Semantics and Analysis of Film and Audiovisual Works
The course aims at the in-depth study of the audiovisual mode of communication and expression, with a focus on the analysis and interpretation of audiovisual works. It provides the tools for decoding the explicit and implicit meanings of audiovisual texts, as well as the deconstruction of audiovisual ideological systems. It is mainly based on Greimas' structural semantics. The course is divided into three sections. In the first, the carriers and levels of articulation of meaning in audiovisual text are studied. The second and third sections concern narratology and semantics and compose a methodology for analyzing film and audiovisual works. The course is assessed with two written comprehension exercises during the semester (25% of the final grade each) and a written essay at the end (50% of the final grade).
Upon completion of the course, it is expected that students will:
Course structure (per week of teaching):
1/ Introduction in structural narratology and semantics
2/ The frame as a carrier of meaning
3/ The shot as a carrier of meaning
4/ Decoupage as a carrier of meaning
5/ The heterogeneity of the film-audiovisual work
6/ Narration and narrator
7/ The narrative structure, the myth and the plot
8/ The narrative functions and the narrative roles
9/ Time in the film-audiovisual work
10/ The space in the film-audiovisual work
11/ The isotopies and the semantic codes
12/ Analysis of film-audiovisual works
13/ Analysis of film-audiovisual works
Bibliography in Greek
Bibliography in English
