Abstract

This seminar has as its object of study the American classic situation comedies (better known as sitcoms) filmed  scene to scene on a stage studio, and using multiple cameras which do not  exceed the proscenium. Particular importance will be given to the description of the gestures of the actors in perfectly confined space and unfolding time that this filming mode favors. Detailed analysis of television series as Cheers (1982-93) and Frasier (1993-2004) show how the techniques associated with these comedies can be used in a complex and distinctive manner, relating the size of the stage of these works with the proximity of a set of characters and with the world that this community defines for itself.

Bio note

Sérgio Dias Branco is Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the Faculty of  Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, where he coordinates the image and film studies course in Art Studies. He is a researcher in film and philosophy at IFL (Institute of Philosophy of Language) at the New University of Lisbon and invited member of the group of film analysis The Magnifying Class at  Oxford University. Co-editor of the journals Cinema: Revista de Filosofia e Imagem em Movimento (http://cjpmi.ifl.pt) and  Conversations: The Journal of Cavellian Studies (https://uottawa.scholarsportal.info/ojs/index.php/conversations).

Has published several book chapters and articles on cinema, television, and video, namely the journals  Refractory and Fata Morgana. He has presented scientific papers in these areas in many universities, including the University of New York, Yale University, and the University of Glasgow.


Note: Activity within the Doctoral Programme "American Studies"