Student Opportunities
The Film Buffs projectionists take English A 499: “Film Buffs Practicum" one time during their tenure as projectionists. This is a one-credit course that combines hands-on experience in screening films with introduction to basic film studies analysis. The course goals and course syllabus are listed below:
English A 499: Film Buffs Practicum
Course Goals: This course meets on Tuesdays in the window between 12:30 and 1:30. The goal of this course is to introduce Film Buffs projectionists to the world’s most influential films. Students learn the basics of film studies analysis, which is taught at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels in the series of Film Studies Minor courses.
The class utilizes a discussion/lecture format; the class texts are the syllabus filmography of films screened by Film Buffs projectionists Monday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 P. M. and Understanding Movies, by Louis Giannetti. The teacher is the Director of the Film Buffs Work-Study Program and the Chairperson of the Film Studies Minor Committee who teaches film analysis to projectionists and supervises the students’ work-study jobs screening films for the Film Studies Minor courses. Students in the Practicum learn the Practicum’s integrally linked goals of film studies analysis and technical skills as projectionists for the Film Buffs Program, a true work and study internship opportunity.
Short exams on the individual elements of film—cinematography, editing, sound, narrative, lighting, acting, costume and makeup, and ideology—demonstrate the students’ comprehension of the Aristotelian method of analytical examination of film as a profoundly complex cultural and aesthetic product. The goal of the Practicum is to combine hands on experience of projecting films in the Film Buffs Program Work-Study Program with learning the basics of film studies analysis as well as awareness of the most important films from historical, stylistic, and genre perspectives. While additional Film Studies courses are not required for Film Buffs projectionists during their employment in the Film Buffs Work-Study Program, projectionists regularly enroll in Film Studies classes after completing the Practicum.
Syllabus and Course Requirements
Attendance is Required : Students enrolled in the Practicum are required to attend class. Attendance at the Practicum takes priority over other activities. If you are absent for illness, please bring a note from a physician or attending medical practitioner.
Syllabus : The filmography of the Practicum will include films from the Film Studies Minor courses being screened that semester. Thus, the filmography will represent illustrations of major historical, cultural, and stylistic movements as well as examples of classic genre films from various genres such as film noir, horror, westerns, and musicals.
- Sequence One: See designated film to be screened and chapter one, “Cinematography” in Giannetti.
- Sequence Two, Three, and Four: see designated films to be screened and chapter two: “Mise en scene,” chapter three: “Movement,” and chapter six: “Acting,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Five and Six: see designated films to be screened and chapter four: “Editing,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Seven and Eight: see designated films to be screened and chapter five: “Sound,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Nine, Ten, and Eleven: see designated films to be screened and chapters seven: “Drama,” eight: “Story,” and nine: “Writing,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Twelve: see designated films to be screened and chapter ten: “Ideology,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Thirteen and Fourteen: Small group discussions and reports to the class of assigned film elements to be examined in course films that function as an examination of all chapters in Giannetti and their application to films in the course
- 1. Attendance and participation: 1/3 of grade. No more than three absences are allowed during the semester.
- 2. Brief, objective quizzes on assigned readings and films: 1/3 of grade. These quizzes test students’ preparation for class discussion. They are given at the beginning of class; there are no make up quizzes.
- 3. Participation in Group Reports at End of the Semester: 1/3 of grade. Participation indicates students’ ability to analyze elements of film according to Giannetti and class lectures.
NOTE : Students who are Work-Study projectionists in the Film Buffs Program are eligible to take this course for one credit in one semester. The Director of the Film Buffs Program, who is supervisor of the Film Buffs Work-Study staff and the advisor to all students taking Film Studies Minor courses, is the professor of this course. The course provides first hand, hands on experience of projecting films and an introduction to film studies analysis, a true work and study internship opportunity.
Contact information:
Students interested in working as Film Buffs Projectionists must first qualify as work-study students. See the Supervisor of Work-Study in Human Resources in Mercy 102. Students who are eligible for work-study assignments should contact:
Dr. Peggy McCormack, Director
Film Buffs Program
cormack@loyno.edu
Office: Bobet 323; Phone: 504-865-2473
