COURSES
1. Introduction to Film: From Script to Screen
11F: 3A 12x: 3A
This course examines all the processes which go into the creation of a film, from its inception as a treatment and screenplay to its distribution as a film. Experts (writers, directors, actors, cinematographers, and distributors) may talk on various areas of expertise. The course will offer an in-depth analysis of different kinds of films and the key technical and critical concepts used in understanding them.
Open to all classes. Limited to 75 students. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Lawrence, Williams
2. Introduction to Television
12F: 10A
This course will provide an introduction to television as a form of communication grounded in earlier electronic media such as telephone and radio and looking forward to the internet, its representative stylistic conventions and genres (daytime drama, news, sports, “reality” shows, sitcoms, etc), and the way the medium constructs audiences (e.g., as age, race and gender consumer demographics). Through an exploration of concepts such as “liveness,” segmentation and “flow”, and broadcasting, the class will also examine how television structures time and space. Dist: ART, WCult: W. Desjardins.
7. First-Year Seminars in Film and Media Studies
Consult special listings
10. Special Studies in Film Studies
Not offered in the period from 11F through 13S
20. Film History I (Silent to Sound)
11F: 3A 12F: 2A
Detailed history of film from its origins to early sound films. Among the major topics to be addressed are: Pre-cinematic devices and early cinema; the rise of the feature film; the tradition of silent comedy; the rise of the studio and star systems; European movements and their influence; the coming of sound.
Prerequisite to the major in Film and Media Studies. Open to all classes. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Williams.
21. Film History II (1930-60)
13W: 10A
A detailed history of film beginning with the golden age of the U.S. studio system and its major genres. Among the topics and films considered will be the rise of sound film; Hollywood in the 30s; the impact of World War II; neo-realism; film noir; the blacklist; the impact of television and the decline of the studio system; Japanese cinema; the emergence of European auteurs; beginnings of the French New Wave.
Open to all classes. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Desjardins
22. Film History III (1960 to 1990)
13S: 3A
A detailed history of film beginning with the French New Wave and its impact on American and international cinema. Among the topics and films to be considered will be the interrogation of genres in this period; the rise of alternative models of production; independent and radical film in the United States, Europe, and the Third World; new national cinemas (Eastern Europe in the 60’s, Australian and New German film in the 70’s, and Soviet, Chinese, and British film in the 80’s).
Open to all classes. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Desjardins
23. Film History 1990-present
12S: 3A
This class surveys a variety of national cinemas and their artistic, social, political, and industrial contexts from the period of 1990 to the present. Focus will be on the mutual influences among cinemas during this period, international co-productions, and the ways in which specific national cinema contexts interface with globalized economies and distribution in post-colonial political environments. Some attention will be given to post- French New Wave art film movements, such as Denmark’s Dogme group; to the cross-over of east Asian cinemas, such as Hong Kong cinema, to the west; to East European and German cinema since the break-up of the Soviet Union; and to the appeal of Indian cinema to diasporic communities in North America. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Williams.
30. Documentary Videomaking
11X: 2A 11F: 2A
This documentary workshop will explore in depth the rich world of nonfiction film and video production. Working in groups, students will tackle a variety of technological, asthetic and ethical issues intrinsic to the medium. Each group will produce one 10-minute non-fiction narrative. The class will utilize standard professional production models, which require intense collaborative teamwork and the distribution of tasks and responsibilities.
Open to all classes; enrollment limit of 15. Permission granted by the instructor after the first day of class. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Ruoff, Brown.
31. Filmmaking I: Basic Elements of Film
12W: 3A 12F: 2A
An introduction to the theory and technique of filmmaking combining comprehensive analysis of significant works in various film styles with practical exercises in production. The course aims to provide a basic understanding of the filmmaking process–from script to screen. Students will work in 16mm and portable video for experience in scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, acting, and editing. Readings will include introductory film history, film theory and criticism, screenplays, and essays on new aesthetics in film and video.
Permission required with preference given to students who have taken Film Studies 1. Permission is granted by the instructor after the first day of class. Dist: ART. Brown.
32. Filmmaking II
12S: 2A 13S: 3A
A workshop course in film production, with students, working alone or in collaboration, required to complete a project for showing at the end of the term. Weekly class meetings will include analysis of film classics and work in progress, as well as critical discussions with visiting professionals.
Prerequisite: Either FS 30, 31, 36, or permission of the instructor. Dist: ART. Brown.
33. Writing for the Screen I
11F: 10A 12W: 10A 13W: 10A
An analysis of the creative writing process as related to film and other media. A variety of styles will be explored and the potential of specific content for a visual medium will be examined. Each student will be expected to complete a script for a work of at least twenty minutes as a term project.
Permission will be granted by the instructor on the basis of material submitted before the end of fall term. Dist: ART. Phillips.
34. Writing for the Screen II
12S: 10A 13S: 10A
A continuation of Film Studies 33 in which the student is expected to complete a full-length screenplay begun in that course. Continued work on the methods of writing, particularly on character development and plot rhythms.
Permission is granted by the instructor and if you have taken Film Studies 33. Dist: ART. Phillips.
35. Animation: Principles and Practice
12W: 10A 13S: 2A
This studio course will introduce the expansive possibilities of the animated film through a series of exercises in drawn, cut-out, object and digital animation techniques as well as an extended final project that will screen publicly. Class screenings, critiques, and visiting artist presentations will supplement in-class demonstrations. Students should expect to devote serious time to the coursework (up to 20 hours per week). Permission of the instructor is required–granted first day of course. Dist: ART. Mack.
36. Videomaking
12X: 11
The basic techniques and theories of portable and studio video production. The course covers the basics of developing a video project from idea through realization on the screen. Students are expected to produce several projects, which emphasize ideas outside the traditional narrative and documentary forms, and are encouraged to develop their own form of aesthetic expression. Students show and critique their work in class weekly in preparation for a final project and public screening.
In 12X, as part of the Edinburgh off-campus program: Videography: Music Video Production. Study of the history, form and design of music television, followed by the development and production of music videos for local musicians and bands. We will accomplish these purposes, first, through close viewing and responses to selected music videos. Secondly, students will carry out music video scripting, creative storyboarding, shot breakdown, practical pre-production, on-location shooting, and post-production of music videos, working in groups. Dist: ART.
37. Directing for the Camera
Not offered in the period from 11F through 13S
38. Advanced Animation
13W: 2A
This advanced studio course will facilitate a short series of developed animation exercises alongside the production of an animated short that students will propose, conceptualize, and execute in preparation for a final, public exhibition. Class meetings will include demonstrations, screenings, and discussions as well individual and group critiques that seek to fine-tune each student’s skill set and vision for his/her final project. Prerequisite: Animation: Principles and Practice or previous animation experience. Permission of the instructor required. Dist: ART. Mack.
39. Advanced Videomaking (Documentary and Experimental)
12W: 2A 12X: 2A 13W: 10A
A workshop course in advanced digital videomaking, with students, working in pairs or groups, required to complete a short (10-minute or less) broadcast-quality documentary or experimental video for screening at the end of the term. Class meetings will focus on conceptualizing, preparing, and completing the various stages of pre-production, production, and post-production, with extensive in–class critiques.
For 12W and 13W: Prerequisite: Film Studies 30, 31, 36, or significant experience shooting and editing digital video. Permission granted by the professor after the first day of class. Dist: ART. Ruoff.
In 12X, as part of the Edinburgh off-campus program: Digital Cinematography. The goal of this class is to teach students the theory and practice of cinematography in the digital medium. Like many art forms, cinematography is a mix of technical skill and aesthetic talent. Working in groups and individually, students will get hands-on experience working with cameras, while also gaining knowledge of cinematography and its history. Dist: Art.
40. Theories and Methodologies of Film and Media Studies
12W: 2A 13W: 11
This course is designed to introduce the film and television studies major to some of the field’s major scholarly methodologies and their theoretical value in explaining how texts, industries, creative artists, and audiences participate in meaning-making processes. Students will read scholarship and participate in projects that illuminate how meaning is created and negotiated at the levels of industrial production, artistic creation of texts, and audience knowledge and engagement. The screenings, readings, and assignments will ask the student to think about the relations among his/her own position as a scholar, as an audience member, and as a creative artist. This knowledge provides a foundation for critical thinking skills necessary for the student’s success in the major. The course is designed for students who have had some introductory exposure to the principles of film and/or television aesthetics and production techniques, but before they have completed their upper division major requirements. Dist: ART. Desjardins
41. Genre
11F: 3A 12W: 2 12S: 11, 2A 12X: 2A 12F: 2A 13S: 2A
An examination of the concept and use of genre with focus on a particular genre. How are the genres determined and how useful structurally and historically is genre as a concept of classification? What constitutes a genre? What is the relationship between periods and genres? Between genre and the Hollywood film? This course will consider genre as both an aesthetic concept and an economic one, producing stabilization and variation in product. The roles of repetition and variation, stability and change. Genres may include the western, the crime movie, the women’s film, the musical, family melodrama, the film noir or other genre-related topics such as film and literature. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.
In 11F at 3A, Animation History. This course is an introduction to the history and development of the field of animation from the prehistory of cinema to the present day. Surveying both commercial and artisanal forms of production and distribution, the class will repeatedly contextualize the various functions of animation under a series of cultural, economic, and formal lenses. Students should bring an enthusiastic interest in the medium and devote serious effort to reading about, viewing, researching, and discussing the works. Dist: ART. Mack.
In 12W at 2 Film as Poetry: The Avant Garde (Identical to, and described under, Comparative Literature 62). Lawrence.
In 12X at 2A, Film Noir. This course will present a survey history of Film Noir, including its artistic and literary influences, its development within U.S. cinema, its international recognition and impact, and its contemporary renderings. Emphasis will be placed on specific films and filmmakers who have contributed to Noir, the sophisticated criticism and literature about Noir, and the intriguing questions that Film Noir brings to the study of Genre itself. Dist: Art. Williams.
In 12F at 2A, Arrival City: The Case of Berlin-Kreuzberg. (Identical to, and described under, Comparative Literature 62). Gemünden.
In 13S at 2A Visual Music. This course is an introduction to the history of the exploration of the relationship between music and (mostly) abstract imagery. We will investigate this subject from its predecessors to the current day—tracing the constantly expanding practices of visual music through painting, cinema, performance, and installation—from intuitive sketch films to complex algorithmic works. Students should bring an enthusiastic interest in the medium and devote serious effort to reading about, viewing, researching, and discussing all things visual music. Dist: ART. Mack.
42. National Cinemas
11F: 3A
Focus on a specific national cinema or a particular period of a national cinema. May be repeated for credit with a different topic. Dist: ART (unless indicated otherwise); WCult: Varies.
In 11F at 3A, The Age of Brainwashing: Russian and Eastern European Film (Identical to, and described under, Russian 14) Miller.
43. The Film Creator: Directors, Producers, Actors, Writers
11F: 3A 12W: 3A
In 11F at 3A: Documentary Filmmaking: Are We Really Listening? (Identical to and described under NAS 30) Obamsawain
In 12W at 3A: Hitchcock. This course will examine the films, career, and legacy of director/producer Alfred Hitchcock: the “master of suspense,” and one of the indelible figures in film and media history. We will survey the substantial critical and analytical work about Hitchcock; examine his major films (plus select additional media texts, including television programs); and configure the entity “Hitchcock” in relation to the development of auteur methodologies, assumptions, and practices. We will also consider the broad international influence of Hitchcock, especially regarding film form and style. The course will feature required in-class lectures and screenings, plus a range of online and reserve assignments. Dist.: Art. Williams.
44. Television: A Critical Approach
Not offered in the period from 11F through 13S
45. U. S. Television History
12S: 10A
This course will examine the history of television as an emerging technology; its dynamic interaction with government, private industry, and audiences; and its impact on society and culture. It will include a consideration of both pre-television media (especially radio) and new media (cyber-culture) as they inform a historical understanding of TV. The norms and practices of the network era (1955-1985) will be positioned as a functional middle-ground, much in the way that classical Hollywood Cinema (1920-1960) serves as middle-ground in motion picture history. Students will be encouraged to develop their capacity for a critical distance from contemporary media via this historicized approach. Open to all classes. Limited to 50 students. Dist: ART; WCult: W. Desjardins
46. Topics in Television
12F: 3A 13W: 2A
This course presents a range of approaches to television studies with varying emphases on historical, theoretical, or new methodological approaches including the impact of the new technologies. Dist: Varies.
In 12F at 3A. U.S. Broadcast and Electronic Journalism History. This course will survey the history of broadcast and electronic journalism in the United States, from telegraphy to the internet, focusing on the development of and changes to its fundamental relation to the public sphere. We will pursue a contextualized historical understanding of the formats, aesthetics, economics, and industrial organization of these media, in addition to case studies of specific debates, events, and individuals that have conditioned the impact of these media on society. Williams.
In 13W at 2A, Television and Histories of Gender (Identical to, and described under, Women’s and Gender Studies 56). Dist: ART; WCult: CI. Desjardins.
47. Topics in Film and Media Studies
11F: 2A 12W: 10A, 3A 12F: 3A 13W: 10A 13S: 2A
This course presents a range of approaches to film studies outside traditional categories such as genre or national cinemas. Each course will emphasize a different combination of historical, theoretical, and new methodological approaches to one area of film studies. Dist: ART.
In 11F at 2A, Handmade Strategies. This course will explore non-conventional, artisanal modes of experiments and avant-garde cinema that focus on the materiality of moving image media formats. By utilizing a variety of techniques–direct image and sound manipulation 16mm film, hand-processing, ray-o-grams, scanner animation, and live-projector performance–students will gain total-filmmaker toolsets to prepare for individual final projects that will screen publicly. In addition to producing personal projects, students will complete a series of written exercises that build upon in-class screenings, reading, and discussions to locate handmade cinema within historical and cultural contexts. Dist: ART. Mack.
In 11F at 2A, Jews and Hollywood. (Identical to, and described under, Jewish Studies 22. Bronski
In 12W at 10A (Section 1), Found Footage. This hybrid production/studies course examines films that appropriate, quote, and re-contextualize footage from other movies. There will be weekly screenings of works by avant-garde filmmakers such as Bruce Conner and Péter Forgács, documentaries such as Night and Fog and Atomic Café, fiction features such as What’s Up Tiger Lily and Forrest Gump. In addition to screenings, readings, and papers, students will edit short films on Final Cut Pro software. Dist: ART. Ruoff.
In 12W at 3A (Section 2) Curating and Microcinema. This course provides an introduction to the practice of curating film and video–from shorts programs, to retrospective screenings, to moving-image installations and exhibitions of production artwork. Through a series of on-campus presentations, readings, screenings, and discussions, the course will prepare students for final projects in which groups of students organize moving-image events for members of the community. Dist: Art. Mack.
In 12W at 10A (Section 3), History of the Hollywood Studio System. This class will look at the history of the Hollywood studio film production system, concentrating on its formation in the late teens and twenties through its greatest crises in the 1950s, and concluding with its survival as a system for television production and distribution for independent film companies from the 1950s to the present. The emergence of specific studio “styles,” the importance of the star system, the place of other creative talent in studio hierarchies and division of labor, and studios’ relations with other businesses (e.g. manufacturers of ancillary products) will be examined in the context of film and social histories of twentieth-century American culture. The course will also include a focus on the methodologies of researching the history of the studio system. Dist: ART. Desjardins.
In 12F at 3A, Independent American Film. This course examines the emergence and growth of the American Independent film movement from post-WW II to the present day. Working outside of and sometimes subversively within the Hollywood studio system, independents crafted films of an extraordinary variety across a wide spectrum of genres and styles. Despite a production and distribution system designed to exclude them, they prevailed in creating a compelling alternative vision to Hollywood’s increasingly homogenized mass entertainment. The course seeks to analyze and contextualize what it means to be an independent filmmaker, what an independent film actually is and why it matters. Students will be involved in the actual process of independent film through meeting visiting independent filmmakers and by conceptualizing, producing and budgeting an independent film of their own. Dist: ART. Brown.
In 13W at 10A, Cut and Paste Cinema. Using principles of both animation and editing, this course will explore the results of combination in cut and paste cinema in conjunction with the history of collage–from classic uses in painting, photomontage, architecture, and literature to contemporary functions via mash-ups, samples, and digital manipulation. Through producing projects, screening films, discussing readings, and writing papers, we will explore the varying formulations of new meanings via the pairing of found elements. Dist: ART. Mack.
In 13S at 10A Visual Music. This course is an introduction to the history of visual music, the exploration of the relationship between music and (mostly) abstract imagery. We will investigate this subject from its predecessors to current day–tracing the constantly expanding practices of visual music through painting, cinema, performance, and installation--from intuitive sketch films to complex algorithmic works. Students should bring an enthusiastic interest in the medium and devote serious effort to reading about, viewing, researching, and discussing all things visual music. Dist: Art. Mack.
48. Topics in Digital Culture and New Media Technologies
12W: 2A 12X: 2A 13S: 10A
In 12W, New Media Art. Computer technology has irrevocably altered the ways in which art is experienced and created. While traditional forms such as sculpture, photography, and painting are involving novel methods and techniques, this class focuses on the new art forms made possible by new media. Students will learn about net art, software art, computer game-related art, and forms yet emerging due to digital technology. This theory/practice seminar will survey the emergence of digital art, and students will produce digital works. Flanagan.
In 12X, The Map (cross-listed with SART 17). Maps involve purposeful omission; they require compression; they are subjective in their emphasis and perspective; they are of the imagination, and create illusions of space, time, and place. In The Map, the group visits map collections, reads critical and historic essays, investigates digital maps and territories, and interviews artists, cartographers, and geographers about their practices. Weekly assignments include several maps per week--fanciful, conceptual, and practical. Flanagan
49. Practicum in Digital Culture and New Media Technologies
12S: 10A 12X: 10A 13S: 10A
This course offers students the opportunity to combine critical study with the practice of new media design. This course explores how innovative games are created and what elements go into the design of a good play experience. Games, be they PC games, cell phone games, or locative games, provide to be a versatile platform for media designers. During the course, students will explore the range of options open to the game designer in theory-practice sessions. Students study the process of making games while developing actual game ideas, prototyping, play-testing, and documenting original, innovative game plans within a master design document.
In 12S at 10A, Game Design Workshop. Dist: ART. Flanagan
In 12X at 10A, Virtual Cinema. Flanagan
In 13S at 10A, Game Design Workshop. Dist: Art. Flanagan
50. Topics in Film Theory
12W: 11
Introduction to basic issues of film and television theory as seen by classical and contemporary film theorists. Issues include the problem of realism and representation, signification, narrative, and the impact of semiotic, psychoanalytic, feminist, and structuralist theories on classical theory.
Prerequisite: Film Studies 20 or 21, or Permission of the Instructor. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.
In 12W at 11, Sound: Theory and Practice. Through the analysis of soundtracks and the creation of soundtracks, this course will explore the history of film sound and the way theories of sound reproduction continue to influence the development of sound technology and the practical choices made by sound recorders, sound mixers and editors. We will look at early sound films, 70s breakthroughs (Murch), and the imaginary soundscapes of different genres (e.g. science fiction). Dist: ART. Lawrence.
80. Independent Study
All terms: Arrange
This course is designed to enable qualified upperclass students to engage in independent study in film under the direction of a member of the Department. A student should consult with the faculty member with whom he or she wishes to work as far in advance as possible. A proposal for any independent project must be submitted by the appropriate deadline in the term immediately preceding the term in which the independent study is to be pursued. Permission of instructor required. The staff.
93. Major Project
All terms: Arrange
This course, limited to Film and Media Studies majors or as part of a modified major, involves an individual project in some aspect of film and television history, theory or practice. The subject of the project, the term, and the hours are to be arranged. Each project must be directed by a faculty member of the Department. The approval of the faculty member and the Chair must be secured in advance, not later than the term immediately preceding the term in which the project is to be undertaken. This is a two term project.
95. Honors Project
All terms: Arrange
A thesis, screenplay, or film production written under the supervision of a member of the Film and Media Studies Department. This course must be elected by all honors candidates. Permission of the Film and Media Studies Faculty required. Honors Projects are considered to be two-term projects. Students must register for each of the two terms to receive the Honors designation.