DPHU1005 Introduction to Film Studies

How DPHU1005 is assessed

Weights are from the Term 3, 2026 course outline and sum to 100%. To pass you need an overall mark of at least 50%, an attempt at every assessment and a genuine attempt at each; failing any of these gives an Unsatisfactory Fail even with 50% or more. You are expected to attend at least 80% of classes, and students below 80% without supported special circumstances may fail the course. Screenings are compulsory: a student who comes to a tutorial without having watched the film is marked absent. The UNSW Handbook entry for DPHU1005 lists the second 15% task as a tutorial presentation, while the Term 3, 2026 course outline sets it as in-class short answers; follow the course outline and Moodle for this term. Late work loses 5% of the task mark per day and is not accepted after five days without approved special consideration.

Current DPHU1005 dates

Dates are as published in the UNSW College Moodle course for Term 3, 2026. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.

What DPHU1005 covers

Introduction to Film Studies moves from the question of what cinema is to the elements of film style, mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing and sound, then to ways of grouping and contextualising films: authorship, narrative, genre, documentary and national cinemas. Each topic is paired with a weekly screening, and a final chapter turns the toolkit into a method for the two in-class written analyses.

The course teaches the techniques and vocabulary for analysing, explaining and interpreting fictional and documentary films, so that you can show how film style shapes meaning and the viewer's experience. Each week pairs a two-hour lecture with a compulsory two-hour screening, and the following week's three-hour tutorial discusses both with the set readings. The lecture topics run from What Is Cinema?

through mise-en-scène, auteurism, narrative and narration, editing and montage and film sound, then to genre, documentary and national cinemas, before a course summary in Week 11. The films range from Battleship Potemkin (1925) and Vertigo (1958) to Jaws (1975), Unforgiven (1992), Grizzly Man (2005) and Infernal Affairs (2002).

All four assessments are written in your tutorial under supervision on a lockdown browser, and AI tools cannot be used in any of them. Three short quizzes and four short answers test terminology and concepts week by week; a two-hour shot-by-shot analysis in Week 5 and a two-hour sequence analysis in Week 12 test close viewing and carry most of the marks.

To pass you need 50% overall and a genuine attempt at every task, and attendance also counts: the course expects at least 80% attendance, and falling below 80% without supported special circumstances can mean you fail. This guide follows that structure: ten topic chapters, each applied to its screening, and a method chapter for the two analyses.

Worked example · free

Turning a description of mise-en-scène into analysis

Key terms

Mise-en-scène

The arrangement of everything that appears in the frame: setting, props, costume and makeup, lighting, colour, and the staging of actors.

Shot scale

The apparent distance between camera and subject, from extreme long shot to extreme close-up, judged against the human body.

Canted angle

A camera position tilted so that the horizon slopes across the frame, often signalling instability or unease.

Auteur

A director treated as the author of a body of films, whose recurring style and themes can be traced across different productions.

Plot

The events a film actually presents, in the order and duration it chooses, as distinct from the full chronological story the viewer infers.

Continuity editing

A system of cutting designed to keep space and time clear and the edits unobtrusive, built on the axis of action and matched cuts.

Montage

Editing that creates meaning through the collision or juxtaposition of shots, associated above all with Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s.

Diegetic sound

Sound whose source belongs to the story world, so the characters could hear it, whether or not the source is on screen.

Genre

A grouping of films that share conventions of setting, iconography, character and plot, which shape audience expectations.

Documentary mode

One of the broad ways a nonfiction film addresses its audience, such as expository, observational, participatory or performative.

DPHU1005 FAQ

Questions students ask in each DPHU1005 chapter

What does the course mean by the specificities of the film medium?

It means the things film can do that other art forms cannot: choosing exactly what the frame shows, controlling how long each image lasts, setting sound against image and placing the viewer at a chosen distance from people and events. A strong answer notices these choices instead of treating a film like a novel. Chapter 01 · What Is Cinema? Film as a Medium

Which parts of mise-en-scène do markers look for?

The rubric names six: blocking and staging, costumes and makeup, setting, props, lighting and colour. The top band describes detailed observation across all of them, while answers that leave out two or three areas, or describe them only in general terms, sit lower. Chapter 02 · Mise-en-scène: Setting, Staging, Lighting and Colour

How do I tell a medium shot from a medium close-up?

Judge by how much of the body the frame holds. A medium shot shows a person from roughly the waist up; a medium close-up cuts closer, around the chest. If the label is arguable, describe the framing directly, for example framed from the chest up, which is always accurate. Chapter 03 · Shot Types, Camera Angles and Camera Movement

What is the auteur theory in simple terms?

It is the idea that a director can be treated as the author of a film, with a personal style and set of themes that recur across their work. Critics use it to find patterns and to argue about value, while its opponents stress that films are made collaboratively. Chapter 04 · Auteurism and the Auteur Theory

What is the difference between story and plot?

The story is every event we infer, in chronological order, including things never shown. The plot is what the film actually puts on screen, in its chosen order and duration, plus material such as credits and music that sits outside the story world. Analysis often starts by asking why the plot differs from the story. Chapter 05 · Narrative and Narration

What is the 180-degree rule?

It is a continuity convention: the camera stays on one side of an imaginary line drawn between characters, so each keeps a consistent screen direction. Crossing the line can make people appear to swap places, which filmmakers avoid unless they want the viewer to feel disoriented. Chapter 06 · Editing and Montage

What is the difference between diegetic and nondiegetic sound?

Diegetic sound belongs to the story world, so characters could hear it, such as dialogue, a radio or footsteps. Nondiegetic sound comes from outside it, such as a score or an unseen narrator. A sound can be diegetic even when its source is off screen. Chapter 07 · Film Sound

What makes a film part of a genre?

Shared conventions: recognisable settings, iconography, character types, plot patterns and themes that audiences learn to expect. Genres work like an agreement between filmmakers and viewers, and each new film plays with that agreement by fulfilling, delaying or overturning expectations. Chapter 08 · Genre and the Genre Film

What are documentary modes?

They are Bill Nichols's categories for the main ways nonfiction films address viewers: poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive and performative. Films usually mix them, so the labels describe tendencies, and each should be backed by a device you can identify on screen. Chapter 09 · Documentary and Its Modes

What is national cinema?

It is a way of grouping films by their relationship to a nation. Scholars weigh several factors, including who funded and made a film, what themes and styles it uses, who watches it and what idea of the nation it projects. A single film can count as national on one measure and international on another. Chapter 10 · National Cinemas

How are the shot-by-shot and sequence analyses marked?

Each is marked out of 20 against four criteria worth five marks: description of the mise-en-scène, analysis of meaning, attention to formal qualities and production techniques, and written expression with film studies terminology. The top bands ask for detailed observation, insight into subtext and accurate terms. Chapter 11 · Shot-by-Shot and Sequence Analysis

How to prepare for the assessments

Treat each week as a loop: lecture, screening, notes, tutorial. Watch the film with a notebook open and log specific moments by time, a lighting change, a cut, a piece of music, rather than general impressions, because every written task rewards precise observation.

Keep a single running glossary of film terms and test yourself on it before each quiz, especially confusable pairs such as pan and tilt, zoom and track, diegetic and nondiegetic. For the short answers, practise the shape of a 40-minute response: define the concept briefly, then spend most of the time on one or two scenes, linking each observation to what it suggests.

Before Week 5, rehearse the shot-by-shot method on a sequence from an earlier screening, and after you receive feedback, use it to adjust for Week 12, because both analyses share the same four criteria. Build the Week 12 notes page after the Week 11 screening, organised by criterion.

Ask Sia to quiz you on terms or to check whether a paragraph moves from description to meaning; it explains and questions, while the work you submit stays your own.

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