Greetings!

It is wonderful to have you along on a journey through the world of film. Whether you are a student or an instructor, it is deeply flattering that you have chosen this text to help guide you as we explore the various components of the fascinating world of movies.

In early July of 1977, my mother took me to see Star Wars. It was the first movie I can recall seeing in a theater and when John Williams’ pulse pounding score rang through the speakers as the scrolling marque rose in front of me . . . well, I was hooked.

My education followed a path similar to Luke in that watershed film. A small country boy who didn’t really have a plan until a mixture of opportunity and clarity, I chose to follow my creative skills and study the world of communication. Learning how to make videos and commercials and TV newscasts, along with developing skills as a writer and a speaker, I entered into the world of mass media in the mid-1990s.

After working in both radio and television, I returned to my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University in the summer of 1999 to pursue an advanced degree. When the fall semester started, I had the life-changing opportunity to teach a collegiate class as a way to help with the cost of my education. It took me one week to realize that my destiny lied within the classroom on a college campus.

Now, two decades later, I find myself with the dream job of dream jobs. A tenured faculty member at McHenry County College, I teach Introduction to Film (along with Advanced Film and Intro to Public Speaking). In more than 15 years of teaching, the class that allows students not only the chance to learn about this phenomenal art form, but complete a requirement of fine arts for their Associates degree, I have learned and developed a deep appreciation for this one-of-a-kind industry. It is that appreciation that I would like to share with you within the modules of this text.

While there are many textbooks on this subject (I have gone through two different ones, each with several editions) there came a moment when my curriculum was more my own. The desire to write a textbook was there, but it wasn’t until I had a Zoom call with Amanda Ramler at Great River Learning that the possibility became a reality. Her judgment and encouragement lead me to take on this project and the result of nearly a year of research, writing, revising, writing, meetings, and writing is here for you to use.

It would be WAY to egotistical to claim that this is a comprehensive and complete study of the world of movies and nor would I even suggest that it has everything you need to know; however, it is an overview of the various parts of filmmaking that will certainly help you understand the extreme amount of effort and detail that goes into to making a movie.

I have taken the liberty to break our study into four different sections, consisting of three modules each. We begin with the Foundational aspects (Birth of Cinema, Critical Analysis, and mise en scene), then move to The Physical Triangle of Filmmaking (Cinematography, Editing, and Sound), the Structural components (The Three S’s, Stylizing the Film, and Scriptwriting), before finishing with the Philosophical elements (Production Phases, Categories of Film, and the Cultural Aspects). If I am lucky enough to have you as a student, we will look at each of these topics with lectures and screenings to represent the material. If you are a fellow instructor, feel free to deliver the material as you see fit, use films that you believe best support the topics covered, and enjoy the learning ingredients such as quizzes and critical thinking questions.

When we are done, I only make one promise . . . no one will want to watch a film with you again.

Thank you for joining me. As they say on a film set, “let’s roll”

JCS