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Introduction to Film Studies

By Dr. Jyotirmay Deb   |   Techno India University
Learners enrolled: 354

This 40 module course has been divided into three major units -1.  Film Language 2.  Film Form and Style 3. Hindi cinema.

 

The unit of ‘Film Language’ will be dealing with the different languages of cinema like sound theory, colour as stylistic elements of cinema and many more.

 

In the unit of ‘Film Form and Style’, there will be discussion on different film movements, styles, forms and theories such as Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, German Expressionism, Third cinema, feminist film theory, Auteur theory  etc.

 

The third unit, ‘Hindi Cinema’, is designed to explain the relationship between the nation and cinema with reference to the directors like Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan and so on. There will be lectures on the new wave of Indian cinema and the globalization of Indian cinema. Through this, students will be familiarized with the trajectory of the Indian Cinema from regional to national and ultimately to global platform

Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 10 weeks
Category :
  • Journalism (mass media)
Credit Points : 4
Level : Undergraduate
Start Date : 15 Jan 2026
End Date : 30 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends : 28 Feb 2026
Exam Date :
Translation Languages : English
NCrF Level   : 4.5

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Course layout

Week-1

1.   Language of Cinema - An Introduction

2.   Basic Components in Film Language - Shot, Scene, Sequence

3.   Continuity Editing Part – I

4.   Continuity Editing Part – II

 

Week-2

5.   Mise-en-Scene

6.   Mise-en-Scene & the Auteurs

7.   Components of Film Sound

8.   Sound and Image

 

Week-3

9.   Theory of Film Sound

10.  Sound and Continuity

11.  Coming of Sound Part I

12.  Coming of Sound Part II

 

Week-4

13.   Colour and Meaning in Cinema

14.   Approaches to Film Genre

15.  German Expressionism

16.   Italian Neo Realism

 

Week-5

17.   Aesthetic of Neo-Realism

18.   French New Wave: Rewriting Conventions

19.  The Rise of Nouvelle Vague

20.  Concept of Auteur

 

Week-6

21.  Akira Kurosawa

22.  Realism of Satyajit Ray: Apu Trilogy

23.   Realism of Satyajit Ray: Urban Trilogy

24.  Concept of Third Cinema

 

Week-7

25.  Feminist Film Theories - Basic Ideas

26.  Types of Non-Fiction Film: Part-I

27.  Types of Non-Fiction Film: Part-II

28.  Historical Overview Studios in India

 

 Week-8

29.  Early Indian silent cinema

30.  Studio Era & Talkies

31.  Cinema of the 1940s

32.  Mehboob khan

 

Week-9

33.  Raj kapoor

34.  Guru dutt

35.  Shyam benegal

36.  Kumar shahani

 

Week-10

37.  Saeed Akhtar mirza

38.  Mani Kaul

39.  Bollywood  diversity in narrative & form under globalization

40.  Reception studies Indian films and media

Books and references

1. Film Language, Christian Metz, 1974

2. The Language of Film, Robert Edger-Hunt, John Marland,

   Steven Rawle, AVA Publishing, UK,

3. Narration in Fiction Film, David Bordwell, Routledge, 1985

4. Vijay Mishra, Bollywood Cinema: A Critical Genealogy,  

     Asian Studies Institute, 2008.

5. Lakshmi Srinivas, Communicating globalization:  

    Everyday life, imagination and the persistence of the   

    local, 2002.

6. Sharmistha Acharya, BOLLYWOOD AND 

    GLOBALIZATION, San Francisco State university, 2007

7. Shakuntala Rao, THE GLOBALIZATION OF

    BOLLYWOOD: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF NON-ELITE .

    AUDIENCES IN INDIA, State University of New York,

    Department of Communication, Routledge, 2007.

 8
. Ashis Nandy, Indian Popular Cinema as a Slum’s Eye  

    View of Politics. The Secret Politics of Our 

    Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular   

    Cinema, 1999.


Instructor bio



Dr. Jyotirmay Deb is an Assistant Professor in the Department of BFA Digital Filmmaking & VFX at Techno India University, West Bengal. He holds a Ph.D. in Humanities from the same institution and an M.A. in Film Studies from West Bengal State University. His research explores film aesthetics, media psychology, and the evolving relationship between storytelling, technology, and audience behaviour.

With over a decade of experience in media education and creative practice, Dr. Deb has directed and written several documentaries and commercials, earning national level awards and some international awards for documentary filmmaking. Passionate about nurturing future filmmakers, he continues to integrate academic rigor with cinematic creativity in both teaching and research.















Course certificate

1. End-Term Examination:
o Weightage: 70% of the final result
o Minimum Passing Criteria: 40%

2. Internal Assessment:
o Weightage: 30% of the final result
o Minimum Passing Criteria: 40%
 
Calculation of IA Marks:
o Out of all graded weekly assessments/assignments, the top 50% of assignments shall be considered for the calculation of the final Internal Assessment marks.

All students who obtain 40% marks in the internal assessment and 40% marks in the end-term proctored exam separately will be eligible for the SWAYAM Credit Certificate.
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