Responding to Film: A Text Guide for Students of Cinema Art

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Summary: Visual Interpretations
Review: "I respond [to film] as I want to." This introductory statement answers the question "How do I respond to film?" in Dr. Constantine Santas's latest textbook Responding to film: a text guide for students of cinema art. It offers comments on the nature of film as medium, and ways to interpret and appreciate its constructive elements such language, history, and technology.
Dr. Santas wrote the textbook for his film classes at Flagler College. When he started teaching film literature in 1989, he noticed that the existing film books were chronologically oriented and that neglected to study film as an art. He wanted a book that emphasized the uniqueness of film as an art form, and its superiority as a means of communication. A book that analyzed the form and content of motion pictures, their historical and social background. Envisioning his future project, Dr. Santas started writing notes for his class, outlining his own method of studying film. Soon enough, they grew to a considerable size manuscript that drew the attention of some publishers. It was published by Burnham Publishers in 2002.
Film is more a matter of pictures than words. The visual component dominates, the word is subordinate. A film like a novel, where the action is presented by a narrator, the camera. The camera comments on the story while telling it. It focuses not on the speaker but on the face or gestures of a character who is affected by the speech, thus giving the spectator a visual interpretation of the words.
Responding to film suggests interpretations or responses from various angles: technical, linguistic, historical, literary, social etc. It explores a broad category of film genres such as drama, comedy, film noir, romance etc. It emphasizes new cinematic devices that help filmmakers embody their vision in a work of art. It explores the visual aspects of film language that combines moving pictures, written or oral discourse, and natural or artificial sound. It brushes up on the history of film and serious social issues of a particular period of time. The last chapter suggests a sample course that contains a syllabus, information sheets, and exercises for both students and instructors.
This text guide examines the multiple responses to film as literary medium and attempts to synthesize all its unique elements. Because films embody the beliefs and values of many cultures, individual responses will vary according to personal preferences and tastes. Besides being a teaching guide, the textbook is also suitable for casual readers who simply enjoy viewing films and want to learn more about film as literary art, and cinematography.

Harikleia Sirmans



Rating:
Summary: An All-embracing Guide to the Study of Film
Review: As a writer of films, I found Constantine Santas' book, Responding to Film, thoroughly engaging. If ever I were to teach a course about cinematic art, I would look no further for the text. His principle of organization takes material that might seem ordinarily dry to students today, and infuses it with a freshness that clarifies the techniques of filmmaking, and demystifies the critical process. I particularly enjoyed his brilliant intepretations of films as diverse as Eyes Wide Shut (Someone finally made that movie make sense to me!), Zorba the Greek, and Life is Beautiful.

Beyond a teaching tool, Responding To Film is a book for film lovers, all...a book for anyone who enjoys taking the time to look beneath a movie's first blush for the layers that transcend entertainment, and make film art.

Rating:
Summary: An All-embracing Guide to the Study of Film
Review: As a writer of films, I found Constantine Santas' book, Responding to Film, thoroughly engaging. If ever I were to teach a course about cinematic art, I would look no further for the text. His principle of organization takes material that might seem ordinarily dry to students today, and infuses it with a freshness that clarifies the techniques of filmmaking, and demystifies the critical process. I particularly enjoyed his brilliant intepretations of films as diverse as Eyes Wide Shut (Someone finally made that movie make sense to me!), Zorba the Greek, and Life is Beautiful.

Beyond a teaching tool, Responding To Film is a book for film lovers, all...a book for anyone who enjoys taking the time to look beneath a movie's first blush for the layers that transcend entertainment, and make film art.

Rating:
Summary: Something for Everyone
Review: Santas has written a book that is informed, instructive, and intelligent, useful for academicians, students, and casual readers interested in learning to appreciate film for its elements larger than story line. He summarizes films enticingly and provides thematic arrows that encourage the reader to view the films and explore questions that Santas poses about such matters as techniques, languages, genres, sources, and technologies. Carries on a dialogue with the reader easily, informing, questioning, goading at times, cajoling, prodding--all the techniques used by a proficient teacher to help others explore intelligently. Santas establishes literary and historical contexts as well to use as backboards, providing familiar terms, allusions, and references which help clarify the place of film study in the arts. And the Sample Course in Chpt 13 synthesizes the information easily and simply for students, prospective instructors, or casual readers. Certainly suitable for diverse audiences.

Rating:
Summary: Responding to Film: An excellent resource & teaching guide
Review: This text guide combines qualities of a well written text book with a teaching guide for the instructor of college level film courses. It is unique in the sense that it provides a rich learning experience for the student of film when combined with the many dvd's, learning execises and other resources (such as web sites) which the book suggests. It is also a good "read" for those who simply enjoy films and want to learn more about the art as well as the technology of film-making.

Rating:
Summary: Responding to Film: An excellent resource & teaching guide
Review: This text guide combines qualities of a well written text book with a teaching guide for the instructor of college level film courses. It is unique in the sense that it provides a rich learning experience for the student of film when combined with the many dvd's, learning execises and other resources (such as web sites) which the book suggests. It is also a good "read" for those who simply enjoy films and want to learn more about the art as well as the technology of film-making.