ID
7516

Film History (1880s-1930s)

This course examines the international history of cinema from its late 19th century origins to the 1930s. The development of film technology, aesthetics, and genre are covered from 1880s France to the establishment of the Hollywood Studio System. Topics include early film technology, the development of Classic Hollywood style, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, early animation, the introduction of sound technology, and the establishment of the Hollywood studio system.

Basic Film Production

The course offers instruction in basic film production, including fundamentals of digital and analog camera operation, basic editing principles, and an overview of lighting and sound. In-class equipment and crew workshops, assigned technical and creative exercises, individual off-campus film and video projects, in-class screening and critique of student work. Each student completes at least two individual projects.

Cult Cinema

The history and development of cult films and the integral role cannabis and drug culture has and continues to play in their creation, production and reception. We will explore the subversiveness of cult films and the practices of cult audiences; analyze the transgressive nature of midnight movies, questions of taste, film aesthetics, and the influence of cult films and cannabis culture on mainstream cinema and branding.

Film History (1960s-Present)

This course examines the international history of cinema from the 1960s to the present. The development of film technology, aesthetics, and genre are covered from the documentary and experimental films of the 1960s to the digital cinema of the current era. Topics include New Hollywood, political cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, continental and subcontinental cinemas post 1970, media conglomerates, and global film culture.

History of Documentary Film

Examination of international history of documentary film from the 1890s to the present. The development of film technology, aesthetics, and genre are covered from proto-documentary films of the late 19th century to the digital cinema of the modern era. Topics include Soviet documentary, ethnographic film, cinema vérité, Direct Cinema, experimental documentary, and political nonfiction cinema.