Scriptwriting
Code
711011056
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Ciências da Comunicação
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
João Pardana Constâncio
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
The main objective of this curricular unit is to clarify and analyze how does scriptwriting for the cinema work. This entails a clarification and analysis of various fundamental forms of the structure of the cinematic narrative, and also of the aesthetic effect in film.
The second main objective is to engage in a critical reflection on some decisive aspects of the philosophical tradition which are essential for a deeper understanding not only of the concepts of narrative and aesthetic effect, but also of the themes, intentions, and meaning of several films to be analyzed.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1. What is the structure of cinematic narrative? How does one construct a cinematic narrative?
2. How does structure give rise to a given aesthetic effect (e.g. the tragic effect, or the comic effect)?
3. Are there different kinds of structure? What are they?
4. Short study of Aristotles Poetics, the philosophical work where the ground for the concept of classical struture has been layed. This study is to be complemented by the study of Robert McKees Story, a book in which the aristotelic concepts of character, thought, act, unity of action, causality, etc have been updated and adapted to the craft of scriptwritting.
5. Reinterpreting the classical structure: how philosophical themes are embedded in the narrative structure (and not only in the dialogue), and how complex can the aesthetic effect be (see e.g. Lacans and ieks distinction between the imaginary, the symbolic, and the real).
6. Analysis of films by Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder, Hitchcock, Bergman and Woody Allen.
7. The theme of alienation and the deconstruction of the classical structure in Antonionis work.
Bibliography
CONARD, M.T./ SKOBLE, A. (ed.), Woody Allen and Philosophy [You Mean My Whole Fallacy is Wrong?], Chicago/ La Salle, Open Court, 2004;
McKEE, R., Story: Substance, structure, style, and the principles of screenwriting, London, Methuen, 1998;
IEK, S., Looking awry, An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture, Cambridge Mass./ London, MIT Press, 1991;
ARISTÓTELES, Poética, tradução, prefácio, comentário e apêndices de Eudoro de Sousa, Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda,1986;
CHATMAN, S., Antonioni or, The Surface of the World, Berkeley/, Los Angeles/ London, University of California Press, 1985.
Teaching method
Based on a theoretical and practical teaching method (60%/40%), the exposition of the subjects indicated above will alternate between theory and practice seeking an effective illustration of the conceptual contents of the program through filmic examples.
Evaluation method
Oral exercises: 30%
Written exercise: 70%