FILM 113 - 114: HISTORY OF CINEMA

The one-year sequence, conducted as a lecture course, is designed to give the student a broad introduction to the history and aesthetics of film from a roughly chronological perspective. There are weekly screenings of major films widely acknowledged as central to the evolution of the medium as well as supplementary reading assignments which provide both a narrative history and a strong encounter with the leading critical and theoretical issues of cinema, often within a context of 20th century art and literature. While the student can take either half of the sequence, the program recommends that both parts of the course are taken, especially for any student contemplating film as a concentration. Mid-term and final exams; term paper. Open to First-year students only.

The first half of the sequence begins with the early so-called primitive films of Lumiere, Melies, Porter, Sennett, and Feuillade; and then explores the rapid evolution of the medium through the works of a number of major artists, including the narrative pioneers Griffith, von Stroheim, Weber, and Dreyer; the silent comedians, Keaton and Chaplin; the soviet montage artists, Kuleshov, Vertov, Eisenstein and Dovzhenko; the German expressionists, Murnau, Lang and Pabst; the major Japanese figures, Kinugasa and Ozu; and practitioners of the French avant-garde, Leger, Clair, Man Ray, Bunuel, and Dulac; as well as innovative documentaries by such filmmakers as Ruttmann and Flaherty. Readings by Arnheim, Eisenstein, Munsterberg, et al.

Introduction to the basic problems (technical and theoretical) related to film and/or electronic motion picture production. Coupled with Film 202 (offered in Spring), this course is designed to be taken in the sophomore year and leads to a spring Moderation project in the Film and Electronic Arts Program.

Prerequisite: a 100 or 200- level course in Film or Video History.

See description above.

See description above.

From an idea to a plot; from an outline to script. Character development, dramatic/cinematic structure. Continuous analysis of students' work. Students who wish to take the course should have a demonstrable background in film or writing and be willing to share their work with others. Limited enrollment.

Designed to give the student in-depth understanding of a particular period, style or national school of film making. This semester the topic is European Avant-garde Cinema. This course is designed to provide an overview of the cinematic achievements of the European Film Avant-garde. While most attention will be paid to recent production and rarely seen filmmakers, there will also be a survey of the classical Avant-garde of the 20's and 60's. In addition to screenings and class lectures, readings will be assigned that cover film criticism as well as European art history in general.

A class designed to introduce juniors and seniors concentrating in film and video to current nonlinear editing systems. This class will combine traditional postproduction editing strategies and theory with computer-based nonlinear techniques. Students are required to create short videos based on film or video material.

Nowadays technology offers many options for the use of digital imaging and digital sound in the production and postproduction of films. This course explores computer-based applications for the work with sound and image. Students will be encouraged to develop their own projects using desktop video, compositing (After Effects) and sound programs. Apart from production, some emphasis will be given to a critical discussion of issues such as "film vs. video: media essentialism and technological development", "the future of film and video", and "film, video, computer-based work: different media, different histories?"

Please see Integrated Arts section for description.

This multidisciplinary course will focus on the representation of American place in cinema (and especially in that history of independent film and video where place is the foreground of attention, rather than the background for melodrama), within the larger context of American cultural history. This course will explore "place" in several senses. Most obviously, we'll discuss the depiction of particular American landscapes/cityscapes in key paintings, literary works, photographs, films, and videos from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This course will give special emphasis to Bard's Hudson Valley location. Second, we'll examine the "place" of film within the other arts, by looking at attempts by film artists to represent or respond to comparable spaces/moments in literature, painting... And finally, some attention will be accorded the place(s) of film exhibition and its impact on our experience of cinema. Regular screenings on and off campus (hopefully at Upstate Films) and considerable reading will be required. Fieldtrips to crucial Hudson Valley locations will be arranged, along with visits with accomplished filmmakers who have worked the place. Students will be expected to keep a detailed journal examining the material studied and their own personal engagements with place during the semester.