Summer 2013

The nature of cinema as a technology, a business, a cultural product, an entertainment medium, and most especially an art form. Study of cinematic genres, stylistics, and nationalities; outstanding film artists and artisans; the relationship of cinema to other art forms and media, as well as to society.Course Fee: $30.00

A high-minded exploration of a sometimes-lowbrow art. Quintessentially American ideas of social mobility, freedom to satirize, and celebration of the underdog -- to name just a few -- have helped Anglo-American and immigrant artists to produce a unique brand of filmed comedy, from Mack Sennett to Preston Sturges and Judd Apatow. This course examines the rich tapestry of the American film comedy, and the social, historical, and technological factors that made it possible, from its birth in silent cinema to the present. Films to be screened and discussed include (but are not limited to): Modern Times, Duck Soup, The Apartment, The Graduate, Annie Hall, and Animal House.Course Fee: $50.00

Modern feature-length screenplays demand a specific architecture. In this class students will enter with an idea for a film, and during the first eight sessions build a coherent treatment; that is, a summary of the events and major emotional arcs of the film's three acts. In the final four sessions students will begin and complete the first act of their feature-length screenplay.

In the last fifteen years, new media technologies have transformed the moving image documentary. Just as new modes of production, distribution, and exhibition have fundamentally changed documentary filmmaking, innovative forms of documentary have had a profound influence on how people view their local community and the broader world around them. This course explores this dynamic new media frontier by looking at the ways prominent filmmakers such as Errol Morris, Michael Moore, and Spike Lee, public television stations-particularly PBS, activist and human rights groups such as Witness, and amateur videomakers, have made use of today's rapidly changing documentary formation. Students gain knowledge of how to critically analyze multiple types of audio-visual media and an understanding of pressing cultural and political debates. Primary and secondary sources ranging from filmmakers' websites to YouTube to online archives to scholarly journal articles will inform our discussions.