91962

FILM 106

Intro to Documentary

Edward Halter

Screening:

F 10:10 am-1:10 pm

Th 7:00 pm-10:00 pm

AVERY 110

AVERY 110

AART

An introductory historical survey of the documentary, from the silent era to the digital age. Topics addressed will include the origins of the concept of the documentary, direct cinema and cinema verite, propaganda, ethnographic media, the essay film, experimental documentary forms, media activism, fiction and documentary, and the role of changing technologies. Filmmakers studied will include Flaherty, Vertov, Riefenstahl, Rouch, Pennebaker, Maysles, Wiseman, Marker, Farocki, Spheeris, Hara, Riggs,Honigman, Morris, and Moore. Grades will be based on exams, essays and other research and writing projects. Open to all students, registration priority for First-Year students and film majors. Class size: 25

91951

FILM 109

Aesthetics of Film

John Pruitt Screening:

T 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

M 6:00 pm-9:00 pm

AVERY 110

AART

A one-semester survey course comprising weekly screenings and lectures designed for first-year students, especially those who are considering film as a focus of their undergraduate studies. Central cinematic issues are addressed both in terms of the films viewed and the assigned theoretical readings: narrative design, montage, realism, film and dreams, collage, abstraction, and so forth. Films by Chaplin, Keaton, Renoir, Rossellini, Hitchcock, Deren, Brakhage, Bresson, Godard and others are studied. Readings of theoretical works by authors including Vertov, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Munsterberg, Bazin, Brakhage, Deren and Arnheim. Midterm and final exam; term paper. Class size: 25

91936

FILM / PHOT 109

Photography for Filmmakers

Timothy Davis

W 10:10 am-1:10 pm

WDS

PART

See Photography section for description.

91947

FILM 115

History of Cinema Before WWII

Richard Suchenski

Screening:

T Th 11:50 am-1:10 pm

W begins at 7:15 pm

AVERY 110

AART

Designed for first year students, this course (the first part of a two part survey) will address the history of cinema during its first fifty years. In addition to offering an interdisciplinary look at the development and significance of the cinema during this period, we will consider the nature and function of film form through lectures, discussions, the reading of key texts, and close study of works by exemplary directors such as Méliès, Griffith, Chaplin, Eisenstein, Vertov, Hitchcock, Dreyer, Lang, Murnau, Renoir, Ford, Welles, and Mizoguchi. Special focus will be paid to film’s relationship to related arts and to the larger history of culture. Attendance and participation is assumed and there will be a midterm exam, two short papers, and a final examination.

Class size: 25

91955

FILM 205

Gesture, Light & Motion

Kelly Reichardt

T 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 217

PART

A filmmaking workshop introducing the student to the narrative form through the qualities of gesture, light and motion on screen. Focusing on these elements above dialogue and literary approaches to storytelling allows the filmmaker to develop expressive control to communicate a deep sense of character. Approaches to visual storytelling, examination of narrative strategies, hands-on shooting, and solutions of practical and/or aesthetic problems, as they are encountered in the making of a film. This production class fulfills a moderation requirement. Class size: 14

91945

FILM 207 A

Electronic Media Workshop

Fiona Otway

W 10:10 am-1:10 pm

AVERY 333 / 338

PART

This course is designed to introduce you to various elements of video production with an emphasis on video art and experimentation. The class culminates with the completion of a single channel video piece by each student. To facilitate this final project, there will be a number of camera and editing assignments that are designed to familiarize you with digital video technology while investigating various aesthetic and theoretical concepts. Class sessions will consist of technology demonstrations, screenings, critiques and discussions. Technology training will include: cameras, Final Cut Pro, studio lighting and lighting for green screen, key effects, microphones and more. No prerequisites, permission from instructor. This production class fulfills a moderation requirement. Class size: 12

91952

FILM 207 B

Electronic Media Workshop

Justin Weldon

(Ephraim Asili)

Th 10:10 am-1:10 pm

AVERY 333

PART

See above. Class size: 12

91957

FILM 208

Introduction to 16mm

Fern Silva

Th 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 319

PART

An introduction to filmmaking with a strong emphasis on mastering the 16mm Bolex camera. Students will be required to shoot six different assignments designed to address basic experimental, documentary, and narrative techniques. A wide range of technical and aesthetic issues will be explored in conjunction with editing, lighting, and sound recording techniques. No prerequisites, permission from instructor. This production class fulfills a moderation requirement. Class size: 12

91956

FILM 225

3D Animation

Ben Coonley

Th 10:10 am-1:10 pm

AVERY 117

PART

In this course, students are introduced to processes for creating moving image artworks using 3D animation software and its ancillary technologies. Topics include: the basics of 3D modeling and animation, 3D scanning, and creative use of other technologies that allow artists to combine real and virtual spaces. Weekly readings reflect on the psychological, cultural, and aesthetic impacts of the increasingly prevalent use of computer-generated imagery in contemporary media. Students are not assumed to have any previous experience with 3D animation. This production class fulfills a moderation requirement. Class size: 12

91946

FILM 229

Character and Story

TBA

T 10:10 am-1:10 pm

AVERY 117

PART

An introductory screenwriting course that focuses on writing character-driven short pieces. There will be writing and research exercises, screenings, discussions, readings and script critiques. The course will cover story structure and story design in relationship to character development. The students will complete a short character study screenplay. No prerequisites. Class size: 12

91960

FILM 235

Video Installation

Ben Coonley

W 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 333

PART

This production course investigates video installation as an evolving contemporary art form that extends the conversation of video art beyond the frame and into live, hybrid media, site-specific, and multiple channel environments. Presentations, screenings, and readings augment critical thinking about temporal and spatial relationships, narrative structure, viewer perception and the challenges of presenting time-based work in a gallery or museum setting. Workshops hone technical skills and problem solving. Students develop research interests and apply their unique skills sets to short turnaround exercises and more expanded self-directed projects for gallery and non-theatrical contexts. Class size: 12

91959

FILM 236

Cinematic Romanticism

Richard Suchenski Screening:

W 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

T begins @ 7:15 pm

AVERY 110

AART

Cross-listed: Art History This course will offer an intensive exploration of the manifestations and permutations of Romanticism in cinema from the silent era to the present. Topics considered include the development of Romantic thought; the relationship between film and the other arts; the impact of nineteenth century aesthetic paradigms on twentieth and twenty-first century film practices; and the changing meanings of Romantic tropes and iconography in different historical moments. We will also carefully analyze films by directors such as F.W. Murnau, Abel Gance, Frank Borzage, King Vidor, Vincente Minnelli, Nicholas Ray, Stan Brakhage, Gregory Markopoulos, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Werner Herzog, Andrei Tarkovsky, Manoel de Oliveira, Terrence Malick, and Lars von Trier. Grades based on in-class discussion, short writing assignments, and a final research essay. Upper-college students who have taken courses in film criticism and history will have priority. Class size: 15

92147

FILM 242

Script to Screen

Kelly Reichardt

W 9:30 am-12:30 pm

AVERY 217

PART

This is a live-action film workshop. Concentration will be on the narrative form as a means of exploring visual storytelling strategies. Students will collectively produce a dramatic re-creation of the 1929 Hitchcock film BLACKMAIL. Each student will produce, direct and edit a sequence of the feature-length film. Class size: 12

91950

FILM 248

Framing the Election

Jacqueline Goss

M 1:30 pm-5:30 pm

AVERY 333 / 338

PART

Cross-listed: American Studies; Experimental Humanities; Science, Technology & Society If a canon of film, video and new media exists, it includes provocative media made in response to presidential elections. Fiction and documentary works like Haskell Wexler’s “Medium Cool,” TVTV’s “Four More Years,” Robert Altman’s “Tanner 88” and “Nashville,” Jason Simon’s “Spin,” DA Pennebaker’s “War Room,” and RTMark’s “voteauction” and “gwbush.com” websites successfully capture the complex narratives and legacies of the last four decades’ election years. Designed to coincide with the months immediately prior and following the US presidential election in November, “Framing the Election” provides a structure for the course participant to capture, process, frame and produce some aspect of presidential politics in terms of one’s own personal experience. Following the chronology of the election, we will use the first two months of the semester to gather source material and consider texts produced out of prior elections. The latter part of the semester is dedicated to the production of films, videos, sound works or internet-based projects made in response to the results of this election. Works may reflect any political persuasion and take any form including documentary, diary, personal essay, fiction and music. Prerequisite: a familiarity with and access to the tools one intends to use to produce work. Class size: 14

92148

FILM 251

Small Screens

Jacqueline Goss

T 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 333 / 338

PART

Cross-listed: Experimental Humanities In an era in which non-theatrical displays of moving images proliferate, we will critically examine and historically contextualize the means and creative forms used to make videos and still images for smart phones, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Tumblr and Vine. How do we think about scale of display and duration in these environments? How is the role of the audience changing? How is the nature of screen-based performance changing? How do we define an economy of this work? Can robust storytelling happen here? Is the idea of looping media evolving to take on new media forms? Are there new types of images that exist between moving and still? Does our knowledge of dataveillance change our creative work in on-line? Our analysis will lead to making our own individual and collective creative work for these platforms. No pre-requisites. Class size: 15

91949

FILM 256

Writing the Film

TBA

M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 117

PART

Cross-listed: Written Arts An introductory writing course that looks at creative approaches to writing short films and dialogue scenes. There will be writing and research exercises, screenings, discussions, readings and script critiques. The course will focus on researching and developing ideas and structure for stories, building characters, poetic strategies and writing comedic, realistic and awkward romantic dialogue. Class size: 12

91961

FILM 278

Documentary Film Workshop

Justin Weldon

(Ephraim Asili)

W 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 217

PART

A video production workshop for students interested in social issues, reportage, home movies, travelogues and other forms of the non-fiction film. Working in both small crews and individually, the students will travel locally to a variety of locations to cover particular events, people and natural phenomena. A final project, that is researched, shot and edited during the second half of the semester, is required of each student. This production class fulfills a moderation requirement. Class size: 12

91963

FILM 307

Landscape & Media

Fern Silva

F 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

AVERY 319

PART

A class designed for Junior level film and video majors. The class will study and compare representations of the American landscape through the history of film and painting vs. the depiction of landscape and environmental issues manifest through television and video. Students will be required to complete a short film or video every two weeks referencing sites visited. Required reading: B. McKibben’s The Age of Missing Information. Class size: 12

91958

FILM 309

Mass Media & Its Discontents

Edward Halter

Screening:

Th 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

W 5:00 pm-7:00 pm

AVERY 217

AVERY 110

AART

Cross-listed: Science, Technology & Society Beginning with the advent of the printing press and continuing through the development of radio, cinema, television and the internet, artists have worked in a culture increasingly dominated by mass media. This course will investigate how the reality of mass media has informed the ways we think about art, particularly the art of the moving image, from the early 20th century to today. Topics under consideration: popular culture, folk culture and mass culture; the aesthetic and political consequences of mechanical and electronic reproduction; the relationship of the avant-garde to kitsch, camp and trash; lowbrow, highbrow and middlebrow culture; fame and celebrity; appropriation; the artisinal and “handmade” as a reaction to the mass reproduction of images. Writers will include Walter Benjamin, Sigfried Kracauer, T.W. Adorno, Clement Greenberg, Dwight Macdonald, Susan Sontag, Raymond Williams, Marshall McLuhan, Andy Warhol, Guy Debord, Stuart Hall, Richard Dyer, Pierre Bourdieu, Martha Rosler, Noël Carroll, Cintra Wilson, Olia Lialina and Hito Steyerl. Class size: 12

91948

FILM 311

Contemporary Narrative Film

John Pruitt

Screening:

M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm

Su 6:00 pm-9:00 pm

AVERY 217

AVERY 110

AART

An open-ended, investigative seminar into a select group of prominent, narrative filmmakers who are still active and whose international reputation has emerged within the last twenty-five or so years. A special emphasis will be placed on those artists whose work presents a particular challenge to or innovation in narrative form per se, to the extent that as they approach a kind of visual poetry, they place difficult demands upon the viewer to be a creative collaborator. The list of film screenings may be augmented or altered by current releases in the fall, or student interest as the course progresses, but it will certainly include films by the following: Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch, Abbas Kiarostami, Aleksandr Sokurov, Peggy Ahwesh, Claire Denis, Guy Maddin, Hou Hsaio-hsien, Michael Haneke, Lars von Trier, Peter Greenaway and Chantal Akerman. Two written projects: one short and one long. Limited course enrollment: Juniors and Seniors only; preference will be given to those students with background in film criticism and history. Class size: 15

92158

FILM 343

Big Noise Films: INTENSIVE DOCUMENTARY WORKSHOP

Jacqueline Soohen

Richard Rowley

Fridays: 9/30, 10/14, 10/28, 11/11 and 12/2

(1:00 pm – 6:00 pm)

AVERY 117

PART

2 credits Geared towards students with media production experience, these workshops explore specific concerns involved in conceiving and filming documentaries. Students will come away with a plan and tools to proceed with a non-fiction project that they can choose to continue in a master class in the spring.

91954

FILM 405

Senior Seminar

Ben Coonley

T 5:00 pm-7:00 pm

AVERY 110 / 217

A requirement for all majors, the Senior Seminar is an opportunity to share working methods, knowledge, skills and resources among students working on Senior Project. The course will have a number of film and video makers in to discuss their process and techniques, artistic life-after-Bard skills workshop, a review of distribution and grant writing opportunities and critique of works in progress. The course is an integral aspect of Senior Project for all seniors in Film. (Meets every other week.) Class size: 25