theories, concepts and methodologies within the interdisciplinary context of Audio-Visual Communication (Media and Visual Studies).

Theoretical program:



1. Basic concepts in narrative theory (storytelling)



2. Studying character and narrative theory: Propp and Campbell



3. Greimas’ structural analysis



4. Point of view



5. Space and time





Practical program:



1. Compulsory film viewing of audio-visual works (out of class)



2. In-class assignments to put in practice theoretical concepts explained in class



3. Group-work

The course combines master-classes, with screenings and analysis of specific audio-visual works.

1) Continuous evaluation:



Assesment system:



*In-class asignments: 50% of the final grade



*Group-work: 50% of the final grade



The list of materials and audio-visual works to be used during the course, the content and date of in-class and work-group assignments will be specified at the beginning of the course, and/or on egela platform (moodle).





2) Final exam option (only available for students who meet specific criteria):



* The student who cannot attend the regular course should officially communicate to the professor in the first weeks of the semester that s/he opts for this option, and must follow the official regulations to do so



* The final exam will take place in the official date and place published in the faculty’s web-site



* The contents of the exam would be those included in the course program



* The grade of this exam will be 100% of the final grade

- Materials on egela platform (moodle)

- Audio-visual works (a list will be provided by the professor).

Basic bibliography

Bordwell, David. 1985. Narration in the Fiction Film. University of Wisconsin Press.



Verstraten, Peter. 2009. Film Narratology. University of Toronto Press.

In-depth bibliography

Audio-visual and film narrative:

Eco, Umberto. 2018. Sei passeggiate nei boschi narrativi. La nave di Teseo.

Eco, Umberto.2011. Lector in fabula. La cooperazione interpretativa nei testi narrativi. RCS Libri.

Gaudreault, André; Jost, François. 2017. Le récit cinématographique. 3e éd. Films et series televisées. Armand Colin.

Kristin Thompson. 2003. Storytelling in Film and Television. Harvard University Press.

Lothe, Jakob. 2000. Narrative in Fiction and Film. ‎OUP.

De Lauretis, Teresa. 1984. Alice Doesn’t: Feminism, Semiotics, Cinema. Indiana University Press.

Metz, Christian. 1982. Psychoanalysis and Cinema: The Imaginary Signifier. Translated by Celia Britton, Annwyl Williams, Ben Brewster, and Alfred Guzzetti. Macmillan.

Mulvey, Laura. 1991. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." In Visual and Other Pleasures, 14–26. Macmillan.

Van Sijll, Jennifer. 2005. Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know. Michael Wiese Productions.


Narratology and semiotics:

Introductory texts:

Bal, Mieke. 2009. Narratology. Introduction to the Theory of Narrative. University of Toronto Press.

Monika Fludernik. 2009. An Introduction to Narratology. Routledge.

Schmid. 2010. Narratology. An Introduction. De Gruyter.


Classic authors:

Genette, Gérard. 1980. Narrative Discourse. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Greimas, Algirdas Julien and Courtés, Joseph. 1982. Semiotics and Language. An Analytical Dictionary. Indiana University Press.

Greimas. 1987. On Meaning. Selected Writings in Semiotic Theory. University of Minnesota Press.

Propp, Vladimir. 2009. Morphology of the Folktale. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Vogler, Christopher. 2007. The Writers Journey. Mythic Structure for Writers. Michael Wiese Productions.