Reddit reviews Film Art: An Introduction

I'm not totally sure what you mean by "fluency in reading deeper into game," but my standard advice for becoming proficient in analysis is to not limit yourself to reading about games. To be truly good at it, you need a broader base; you should become fluent in film and literature and their analysis as well. Obviously this also requires experiencing a decent selection of the important games, films, and writings, as well.

Some other reddit discussions that might be helpful in this regard (I replied to all of them with links and ideas):

• Are there any resources with which to learn how to review games as properly as possible?
  
• What are the essential readings in the games-as-art debate? - Note that the top-rated comment here is a quote from the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, underscoring my suggestion to go broader than games. Also, the entirety of the preface from which that quote is taken is essential reading.
  
• Essential Games - What games should be required playing for studying the medium? What's the 'game canon'?
  
  Generally useful game websites:
  
  
• Critical Distance - A great aggregator of game writing. Lot's of essential reading here.
  
• Raph Koster's Website
  
• /r/ludology and /r/truegaming
  
• Gameology
  
• Critical Missive
  
• Brainy Gamer
  
• Ben Medler - Tread Digital
  
• Popular Culture Gaming
  
• FILMCRITHULK - Mostly film, but also TV and games. The film stuff is essential reading, too, though. This article is particularly relevant to games-as-art.
  
• Click Nothing - See also the article on here in which the term 'ludonarrative dissonance' was coined. This is a concept you should know.
  
• J Burger Analysis
  
• The Game Critique
  
• Gamasutra
  
• Vintage Game Club
  
• The Slowdown
  
• Medium Difficulty
  
  For becoming literate in film, you can find out what some of the more important ones are at They Shoot Pictures. I won't add a list of film writings and websites because there are just too many. It might be worth picking up an intro to film studies text book like Film Art: An Introduction and a compilation of critical film writing like Film Theory and Criticism. If you want more detailed suggestions on readings in film, let me know; I'm a huge film nerd. Similarly, picking up a book on analyzing literature might be helpful, too.
  
  Another trick to finding out what you should be reading for any area like this, whether it be game design or film studies, is to search for syllabi for university courses on the subject. Typically, such documents have lists of suggested reading. Of course, if you're a student still, you might even be able to take such a course.
  
  Finally, in a bit of shameless self promotion, I sometimes write about games here, but I'm far from a pro.
  
  Hope this helps a bit!

Thank you, I am glad you found it interesting.

Understanding Movies by Giannetti is a classic introduction. I believe it is a mainstay on a number of film courses. (Note: the prices are just horribly inflated. They pump out new editions every year to bully students into buying them. An older textbook will work just as well. Try to get a second-hand copy, or perhaps rent the book from your local library.)

Film Art: An Introduction by David Bordwell is another excellent book. It's a bit more verbose than Giannetti but it tackles the same subject.

I think you're perfectly equipped with your background in photography to get more out of film. If you approach them with a similar vocabulary, especially on shot composition, I think you'll quickly learn a lot about the grammar of film.

The key is to watch great films, especially classics, and to really ask yourself: why is the camera placed in this exact position? The great directors and directors of photography use every element of composition to support the content and to infuse scenes with meaning.

[Film Art: An Introduction by Bordwell & Thompson](Film Art: An Introduction https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0073386162/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gicvCbCT23HZ2). A really useful book that goes into a ton of detail about the language, technique and styles of cinematography.

Some of the newer editions are pretty pricey because it's a go-to for most film students, but you can pick up used copies for a fair price. I've got the 9th edition and it does the job just fine!

Unfortunately most of the material on film style that is to be found on the Internet is either incomplete or outright wrong. The best single source for this stuff is Bordwell and Thompson's Film Art.

Alright, I left my syllabus at school (on break) but here is the list of movies we watched this semester, and the style that we learned with them. Also, we used the book Film Art and almost all of the movies are referenced in it.

Narrative

Chungking Express- Kar-Wai

The Conversation- Francis Coppola

Ball of Fire- Howard Hawks

Jaws- Spielberg

Raging Bull- Scorsese

Nashville- Altman

Chinatown- Polanski

The 400 Blows- Truffaut

Back to the Future- Zemeckis


Cinematography

Stagecoach- Ford

East of Eden- Kazan

Ashes and Diamonds- Wajda


Mise-en-scene

Do the Right Thing- Lee

Written on the Wind- Sirk


Sound

A Man Escaped- Bresson


Editing

Strangers on a Train- Hitchcock

Grand Illusion- Renoir

The Seven Samurai- Kurosawa


Documentary

High School- Wiseman

Nobody's Business- Berliner


Avant-garde

Ballet mécanique- Murphy/Lérger

Meshes of the Afternooon- Deren

Scorpio Rising- Anger

Our Lady of the Sphere- Jordan

Alone: Life Wastes Andy Hardy- Arnold

The Heart of the World- Maddin

The newish 15 hour documentary "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" is worth signing up for Netflix for. I couldn't believe how in-depth and carefully observed it was. The author is incredibly passionate and narrates. I haven't read the book yet.

The primary college survey work is "Film Art". This was my text book 20 years ago, and it appears to still be used it its latest edition. Very good schematic for processing the big ideas of film.