INTRO TO FILM & MEDIA STUDIES
This course serves as an introduction to the study of film and related visual media, examining fundamental issues of aesthetics (mise-en-scene, editing, sound), history (interaction of industrial, economic, and technological factors), theory (spectatorship, realism, and indexicality), and criticism (auteurist, feminist, and genre-based approaches). The course also investigates how digital media change has been productive of new frameworks for moving image culture in the present. Discussion section FILM UN1001 is a required corequisite.
- W 2:10 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jane Gaines
CULPA: 4 Info - 3 points
INTRO-FILM & MEDIA STUDIES-DIS
Co-requisite discussion section for FILM UN 1000 INTRO TO FILM & MEDIA STUDIES.
CINEMA HIST II: 1930-1960
This course examines major developments and debates in the history of cinema between 1930 and 1960, from the consolidation of the classic Hollywood studio system in the early sound era to the articulation of emergent ;new waves; and new critical discourses in the late 1950s. Our approach will be interdisciplinary in scope, albeit with an emphasis on social and cultural history - concerned not only with how movies have developed as a form of art and medium of entertainment, but also with cinemas changing function as a social institution. Discussion section FILM UN 2021 is a required co-requisite.
- R 2:10 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ronald Gregg
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
CINEMA HIST II-1930-1960-DIS
Co-requisite for FILM UN 2020 Cinema History II.
- F 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
- F 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
- 0 points
CINEMA HIST III:1960-1990
By closely watching representative classics from countries including Italy, Poland, Russia and Argentina, we will study the distinctive trends and masters of this vibrant era. Special attention will be paid to the French New Wave (60s); the New German Cinema (70s); the reformulation of Hollywood studio filmmaking in the 70s (Altman, Cassavetes, Coppola), and the rise of the independent American cinema (80s). Discussion section FILM UN 2031 is a required co-requisite.
- M 2:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Annette Insdorf
CULPA: 10 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
CINEMA HIST III:1960-1990-DISC
Co-requisite discussion section for FILM UN 2030 Cinema History III: 1960-90.
- T 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
- T 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
- T 5:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
- 0 points
American Film: The Western
This course surveys the first century of the American Western film genre, and its relation to American imaginings and ideologies of the “frontier,” with in-depth readings of key precursor texts, including memoirs, histories, novels, and essays. We will consider the evolution of the genre and its changing place within the film industry, and study exemplary films that established and challenged the genre’s narrative, aesthetic, and ideological conventions. We will explore how films engage with the history and myth of the American West. We will also be analyzing the politics of the Western, in particular how films articulate configurations of race, class, nation, sexuality and gender. And we will study the way Western films and filmmakers themselves interrogate the analytic categories we use to study them -- categories such as “genre” and “auteur” – with specific attention to the work and career of John Ford. Please note: the course requires sustained engagement with and analysis of written texts as well as films, so please be prepared for a bit more reading than what you might expect from a typical film survey course.
- W 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
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Instructor:
James A Schamus
CULPA: 8
Wikipedia
Info
- 3 points
American Film: The Western (Discussion)
American Film: Wester (DI
Discussion section for FILM2134UN.
- F 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
- F 11:10 a.m.-noon
- F 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
- 0 points
LAB IN WRITING FILM CRITICISM
Lab in Writing Film Criticism
This course will focus on writing fresh, original criticism, on developing an individual voice, and on creating strong arguments supporting your ideas (qualities that translate to many areas, from reviewing to pitching a film project). Screenings in and outside class will be followed by discussion and in-class writing exercises, as well as regular writing assignments. How do you choose an effective critical approach? How do you make your opinions vivid and convincing on the page? We will also analyze recent criticism and consider the changing landscape of film criticism today.
Prerequisite:
Instructor’s permission. Submit a short, film-related sample to cj2374@columbia.edu
Note: Because permission is required, on-line registration may say the course is full when it is not. Priority given to film majors.
- M 1:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Caryn James
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Lab in the Video Essay
This media lab is a hands-on exploration of producing video essays as an essential aspect of scholarly discourse in the digital age. The course challenges students to actively engage with a range of media projects, guided by the tenets of critical media practice. Through a mode of scholarship and research through the creation of media, students will acquire both theoretical understanding of critical media and practical skills such as scriptwriting, video editing, audio narration, and publishing. Drawing on case studies from media and film studies, students are invited to review and deconstruct video essays, podcasts, interactive essays, and digital storytelling.
The course aims to encourage students to think beyond traditional written formats, explore new methods of critical analysis and argument, and to create publishable or presentable video essays. It supports the conception and production of new knowledge through media, constructing critical insights that utilize the expressiveness of our contemporary audiovisual networks.
- M 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
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Instructor:
Behrang M Garakani
Info - 3 points
SENIOR SEMINAR IN FILM STUDIES
A seminar for senior film majors planning to write a research paper in film history/theory/culture. Course content changes yearly.
- R 10:10 a.m.-1:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Racquel Gates
Info - 3 points
ADVANCED FILM PRODUCTION PRACTICE
Advanced Film Production Practice is an advanced production and lecture course for students who wish to obtain a deeper understanding of the skills involved in screenwriting, directing and producing. Building on the fundamentals established in the Labs for Fiction and Non-Fiction Filmmaking, this seminar further develops each student’s grasp of the concepts involved in filmmaking through advanced analytical and practical work to prepare Thesis film materials.
- R 2:10 p.m.-4:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Benjamin C Leonberg
Info - 3 points
SENIOR SEM IN SCREENWRITING
A seminar for senior film majors. Students will complete a step outline and minimum of 30 pages of their project, including revisions. Through reading/viewing and analyzing selected scripts/films, as well as lectures, exercises and weekly critiques, students will expand their understanding of dramatic writing and narrative-making for film and TV, including adaptations. They will learn appropriate structure for each specific screen-writing form, and endeavor to apply their understanding of drama, character, theme, and structure to their chosen narrative project.
- F 2:10 p.m.-4:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
Loren-Paul Caplin
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
FILM AND MEDIA THEORY
This course offers a historical and critical overview of film and media theory from its origins up to the present.
- R 1:10 p.m.-4:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Nico Baumbach
Info - 3 points
FILM & MEDIA THEORY-DISC
Co-requisite undergraduate discussion section for FILM GU 4000 Film & Media Theory.
- F 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
- F 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
- F 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
- 0 points
Auteur Study: David Lynch and The Americ
The course explores the work of David Lynch, one of American cinema’s most singular figures. We will consider Lynch’s narrative features, experimental shorts, and TV series, as well as his painting, photography, and music. One of our aims is to situate Lynch within (and alongside, and against) Hollywood and other cinematic and artistic traditions, while also suggesting connections, overt and otherwise, to a range of filmmakers and artists who have come after him.
At the heart of our investigation is Lynch’s distinctive sensibility, which is at once easy to recognize and hard to define. By looking closely at his use of cinematic language, we will ask how Lynch’s films achieve their particular effects, and how they might give form to the desires and fears of their times. Drawing on multiple frameworks — including politics, place, gender, race, surrealism, spirituality, trauma, psychoanalysis, narratology, language, and architecture — we will examine the contradictions at the heart of the Lynchian aesthetic and its relationship to the myths, icons, and taboos of postwar America.
- M 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
- 3 points
Black Film and Media
This course examines the historical and theoretical issues concerning the representation of African Americans in film and media. The course will provide a historical overview while focusing on key themes, concepts, and texts.
- T 9:10 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
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Instructor:
Racquel Gates
Info - 3 points
Black Film and Media Discussion
Black Film and Media DISC
This course examines the historical and theoretical issues concerning the representation of African Americans in film and media. The course will provide a historical overview while focusing on key themes, concepts, and texts.
- F 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
- 0 points
Seeing Narrative
An advanced film theory "workshop" in which we shall avoid reading film theory in favor of a selection of other texts, taken mainly from the domains of art history, philosophy, and literature. Our central question will be: What can we, who have grown up in the age of cinema and digital media, learn from discourses about vision and its relation to narrative that pre-date the cinema, or that consider the cinema only marginally? In this course, we shall begin to approach some of the major topics of contemporary film theory -- narrativity, subject-construction, the relation of words to images -- through the lens of texts that have remained largely outside the network of citations and references we normally associate with the work of professional media theory. We might begin the groundwork for an "opening up" or critique of some of the blind spots of current theory; at the very least, we shall be reading works that challenge our usual ways of theorizing.
- M 6:10 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
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Instructor:
James A Schamus
CULPA: 8
Wikipedia
Info
- 3 points
QUEER CINEMA
This course examines themes and changes in the (self-)representation of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in cinema from the early sound period to the present. It pays attention to both the formal qualities of film and filmmakers’ use of cinematic strategies (mise-en-scene, editing, etc.) designed to elicit certain responses in viewers and to the distinctive possibilities and constraints of the classical Hollywood studio system, independent film, avant-garde cinema, and world cinema; the impact of various regimes of formal and informal censorship; the role of queer men and women as screenwriters, directors, actors, and designers; and the competing visions of gay, progay, and antigay filmmakers. Along with considering the formal properties of film and the historical forces that shaped it, the course explores what cultural analysts can learn from film. How can we treat film as evidence in historical analysis? We will consider the films we see as evidence that may shed new light on historical problems and periodization, and will also use the films to engage with recent queer theoretical work on queer subjectivity, affect, and culture.
- W 9:10 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ronald Gregg
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
Contemporary Russian Media
This course explores the evolution of Russian media during the decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The fall of the communist state had an outsized effect on the Russian mediascape. The four pillars of mass media which had previously been nationalized — cinema, television, radio, and the paper press — now had to contend with the challenges of the free market. These new economic conditions, together with technological developments and the disappearance of tight ideological control imposed by the state, led to a radical redefinition of the media industry. The Internet, which officially came to Russia in 1994, complicated the picture further. The course primarily focuses on moving image media — cinema, television and the Internet, tracing the historical development of each, analyzing a range of key works produced during this period. Our focus will be on the relationship between media and politics. We deliberately avoid referring to the period in question as post-Soviet or Putin’s Russia because both of these terms come with a set of assumptions and expectations which would limit the scope of our conversation. Instead, we emphasize the diversity of the contemporary Russian mediascape and how different productions negotiated questions of gender, national identity, and politics during the period in question. We conclude by examining the sudden recent conclusion of the relative ideological flexibility which was prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as well as the way platforms such as YouTube and services such as VPN continue making an alternative media sphere possible for Russian speakers.
There is no language requirement to take this seminar. All required readings and course materials will be available in English.
- R 9:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
- 3 points
NEW MEDIA ART
The rapid democratization of technology has led to a new wave of immersive storytelling that spills off screens into the real world and back again. These works defy traditional constraints as they shift away from a one-to-many to a many-to-many paradigm, transforming those formerly known as the audience from passive viewers into storytellers in their own right. New opportunities and limitations offered by emergent technologies are augmenting the grammar of storytelling, as creators wrestle with an ever-shifting digital landscape. New Media Art pulls back the curtain on transmedial works of fiction, non-fiction, and emergent forms that defy definition. Throughout the semester well explore projects that utilize Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and the Internet of Things, alongside a heavy-hitting selection of new media thinkers, theorists, and critics. The course will be co-taught as a dialogue between artistic practice and new media theory. Lance Weiler, a new media artist and founder of Columbia’s Digital Storytelling Lab, selected the media artworks; Rob King, a film and media historian, selected the scholarly readings. It is in the interaction between these two perspectives that the course will explore the parameters of emerging frontiers in media art and the challenges these pose for existing critical vocabularies.
- M 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Lance Weiler
CULPA: 1 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
CINEMA HIST II: 1930-1960
- R 2:10 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ronald Gregg
CULPA: 2 Info - 3 points
CINEMA HIST III:1960-1990
- M 2:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Annette Insdorf
CULPA: 10 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
ELEMENTS OF DRAMATIC NARRATIVE
A lecture and discussion course on the basics of feature-length screenwriting. Using written texts and films screened for class, the course explores the nature of storytelling in the feature-length film and the ways in which it is an extension and an evolution of other dramatic and narrative forms. A basic part of Film’s first year program, the course guides students in developing the plot, characters, conflict and theme of a feature-length story that they will write, as a treatment, by the end of the semester.
- M 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Andrew S Bienen
Info - 3 points
American Film: The Western
This course surveys the first century of the American Western film genre, and its relation to American imaginings and ideologies of the “frontier,” with in-depth readings of key precursor texts, including memoirs, histories, novels, and essays. We will consider the evolution of the genre and its changing place within the film industry, and study exemplary films that established and challenged the genre’s narrative, aesthetic, and ideological conventions. We will explore how films engage with the history and myth of the American West. We will also be analyzing the politics of the Western, in particular how films articulate configurations of race, class, nation, sexuality and gender. And we will study the way Western films and filmmakers themselves interrogate the analytic categories we use to study them -- categories such as “genre” and “auteur” – with specific attention to the work and career of John Ford. Please note: the course requires sustained engagement with and analysis of written texts as well as films, so please be prepared for a bit more reading than what you might expect from a typical film survey course.
- W 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
-
Instructor:
James A Schamus
CULPA: 8
Wikipedia
Info
- 3 points
FUNDAMENTALS OF DIRECTING
Weekly lectures will introduce film grammar, textual analysis, staging, the camera as narrator, pre-visualization, shot progression, directorial style, working with actors and editing. Lectures by all members of the full time directing faculty anchor the class, highlighting a range of directorial approaches with additional lectures on the techniques and aesthetics of editing. Each lecture will be supported by visual material from master film directors as well as the examples of the short films students will be required to produce in their first two semesters. For the final 7 weeks of the term, a student fellow will be available to mentor students through the planning of their 3-5 films.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Bette Gordon
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
CINEMA/MEDIA HISTORIOGRAPHY
An introduction to issues and cases in the study of cinema century technologies. This class takes up the definition of the historiographic problem and the differences between theoretical empirical solutions. Specific units on the history of film style, genre as opposed to authorship, silent and sound cinemas, the American avant-garde, national cinemas (Russia and China), the political economy of world cinema, and archival poetics. The question of artificial intelligence approached as a question of the “intelligence of the machine.” A unit on research methods is taught in conjunction with Butler and C.V. Starr East Asian Libraries. Writing exercises on a weekly basis culminate in a digital historiography research map which becomes the basis of final written “paper” posted in Courseworks in video essay format. Students present this work at a final conference. Topics in the past include:
Cultural Transactions: Across Media and Continents, Genre: Repetition and Difference, and Bang, Bang, Crash, Crash: Canon-Busting and Paradigm-Smashing
- M 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jane Gaines
CULPA: 4 Info - 3 points
Adaptation
This is a fast-paced writing, survey and workshop course that will empower writers to define the formal ideals of screenwriting by investigating film adaptations of novels and short stories. The course will culminate in the writing of a short pitch document. This course is at once a survey of the twentieth century American Film, a survey of the Twentieth Century American novel, and a course for writers. We will distill the craft of screenwriting by looking through the prism of adaption in order to understand which elements of the novel translate into film, and why. We will consider novels with the mercenary detachment of a screenwriter, scouring for scraps with value for a screenplay. As we compare the original text with the finished film, we will distill the essence of the screenplay form. What is plot, action, dialog, metaphor? How do we converge these goals? We will decipher, with the clinical eye of a detective, what the screenwriter took from the novel and what they left behind. And in doing this, we will reach an understanding of the formal tenets of an American film.
- R 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Galt V Niederhoffer
Info - 3 points
SCREENWRITING THREE
A two-semester intensive screenwriting workshop with one instructor. The Screenwriting 3 and Screenwriting 4 class sequence allows for the careful and more sustained development of a feature-length script. In the fall semester, students further develop an idea for a screenplay and write the first act (approximately 30 pages). In the spring semester, students finish writing the script and, time permitting, begin a first revision.
- T 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Rafael L Pedreira
Info -
Instructor:
Christina Lazaridi
Info -
Instructor:
Andrew S Bienen
Info -
Instructor:
Trey Ellis
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
DIRECTING III
Students explore more deeply the range of skills and techniques necessary to direct both short and feature films including script breakdown of sequences, scenes, turning points and beats as well as advanced study of actor and camera staging. Students will hone their directing skills by preparing, shooting, and editing, in video, a minimum of three significant scenes from published or original work, depending on priority of the instructor. When taken concurrently, at least one of these scenes will be presented in Directing the Actor workshops. Students should also be working on a first draft of a short screenplay for their second-year project if they intend to take Directing 4.
- M 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
- W 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
- F 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- T 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Tom Kalin
Wikipedia Info -
Instructor:
Eric Mendelsohn
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
DIRECTING ACTORS III
More sophisticated principles are applied and more challenging scenes are presented. Collaboration with a writer is a requirement. Required for Screenwriting and Directing concentrates.
- R 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
- R 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- W 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
- R 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jon Shear
Info -
Instructor:
Lisa Milinazzo
Info -
Instructor:
Mikael Sodersten
Info -
Instructor:
Shira-Lee Shalit
Info - 3 points
THE BUSINESS OF FILM
An overview of the business side of theatrical motion pictures, from the Hollywood major studios to small independents and self-distribution. Covers all the ancillary markets (cable, home video) and their relationship both to the theatrical success of the film and to its bottom line. Required for all second-year Creative Producing students. Available as an elective for Directing/Screenwriting students.
- R 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ira Deutchman
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
FEATURE FILM DEVELOPMENT
An exploration of the process and the various options for developing feature film scripts and ideas. The course covers option deals, copyrights, dealing with agents, lawyers and managers, working with writers, guild requirements and the selling process. There is a particular emphasis on learning pitching skills in order to effectively communicate the essence of a project to potential collaborators, financiers and end users. Required for all second-year Creative Producing students and only open to students in that concentration.
- F 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mynette Louie
Wikipedia Info -
Instructor:
Diane Houslin
Info - 3 points
WRIT/SCRIPT ANALYSIS-PRODUCERS
This is a specialized course designed to provide prospective producers with a nuanced framework for understanding the screenwriting process. The course will explore all the ways a producer might interact with screenwriters and screenplays, including coverage, script analysis, notes, treatments, and rewrites. Each student will complete a series of writing and rewriting assignments over the course of the semester. Required for all second-year Creative Producing students and only open to students in that concentration.
- T 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Jack Lechner
Info - 3 points
PRE-PROD OF A MOTION PICTURE
Pre-Production of the Motion Picture teaches Creative Producing students how to breakdown, schedule and prep all aspects of a low budget independent feature film. Using one shooting script as a case study, the class will learn to think critically and master each step of the pre-production process. Students will prepare script breakdowns, production strip boards, call sheets and a full production binder. Topics will include state tax incentives, payroll services, union contracts, deal memos/hiring paperwork, casting, labor laws, hiring BTL crew, legal, insurance and deliverables. Additionally, students will become proficient in Movie Magic Scheduling. Required for all second-year Creative Producing students and only open to students in that concentration.
- T 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Maureen A Ryan
Info - 3 points
International Filmmaking
This course covers international filmmaking, examining the creative, cultural, technical and logistical aspects of working across borders. Students will also learn the benefits of cross-cultural collaboration and how to handle the challenges often associated with it and be better prepared to collaborate with creative teams from different cultures. The course aims to foster an appreciation for diverse perspectives, inspire personal storytelling and cultivate the ability to create both culturally authentic and universally engaging films. Through analysis, discussions and case studies, students will develop a deeper understanding of global filmmaking practices and their unique impact on directing and storytelling.
Conspiracy Theory in American Film and C
Conspiracy Theory in US F
This class will look at the history of conspiracy theories in American culture from the 50s and 60s (UFOs, the red scare, JFK’s assassination) to the 21st century (from 9/11 truthers to Covid conspiracies and QAnon) with particular attention to cinematic representation. What is the lure of conspiracy theories? Are there particular reasons that conspiracy theories thrive in American culture? Do different media forms and platforms encourage the spread, and even transform the content, of conspiracies? What is the difference between theory in the social sciences and humanities and conspiracy theory? We will read a range of theoretical material including writings by Richard Hofstadter, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, Eve Sedgwick, Sianne Ngai, and many others. Films will include:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers,
The Parallax View
,
Videodrome
,
The Matrix
,
Get Out
, and others.
- T 6:10 p.m.-9:45 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Nico Baumbach
Info - 3 points
TV PILOT: COMEDY & DRAMA
With the pilot as a focal point, this course explores the opportunities and challenges of telling and sustaining a serialized story over a protracted period of time with an emphasis on the creation, borne out of character, of the quintessential premise and the ongoing conflict, be it thematic or literal, behind a successful series.
Early in the semester, students may be required to present/pitch their series idea. During the subsequent weeks, students will learn the process of pitching, outlining, and writing a television pilot, that may include story breaking, beat-sheets or story outline, full outlines, and the execution of either a thirty-minute or hour-long teleplay. This seminar may include reading pages and giving notes based on the instructor but may also solely focus on the individual process of the writer.
Students may only enroll in one TV Writing workshop per semester.
- M 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
David Klass
Info -
Instructor:
Alice O'Neill
Info -
Instructor:
Carter Bays
Info - 3 points
TV PILOT - COMEDY
FILM AF 8131 Intro to Pilot: Comedy
With the comedy pilot as a focal point, (and by comedy, that could also include dramedies like
Transparent
and
Insecure
) this course explores the opportunities and challenges of telling and sustaining a serialized half-hour story over a protracted period of time with an emphasis on the creation, borne out of character, of the quintessential premise and the ongoing conflict, be it thematic or literal, behind a successful series.
Early in the semester, students may be required to present/pitch their series idea. During the subsequent weeks, students will learn the process of pitching, outlining, and writing a television pilot, that may include story breaking, beat-sheets or story outline, full outlines, and the execution of a thirty-minute teleplay. This seminar may include reading pages and giving notes based on the instructor but may also solely focus on the individual process of the writer.
Students may only enroll in one TV Writing workshop per semester.
- M 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Mark Williams
Info - 3 points
DIGITAL STORY TELLING I: History and The
HISTORY&THEORY OF INTERACTIVIT
What does interaction have to do to storytelling? How do we tell stories within media that are non-linear, including games, virtual reality, and immersive theater? How can we craft narratives that emerge from the dynamics of interaction, narratives experienced through exploration and choice? What design strategies exist regarding an understanding of character, plot, drama, time, space, and event within interactive fictions? This course will take a close look at the mechanics of storytelling within dynamic media, exploring connections between interactivity and narrative experience. The course will examine examples ranging from the design of Live Action Role Playing games to massively multi-player experiences, from hypertext to tarot cards, from Oculus to Punchdrunk. Content will be delivered through lectures, reading, discussion, case studies, and small studio-based exercises. Elective open to all SOA students.
- W 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Akymrat Tuyliyev
Info - 3 points
DOCUMENTARY PRODUCING
Through the process of developing, pitching, researching, and writing a treatment for a documentary short, students will develop an overview of the documentary process from development through distribution. The course will touch on research, story, production and post production logistics, legal, financing, budgeting, distribution, and ethical issues in the creation of documentary films.
- M 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
- 3 points
Tech Arts: Advanced Post Production
Tech Arts: Adv Post Produ
Tech Arts: Advanced Post Production covers advanced techniques for picture and sound editing and the post production workflow process. The goal of the course is to give you the capabilities to excel in the field of post production. We will focus extra attention to concepts and workflows related to long-form projects that can contain a team of technical artists across the post production pipeline. We will cover preparing for a long-form edit, digital script integration, color management and continuity, advanced trimming, and advanced finishing. The hands-on lessons and exercises will be conducted using the industry-standard Non-Linear Editing Systems, Avid Media Composer, and Davinci Resolve.
Each week’s class will consist of hands-on demonstrations and self-paced practice using content created by the students and provided by the program.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Michael J Cacioppo Belantara
Info - 1.5 points
SCREENWRITING THESIS WORKSHOP
SCREENWRITING THESIS ADVSMNT
Screenwriting concentrates who are focusing on Screenwriting MUST take Screenwriting Thesis Workshop with their advisor at least once during Research Arts matriculation in order to graduate. Students may take this class with their advisor whenever it is offered. They should consult with their advisor if they are considering taking Thesis Workshop at the same time as Script Revision or TV Revision.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- M 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
- W 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Christina Lazaridi
Info -
Instructor:
Jamal Joseph
Info -
Instructor:
Trey Ellis
Wikipedia Info - 0 points
TV REVISION
FILM AF 9120 TV Revision
The goal of TV Revision is to bring in a completed pilot and then completely revise it in one semester. Students will initially present their full scripts for feedback in class discussion, then map a plan for rewriting with their instructor. Deadlines throughout the semester will focus on delivery of revised pages.
The work can range from an intensive page 1 rewrite to focus on selected areas in a script. Reading of all scripts in the workshop and participation in class discussion is required.
There is an application process to select students for the class.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- R 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Courtney M Baron
Info -
Instructor:
Blair Singer
Info - 0 points
DIRECTING THESIS ADVISEMENT
This course will serve to provide an opportunity for Students who are Directing Concentrates to develop their thesis projects within a structured environment. The course may be taught in every week or alternating week formats. Students will be encouraged to submit ideas, treatments, scripts, rough cuts and fine cuts of their thesis films. The class is collaborative and serves as a base from which Directors can try out concepts and ideas, and receive input from fellow students as well as their thesis advisor.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- W 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
- T 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
-
Instructor:
Ramin Bahrani
Wikipedia Info -
Instructor:
Hilary Brougher
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Instructor:
Bette Gordon
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Instructor:
Tom Kalin
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Instructor:
Eric Mendelsohn
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Instructor:
Bogdan G Apetri
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PRODUCING THESIS ADVISEMENT
Meets one Tuesday every month from June 2021 through May 2022, from 6-9pm. Dates are listed below, but there may be times when class dates will have to change.
All classes will be taught via Zoom.
Overview:
The class will meet once monthly and will focus on the following:
1) Students’ thesis work - class will analyze, advise, give notes on, support, and discuss each person’s work over the year during the development, prep, production, post-production, and marketing periods of work for each thesis project.
2) Exploration of skills necessary to transition to working in the film industry after graduation. Topics include resume workshops, web site creation, film festival strategy, financing strategies, rights clearance, and press kit creation.
3) CU alums and other guest speakers will discuss their transitions from film school to working in the film industry, and will discuss their areas of expertise: TV producing, feature film producing, development, representation, networks and studios, teaching as a career, etc.
- T 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
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Instructor:
Jack Lechner
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Instructor:
Maureen A Ryan
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Instructor:
Mynette Louie
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DIGITAL STORY TELLING III: Immersive Pro
IMMERSIVE PRODUCTION
Students work in teams to design, build and deploy a digital storytelling experience which is staged for the public at the end of the semester. The course
combines project work, mentors, and collaborative methods to create a dynamic hands-on learning environment that mixes story and code.
Interested students should contact the instructor for details on applying to the course.
- M 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
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Instructor:
Lance Weiler
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Writing for the Screen
The Pilot
A great TV series starts with a great pilot episode. You have one chance to intrigue an audience and stand out from hundreds of other series—599 were released in 2022, and that only includes the English language releases! This course will share the building blocks needed to write the next compelling series, starting with the pilot. Not all buyers want to read a finished pilot, but as the creator, you’ll need to know your pilot inside out and become an expert in your series’ genre if you want to sell it. This course will be a combination of pilot outlining and scene writing with an exploration of character and theme. All this through the lens of the marketplace and your authentic, lived experience—the magic combination for a winning series. We will workshop your outlines and scenes in class. Any assigned readings, screenings, and exercises will be focused as much as possible on inspiring material that relates to your pilot/series idea.
This course will support you if you want to write a full pilot script. However, the main objective is to finish the course having written a pilot outline and key scenes, as well as other material that's vital to a successful pilot and series such as character and season one breakdowns. You should come to the first class with at least two original logline/elevator pitches for series ideas to which you have a strong personal connection.
Existing ideas that you feel would benefit from this coursework are also welcome.
- W 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
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Instructor:
Benjamin Robbins
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