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.
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.
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.
Explores the role of the film director in the translation of script to screen through development and execution of single-camera-style projects. Emphasis is on script analysis, pre-visualization planning and blocking, crew management and working with actors.
An intermediate course in writing for cinema, emphasizing professional format, screenplay structure, building conflict, character and thematic development, and visual storytelling skills. These skills are employed in creating the second act of an original screenplay.
An advanced screenwriting course focused on professional format, deep character, theme, and plot development, escalating conflict, and enhanced visual storytelling skills. Students in CINE 75C will complete Act III, the final act of a feature screenplay ideally developed in CINE 75B, and engage in intensive revisions.
An introductory course in writing for cinema, emphasizing professional format, screenplay structure, building conflict, character and thematic development, and visual storytelling skills. Students will create the first act of an original screenplay.
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.
Jobs usually arranged by the student, subject to Cinema Department approval. Job experience at CCSF, such as issuing film equipment, mentoring/tutoring cinema students, crewing or editing sound or picture for a local production company, are within the scope of this learning experience of film/video industry or related projects. One unit of credit is earned for 54 hours of unpaid or paid work.