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Film Studies

Course Code
FILM 101A  Credits
Title Practicum 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Practical experience in a performance activity in Film. 



Course Code
FILM 175  Credits
Title Video Production 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Theory of and practical experience with video production techniques. Electronic Field Production and post-production techniques will be stressed with doing out of class projects. This course is designed to develop a thorough understanding of the technical equipment needed to produce video projects. This includes detailed training in the operation of video editing software, title graphics used in postproduction software, video camera operation, and camera support equipment, and the tools of video lighting. Course sessions will focus on the cinematic expression and the development of meaning through the use of mise-en-scène, lighting, cinematography, sound design, and editing.  



Course Code
FILM 180  Credits
Title Understanding Movies 
Lasc Area Goal 6  
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This liberal studies film course is designed to introduce students to the vocabulary and artistic elements of cinema. It will focus on creating an understanding and appreciation for the basics of cinematography, film sound, acting, screenwriting, directing, and narrative frameworks utilized to create film. Historical and contemporary films will be viewed as text material for analysis. MnTC Goal 6. 



Course Code
FILM 190  Credits 1-3 
Title Topics in Film 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This is a lower division topics course and may be repeated when the topic changes. 



Course Code
FILM 232  Credits
Title Principles of Make-up for Stage and Film 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Techniques and styles of make-up used in stage and film productions. Same as THTR 232



Course Code
FILM 265  Credits
Title 16mm Production 
Prerequisite FILM 175 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Theory and practice for the pre- professional filmmaker. Students learn to operate basic motion picture equipment. Projects include planning, shooting, and editing short films. Students will develop proficiency in the operation of film equipment needed to produce beginning level 16mm black and white reversal film projects. This includes 16mm film cameras, lighting, sound, and editing equipment.  



Course Code
FILM 275  Credits
Title Film Appreciation 
Lasc Area Goal 6  
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course is a study of the art of motion pictures through an examination of major films, animations, and other forms of moving images. It examines basic elements of all motion pictures - mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and sound. Innovative films, animations, and moving images are viewed, discussed, and evaluated. In addition, students will learn appropriate terminologies and basic critical approaches and apply them to discussing, creating, and writing about a variety of moving images. MnTC Goal 6. 



Course Code
FILM 285  Credits
Title History of Motion Pictures 
Lasc Area Goal 8  
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description A chronological approach to the development of motion pictures. Special attention will be paid to the aesthetic, political, cultural, economic, and technological contexts in which American and other international cinemas developed. Weekly screening/discussion will expose students to groundbreaking motion pictures in the United States and internationally. Discussions will provide the opportunity to learn different historiographic approaches to writing motion picture history. MnTC Goal 8. 



Course Code
FILM 290  Credits 1-3 
Title Topics in Film 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This is a lower division topical course and may be repeated when the topic changes. 



Course Code
FILM 302  Credits
Title Practicum 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Practical experience in a performance activity in Film. 



Course Code
FILM 365  Credits
Title International Cinemas 
Prerequisite FILM 275 and FILM 285 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description A study of major world cinemas, including influential filmmakers, screen personalities, genres, and conventions. The course explores interrelationship of national film movements and how they impact world cinema. Students engage with representative work from European, Eastern, and Third World cinemas to understand alternative modes of practices to American cinema. Weekly screenings of important films from diverse regions of the world cinema are followed by discussions and critically evaluated as students develop key writing and independent research skills. 



Course Code
FILM 371  Credits
Title History of LGBT Representation in Film 
Lasc Area Goal 7  
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course will be an in depth examination of the cinematic representation of and filmic production by Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender people. Films and videos from a wide spectrum of genres will be screened to substantiate both the differences and the commonalities surrounding this subject's cinematic treatment. This course will also cover certain historical and/or political events influencing queer culture, filmmakers, and their intersection. Key questions will be raised, including: How have non-dominant sexualities been portrayed in the history of cinema? Is there a "queer" way of viewing film? What role does authorship play? How, historically and in the present, have queer identities been censored and how have they eluded censorship? How have critical re-readings and camp been used to define non-dominant spectatorship? Is gayness situational, or advised by its location in other identities such as race, class, age/era, culture? MnTC Goal 7. 



Course Code
FILM 372  Credits
Title Editing Techniques 
Prerequisite FILM 175 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course will focus on the post-production phase of filmmaking with emphasis placed on editing theories and techniques. Projects will provide hands-on editing experience designed to advance the technical and conceptual skills necessary to construct story, emotion, and rhythm through moving images and sound. Using many styles of filmmaking and time-based media, lectures and demonstrations will examine how post-production influences cinematic expression, and how editing creates greater meaning for audiences cognitively and emotionally. 



Course Code
FILM 378  Credits
Title Techniques of Producing 
Prerequisite FILM 175 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course will survey the craft areas of Producing, Production Management, and Production Coordination. Students will learn practical skills as well as larger concepts behind this key area of motion picture creation. 



Course Code
FILM 383  Credits
Title Adaptations to Film 
Prerequisite FILM 275 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course is an exploration of the complex intersection between film and a variety of other literary and media texts. Selected poems, novels, short stories, plays, video games, news articles, etc., are analyzed in relation to filmic and animation versions of the same works in order to gain an understanding of the possibilities - and problems - involved in the adaptation of other texts to moving images. Students will also develop screenwriting skills in their own adaptations of other texts to moving images. 



Course Code
FILM 384  Credits
Title Techniques of Film Directing 
Prerequisite FILM 265 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Theory and practice of developing artistic and technical skills in directing motion pictures. Special emphasis given to the importance of the director/actor relationship. Major filmmaking projects include scene study work with crews and actors. 



Course Code
FILM 386  Credits
Title Film and Media Arts Genres 
Prerequisite FILM 275 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Intensive study of a particular film or media arts genre. Analysis and discussion of specific generic formal and stylistic conventions, historical shifts within the genre, and the genre’s theoretical foundations. Potential genres include: Science Fiction, American Screen Comedy, Film Noir, Horror Film, Westerns, Animation, Melodrama, etc. May be repeated when genre studied is different. 



Course Code
FILM 387  Credits
Title Authorship in Film and Media Arts 
Prerequisite FILM 275 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description Detailed study of the work of selected moving image authors including directors, animators, production designers, cinematographers, editors, sound designers, etc. The course analyzes and evaluates a film and media artist’s historical context, thematic preoccupations, creative content, and authorial style. The course may stress the work of a single moving image artist or compare elements of two or more artists. Potential course topics include: Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, etc. 



Course Code
FILM 388  Credits
Title Research Methods in Film & Media Arts 
Prerequisite FILM 275 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This course introduces and explores methodological approaches to research in film and media arts. Students are exposed to film and media arts research skills through readings, hands-on instruction, and guest presentations. It introduces students to ways of searching for sources relevant to a variety of academic tasks. It introduces how to document in the MLA style. It assists students in developing independent research proposals and appropriate methodologies for their projects, as well as key ethical issues that could arise. 



Course Code
FILM 390  Credits 1-3 
Title Topics in Film 
Course Outline Course Outline 
Description This is an upper division topical course and may be repeated when the topic changes.