Film and Electronic Arts

 

Introduction to Documentary Studies

 

Professor:

Joshua Glick

 

Course Number:

FILM 106

CRN Number:

90209

Class cap:

20

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

Mon  Wed     10:10 AM - 11:30 AM Avery Film Center 110

 

Screening:

      Sun 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Avery Film Center 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

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. This film history course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Introduction to Video

 

Professor:

Fiona Otway

 

Course Number:

FILM 111 A

CRN Number:

90210

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

This course is designed to introduce various elements of video production with an emphasis on the fundamentals of moving image art. The course work centers on several individual assignments and one final group project. To facilitate this final project, there will be several 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 be conducted during the Lab on Fridays and will include cameras, Adobe Premiere, studio lighting and lighting for green screen, key effects, microphones and more. Prerequisites: All students must complete one Film History course prior to taking this course. Registration open to second semester First-years and Sophomores. Students must also select a Lab section. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Introduction to Video

 

Professor:

Alison Nguyen

 

Course Number:

FILM 111 B

CRN Number:

90211

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

This course is designed to introduce various elements of video production with an emphasis on the fundamentals of moving image art. The course work centers on several individual assignments and one final group project. To facilitate this final project, there will be several 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 be conducted during the Lab on Fridays and will include cameras, Adobe Premiere, studio lighting and lighting for green screen, key effects, microphones and more. Prerequisites: All students must complete one Film History course prior to taking this course. Registration open to second semester First-years and Sophomores. Students must also select a Lab section. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Introduction to Video Lab

 

Professor:

Marc Schreibman

 

Course Number:

FILM 111 LBA

CRN Number:

90212

Class cap:

12

Credits:

0

 

Schedule/Location:

    Fri   10:10 AM - 12:10 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

This course is designed to introduce various elements of video production with an emphasis on the fundamentals of moving image art. The course work centers on several individual assignments and one final group project. To facilitate this final project, there will be several 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 be conducted during the Lab on Fridays and will include cameras, Adobe Premiere, studio lighting and lighting for green screen, key effects, microphones and more. Prerequisites: All students must complete one Film History course prior to taking this course. Registration open to second semester First-years and Sophomores. Students must also select a Lab section. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Introduction to Video Lab

 

Professor:

Marc Schreibman

 

Course Number:

FILM 111 LBB

CRN Number:

90213

Class cap:

12

Credits:

0

 

Schedule/Location:

    Fri   2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

This course is designed to introduce various elements of video production with an emphasis on the fundamentals of moving image art. The course work centers on several individual assignments and one final group project. To facilitate this final project, there will be several 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 be conducted during the Lab on Fridays and will include cameras, Adobe Premiere, studio lighting and lighting for green screen, key effects, microphones and more. Prerequisites: All students must complete one Film History course prior to taking this course. Registration open to second semester First-years and Sophomores. Students must also select a Lab section. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

The History of Cinema

 

Professor:

Masha Shpolberg

 

Course Number:

FILM 115

CRN Number:

90214

Class cap:

24

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue  Thurs    10:10 AM - 11:30 AM Avery Film Center 110

 

Screening:

Mon       7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Avery Film Center 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

This course is part of a year-long sequence that introduces students to the history of cinema. We learn how the medium evolved over the first fifty years of its existence, both as popular entertainment and an art form. We pay particular attention to the technological shifts making new kinds of cinema possible, as well as to the social and political context within which it developed. We examine masterpieces from a wide array of cultural traditions and spend time in class looking at early film theory to better understand how audiences were coming to terms with this new medium.

 

Introduction to 16mm Film

 

Professor:

Ephraim Asili

 

Course Number:

FILM 208

CRN Number:

90215

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 319

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

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. Prerequisite: all students must complete one Film History course prior to taking this course. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement. Registration open to Sophomores and above.

 

Graphic Film

 

Professor:

Brent Green

 

Course Number:

FILM 223

CRN Number:

90216

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

This course explores the materials and processes available for the production of graphic film or graphic film sequences. It consists of instruction in animation, rephotography, rotoscoping, and drawing on film and of viewing and discussing a number of films that are primarily concerned with the visual. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement. Registration open to Sophomores and above.

 

3D Animation

 

Professor:

Ben Coonley

 

Course Number:

FILM 225

CRN Number:

90217

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

Mon       10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities

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.

 

Defining Black Cinema

 

Professor:

Ephraim Asili

 

Course Number:

FILM 237

CRN Number:

90219

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

Mon       1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 117

 

Screening:

Mon       5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Avery Film Center 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art D+J Difference and Justice

 

Crosslists:

Africana Studies

What constitutes Black Cinema? Perhaps films made by filmmakers’ representative of the African Diaspora or films themed around issues related to cultures of the African Diaspora? Maybe a film that feature Black actors, or a set of formal concerns and approaches that separate Black Cinema from dominant modes of production? Defining Black Cinema is a course designed for students to explore these and related questions of historical representation, cultural identity, stylistic innovation, and alternative modes of distribution. By viewing and responding to a cross section of domestic and international films made by filmmakers of the African Diaspora, students will be provided with a historic and aesthetic basis for defining Black Cinema on their own terms. Some of the Filmmakers covered in the course are Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Zora Neale Hurston, Eloyce Gist, Ousmane Sembene, Melvin Van Peebles, and Madeline Anderson. Grading for the course will be based on weekly written responses, attendance, and class participation. This course includes a required weekly evening screening.

 

Framing the Election

 

Professor:

Jacqueline Goss

 

Course Number:

FILM 248

CRN Number:

90220

Class cap:

15

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

  Wed     10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Screening:

  Wed     5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Avery 110

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities

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. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Feminist Film and Media

 

Professor:

Masha Shpolberg

 

Course Number:

FILM 253

CRN Number:

90221

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    1:30 PM - 4:10 PM Avery Film Center 338

 

Screening:

 Tue      7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Avery Film Center 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art D+J Difference and Justice

 

Crosslists:

Gender and Sexuality Studies

 This class will engage the main questions and debates of feminist theory across cinema, television, and new media, with a focus on feminist film practice. Weekly screenings will showcase the work of female-identified (and feminist-identified) filmmakers working across narrative, experimental, and documentary filmmaking traditions. We will ask how both critics and artists have responded to the limited ways in which mainstream media imagines femininity, and imagined anti-patriarchal forms of representation. Theoretical topics of interest will include the “male gaze,” women as consumers, fashion, gendered and racial passing, black feminist theory, and feminist theories of affective and emotional labor. Filmmakers and artists discussed will include Chantal Akerman, Laura Mulvey, Yvonne Rainer, Yoko Ono, Sara Gómez, Julie Dash, Dorothy Arzner, Agnés Varda, Sally Potter, Carolee Schneeman, Barbara Hammer, Peggy Ahwesh, Zeinabu irene Davis, Sadie Benning, Ngozi Onwurah, Trinh T. Minh-Ha, and others. 

 

Writing the Film

 

Professor:

A. Sayeeda Moreno

 

Course Number:

FILM 256

CRN Number:

90222

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

  Wed     10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 338

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities; Written Arts

An introductory writing course that looks at creative approaches to writing short films and dialogue scenes. Starting with personal histories, lineage, and identities, students learn the tools to write invigorating, character-driven short screenplays. Building characters through transcription and investigation to enhance character development and story arc ultimately creating a visual language, students develop and workshop a short screenplay (maximum 10-15 pages). This course will require extensive outside research and you are responsible for committing to a writing and rewriting process. Registration open to Sophomores and above.

 

Cinema and the Cold War

 

Professor:

Ian Buruma

 

Course Number:

FILM 273

CRN Number:

90229

Class cap:

15

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Screening:

Mon       5:00 PM - 8:00 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

 

Crosslists:

Human Rights

Cinema and the Cold War will focus on films made in the US, Europe, and Asia that illustrate, comment on, and satirize aspects of the Cold War. This course aims to not only equip students with a firmer grasp of world film history of the second half of the 20th century, but also to discuss the politics of the Cold War from multiple international perspectives. Subjects, including the Red Scare in the US, the effects of US imperialism in Asia, and life under communism in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Soviet Union, will give students a rich historical grounding to better understand the many overlapping crises in the world today. The cinemas of Cuba, the Soviet Union, and the US will feature prominently in the course, with special attention to such films as Pigs and Battleships (Imamura Shohei 1961) and Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick 1964). Assignments include weekly film responses, group presentations focused on a particular themes, and a midterm and final essay on a topic of their choosing.

 

History and Theory of Animation

 

Professor:

Joshua Glick

 

Course Number:

FILM 274

CRN Number:

90230

Class cap:

15

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Screening

Mon       5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Preston 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

This course explores the history and theory of animation, from the late 19th century to the present. Importantly, we look at animation as a global art form that spans a wide breadth of genres, methods of practice, and models of production. While animation exists at the center of the US, Japanese, and Nigerian media industries, it also invigorates auteur cinema, experimental filmmaking, human rights documentary, as well as adjacent cultural fields such as gaming. Throughout the semester, we address animation as a mode of spectacular world-building and animation as an expressive form of stylized realism, giving poignant shape to memories, social experiences, and historical events. Our units investigate particular design processes, ranging from stop motion to cell, CGI, 3d, and synthetic media. Major artists include: Winsor McCay, Glenda Wharton, William Kentridge, Amp Wong and Zhao Ji, Hans Richter, Jan Švankmajer, Marjane Satrapi, and Vincent Paronnaud along with major studios such as Pixar, Studio Ghibli, and Kugali. Assignments will consist of a weekly film diary, a close reading essay, a group presentation, and a longer paper that involves researching primary and secondary sources. Note: screenings related to course material will be held one evening a week.

 

Documentary Production Workshop

 

Professor:

Fiona Otway

 

Course Number:

FILM 278

CRN Number:

90223

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 333

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

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.

 

Film Narrative Workshop

 

Professor:

Alison Nguyen

 

Course Number:

FILM 290

CRN Number:

90563

Class cap:

15

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Wed    3:30 PM - 6:30 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

Students will explore visual storytelling strategies. Through weekly video exercises students will shoot original assignments or excerpts from selected narrative films. They will work both individually and on crews. For crew assignments members of the class will act as a production team: planning, shooting and editing. Crewmembers should rotate positions so that everyone is getting the chance to experience the various areas of filmmaking. Students will construct a sound design for each piece but must refrain from using music.  No titles or credits. Registration open to Sophomores and above. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Advanced Screenwriting

 

Professor:

A. Sayeeda Moreno

 

Course Number:

FILM 312

CRN Number:

90224

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 338

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities; Written Arts

An intensive screenwriting workshop designed specifically for someone who plans to make a film for moderation or senior project. We will work on multiple drafts with the goal to develop a concise and polished short screenplay in preparation for production. The course will focus on poetic strategies creating the blueprint for a narrative fiction film. The class will engage in writing assignments forming the bedrock for vigorous analysis as students workshop their scripts. This course will require extensive outside research, and a commitment to writing, rewriting, and analysis. Students must currently have a short script in progress that they intend to workshop during the semester.  Prerequisite: Film 256 - Writing the Film or Film 229 - Character & Story, or the successful completion of a sophomore level production class. Non-majors can participate but must email the professor to highlight their screenwriting experience prior to registration for approval. ALL prospective students must email [email protected] one paragraph (no more than 200 words) with a short synopsis of the screenplay you want to workshop in class, and explain your interest in taking this course.

 

Digital Cinematography

 

Professor:

Jacqueline Goss

 

Course Number:

FILM 317

CRN Number:

90555

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

Mon       1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 338

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

A 300 level production workshop designed to give course participants a more thorough understanding of a wide range of techniques, vocabularies, and aesthetics that are unique to the language of digital cinema. Students will spend extensive time learning and developing abilities with and deeper technical understandings of several digital cameras, lighting techniques, and cinemagraphic strategies. To this end, each course participant will shoot a series of moving image works that will help develop a unique filmmaker’s “eye.”  Prerequisite: Intro to Video, Praxis or other film production course. This production course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Video Installation

 

Professor:

Ben Coonley

 

Course Number:

FILM 335

CRN Number:

90225

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 116/117

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts  

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities

This production course explores the challenges and possibilities of video installation: an evolving contemporary art form that extends video beyond conventional exhibition spaces such as theaters into sculptural, site-specific, physically immersive, and multiple channel exhibition contexts. Presentations, screenings, and readings augment critical thinking about temporal and spatial relationships, narrative structure, viewer perception and the challenges of presenting time-based media artwork in a gallery or museum setting. Workshops hone technical skills and introduce methods for the creative use of video projectors, video monitors, sound equipment, surveillance cameras, media players, multi-channel synchronizers, digital software, and lightweight sculptural elements. Students develop research interests and apply their unique skill sets to short turnaround exercises and a larger self-directed final project. This is an advanced course. Students are expected to have some experience with videocamera operation and editing. This course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Queer Cinema

 

Professor:

Ed Halter

 

Course Number:

FILM 337

CRN Number:

90226

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

    Fri   10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Avery Film Center 217

 

Screening:

    Thurs    7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Avery 110

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

 

Crosslists:

Gender and Sexuality Studies

Cross-listed: Gender & Sexuality Studies   This course presents a critical examination of how queer identity has been explored on screen, from the silent era to recent times. Topics will include: the representation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans characters in classic Hollywood and European cinema; theories of camp, gender subversion, and other forms of articulating queer sensibility within historically heteronormative frameworks; the question of “positive images” and identity politics; the pioneering work of openly queer 20th century filmmakers; the role of cinema in activism around such issues as AIDS, feminism, and trans visibility; the central importance of queer artists in the history of avant-garde film and video art; and the mainstreaming of queer images in the 21st century. Filmmakers under consideration will include Chantal Akerman, Kenneth Anger, Dorothy Arzner, Sadie Benning, Jean Cocteau, George Cukor, Arthur Dong, Cheryl Dunye, Barbara Hammer, Todd Haynes, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Su Friedrich, George & Mike Kuchar, Derek Jarman, Ulrike Ottinger, Yvonne Rainer, James Richards, João Pedro Rodrigues, Marlon Riggs, Werner Schroeter, Ryan Trecartin, Andy Warhol, John Waters, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This film history course fulfills a moderation/major requirement.

 

Cinema Curating and Exhibition

 

Professor:

Ed Halter

 

Course Number:

FILM 354

CRN Number:

90227

Class cap:

12

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

   Thurs    1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Avery Film Center 217/319

 

Distributional Area:

AA Analysis of Art  

This course explores the history, theory, and practical concerns of film curating and exhibition, with a special focus on the century-long traditions of cinema in New York City. As a way of investigating the range of possibilities for film presentation, the course will look at pre-cinematic technologies of the projected image; various models employed in the pre-sound era; early alternatives to the Hollywood system, including ciné-clubs, “small cinemas,” road shows, and exploitation; later examples such as cinematheques, film societies, film festivals, and microcinemas; expanded cinema and projection performance; attempts to introduce film and video into spaces traditionally devoted to visual art; the role of collections and archives; the practice of repertory programming; and models for online moving-image exhibition. Individual case studies will include the Museum of Modern Art’s Film Library, Amos Vogel’s Cinema 16, Anthology Film Archives, and the Collective for Living Cinema. Student work will include a set of program notes for an imagined film series and a final research project, which can take the form of either a written essay, a video essay, or a curated exhibition.

 

Senior Seminar

 

Professor:

Ben Coonley

 

Course Number:

FILM 405

CRN Number:

90228

Class cap:

35

Credits:

0

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Avery Film Center 110

 

Distributional Area:

None   

A requirement for all Film 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 maker guests 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 and carries no credit.

 

Crosslisted Courses:

 

Advocacy Video Clemency (Production)

 

Professor:

Thomas Keenan and Brent Green

 

Course Number:

HR 321 A

CRN Number:

90346

Class cap:

18

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      12:30 PM2:50 PM Avery Film Center 117

 

Distributional Area:

PA Practicing Arts D+J Difference and Justice

 

Crosslists:

Experimental Humanities; Film and Electronic Arts

 

Romance and Realism: A History of  Italian Cinema

 

Professor:

Joseph Luzzi

 

Course Number:

LIT 366

CRN Number:

90305

Class cap:

15

Credits:

4

 

Schedule/Location:

Mon       12:30 PM - 2:50 PM Olin 101

 

Distributional Area:

FL Foreign Languages and Lit  

 

Crosslists:

Film and Electronic Arts; Italian Studies