Student Opportunities
Students who qualify for Work-Study employment at Loyola University may apply for work as projectionists in the Film Buffs Program. These students are recruited at the Summer Job Fairs, interviewed by the Director of the Film Buffs Program, and the Director makes final decisions about who will work as Film Buffs projectionists.
These screenings take place Monday through Thursday nights. Check in for a screening begins one hour before the film is to be screened. Most films at Film Buffs begin at 7:30. Students are thoroughly trained by the Director of the Film Buffs Program as well as mentored by returning, senior projectionists. In addition to screening and being on call for screenings, each Film Buffs projectionist has an additional program-related job to round out weekly work-study hours, such as updating the weekly voice message on the Film Buffs Program extension, 865-2152, giving the titles, times, and locations of films for the week at Film Buffs; and making sure Film Studies Program Semester Schedules and Film Studies Minor brochures are supplied to all brochure locations throughout the campus, including residence hall front desks, as well as other program-related work.
The Film Buffs projectionists take English A 499: “Film Buffs Practicum” one time during their tenure as projectionists. This course combines hands on experience in screening films with introduction to basic film studies analysis. The course goals and course syllabus are listed below:
English A 499: Film Buffs Practicum
Course Goals:
This course meets on Tuesdays in the window between 12:30 and 1:30. The goal of this course is to introduce Film Buffs projectionists to the world’s most influential films. Students learn the basics of film studies analysis, which is taught at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels in the series of Film Studies Minor courses.
The class utilizes a discussion/lecture format; the class texts are the syllabus filmography of films screened by Film Buffs projectionists Monday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 P. M. and Understanding Movies, by Louis Giannetti. The teacher is the Director of the Film Buffs Work-Study Program and the Chairperson of the Film Studies Minor Committee who teaches film analysis to projectionists and supervises the students’ work-study jobs screening films for the Film Studies Minor courses. Students in the Practicum learn the Practicum’s integrally linked goals of film studies analysis and technical skills as projectionists for the Film Buffs Program, a true work and study internship opportunity.
Short exams on the individual elements of film—cinematography, editing, sound, narrative, lighting, acting, costume and makeup, and ideology—demonstrate the students’ comprehension of the Aristotelian method of analytical examination of film as a profoundly complex cultural and aesthetic product. The goal of the Practicum is to combine hands on experience of projecting films in the Film Buffs Program Work-Study Program with learning the basics of film studies analysis as well as awareness of the most important films from historical, stylistic, and genre perspectives. While additional Film Studies courses are not required for Film Buffs projectionists during their employment in the Film Buffs Work-Study Program, projectionists regularly enroll in Film Studies classes after completing the Practicum.
Syllabus and Course Requirements
Attendance: Students enrolled in the Practicum are required to attend class. Attendance at the Practicum takes priority over other activities. If you are absent for illness, please bring a note from a physician or attending medical practitioner. Attendance counts for 1/3 of grade. No more than three absences are allowed during the semester.
The filmography of the Practicum will include films from the Film Studies Minor courses being screened that semester. Thus, the filmography will represent illustrations of major historical, cultural, and stylistic movements as well as examples of classic genre films from various genres such as film noir, horror, westerns, and musicals.
- Sequence One: see designated film to be screened and chapter one, “Cinematography” in Giannetti.
- Sequence Two, Three, and Four: see designated films to be screened and chapter two: “Mise en scene,” chapter three: “Movement,” and chapter six: “Acting,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Five and Six: see designated films to be screened and chapter four: “Editing,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Seven and Eight: see designated films to be screened and chapter five: “Sound,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Nine, Ten, and Eleven: see designated films to be screened and chapters seven: “Drama,” eight: “Story,” and nine: “Writing,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Twelve: see designated films to be screened and chapter ten: “Ideology,” in Giannetti
- Sequence Thirteen and Fourteen: Small group discussions and reports to the class of assigned film elements to be examined in course films that function as an examination of all chapters in Giannetti and their application to films in the course
Testing: Brief, objective quizzes on assigned readings and films: 1/3 of grade. These quizzes test students’ preparation for class discussion. They are given at the beginning of class; there are no make up quizzes.
Group Reports: 1/3 of grade. Participation indicates students’ ability to analyze elements of film according to Giannetti and class lectures.
NOTE: Students who are Work-Study projectionists in the Film Buffs Program are eligible to take this course for one credit in one semester. The Director of the Film Buffs Program, who is supervisor of the Film Buffs Work-Study staff and the advisor to all students taking Film Studies Minor courses, is the professor of this course. The course provides first hand, hands on experience of projecting films and an introduction to film studies analysis, a true work and study internship opportunity.
Contact information
Students interested in working as Film Buffs Projectionists must first qualify as work-study students. See the Supervisor of Work-Study in Human Resources in Mercy 102. Students who are eligible for work-study assignments should contact Dr. Peggy McCormack, Director of the Film Buffs Program, Chairperson of the Film Studies Committee, and advisor to Film Studies Minors and all students taking Film Studies courses:
Dr. Peggy McCormack
Department of English
cormack@loyno.edu
Office: Bobet 323; Phone: 865-2473
Director, Film Buffs Program
Chair, Film Studies Minor Committee
Advisor to all students taking Film Studies Minor courses