Events

In this mini-course, we will go over the basic techniques filmmakers have at their disposal in order to convey information and create meaning in film:

Cinematography - all operations involving the camera
Mise-en-scene - all operations having to do with what is to be filmed by
the camera
Editing - the combination of individual shots to create desired effects
Sound - all operations having to do with pre-recorded audio accompaniment
for images
Narrative - the assemblage of series of shots into stories
 
Each day, students will learn basic ideas about the uses and aspects of each of these techniques, illustrated by short sequences drawn from a wide variety of films from all over the world. For the last class, an entire feature film is screened, after which students will perform a detailed stylistic analysis and interpretation based on what they have learned during the previous three days.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Richard Peña is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at Columbia University, where he specializes in film theory and international cinema. From 1988 to 2012, he was the Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Director of the New York Film Festival. At the Film Society, Peña organized retrospectives of many film artists and major film series.

A frequent lecturer on film internationally, in 2014-2015, he was a Visiting Professor in Brazilian Studies at Princeton; in 2015-2016 a Visiting Professor in Film Studies at Harvard; and in 2022 a Visiting Professor at La Sorbonne. He has also taught courses at Beijing University, Gedai Art Institute (Tokyo), la Universidad de Cine (Buenos Aires), the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Universidad Catolica de Chile, and the University of São Paulo. In May, 2016, he was the recipient of the “Cathedra Bergman” award at the UNAM in Mexico City, where he offered a three-part lecture series “On the Margins of American Cinema.” He also hosts WNET/Channel 13’s weekly Reel 13.