CINEMA
College of Creative Arts
(See Cinema in the Academic Programs section for information on the degrees)
Undergraduate Courses
101 Introduction to Film (3) [GE]
The nature of motion pictures as a unique and a composite art. Viewing of significant films. Film style and structure. Development of criteria for critical appraisal.
102 Introduction to Contemporary Cinema (3) [GE]
Studies in filmmaking since 1960. Focus on both dominant forms (Hollywood, Europe) and alternative modes (documentary, experimental). Particular emphasis on how films reflect and contribute to the values and culture of a society.
300 Film History I (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing Must be taken concurrently with CINE 303. Significant and representative narrative, documentary and experimental films (1895-1945), including such directors as Griffith, Murnau, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Buñuel, Chaplin, Richter, Dreyer, Pabst, Lorentz, Deren, Cocteau.
302 Film History II (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing, Must be taken concurrently with CINE 303. Chronological consideration of significant and representative narrative, documentary and experimental films since 1945, including such directors as de Sica, Rossellini, Clair, Bergman, Fellini, Brakhage, Kurosawa, Ray, Truffaut, Antonioni, Rouch, Godard.
303 Film History Seminar (1)
Prerequisite: upper division standing, Must be taken concurrently with CINE 300 and 302. Critical studies related to topics presented and to films screened in CINE 300 and 302. May be repeated once for a total of two units.
308 Third World Perspectives in Film (3) [GE]
Screenings, lectures, classroom discussion, and readings enable students to develop critical perspectives on the cultural and social values of third world societies and, by comparison, of their own.
310 Workshop in Production (3)
Prerequisites: upper division standing. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 316. Instruction and practice in the basic techniques of film and video production as applied to various cinematic forms. Students must provide Super 8 or video camera and editing equipment. Classwork, two units; activity, one unit. Extra fee required.
316 Film Production Laboratory (1)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 310. Practical experience in 16mm production, including use of camera, lighting, sound, and editing equipment.
322 Music for Film (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Workshop for young filmmakers and composers with emphasis on creating or assembling musical scores appropriate to the motion picture medium.
325 Focus on Film Topics (1) [GE]
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Examination of a particular director, genre, style, or national cinema. May be repeated for four units as topics vary. Only one unit will be counted toward the cinema major. CR/NC grading only.
327 Anthropology and Film (4)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. For course description, see ANTH 327.
340 Critical Studies (3) [GE]
Prerequisites: CINE 101 and 102. Examination of one or more critical methodologies and their applicability to particular film experiences. Examples: narrative study, auteurism, Marxism.
342 Documentary Film (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: upper division standing. The development and shifting roles of nonfiction, live action film with considerations of the significant work of such figures as Flaherty, Vertov, Riefenstahl, Grierson, Leacock-Pennebaker, and Marker.
344 Film Genre (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 101 or 102. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. The examination of one or more modes, (e.g., horror, westerns, musicals) in terms of structure, iconographics, conventions, value systems, and derivations. May be repeated for a total of nine units as topics vary.
350 Production Planning (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing or consent of instructor. Scripting, budgeting, and production planning for short films in both standard and experimental formats.
354 Short Format Writing (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Exploration of visual and verbal screenwriting strategies for developing short films in both standard and experimental formats.
355 Screenwriting I (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Extensive practice in film writing, emphasizing story and plot dynamics, characterization, narration, dialogue, script forms and alternatives. Analysis of current motion picture scripts.
360 Animation I (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing or consent of instructor. Aesthetics, dynamics of movement, and techniques of animation. Projects in varied media and methods. A background in art or film is desirable but not essential. Laboratory. Extra fee required.
362 Animation II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 360 or consent of instructor. Concentration on developing storyboard and sound animation techniques. Laboratory. May be repeated for a total of nine units. Extra fee required.
363 Special Effects and Film Graphics Workshop (2)
Prerequisites: CINE 360 or 518 and consent of instructor. Design and execution of film projects employing extensive use of stop-motion camera and optical techniques. Open to live-action and animation students.
364 Animation Pre-Production (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Scripting, storyboarding, soundtrack design and production. Emphasis on visual planning and picture/sound relationship.
365 History of Animation (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. A survey of animated filmmaking around the world, from origins in graphic and photographic arts to current and future trends in film and electronic media. Works in varied techniques as produced by studios and individual artists are studied.
366 Animation III (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 362 and consent of instructor. Advanced workshop emphasizing completion of soundtracks, editing, and laboratory operations for projects. May be repeated for a total of nine units. Extra fee may be required.
368 Advanced Animation Workshop (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 362 or consent of instructor. Advanced workshop to study, design, and execute a variety of visual effects. Aesthetic integration of effects into existing film projects and experimental animation. Laboratory. May be repeated for a total of nine units.
400 American Film (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 101 or 102 and upper division standing. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Close examination of designated period of American fiction film (e.g., depression era, World War II) or particular production inflection (e.g., the studio system). May be repeated for a total of nine units as topics vary.
401 National Cinema (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 300 or 302. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. In-depth examination of one or more specific national cinemas in terms of representative texts, themes, genres, structure, authors, styles. Study of concept of national character as expressed through cinema.
402 Avant Garde Film (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Survey of radical experimentation in film emphasizing social aesthetic modes (e.g., dada, structuralist-materialist cinema), periods (e.g., twenties, France), and artists (e.g., Brakhage, Snow).
403 Homosexuality in Film (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: upper division standing. Examines how homosexuality has been portrayed in American and foreign films. Deals with the issues of lesbian and gay gender stereotypes and ethnicity. Shows how censorship, the marketplace, politics, religion, and public pressure have shaped the films. (Also offered as HMSX 403.)
405 Jewish Identity in Film (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. A survey and exploration of Jewish identity in film. Areas of emphasis include Jewish stereotypes, the Holocaust, images of antiquity, and the current Middle East conflict. Gender and race relations are also addressed.
408 Film Authors (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 300 and 302. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Study of filmmakers whose work evidences the distinctive stylistic and thematic marks of personal expression in the cinema. Examination of personal authorship, its value and limitations as a critical methodology.
412 Advanced Film Production I (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 312 and departmental permission. Portfolio required. Must be taken concurrently with CINE 416. Development of senior filmmaking project. Extra fee may be required.
414 Advanced Film Production II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 412. Must be taken concurrently with CINE 416. Completion of senior filmmaking project.
416 Advanced Production Crafts (1)
Prerequisite: CINE 312. Must be taken concurrently with CINE 412 and 414. Practical experience in the use of filmmaking equipment and materials. Emphasis on the development of advanced production skills and techniques. May be repeated once for credit.
442 Film Distribution and Finance (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Economics of production, budgeting, breakdowns, financing and contracts, distribution and exhibition, censorship, copyright, libel and slander, law of privacy, releases.
444 The Spectacle of Revolution: Politics in Theater and Film (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing. The political nature of artistic spectacle, primarily in the twentieth century. Theater and film as battlegrounds of ideas and political movements. Politics as performance, art as confrontation. (Also offered as IAC and THA 444.)
455 Screenwriting II (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 354 or 355. Advanced practice in conceptualizing and writing scripts.
465 Contemporary Animation (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 101 and consent of instructor. International animation from 1970 to present. Emphasis on short films created by independent artists in a wide variety of classic art media and new technologies. Analysis of social content, historical significance, and artistic technique.
472 Film Theory (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 300 and 302. Seminar in aesthetics with an analysis of theoretical and critical writing on film; e.g., Bazin, Kracauer, Arnheim, Metz, Eisenstein.
480 Workshop in Film Production II (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Emphasis on designing and producing 8mm film projects more advanced in scope than those created in CINE 310. May be repeated once for credit. Classwork, two units; laboratory, one unit.
500 Film and Society (3) [GE]
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Examination of major social issues through analysis of film texts. Focus on such topics as race, class, gender and sexual role, feminism, ideology, political movements, social and historical change.
505 Women and Film (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. The representation of women in classical cinema and alternative modes, including films made by women. Exploration of feminism both as critical methodology and as a force in filmmaking practice.
506 Cinematheque Management (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Practical experience in presenting film and video offerings to the public. Program planning; promotion and publicity; house management and public relations. May be repeated once for credit.
507 Cinema Curating and Exhibition (1)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Practical issues of organizing the exhibition of film and video work involving actual screenings and events planned by the Cinema Department. May be repeated once for credit.
510 Film Directing (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 310 or consent of instructor. Function of the director, manipulation of space and time, problems of continuity, script planning and blocking, handling actors and crew. Laboratory.
512 Writing/Directing Workshop I (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or 510 and CINE 354 or 355. Portfolio required. Must be taken concurrently with CINE 516. Techniques and aesthetics of film directing. Emphasis on producing dramatic material for films in interrelated environment which includes practice in writing and directing.
514 Writing/Directing Workshop II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 512. Must be taken concurrently with CINE 516. Development and production of senior project in writing and directing.
516 Writing/Directing Laboratory (1)
Must be taken concurrently with CINE 512 and 514. Principles of cinematography, sound, and production planning as they relate to film directing. May be repeated once for credit.
517 Advanced Production Laboratory in Film Sound Recording (1)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or equivalent and consent of instructor. Intensive laboratory in film sound recording. Focuses on techniques for sync recording in field conditions. Extra fee required.
518 Titles and Graphics Workshop (1)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Laboratory workshop in titling and graphics for film. Focuses on techniques of animation and precision camera work. Extra fee may be required.
519 Advanced Production Laboratory in Film Lighting (1)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 and or equivalent and consent of instructor. Intensive laboratory in lighting for film. Focus on aesthetic and atmospheric effects of film lighting. Extra fee required.
520 Post-Production Sound (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or equivalent and consent of instructor. Preparation and editing of multiple sound tracks for motion pictures. Recording and mixing of sound track utilizing studio recordings consoles, reverberation, limiters, graphic equalizers. Critical evaluation of sound/picture relationships. Extra fee required.
521 Optical Printing Workshop (1)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or equivalent and consent of instructor. Workshop in optical printing for motion pictures. May be repeated for a total of three units.
522 Film Editing Workshop (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or equivalent and consent of instructor. Intensive laboratory in film editing. Focuses on techniques and aesthetics of film editing.
523 Exploration in Interactive Cinema (3)
Prerequisites: major in Creative Arts discipline and upper division standing and consent of instructor. Hands-on introduction to use of computer controlled interactive technology for cinema and experimental visual arts applications covering conceptualization, programming, production, and presentation using Macintosh Hypercard Development system.
524 Topics in Expanded Cinema (3)
Prerequisites: major in Creative Arts discipline, upper division standing, and consent of instructor. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Variable topic course exploring theory, aesthetics, and applications of new and emerging technologies as they relate to cinema. May be repeated for a total of nine units of credit when topics vary.
525 Advanced Cinematography and Lighting (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 or equivalent and consent of instructor. Advanced filmmaking workshop emphasizing skills and aesthetics of cinematography and lighting. Extra fee required.
540 Group Film Project I (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 312 and equivalent and consent of instructor. Students assumes different responsibilities and gain mastery of collaborative filmmaking processes. Normally taught by the Visiting Filmmaker. May be repeated once for credit.
542 Group Film Project II (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 540 and consent of instructor. Continuation of CINE 540. Students work collaboratively to produce a finished work. May be repeated once for credit.
610 Senior Seminar (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 340, 472, and consent of instructor. Independent studies for students who wish to pursue a senior project, such as a scholarly thesis or creative work, under faculty supervision.
655 Projects in Film Writing (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 455 and consent of instructor. Advanced projects in film writing. Writing of 60 minute or longer screenplay. Analysis and evaluation of works in progress. May be repeated once for credit.
690 Production Practice (3)
Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of supervising instructor. Advanced individual projects in film production pursued under supervision. May be repeated for a total of nine units.
692 Internship (3)
Prerequisites: upper division standing and consent of supervising instructor. Field experience in cinema production. May be repeated once for credit with instructor's consent. CR/NC grading only.
699 Independent Study (1)
Prerequisites: upper division standing and consent of supervising instructor. Selected projects in various aspects of motion pictures.
Graduate Courses
700 Introduction to Graduate Study (3)
Prerequisite: departmental permission. Required as a pre- or co-requisite for all other graduate seminars. Orientation to graduate study. Basic critical methodologies, such as auteur, genre, feminism, and narrative structure. Current perspectives and directions in cinema theory and practice.
701 Creative Process I (3)
Prerequisite: approved M.F.A. Cinema students. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 710 and 721. Basic elements of film writing and design, including conceptualization, idea development, scripting, story boarding, composing/staging for the camera, and image gathering.
702 Creative Process II (3)
Prerequisites: approved M.F.A. cinema students. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 712 and 722. Continuation of CINE 701, emphasizing writing and design for a specific film project and basic principles of writing a research proposal.
710 Production Practice I (3)
Prerequisite: consent of graduate coordinator. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 701 and 721. Film production for new graduate students. A craft oriented course featuring camera, sound, and editing. Focus on problems of film meaning and design as experienced by the filmmaker.
712 Production Practice II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 710. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 702 and 722. A continuation of CINE 710. A refinement of basic filmmaking skills and processes. Production of the required first year cinema project.
713 Animation Workshop (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 360 and 362 and consent of instructor. Graduate workshop to explore the aesthetics of animation and to produce a short animated film using film or computer techniques. May be repeated for a total of nine units.
720 Producing Dramatic Features (3)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. The three-part production of a feature film. First semester covers development, writing, fund-raising. Second semester involves casting, budgeting, pre-production. Third semester includes production and post-production. May be repeated for a total of nine units. CR/NC grading only.
721 Cinema Aesthetics and Theory I (3)
Prerequisite: approved M.F.A. Cinema major or classified graduate standing in the M.A. program. Concurrent enrollment in CINE 701 and 710 for M.F.A. students only. Basic principles of sound and image design, film form and narrative structure. Close study of representative texts from formal ideological and post-structural perspectives.
722 Cinema Aesthetics and Theory II (3)
Prerequisite: approved M.F.A. Cinema major and CINE 721, or classified graduate standing in the M.A. program and CINE 721. Examines film as a process of social representation. Focus on issues and concepts of representation, interpretation and reception for fiction and nonfiction film or video.
724 Cinema Theory I (3)
Prerequisites: 721, 722 and successful completion of department progress review. Research in aesthetics issues and their relationship to theories of subjectivity, representation and cultural politics. Focus is toward aesthetics as it pertains to film-video production: the expressive potential of aural and visual elements and the implications or consequences of various relationships of sound and image for spectators.
726 Cinema Theory II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 724. Analysis of production problems and projects from CINE 760 and 762, preparation of critiques of statements pertaining to creative work, and research in aesthetics as it relates to theories of the cinematic apparatus and ideology.
735 Selected Problems in Documentary Films (3)
Prerequisites: consent of instructor. Practical, critical, and theoretical perspectives in documentary filmmaking. Issues include narrative structures, cross-cultural perspectives, truth and fiction, ethics, self-reflexive strategies, and voice. Classwork, two units; laboratory, one unit.
740 Seminar in Film Theory (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 700. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Intensive and advanced study of a selected topic in film theory such as structuralism, semiology, psychoanalysis. May be repeated for nine units as topics vary.
745 Seminar in Film History and Criticism (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 700. Topic to be specified in Class Schedule. Explores the various histories that make up the cinema. An exploration into the development of film criticism. May be repeated for nine units as topics vary.
755 Seminar in Screen Writing (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 355 and consent of instructor. Advanced projects in film script writing. Students are encouraged to produce long works.
760 Seminar in Film and the Creative Process (3)
Prerequisites: consent of instructor. Conceptualization and realization of the film work. A study of the process of creating an imaginative form.
761 Cinema Laboratory I (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 712 and successful completion of department Progress Review. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 724. Research in cinema production. Students will explore innovative modes of expression. Students will be encouraged to extend the formal and material possibilities of contemporary cinema.
762 Cinema Laboratory II (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 760. Concurrent enrollment with CINE 726. A continuation of CINE 761. Students produce an innovative project that extends the formal material possibilities of contemporary cinema. Student projects are presented at a faculty colloquium.
765 Internship (3)
Prerequisite: classified standing in Cinema and consent of supervising instructor. Opportunities to work on the production of a film. Film experience with production entities and organizations within the cinema industry. May be repeated for credit with instructor's consent.
770 Seminar in Film Production Research (3)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Planning and development of creative work project, including preproduction, research, and writing.
780 Graduate Film Production (3)
Prerequisite: CINE 770 and approval of thesis project proposal. Advanced individual projects in production. Critical discussion of work in progress. May be repeated for a total of six units.
781 Advanced Graduate Film Production (3)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Motion picture production of short films for advanced film graduate students. A craft oriented course that involves group research, production and distribution of a short film.
852 Directed Experience in Film Education (3)
Prerequisites: consent of supervising instructor. Directed experience in the teaching of film courses. Students assist in course preparation and instruction and receive supervision from the instructor in charge. May be repeated for a total of six units.
894 Creative Work Project (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 770 and approval of thesis project proposal. Production of creative work project in fulfillment of the requirements for the M.F.A. in Cinema. Graduate Approved Program and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.
897 Research Project in Cinema Studies (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 700 and consent of graduate coordinator. Methods of research for individual graduate projects in cinema studies. Development of a problem of major interest to a student.
898 Master's Thesis (3)
Prerequisites: CINE 897 and approval of thesis proposal. Preparation of required thesis for the master's degree in cinema studies. Graduate Approved Program and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.
899 Special Study (3)
Prerequisites: consent of supervising instructor and graduate coordinator. Supervised individual projects in various aspects of the motion picture field.