This course focuses on analysis of films and creates the basic knowledge about the various aspects of film techniques and technologies. Elements of film making 

The outcomes of the course are to
understand the history of cinema, film classics, eras of cinema. 
identify film genres and trace their evolution. 

SYLLABUS OF ROOT COURSE

I Introduction to Film Studies 

1 Evolution of Cinema

Beginning, The Silent Era, The Talkies, Color Film,

New Age, Digital, Ott

2 Film Making: Key Terms-Shots (close up, medium

shot, long shot).-Camera Angle (Straight on Angle

Shots, High Angle Shots, Low Angle shots. Shot-

Reverse Shot) -Focus (shallow focus, deep focus)-

Editing: chronological editing, Continuity Editing,

Cross cutting, Montage, continuity cuts, jump cuts,

match cuts, Compilation cuts.

Mise–en-scene

Long takes

30-degree rule

180-degree rule.

3 Film Genres

Major genres: Documentary, Feature Films, Short

Films, Melodrama, Musical, Horror, Western, Fantasy,

Animation, Film noir, Historical, Science fiction, Road

movies, Digital films etc.

4 Film Movements and Theories

Movements: The silent era, Classic Hollywood

cinema, Soviet era, Italian Neo-Realism, French New

wave, Asian Cinemas, Third Cinema and Indian

cinema.

Theories: Montage Theory, Auteur theory, Apparatus

Theory, Male Gaze, Film Semiotics

5 Introducing Master Film Makers

Charlie Chaplain, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrei

Tarkowsky, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Abbas

Kiarostami, Agnes Varda, Satyajit Ray, Adoor

Gopalakrishnan, Ousmane Sembene.

II Perspectives: Essays & Interview 

6 Engendering Popular Cinema in Malayalam by V C

Harris (Women in Malayalam Cinema: Naturalising

Gender Hierarchies Ed. By Meena T Pillai Pub. Orient

Black Swan Pages 57-66)

7 “Low Budget Films” by Mrinal Sen from Views on

Cinema by Mrinal Sen (Pub. Ishan pages 10-15)

8 Interview Christopher Nolan: The full interview -

Newsnight

III World Cinema 9 18

9 Capernaum (2018) by Nadine Labiki 3

10 I, Daniel Blake (2016) by Ken Loach 3

11 Cinema Paradiso (1988) by Giuseppe Tornatore 3

IV Indian Cinema 

12 Fandry (2014) by Nagraj Manjule 3

13 Adaminte Vaariyellu (1983) by K G George 3

14 Masaan (2015) by Neeraj Ghaywan