Film Studies Courses

Film 101� Introduction to Film Studies
Introduction to film and film studies. This course provides an overview of the basic properties of film as a medium and as a field of study. Topics covered include film production, film form, the concept of style, plus basic issues of film analysis, film history, film theory and film as a cultural phenomena.

Film 220� Video Production
Introduction to the basics of video production. This course provides the basic hands-on skills and requisite conceptual backing to understand the entire production process for video. Students learn the basic properties of camera optics, mise-en-scene, lighting, sound design, editing, screen-writing, narrative, documentary and experimental forms. Students also come away with basic terminology and concepts that apply over a wide range technical situations, as well as how the medium is used in varying social, political and historical contexts.

Film 250� History of World Cinema , 1895 to 1945
Exploration of the origins and evolution of world cinema from its official inception in 1895 up to the end of World War II. Notable developments, such as the invention and diffusion of cinema, early Italian features, French Impressionism, German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, Japanese cinema in the 1930?s and the Rise of American cinema as the dominant economic force, are all covered. In lab, students watch a film or films that represent a particular time period and/or a particular national or regional cinema. In lectures, these films are analyzed and discussed in light of every possible contextual factor (cultural, national, political, industrial, etc.) which explains why films are made in certain ways under different conditions.�

Film 251� History of World Cinema, 1945 to the Present
Exploration of world cinema from the end of World War II up to the present day. Notable developments and movements are covered from all over the globe. In lab, students watch a film or films representing a particular time period and/or a particular national or regional cinema, including examples from Italy, France, Japan, Cuba, the USSR, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Iran and the United States. In lectures, these films are analyzed and discussed in light of every possible contextual factor (cultural, national, political, industrial, etc.) which explains why films are made in certain ways under different conditions.

Film 252 Film Aesthetics and Analysis
Study of various types of films and what makes them complete works of art resulting in certain aesthetic effects. This course provides various critical, analytical and theoretical models which help students understand a single film in its entirety, noting how various discrete parts make up a single aesthetic whole. The films shown in labs include popular Hollywood films, independent films, European art cinema, Asian cinema and others. Students are asked to write in-depth analyses of these films, and to note their own aesthetic responses.

Film 261 Japanese Cinema
Overview of Japanese Cinema. This course explores the history and the various manifestations of Japanese cinema. It examines why Japanese cinema is arguably the most successful national cinema historically. It also explores the sheer complexity of Japanese cinema, from its highly accomplished auterist strands, to its more generic fare, including anime.

Film 262 Hong Kong Cinema
A historical investigation of Hong Kong Cinema from the 1960's to the Present. This course explores the works of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Hui, Ann Hui, Tsui Hark, John Woo, Chang Cheh, King Hu, Lau Kar-leung, Stanley Kwan, Wong Kar-wai and others to determine how this is arguably the most physical and energetic popular cinema ever created. Generic, cultural and industrial backgrounds are provided to explain a cinema that actually kept Hollywood at bay for decades.

Film 272 Introduction to Documentary Film Studies
Introductory course in the history and theory of documentary film practice. Students explore the ethical issues of representing `reality?, as well as the social, political, and cultural functions of the medium through the examination of various types of documentary films. Students analyze the components of documentary style including narrative, cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound, and editing; as well as the different modes of documentary representation.

Film 350� Topics Seminar in Film Theory
Study of a variety of directors, genres, techniques and other aspects of film theory.
Prerequisite: one film course

Film 375� Comparative National Cinema
A study of comparative national cinemas. This course is an in-depth look at the notion of "national cinemas." This concept seems straightforward as numerous film courses and film festivals are organized around it. But there are numerous issues raised by trying to define a national cinema, none of which are easily resolved. This course explores these issues by comparing four distinct "national" responses to a globalizing medium.