Courses

Global Film Histories I
This course will survey the development of the cinema from 1895 to 1960. 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 representative and celebrated works from world cinema. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. screen

Filmmaking
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

Anime: Masterworks of Japanese Animation
How did anime emerge as a distinctive national genre in global popular culture at the turn of the 21st century? What social conditions and media industry developments in Japan promoted adaptations of manga (graphic novels) into feature-length films for both young and adult audiences? In this course students will address these questions by analyzing the forms and contexts of a number of masterworks by the most prominent directors of Japanese animation. We will examine the relation of anime to classic Disney films, live-action Hollywood cinema, and Japanese aesthetic traditions. In addition to Studio Ghibli founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, we will study the works of Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, Makoto Shinkai, and other distinguished anime auteurs.

Cinema and Memory
Depicting the experience of memory is a challenge that filmmakers have returned to repeatedly throughout cinema’s history. In this course, we will screen films from around the world to explore the ways in which individual and cultural memory have found expression in cinema. We will screen narrative features, documentaries, and experimental films as we consider the various aesthetic strategies filmmakers from different periods and cultures have used to portray the complex relationships between past and present, real and imagined. (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0102, or FMMC 0103; Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1242) 3 hrs. lect./disc./3 hrs. screen.

Classic Hollywood/New Hollywood
During the period know as “New Hollywood” (1967-76), American filmmakers routinely turned to classical genres as a way both to celebrate the films that had inspired them and to re-think their values and themes in light of the changes in American culture during that period. In this class, we will focus on three film genres (detective, western, and gangster films) and will view classical versions and New Hollywood reworkings. Films screened will include The Maltese Falcon (1940), Chinatown (1974), My Darling Clementine (1946), McCabe & Mrs Miller (1971), Little Caesar (1931), and The Godfather (1972), among others. (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0102, or FMMC 0103, or by approval) 3 hrs. seminar/3 hr. screen

Documentary Filmmaking: Seeking Truth Through the Art of Non-Fiction
In this course we will explore the artistic strategies used by documentary films to investigate ontological and existential “truths” about the world around us. Pairing non-fiction films across historical periods, countries, and stylistic modes with interdisciplinary readings, students will discuss and analyze their form and function through written (essays) and spoken word (podcasts). In the second half of the semester, students will collaboratively write, produce, and edit a documentary film about an issue or community close to them. (FMMC 0105)

Faking Reality: Mockumentaries, Hoaxes & Pseudo-docs
The line between fiction and nonfiction media has always been blurred, but the rise of reality TV and digital video in the 21st century has expanded both the quantity and scope of works that straddle these categories. In this course we will explore the history, ethics, cultural impacts, and aesthetic possibilities of mockumentaries, hoax media, and other examples of film and television that challenge easy categorization as “truthful” or fictional. We will study a wide range of works, including F is for Fake, The Blair Witch Project, The Office, Borat, American Vandal, and The Rehearsal. The course will culminate in students either producing their own boundary-blurring media project or authoring a critical essay in written or videographic form. (FMMC 101, or FMMC 0102, or FMMC 0103, or 104) 3 hr. lecture / 3 hr. screening.

The Anime Industry: Studios, Genres, Media Mix
What exactly is anime? Why and how did it become so popular around the world? In response to these questions, we will study Japanese anime in the context of its unique media mix industry that involves franchising across manga, movies, television series, and original video animation, as well as toys, merchandise, and video games. We will explore the establishment and development of that industry through the works of key auteurs (e.g., Osamu Tezuka, Mamoru Oshii, Rumiko Takahashi, Masaaki Yuasa), studios (e.g., Toei, Ghibli, Madhouse, Production I.G.), and genres (e.g., mecha, shojo, BL, sports). Our discussions will focus on both the politics and aesthetics of anime, and will be informed by broader historical and theoretical readings.

Global Auteurs: Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho
In this course we will survey the careers of prominent Korean auteurs Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho. We will analyze the films they've directed and/or produced thus far, focusing on each filmmaker's unique artistic style, the cinematic traditions they draw on, and their works' transnational appeal. In addition to delving into specific relevant topics (aesthetics of violence, genre hybridity, postcolonial cinema, stardom, adaptation, etc.), we will pay special attention to changing modes of production and distribution that have impacted the two auteurs' work process and their global reach. Films screened include Joint Security Area, The Vengeance Trilogy, The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave (Park); Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja, Parasite (Bong).

Kpop and Transcultural Fandom
Kpop fandom is multilingual and spans cultures and nationalities. Fans gather online and in person all over the world, commenting on live streams, making videos, buying merchandise, voting in competition shows, and participating in online communities. In vastly different contexts, fans find meaning through music, fashion, dance, identification with favorite artists, and parasocial engagement with group members and fellow fans. What draws fans from different contexts to kpop? How can we understand the cultural work of kpop fandom across national and cultural boundaries? If you're a fan yourself, how has kpop fandom informed your sense of self, identity,and community?

Media Curation and Exhibition
While digital technology has increased accessibility and affordability of media creation, bringing media to the audience is an increasingly difficult challenge. In this course we will survey the current landscape of American independent and international media exhibition and curation, focusing on institutions and practices relevant to students interested in the media industries. Topics of the course include festivals as launching venues; development programs and their importance as curators; competitions, awards and grants that support independent filmmaking; film series and other curated modes of exhibition. About half of the work in the course will consist of hands-on work on the Hirschfield Screening Series, including research, screener viewing, title selection, liaising with distribution companies, organizing screenings and guest visits.

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. 3 hrs. workshop

Sherlock Holmes Across Media
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes in 1886. Since then, the consulting detective has continued to solve mysteries in literature, radio, film, television, and digital media. Indeed, Sherlock Holmes inspired what many think of as the earliest media fandom. Why has Sherlock Holmes remained such a fascinating figure for almost a century and a half? How have Holmes and his sidekick Watson (or Sherlock and John) transformed in their different iterations across media, culture, history, and nation? And what does it mean for contemporary television series Elementary and Sherlock to reimagine Sherlock Holmes for the digital age? (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1457)

Fan Video: Cultures, Theory, Practice
In this course we will explore the range of fan video forms, aesthetics, cultures, and histories. Fans re-edit pre-existing media (TV, film, etc.) into new transformative works that can receive millions of views as well as critical acclaim. We will study the visual and rhetorical logics of fan video, the distribution and reception circuits for fan video, and the legal and political questions bound up in fan video practices. We will consider fan video as a critical practice, and we will learn by engaging with scholarship on fan video as well as by making our own fan videos.

Gothic and Horror
This course examines the forms and meanings of the Gothic and horror over the last 250 years in the West. How have effects of fright, terror, or awe been achieved over this span and why do audiences find such effects attractive? Our purpose will be to understand the generic structures of horror and their evolution in tandem with broader cultural changes. Course materials will include fiction, film, readings in the theory of horror, architecture, visual arts, and electronic media. 3 hrs. lect./disc. 3 hrs lect.

Black American Cinema
In this course we will examine various representations of Blackness in American Cinema, from Oscar Micheaux’s early silent films to Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. While we will primarily focus on films written and/or directed by Black Americans, we will also study the social, cultural, and political impact of Hollywood ideas and images of Black people and how they changed over time. Through a framework of both film theory and critical race theory, students will analyze how Black creative expression has manifested itself through film, influencing both form and content. 3 hours lect./3 hours screen

Topics in Music History:Music in Films
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.

International Cinema
Topic is determined by the instructor - refer to section for the course description.

Chinese-language 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.

Authorship & Cinema: Hitchcock and Renoir
Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir are commonly regarded as two of the greatest filmmakers in history, yet their cinematic styles stand in sharp contrast to one another. In this course, we will survey the careers of these two directors, viewing a representative selection of their films and considering the national production contexts in which they worked. Most importantly, we will engage in careful analysis of their works in order to understand the ways in which their approaches to film style resulted in sharply contrasting ideas of cinema and the world. Films screened will include: The 39 Steps, Notorious, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho (Hitchcock); Toni, The Crime of Monsieur Lange, Grande Illusion, Rules of the Game (Renoir). (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0102, or FMMC 0103)

Hong Kong Cinema
In this course we will survey Hong Kong films from the post-war period to the present. We explore the themes, styles, genres, directors, the star system, and audiences and discuss how Hong Kong cinema, as one of the largest and most dynamic motion picture industries in the world, expresses the region’s complex, hybrid, and fluid cultural identity in the context of coloniality and transnationalism.

British Crime Drama
British Crime Drama centers on a quintessential television genre, which has comfortably crossed national and cultural borders. We will explore the transformations that occur when crime fiction moves from the television industry to a streaming apparatus. The course explores the enduring appeal of this genre, how the whodunnit narrative is different in a British setting and identify the aesthetic devices unique to British shows. Simultaneously, we will explore how individual narratives engage with questions of gender, race, class and national identity.

Israeli Society Through Films
In this course we will examine Israeli culture, society, and history through Israeli cinema. We will view and discuss fiction films and documentaries that address, present and reflect such themes as national and personal aspects of life in Israel, the centrality of war and the ongoing conflict, the lives of Palestinians, experiences of Holocaust survivors, the changing status of the kibbutz, ethnic minorities, gender relations, LGBT issues, and varied religious communities. By analyzing films, we will trace and explore core values, shared beliefs, diverse ideologies, unique points of view, social processes, and social relations in past and present-day Israel. (formally HEBM 0250)

Indian Cinema: Romance, Nation, and Identity
In this course we will use the lens of romance to examine the world's largest film-making industry. Focusing primarily on Hindi cinema produced in Bombay/Mumbai, we will examine the narrative conventions, aesthetic devices (such as song-dance sequences), and other cinematic conventions that are unique to Indian films' narration of romance. Through a historical overview of films from the silent, colonial, and post-colonial eras into the contemporary era of globalization, we will track how the family is configured, the assignment of gender roles, and how national identity is allegorized through family romance. The course includes weekly screenings of films, which will be sub-titled in English. 3 hrs. lect.

Remix Culture & Social Media Authorship
In today’s digital culture, remix functions as a core tool of self-authorship and community formation. This course examines the history and current state of digital remix cultures. We consider how remix logics shape authorship in social media spaces including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. We explore a range of remix works across media, with a focus on video. Students will produce remix video works as part of this course’s exploration of the logics, aesthetics, and impact of remix culture. 3 hrs. lecture/3 hrs. screening

Podcast Seminar: Series Development
In this course students work together to develop and produce original podcast series. Small groups collaborate to develop a show idea, map a first season of episodes and produce a work sample demonstrating the aesthetic of their series. In preparation for this endeavor we listen extensively to podcasts in a variety of formats and hear from show creators across the field of podcasting. Students will have the opportunity to plan and execute interviews, record round-table discussions, engage in field recordings, and ultimately develop a unique show voice and aesthetic (FMMC 0101, or FMMC 0249, or FMMC 1134, or FMMC 1026, or FMMC/AMST 0261) 3 hrs. lect.

Special Topics in Media Production: Sound Aesthetics and Production
Ever since the invention of recording, sound has increasingly been incorporated into all forms of contemporary art. In this course we will investigate the aesthetic power of sound as an expressive medium, while reviewing the rich history of sound art and its influence in a wide range of audiovisual practices. Through creative projects, lectures, auditions, and readings, we will develop students’ sensibilities and imagination concerning the use of sound, while improving their critical thinking and listening skills. We will cover basic concepts of acoustics, sound technology, audiovisual analysis, and sound production for film/video. 3 hrs. sem.

Acting and Directing for the Camera
In this advanced workshop we will focus on the relationship between actors and directors in the context of live action media production (film, television, advertising, web series). Students will gain practical knowledge of actor-director engagement and insight into both facets of this process. Students will also analyze produced screenplays, practice actor-director communication, and direct and perform for the camera. All students will take turns fulfilling the roles of director and performer, culminating in recording and editing workshopped scenes. (FMMC 0105 or THEA 0102)

Documentary Film in Contemporary China (Taught in English)
In China since the 1980s, new political and socio-economic realities, along with new technologies, created conditions for the emergence of the New Documentary Movement, the collective achievement of a group of artists with new ideas about what the form and function of nonfiction film should be. We will screen and discuss select contemporary Chinese documentary films, all with English subtitles, place these films in the context of global documentary film history, and learn methods for the analysis of nonfiction film. We will "read" each film closely, and also study secondary sources to learn about the Chinese realities that each film documents. Taught in English. 3 hrs. lect./screening

Brazilian Cinema and Culture
In this course we will analyze how Brazilian cinema has been approaching issues related to Brazilian society and culture since mid-twentieth century to the present. Issues may range from colonialism and neocolonialism, dictatorship and revolutionary movements, and the permanence of violence in the fabric of society, to gender identity and diverse sexualities, or race and racism. Throughout the course we will also learn about different movements, moments, aesthetics, and filmmakers, as well as how filmic genres are constructed in Brazilian cinema. Readings will be taken from film criticism and history, social and historical analysis, as well as from other theoretical frameworks, such as gender theory or critical race theory. Course taught in English.

Theories of Popular Culture
This writing-intensive course introduces a range of theoretical approaches to study American popular culture, exploring the intersection between everyday life, mass media, and identity and social power. We will consider key theoretical readings and approaches to studying culture, including ideology and hegemony theory, audience studies, subcultural analysis, the politics of taste, and cultural representations of identity. Using these theoretical tools, we will examine a range of popular media and sites of cultural expression, from television to toys, films to music, to understand popular culture as a site of ongoing political and social struggle. (FMMC 0102, or FMMC 0103, or FMMC 0104, or instructor approval) 3 hrs. sem/3 hrs. screen.

Theories of Spectatorship, Audience, and Fandom
In this course we explore the transcultural dynamics of spectatorship, audience engagement, and fan communities, from Hitchcock to anime, from The Beatles to BLACKPINK, from Star Trek to The Untamed. How do we engage with media texts in local and global contexts? Is our experience of media today radically different from the early years of cinema? What does it mean to be a fan? Have our notions of fandom changed over time? How do race, gender, class, national, and cultural context inform media engagement? We will consider key theoretical approaches and interrogate our own position as spectators, consumers, and fans in media culture. 3 hrs. lect./disc./3 hrs. screen.

Film, TV & Gender
In this course we will examine unconventional representations of gender and sexuality in current television series and movies, as well as a few earlier films. We will use feminist approaches to think about spectatorship, femininity and masculinity, transgender politics, the family, cult films, and fan cultures. Our goal will be to investigate how popular film and television can inform our understanding of gender and sexuality by following existing models and gesturing toward new possibilities. Students will write short critical and creative pieces in addition to a longer critical essay.

Video Editing Fundamentals
In this workshop course we will explore the theory, mechanics, conventions and aesthetics of video editing. Students will learn the mechanics of the Premier editing platform and be led through a series of assignments focused on various challenges faced by film editors. Students will learn how to get the most out of a narrative performance by using camera angles, edit lengths, and body gestures to create a purposeful flow of action. They will learn to create energy and rhythm in music videos by controlling pace, shot selection, and movements within a clip. Students will edit professionally shot dailies to complete four editing assignments, two narrative and two music videos. There will also be reading assignments, Adobe Editing tutorial assignments, and one Editing Analysis presentation.

After graduating from Middlebury, Bee Ottinger went to California Institute of Art and became a video editor for 35 years. She had a small video editing company when music videos started in the 80’s and rode the wave of the evolution of a new way of editing. She has been teaching video editing for ten years.

Documentary Film as Portraiture
A hands-on introduction to documentary filmmaking as portraiture, focused on students producing a 3-5 minute documentary film. We will discuss film theory as relates to objective and subjective modes of shooting and editing, including an historical look at how these modes developed, how they operate today, and the ethics involved. We will examine a variety of films that use different expressive tactics (cinema verite, impressionism, classic Western film language, etc) to illustrate their subjects on psychological and social planes. And finally, we will learn the principles of camerawork and editing before creating our own documentaries as portraits.

Adventure Filmmaking
With its 2019 Oscar win, Free Solo made ‘adventure filmmaking’ a household term, but many people don’t appreciate the real power this particular medium holds. This course will embrace winter in Vermont by getting outside and documenting four human adventure stories. We will practice techniques and study film, but the bulk of study will be through short collaborative productions. This course will immerse students in film production and empower them as storytellers. While adventure filmmaking is a fun way to get outside, its true power is in using adventure to gain new insights on the human condition, issues of social justice, climate change, and more. This class will challenge students to transcend the stereotypical “adventure film” genre and inspire change.
Ryan Scura ’11 is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who focuses on human stories of outdoor adventures. He leads the independent video studio Dooster.

Current Affairs Documentary Film
In this course we will learn the fundamentals of making a current affairs documentary film. We will chart the path from story identification and pitch to developing sources, investigation, the ethics of news gathering, interview craft, filmic style, structuring, and writing. There will be units on each. We will watch and analyze different styles of current affairs documentary making. Students will participate in hands on writing workshops and will each come up with a documentary project outline, providing a storyboarded visual treatment, a shoot schedule and a draft script.

Hilary Andersson is an award-winning journalist and documentary maker who spent 25 years with the BBC, covering wars in Africa and the Middle East and later working for the BBC’s flagship Panorama documentary program. Hilary is now based in Vermont, from where she travels and continues to make current affairs documentaries on American and international affairs.

Queer Media Cultures
This course introduces students to queer media scholarship through the lens of contemporary film and television, social media and popular culture. We will learn about the foundational concepts of queer and feminist theory, transgender studies and biopolitics. In addition, we will consider how popular media has the potential to resist—or sometimes ends up reifying—dominant ideologies of sexuality, gender, race, citizenship and labor. Training and assessment will focus on visual literacy and media analysis (including a review of basic concepts of cinematography and editing) in the form of short critical and creative assignments. (Not open to students who have already take GSFS/FMMC 1010.)

Peter Tarjanyi is a Visiting Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Middlebury College.

Blood/Lust: Vampires in 20th Century American Cinema
In this course, we will study how vampires and vampire stories were used throughout 20th Century American film as a vehicle for examining themes and topics such as sexuality, gender, race, and class. We will start with vampire folklore to form a baseline understanding, and then study Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931) as cornerstones before spending the bulk of time on later films. The course content will interrogate how vampire stories reflect on contemporaneous American culture, and how vampiric visions evolved and shifted over the century. Films covered in full will include Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Son of Dracula (1943), The Last Man on Earth (1964), Ganja & Hess (1973), The Hunger (1983), Near Dark (1987), and Blade (1998).

Devin McGrath-Conwell is an alumnus, class of 2018.5, as well as a current staff member. I have two part-time communications positions, one within Projects for Peace, and the other in College Advancement.

American Experimental Film
In this course we will survey the varied films that have made up the American avant-garde since 1943. Drawing on theories of spectatorship, we will consider how experimental films challenge viewers through form and content. Special attention will be given to critical consideration of the avant-garde’s relationship with the more commercial cinema of Hollywood. Filmmakers discussed will include Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Shirley Clarke, Andy Warhol, Marlon Riggs, George Kuchar, Cheryl Dunye, Su Friedrich, and Kevin Jerome Everson. In watching and discussing these works, we will trace a material history of the avant-garde, from 16mm and video, to digital cinema and machinima, drawing through lines from the underground avant-garde of the 20th century to the pervasive remix culture of today.

Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic and researcher, completing his PhD in the School for Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in publications including Senses of Cinema, Millennium Film Journal, and Cineaste, where he is an assistant editor.

Data Science Across Disciplines
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Sociology, Neuroscience, Animation, Art History, or Environmental Science. This course will utilize the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.
ENVS: Students will engage in research within environmental health science—the study of reciprocal relationships between human health and the environment. High-quality data and the skills to make sense of these data are key to studying environmental health across diverse spatial scales, from individual cells through human populations. In this course, we will explore common types of data and analytical tools used to answer environmental health questions and inform policy.
FMMC: Students will explore how to make a series of consequential decisions about how to present data and how to make it clear, impactful, emotional or compelling. In this hands-on course we will use a wide range of new and old art making materials to craft artistic visual representations of data that educate, entertain, and persuade an audience with the fundamentals of data science as our starting point.
NSCI/MATH: Students will use the tools of data science to explore quantitative approaches to understanding and visualizing neural data. The types of neural data that we will study consists of electrical activity (voltage and/or spike trains) measured from individual neurons and can be used to understand how neurons respond to and process different stimuli (e.g., visual or auditory cues). Specifically, we will use this neural data from several regions of the brain to make predictions about neuron connectivity and information flow within and across brain regions.
SOCI: Students will use the tools of data science to examine how experiences in college are associated with social and economic mobility after college. Participants will combine sources of "big data" with survey research to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses that consider the importance of higher education for shaping life chances.
HARC: Students will use the tools of data science to create interactive visualizations of the Dutch textile trade in the early eighteenth century. These visualizations will enable users to make connections between global trade patterns and representations of textiles in paintings, prints, and drawings.