The purpose of this publication is to provide you with a starting point to locate resources for your unit pertaining to Film Studies.
- Reference Texts
- Books
- Journals
- Audio Visual
- Subject Headings
- Journal databases
- Internet guides and resources
- Web search tools
Reference Texts
Reference sources are a good starting point for any assignment topic, as they can help to clarify concepts and keywords, as well as provide an overview of a topic. They include dictionaries, encyclopaedias, directories, handbooks, manuals, etc. Reference books are not available for loan, but can instead be used in the library.
| Title | Dewey number | Location |
|---|---|---|
| The film studies dictionary | 791.4303 30 | KG Ref, KG |
| Critical dictionary of film and television theory | 791.4301 104 | KG Ref |
| Encyclopaedia Britannica Online |
Books
Here are just some of the print resources in the Library which might be useful. To find more books and print resources, see also the subject headings.
These books are shelved at the locations indicated - GP: Gardens Point, KG: Kelvin Grove, CA: Carseldine, and Law.
| Title | Dewey number | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Film : a critical introduction / Maria Pramaggiore, Tom Wallis. | 791.43 470 | KG |
| Creative postproduction : editing, sounds, visual effects, and music for film and video | 778.5235 7 | KG |
| The McGraw-Hill film viewer's guide | 791.4301 17 /7 | KG |
| Film theory and criticism : introductory readings | 791.43 31 /6 | KG |
| Third take : Australian film-makers talk | 791.43023 36 | KG |
| Cinemas of the world : film and society from 1895 to the present | 306.485 17 | KG |
| Closely watched films : an introduction to the art of narrative film technique | 791.43015 72 | KG |
| Current issues in film law | 347.374 CURR | Law |
| Film : the critics' choice : 150 masterpieces of world cinema selected and defined by the experts | 791.4375 105 | KG |
| The audience studies reader | 302.2343 17 | KG |
| The film experience : an introduction | 791.4307 10 | KG |
| Rethinking the novel/film debate | 791.436 33 | KG |
| The movies as history : visions of the twentieth century | 791.43658 28 | KG |
| Breaking in to the movies : film and the culture of politics | 791.43 444 | KG |
| A short history of the movies | 791.4309 87 /8 | KG |
| Film genre reader[s] | 791.43015 26 | KG |
| New Hollywood cinema : an introduction | 791.430973 96 | KG |
| Total directing : integrating camera and performance in film and television | 791.430233 197 | KG |
| Filmmakers and financing : business plans for independents | 791.4302320681 1 /4 | KG |
| Reel arguments : film, philosophy, and social criticism | 302.2343 18 | KG |
| Celluloid heroes down under : Australian film, 1970-2000 | 791.43750994 3 | KG |
Journals
(Also referred to as magazines, serials or periodicals.)
The library subscribes to some print and electronic journals that cover the area of Film Studies. Journals comprise articles about current developments and research in a subject area. Browsing relevant journals is a good way of keeping up to date in your area. You can access our electronic journals either through the catalogue if you know the name of the journal you're after, or through searching the databases - see below.
| Title | Dewey number | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Film quarterly | 791.43 1 | KG |
| Film review | 791.43 338 | KG |
| Film index | 791.43 334 | KG |
| The velvet light trap | 791.43 119 and Electronic Resource | KG |
| Variety | 790.2 19 | KG |
| Journal of film and video | 791.43 436 and Electronic Resource | KG |
| On the wire : news from ScreenSound Australia | 791.407494 1 | KG |
| Film comment | 791.43 333 and Electronic Resource | KG |
| The Journal of popular film and television JPF & T | 791.43 335 and Electronic Resource | KG |
| Film history | Electronic Resource | |
| Camera obscura | 791.43082 1 and Electronic Resource | KG |
Audio Visual
There is a range of audio visual material available which relates to the field of Film Studies. If you're after particular movies, check out the subject guides, for example Motion Pictures Australian will take you to all the Australian movies QUT holds. Also check out Feature Films in the catalogue.
| Title | Dewey number | Location |
|---|---|---|
| The Hollywood machine [videorecording] | 791.430973 93 | KG |
| Hollywood Inc. battle of the blockbusters | 791.430973 92 | KG |
| Film genre | 791.4309 92 | KG |
| History of Australian cinema | 791.430994 100 | KG |
Subject Headings
To find resources on a topic, the best starting point is to perform a keyword search on the library catalogue. Once you have found an item that looks relevant, you can then use the subject headings assigned to that record to find other items. Below are just some of the subject headings that you may find useful:
Journal databases
Locating journal articles is different from locating books. The Library Catalogue will tell you if QUT Library holds a particular journal but it will not provide information about individual journal articles. However, the journal databases will help you to locate references to journal articles, and sometimes the abstract and full-text of the articles.
The journal databases vary in the amount of information which they provide. If you find a reference to a journal article, but not the full text, then you will need to perform a Title search, using the Title of the journal (NOT the article) on the library catalogue. The library catalogue will provide the print and/or electronic holding details if the journal is available to QUT staff and students.
Effective use of the databases requires an understanding of search techniques and the Pilot Information Literacy tutorial provides help on developing search strategies.
In addition, library staff offer training sessions on how to use databases throughout each semester. The Tours & workshops page provides further information.
QUT staff and students can access the databases from within QUT libraries or remotely from your School, home or office via the Internet. Most databases require your QUT username and password. Access to the databases is available from the Databases page.
| Database title | Description |
|---|---|
| EBSCOhost Databases | Academic Search Elite, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
Databases may be searched separately or simultaneously. |
| ProQuest Databases | ABI/INFORM Dateline, ABI/INFORM Global, Academic Research Library, ProQuest Arts, ProQuest Humanities The ProQuest Direct gateway provides access to a number of fulltext databases. |
| Australian Public Affairs via Informit Search | Indexes current journals and newspapers in Australia and overseas for material on Australia's political, economic, legal, social and cultural affairs. |
| AEM - Arts & Entertainment Management via Informit Search | Produced by the Faculty of Management, Deakin University, this database covers financial, legal and strategic management relating to arts and entertainment. Other subjects covered include marketing, funding, project/venue planning and cultural planning. |
| Project Muse - Arts and Humanities | Project Muse was launched in 1995 by the Johns Hopkins University Press, and incorporates content from some forty scholarly publishers in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Indexes nearly 250 journals, with over 170 in fulltext, in history, literature, philosophy, religion, theatre, music and film, and more. |
For more recommended databases, see the Databases Subject Guide
Internet guides and resources
The Internet provides access to a large range of resources on Film Studies. However, the quality of the resources varies, and as part of your research process, you will need to evaluate each web site. There are guidelines for evaluating information which can help you with the evaluation process. Here is a small sample of Internet guides and resources.
| Web site | Description |
|---|---|
| Film Australia - Also available via the Library catalogue. | Film Australia is the website of the Commonwealth government's film production house. The pages provide details of Film Australia's productions, with purchasing information and online order forms, as well as details on the services offered to filmmakers, including production facilities and supply of footage. A particularly useful site for students of Australian documentary film and government film production. Many of the programs listed have extensive study notes available for the use of students and teachers. See also Film Australia Digital Learning |
| IMDb (Internet Movie Database) film glossary IMDb homepage |
Part of the Internet Movie Database website, this online glossary provides "definitions of terms and phrases frequently used in the world of movies, film, acting, and cinemagoing. |
| FilmSound.org | A web site devoted to providing information on the art and science of film sound, by a Swedish teacher of media. It contains glossaries, articles, bibliography, and links to further resources. Recommended by Oxford University FilmSound badges itself as a learning space with "representations of what all of us - practitioners of sound design, students, academics, as well as film sound buffs - love and enjoy". |
| Research Guide in Film Studies by Yale University Library | An introductory guide to conducting research in Film Studies at Yale University. It includes information about reference materials, internet sites and other special resources. Please send comments and questions to Tobin Nellhaus (tobin.nellhaus@yale.edu), Librarian for Drama, Film and Theater Studies. |
| ScreenSound | ScreenSound Australia is our National Screen and Sound Archive. It collects, preserves, and shares Australia ’s moving images and sound recordings throughout our film history. This includes a National Collection which they make available to the public in various ways. Check out the site for all the latest info on what’s happening in the coming months, the ScreenSound collection, and details on their preservation service. |
| Film resources on the web: An introduction | American Library Association College and Research Libraries News article listing a selection of resources available in various film subtopics. |
Web search tools
| Web search tool | Description |
|---|---|
Google |
Google is an excellent search engine. To ensure you retrieve material of a scholarly nature use the advanced search facility. In the Domain field, limit your search to .edu or .edu.au or .ac.uk. You can also limit to pdf by choosing the pdf option in File Format field. |
| Vivisimo http://www.vivisimo.com |
Vivisimo is a document clustering search engine. The search technology automatically categorises textual information into meaningful, hierarchically sorted category folders. You can then view results based on type of resources found. |
| BUBL Links - Film Studies http://bubl.ac.uk/link/f/filmstudies.htm |
Catalogue of selected Internet Film Studies resources from international sources. |
For further information about using libraries and the principles of searching the Library Databases and the Internet, try Pilot. It is a series of short interactive tutorials on finding information in the library and on the Internet.
There are also guides to citing information (in both APA and Harvard format), and how to find standards in your research area.