Film Analysis and Interpretation: A Beginner's Guide



Overview

Classes will take the form of a mini-lecture and presentation leading onto group discussions in pairs and as a class, feeding back ideas and arguments and cementing knowledge laid out in the opening of the session. Sessions will be focused around 3 case-study films, Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan), You Were Never Really Here (2017, Lynne Ramsay) and Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch), and relevant secondary examples will be drawn into the lessons according to the topic.

Each week will introduce a new concept, making use of set readings and pertinent scenes and sequences in order to mobilise the topic. Students will be encouraged to conduct their own analyses and to practise getting their arguments and observations in writing in order to reinforce their understanding of the different topics. 

Programme details

Courses starts: 22 Jan 2025

Week 1: Introduction - ways of approaching film texts

Week 2: Early Cinema 

Week 3: Sequence analysis: meaning and interpretation. 

Week 4: Genre and the protagonist

Week 5: Art-cinema narration 

Week 6: Memory in film: the viewer as detective. 

Week 7: Auteur theory

Week 8: Emotion and affect 

Week 9: Written assignments 

Week 10: Summary and review

Certification

To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £285.00
Take this course for CATS points £30.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Neil McCartney

Dr Neil McCartney is currently based in Oxford as an independent Film Studies lecturer and researcher and has taught courses at the Department since 2011. Topics in addition to this module have included, The Films of Orson Welles, Self-identity in Cinema, and Reading the Screen: Case Studies in Film Theory for Beginners. He has delivered modules at Oxford Brookes University covering the history of cinema technology, the British film industry, and screen industries. He currently delivers Film Studies courses at St Clare's International College and Activate Learning College.

He obtained his PhD in Film Studies from the University of Kent under the supervision of Prof. Murray Smith. His doctoral thesis analysed unconventional character portrayals in film narratives within the wider context of psychological and philosophical theories of self-identity. He is particularly interested the relationship between real-world selves and fiction film characters, and specifically the cognitive dissonance generated by films which display a disruption to conventional cinematic norms relating to character portrayal and development. His research is broadly aligned with the cognitivist approach and his other areas of interest include film-as-philosophy, the portrayal of memory and subjectivity in fiction film, and avant-garde deviations from conventional narrative trajectories and continuity of characters. 

 

Course aims

Course aim: To introduce key concepts of critical film theory so that students can confidently analyse a film or sequence of a film within a properly understood theoretical context or school of thinking. 

Course objectives: 

  • To give students a basic understanding of certain key principles of film theory.
  • To encourage meaningful debate and original critical thinking about the moving image.
  • To enable students to deconstruct film texts and articulate their own insights and observations.

Teaching methods

Lecture presentation followed by seminar-style discussion and group analysis. Set texts will be viewed both during and in advance of each class, and key sequences relating to the weekly topic will be viewed during the class. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to: 

 - have a good understanding of the necessary language and critical thinking and observational skills needed to carry out a detailed sequence analysis.

 - gain an understanding of how critical film theory has evolved and be able to contextualise particular films when studying them.

 - participate in worthwhile discussion within the class so that ideas are shared and so that a piece of written criticism can be produced.

Assessment methods

 

One short and one long written piece of work approximating 1,500 words in total. 

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support