Reading the Screen: Film Appreciation for Adults

What's inside

1. Level 1: How a Film Tells a StoryFree
   We look at how films build stories from plot, character and point of view, and at the difference between the story and the way the film tells it to you.
2. Level 2: Three Acts and Other Ways to Shape a StoryFree
   You'll learn the classic three-act structure, then try other shapes like non-linear, circular and episodic stories, and see why a film-maker might pick each one.
3. Level 3: The Shot and Shot Sizes
   We meet the shot, the basic building block of film, and learn to name shot sizes from the extreme wide shot to the extreme close-up and what each one does to you.
4. Level 4: Framing, Composition and the Rule of Thirds
   You'll learn how the edges of the frame, where people and objects sit, and camera angle all guide your eye and suggest meaning.
5. Level 5: Camera Movement
   We look at how the camera moves, with pans, tilts, tracking shots, cranes, handheld and Steadicam work, and the feelings each kind of movement creates.
6. Level 6: Lighting and Mood
   You'll learn how film-makers use light and shadow, from bright high-key lighting to the dark low-key look of film noir, to set the mood and shape how you see characters.
7. Level 7: Colour on Screen
   We explore how colour palettes, contrast and colour symbolism, including black and white, carry emotion and meaning across a whole film.
8. Level 8: Production Design and Costume
   You'll learn how sets, locations, props, costume and make-up build a believable world and tell you who characters are before they say a word.
9. Level 9: Continuity Editing: The Invisible Cut
   We uncover the editing rules that make cuts feel seamless, such as the 180-degree rule, shot/reverse shot, eyeline matches and match on action.
10. Level 10: Montage, Rhythm and Pace
    You'll learn how editors build meaning and energy through montage, cross-cutting, jump cuts and the length of shots, from Soviet montage theory to the modern training montage.
11. Level 11: Sound, Silence and Music
    We listen closely to dialogue, sound effects, ambience, silence and music, and learn how the soundtrack shapes what you feel and notice.
12. Level 12: Performance and Casting
    You'll learn how actors build characters through voice, body and stillness, how acting styles differ, and how casting choices and star images shape what you expect.
13. Level 13: The Director's Style: Auteur Theory
    We meet auteur theory in outline and learn to spot a director's signature in recurring themes, visual choices and techniques, along with the main criticisms of the idea.
14. Level 14: Genre and How Films Play With It
    You'll learn how genres work through conventions, iconography and audience expectations, and how films mix, subvert or reinvent them.
15. Level 15: Documentary and Animation in Outline
    We step beyond live-action fiction to look at the main modes of documentary and the main techniques of animation, and how each one uses film language in its own way.
16. Level 16: The Silent Era and Classical Hollywood
    You'll travel from cinema's first moving pictures through silent comedy and German Expressionism to the coming of sound and the studio system of classical Hollywood.
17. Level 17: World Cinemas and the New Waves
    We tour Italian neorealism, the French New Wave, great traditions from Japan, India and beyond, and the New Hollywood of the late 1960s and 1970s.
18. Level 18: The Blockbuster Era to Streaming
    You'll learn how the summer blockbuster, franchises, digital film-making and streaming platforms have changed what films get made and how you watch them.
19. Level 19: From Page to Screen: Adaptation
    We look at how books become films, what gets cut, changed or added, and how to judge an adaptation on its own terms instead of just asking how faithful it is.
20. Level 20: Final Challenge: Watch Closely, Write a Review Exam
    You'll bring the whole course together: watch a film with a critic's eye, take useful notes, and write a short, well-argued review that draws on story, image, editing, sound, performance, genre and history.

Access

The first 2 levels are free with a free account. Every level, the podcast edition and the AI tutor come with All Access at £4.99/month or any Creator plan — see pricing.

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