Art history for filmmakers: the art of visual storytelling

Introduction. How does art history relate to cinema history?

A brief linear (traditional) history of art - -Toward an "alternative" history of art

Visual culture and storytelling. Narrative and storytelling in art

Color and narrative

Kandinsky's color theory in painting and in cinema

Perspective and composition

Light

Case study: Peter Greenaway and Dutch painting

Realism. What is realism? - -What is representation?

Art after photography: modern conceptions of realism in art

Case study: Realism and the camera obscura

Beyond realism. Fantasy worlds in cinema and art

Oneiric: the world of dreams

Surrealism

Going beyond the real

Case study: The Archers

Sex and violence. Sex in art and cinema

Violence in art and cinema

Sex and violence

Case study: Martin Scorsese and Caravaggio

Horror. Religious horror

Supernatural horror

Body horror

Monsters

Case study: Guillermo del Toro and Francisco de Goya

Landscape. Why landscape?

Beautiful, picturesque, or sublime?

The American landscape and the American West

Case study: The road movie

Heroes and heroic acts. History painting; victory, virtue, and the hero - -Heroism and the Western

Case study: Subverting the heroic genre

Modern movements. Culture or mass culture?

expressionism

Abstraction

Abstract expressionism

Minimalism

Going "Beyond the West"

Case study: Hokusai to Disney

Conclusion. How can we use art history in filmmaking? Case studies.

Introduction

What is art history and how does it relate to cinema history?; How is art history useful for filmmakers?; Painting as a record of what the past looked like in the imagination of artists; Painting and the use of visual language; A brief linear (traditional) history of art; Towards an "alternative" history of art

Chapter 1: Visual Culture and Storytelling

Narrative and storytelling in art; Narrative in painting and cinema; Case study: William Hogarth's The Rake's Progress, and Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 2: Creating the Visual

Perspective, Colour and Lighting

A brief history of perspective; Colour theory and colour psychology; How to use light; Case Study: Rembrandt, and Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover and Nightwatching; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 3: Realism in Visual Art

Realism; What is representation?; Art after photography: Modern conceptions of realism in art; Case study: Johannes Vermeer, and Peter Webber's The Girl with the Pearl Earring (DoP Eduardo Serra); Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 4: Beyond Realism

Fantasy worlds in cinema and art; Oneiric: The world of dreams; Surrealism; Going beyond the real; Case study: Jack Cardiff (DoP) and A Matter of Life and Death (dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger); Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 5: Sex and Violence

Sex; Violence; Case study: Caravaggio, and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver ; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 6: Horror

From dream to nightmare; Monsters; Case study: Francisco Goya, and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and Pacific Rim; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 7: Landscape

What is landscape painting?; The Western; Case study: Albert Beirstadt, Andrew Wyeth, and Ed Harris's Appaloosa. Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 8: History and Heroism

History painting: Victory, virtue, and the hero; Case study: Quentin Tarantino's Diango Unchained and Gainsborough's Blue Boy; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 9: Modern Movements

Expressionism; Minimalism; Beyond Western culture; Case study: Katsushika Hokusai and Disney; Cinema as contemporary art; Exercise; Discussion questions

Chapter 10: Conclusion

Using art history in film-making

Film-making roles and art; Case study: Terrence Malick, Nestor Almendros and Andrew Wyeth (Days of Heaven); Case study: Conrad Hall, Sam Mendes and Edward Hopper (Road to Perdition); Case study: Wally Pfister, Christopher Nolan and MC Escher (Inception).