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CS92PROD
The Art and Craft of Film Adaptation
FILM 453
Fall 2020
Section: 01  

Film adaptations of literary texts have been a staple of cinematic production from the silent era to the present day, and remain both an enduringly popular phenomenon and an occasional source of derision or disbelief: Can the movie ever be as good as the book? In this course we will interrogate the long-held assumption that source materials for adaptations are the authoritative texts while secondary works are necessarily inferior. Adopting a lateral approach that allows us to examine how stories change and are changed by new iterations and new mediums, we will examine the varied modes, motives, and techniques of film adaptations, analyzing how filmmakers transform character, plot, setting, and point of view as they adapt varied source material into feature films. This is a reading and writing intensive course where students will be asked to annotate and analyze literary sources, screenplays and films and should expect to spend several hours reading, watching films and writing outside of class time per week. In addition to short written assignments, students will create original adapted screenplays based on short fiction, novels, plays and films.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA FILM
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: FILM304 AND FILM307
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (FILM-MN)(FILM)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
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