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.
Study 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. Considering the social, cultural and political subversion of films screened; reception and ritual 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.
Study the enduring appeal and social/political commentary of film noir's dark shadows, corruption, seductive femme fatales, alienated antiheroes, mid-century psychological struggles, and rain-slicked streets, often adapted from pulp novels and hard-boiled crime fiction.
An auteur study of the films of Alfred Hitchcock as both the "master of suspense" and an artist of anxiety. We will explore Hitchcock's films in terms of their themes, stylistic tendencies and social/historical context. Hitchcock's enduring influence and place in film history is explored in depth.
An introductory course that addresses the formal analysis of cinema. The course covers filmmaking techniques such as cinematography, editing, mise-en-scène, sound, lighting, acting, and narrative.
An introductory course that examines the history, development, and influence of Hollywood on American culture. The course also covers the evolution of cinematic form in the United States and its influence on international film style.