Aesthetics of the Moving Image
How do films convey meaning, generate emotions, and work as an art form? What aspects of film are shared by television and videogames? This course is designed to improve your ability to watch, reflect on, and write about moving images. The course will be grounded in the analysis of cinema (feature films, documentaries, avant-garde, and animation) with special focus on film style and storytelling techniques. Study will extend to new audio-visual media as well, and will be considered from formal, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen

Film History
This course will survey the development of the cinema from 1895 to present. Our study will emphasize film as an evolving art, while bearing in mind the influence of technology, economic institutions, and the political and social contexts in which the films were produced and received. Screenings will include celebrated works from Hollywood, international cinema, documentary, and the avant-garde. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen

Sight and Sound I
In this course students will gain a theoretical understanding of the ways moving images and sounds communicate, as well as practical experience creating time-based work. We will study examples of moving images as we use cameras, sound recorders, and non-linear editing software to produce our own series of short works. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the possibilities of the medium through experimentation, analysis, and detailed feedback while exploring different facets of cinematic communication. (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0102, or approval of instructor) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Writing for the Screen I
In this course we will examine the fundamental elements of dramatic narrative as they relate to visual storytelling. We will emphasize the process of generating original story material and learning the craft of screenwriting, including topics such as story, outline, scene structure, subtext, character objectives, formatting standards, and narrative strategies. Weekly writing assignments will emphasize visual storytelling techniques, tone and atmosphere, character relationships, and dialogue. Students will be required to complete two short screenplays. Required readings will inform and accompany close study of selected screenplays and films. (FMMC 0101 OR CRWR 0170 or approval of instructor) (Formerly FMMC/ENAM 0106) 3 hrs. sem.

Writing for the Screen I
In this course we will examine the fundamental elements of dramatic narrative as they relate to visual storytelling. We will emphasize the process of generating original story material and learning the craft of screenwriting, including topics such as story, outline, scene structure, subtext, character objectives, formatting standards, and narrative strategies. Weekly writing assignments will emphasize visual storytelling techniques, tone and atmosphere, character relationships, and dialogue. Students will be required to complete two short screenplays. Required readings will inform and accompany close study of selected screenplays and films. (FMMC 0101 OR CRWR 0170 or approval of instructor) (Formerly FMMC/ENAM 0106) 3 hrs. sem.

International Cinema: The Art of Ellipsis
In 1936, film critic Roger Leenhardt declared, “cinema is the art of ellipsis.” But this claim seems to contradict our most basic understanding of film. After all, movies are about what we see, not about what we don’t. Or are they? In fact, Leenhardt was suggesting that the richest tradition in cinema explores the dynamic between the seen and the unseen, the shown and the unshown. In this course, we will carefully study four international film classics that effectively exemplify this dynamic in terms of narrative, character, and, most importantly, cinematic style. Films studied will be: Jean Renoir’s Rules of the Game (France, 1939); Yasujiro Ozu’s Late Spring (Japan, 1949); Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder (US, 1959); and Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up (Iran, 1990).

Chinese Cinema
This course, taught in English, surveys the history of movies in China since the 1930s and also offers an in-depth look at the work of: China's fifth-generation directors of the 1980s and their successors up to the present; Taiwan's new wave; and Hong Kong popular cinema, including martial arts film. Our focus is the screening and discussion of films such as The Goddess (a 1934 silent classic), Stage Sisters (1965; directed by the influential Xie Jin), the controversial Yellow Earth (1984), In the Heat of the Sun (a 1994 break with the conventional representation of the Cultural Revolution), Yang Dechang's masterpiece A One and a Two (2000), and Still Life (Jia Zhangke's 2006 meditation on displacement near the Three Gorges Dam). The course is designed to help students understand the place of cinema in Chinese culture and develop the analytical tools necessary for the informed viewing and study of Chinese film. We will look at everything from art film, to underground film, to recent box office hits. (No prerequisites) One evening film screening per week. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Sight and Sound II
In this course we will explore non-fiction, narrative, and experimental modes of production. We will emphasize thorough pre-production planning, expanded understanding of image and sound, and editing. The critical dialogue established in Sight and Sound I will be extended and augmented with readings and screenings of outstanding independently produced work. (Approval-required; FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0105). Obtain application on FMMC website online and submit prior to the start of registration. Priority given to FMMC majors. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.

3D Computer Animation
3D computer animation has revolutionized animation, graphics, and special effects. In this course students will explore basic 3D modeling techniques, virtual material and texture creation, digital lighting, rendering, and animation. Every workshop will be hands on and fully immersed in this rapidly evolving technology. Students will leave with a strong conceptual understanding of the 3D graphics pipeline, a fundamental 3D skill set, options for further study, and an independent final animation project. (FMMC 0105 or by approval) 3 hrs. workshop

Methods of Film Criticism
In this seminar we will study film criticism. Questions include: How does criticism combine description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation? What are the values and techniques of various methods of film analysis, such as genre, authorship and neo-formalism? What can techniques, such as plot segmentation, teach us about film narrative? How can criticism take into account the response of the spectator? Films considered will be those which raise particular challenges for the film critic. Assignments will include readings, screenings, class presentations, short papers, and a 10-12 page research essay. (FMMC 0101 or FMMC 0102 or instructor's approval) 3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screen.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.

Advanced Independent work in Film and Media Culture
Guidelines for submitting proposals are available on the Film & Media Culture web site along with a list of prerequisites.