Course goals and learning outcomes support the Foundational Component Areas defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Course goals are linked to the respective Core Curriculum Competencies: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Social Responsibility. Specific competencies are identified in designated course goals and learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
1. Communication Skills: Display knowledge of film terminology orally or in writing by
a. demonstrating a basic knowledge of film history, form, and genre;
b. describing camera types, movement, shots, and framing techniques;
c. describing the technology underlying black and white, color, and digital film;
d. describing film gauges and techniques;
e. describing film lighting equipment, lighting techniques, and lighting styles;
f. describing sound recording equipment and reproduction techniques;
g. describing film production, editing transitions, and continuity techniques.
2. Critical Thinking Skills: Evaluate the film industry as an art form and a creative expression by
a. explaining the work and influence of major film directors;
b. defining the role and influence of music in film;
c. defining the influence of film photography;
d. defining the role and impact of film art direction;
e. defining the influence and role of the actor and acting styles in film.
3. Critical Thinking Skills: Explain major social, technological, and economic aspects of the film industry by
a. defining the international and American film audience;
b. evaluating the impact of foreign film on the American audience;
c. describing the national and international role of Third World film;
d. defining the influence of Hollywood on international film audiences;
e. interpreting economic impact of the box office receipts of films in theatrical release;
f. describing the role and influence of film distribution windows;
g. explaining the impact of product placement in film;
h. explaining the impact of film on social mores.
4. Communication Skills: Explain the origins and development of silent and sound eras of the film industry orally or in writing by
a. analyzing film through written response;
b. analyzing the influence of the film inventions and collaborative work of early American filmmakers;
c. explaining the creation of cinema through the works of early French filmmakers;
d. describing the international silent film medium;
e. describing the invention of Hollywood and the studio system;
f. describing the films from the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system.
5. Communication Skills: Explain the roles of the people who create films orally or in writing by
a. describing the collaborative nature of cinema and the many jobs required to develop a motion picture;
b. describing the roles of studio and independent film producers;
c. describing the role of movie development and the screenwriter;
d. describing the role of the film director;
e. describing the contributions of below the line crew;
f. describing the creation and influence of film marketing;
g. describing the roles of the film distributor and film exhibitor.
6. Critical Thinking Skills: Analyze major film genres by
a. describing the semiology and motifs of the Documentary film;
b. describing the semiology and motifs of Film Noir;
c. describing the semiology and motifs of Film Westerns;
d. describing the semiology and motifs of Science Fiction Films;
e. describing the semiology and motifs of Film Drama;
f. describing the semiology and motifs of the Film Epic;
g. describing the semiology and motifs of Action/Adventure Films;
h. describing the semiology and motifs of the Romance Film;
i. describing the semiology and motifs of Comedy Films.
7. Communication Skills: Evaluate major film theories orally or in writing by
a. explaining the visual grammar of film;
b. explaining Soviet film theories;
c. explaining the concepts and techniques of Cinema Verité;
d. explaining the theory and techniques of propaganda films;
e. explaining the auteur theory of film;
f. explaining the role and work of the film critic and film reviewer.
8. Communication Skills: Demonstrate an understanding of the contributions of contemporary film makers orally or in writing by
a. describing the influences and techniques of films produced in each of the decades following World War II;
b. describing the work and contributions of American filmmakers in the postWorld War II era;
c. describing the work and contributions of international filmmakers in the post-World War II era.
9. Social Responsibility: Explain the history of regulation and censorship of the film industry by
a. discussing/describing the relationship of cinema to society as it relates to his/her perspective;
b. describing the advent of domestic and foreign government censorship of film;
c. describing the influence of the religious community and the motion picture production code during the Hollywood Golden era;
d. describing the impact of Congressional hearings and blacklisting during the McCarthy era;
e. describing the invention, evolution, and influence of the film rating system;
f. describing the role and influence of the Motion Picture Production Association.
10. Teamwork: Apply small group communication skills including problem solving, group roles, leadership styles, and cohesiveness.

COMM 2366

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COMM 2366 - Film Appreciation