Film Studies

Intro to Film is a course designed to introduce you to the language, theory and aesthetics of film. During this course, we will focus on thinking critically and writing intelligently about film. As we view a broad spectrum of film styles and genres from cinematic history, we will explore cinemas role as an artistic, social and meaning-­making force. Our aim is to present new ways of understanding, analyzing and appreciating film and all its visual, aural and narrative conventions.

The course covers the history and historiography of cinema’s formative years. Lectures and weekly screenings investigate the technological, narrative, and artistic developments from 1895 through the transition to sound.

This course examines the expansion of the modern cinema, its modes of production, and its role as a manufacturer of culture. These issues (and others) are discussed within a comparative context in which the dominant practices of the American film industry are contrasted to developments in World Cinema. Emphasis is placed on the achievements of directors who are representative of major trends, genres and styles of each historic period.

This course provides students with an overview of film and video production and
surveys all aspects related to the industry. Students gain essential skills through
lecture, demonstration, and workshops.

Drawing on Aristotle’s six elements of drama, students learn to identify and employ the “poetics” of screenwriting as they analyze screenplays and write their own. Students are introduced to cinematic narrative, including act structure, character development, dialogue, as well as, the correct cinematic application of plot, setting, theme, tone, and genre.