FI 111 — Introduction to Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course provides students with the tools to analyze moving image presentations in an academic setting or as a filmmaker. Students examine the uses of camera, editing, sound and elements of the production design as they create meaning in film images and narratives. Examples are drawn from a full range of feature films, documentaries, other forms of entertainment and advertising, whether delivered theatrically, through television or over the Internet. (Formerly LA 141) (G7: Humanities).
FI 200 — Bollywood and the Making of India
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with SS 202. Bollywood films are used as a medium to examine changes in contemporary India, including the broader concerns about colonialism, postcolonial, and hegemonic nationalism. Issues from modernity and economic liberalization, to sexuality, caste, class, religious identities, and terror, all in the context of state-building—the making of India, are considered (G7: Humanities; G9 Other World Civilizations).
FI 201 — Principles of Costume for Filmmakers
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
Costumes support a director’s vision and an actor’s performance by revealing idiosyncrasies of character, mood and social status. Topics range from analyzing scripts, to researching modern dress and period wardrobe, to imagining the style of inhabitants of an imagined world. (G6: The Arts).
FI 202 — Mafia Movies: Crime and Corruption in Italian Popular Culture
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross listed with MC 201. This course looks at Italian film and television representations of the Mafia. Students view selected films and analyze them within the context of the historical and social development of organized crime in Italy. Texts discussed also include novels, historical studies, film criticism, photography, documentaries, and popular songs. (G6: The Arts; G7: Humanities).
FI 203 — African-American Film Culture
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
A broad survey of the complex intersections between film culture and African-American society from the late 19th century to present. This course examines the various ways African Americans have both contributed to and been imaged by cinema – both within and outside of Hollywood filmmaking – while also exploring larger issues of aesthetics and identity. (G7: Humanities).
FI 204 — Martial Arts Cinema and its Global Impact
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course introduces representational martial arts films, directors and stars from around the world to investigate the transformation, diversification, ongoing appeal and globalization of this evolving genre. Close attention will be paid to formal and stylistic aspects of films as well as their historical, transnational, and socio-cultural contexts. (G7: Humanities).
FI 205 — Producing For Film
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
Provides students with the skills to take on the role of producer, whether line-producing a music video or producing their own film. Skill-sets include optioning material, budgeting, setting a schedule, and fundraising. Using their own projects as test cases students create a step-by- step production and business plan preparing them for real world applications. (G6: The Arts).
FI 206 — Mexican Cinema: Between The National and The Global
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with MC 205. Students analyze films produced in Mexico from the 1930’s to the present; from the nationalistic underpinnings of earlier productions to contemporary transnational ventures intended to for globalized market. This course considers how Mexico’s history and socioeconomic features inform the aesthetics of Mexican cinema. (G7: Humanities).
FI 207 — Devouring the Screen: Food in Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with MC 207. An exploration of world cinema through the theme of gastronomy. Students learn how food is depicted across various cinematic genres and cultural contexts. Analysis focuses on the development of the “food film” and how cinematic and televisual representations of food communicate issues of gender, economics, politics, sexuality, and ethnic identity. (G7: Humanities)
Prerequisite(s): FI 111 or permission of instructor.
FI 220 — The Writers' Room: What Makes Great Television?
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
Writing for television is a collaborative process. Students produce spec television scripts and a polished original pitch, developing the ability to give and receive appropriate feedback early in the creative process. (G6: The Arts)
Prerequisite(s): FI 256.
FI 221 — History of Film, Beginnings to 1959
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course presents an overview of cinema history from its beginning to 1959 and provides students with the basic tools for analyzing the art of film. Students view representative films from major movements and study the uses of camera, editing, lighting, and sound. (Formerly EN 255)(G7: Humanities)
Pre-requisite(s): EN121 or equivalent.
FI 222 — History of Film, 1960-Present
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course presents an overview of cinema history since 1959, with attention to the cultural, political, economic, and technological forces that helped to shape cinema during this time. Significant trends within the U.S. are studied, including new and changing genres, independent and maverick filmmakers, and the dominance of Hollywood blockbusters. Students are introduced to national cinemas in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. (Formerly EN 256)(G7: Humanities)
Pre-requisite(s): EN121 or equivalent.
FI 223 — Women Make Movies: A History of Women’s Filmmaking
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Students analyze the work of women filmmakers from the earliest days of the silent cinema to the late 1970s. Emphasis is placed upon recuperating women’s historical contributions to the motion picture arts as well as exploring the creative processes of individual artists.
(G7: Humanities).
FI 224 — Avant-Garde Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with HA 217 This course is a survey of major moments in avant-garde film from 1895 to the present. Through readings and discussions, students explore theories of avant-gardism, and study how such films are expressions of the historical, cultural, and philosophical contexts of their production. (G7: Humanities)
Prerequisite(s): FI 111 or HA 112.
FI 225 — Latin American Cinema and Resistance
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is taught in English. This course is cross-listed with MC 261. Students are introduced to Latin American cinema, considering the pivotal role of diverse forms of resistance, focusing on issues crucial to understanding the continent's cinematci creation, including cultural identity, race, ethnicity and gender. They develop a critical understanding of the evolution of Latin American film practices since the 1960s to current trends. (G7: Humanities; G9 Other World Civilizations).
FI 226 — Documentary Production: Streets of NYC
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This film production course explores creative approaches to documenting life and locations in New York City. Class crews use a variety of film techniques while shooting on the street, and incorporating the people they meet on the street into their films. Students will shoot several short documentaries throughout the semester.
FI 231 — History of Documentary Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Provides a historical overview of the documentary form as its evolved through history. Ethnographic and propaganda films, social documentaries, cinema verite, and first person biographies will be examined. Students investigate the issues of truth and representation, and critique films from the perspective of feminist theory, cultural anthropology, and general film history and theory. (Formerly LA 244)
Prerequisite(s): FI 111.
FI 232 — Documentary Film Production
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This is an introductory film production course on documentary and creative nonfiction filmmaking. Students learn the crucial steps of production from the development of ideas and research through editing and post-production. They complete three short documentaries including a biographical portrait, a social change documentary, and a creative non-fiction piece.
Prerequisite(s): PH 281.
FI 234 — Film Genres: Horror
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with HA 251. This course provides an international historical survey of the horror film from the early 20th century to the present. Through screenings and readings from a range of authors, students analyze formal and thematic elements of the horror genre in relation to historical, social, and aesthetic contexts. (G6: Arts; G7: Humanities).
FI 241 — History of Russian and Soviet Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with HA 252. This course is a survey of films produced in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia, from the earliest silent films to the present. Students view selected films and analyze them within historical, social, and aesthetic contexts. (G6: Arts; G7: Humanities).
FI 242 — Ethnographic Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with HA 315. This course focuses on the history and nature of ethnographic film in describing and defining diverse world cultures. Topics addressed include the origins of ethnographic texts and images in the context of medieval European travel and trade, and the multiple genres of ethnographic films made from the 1920s to the present. (G9: Other World Civilizations)
Prerequisite(s): HA 112.
FI 243 — Television Genres
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
This course is an introduction to the concept of genre in television. Students analyze ways in which individual genres have been used by media producers and consumers, as well as exploring the processes through which television genres evolve as they respond to developments in the television industry and shifts in culture.
Gen Ed: Humanities (G7).
FI 244 — Major Movements in Chinese, Japanese and Korean Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with EN 257. This course is an introduction to major film directors, movements, and genres from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. Formal and stylistic aspects of films as well as their historical, transnational, and sociocultural contexts are addressed. Students discuss and write critically about East Asian film. (G7: Humanities; G9: Other World Civilizations)
Prerequisite(s): EN 121 or equivalent.
FI 245 — Chinese Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with EN 281. Students are introduced to major film directors, movements, and genres from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. They discuss and write critically about Chinese film, with close attention paid to the formal and stylistic aspects of film, and their historical, transnational, and sociocultural contexts. (G7: Humanities; G9: Other World Civilizations)
Prerequisite(s): EN 121 or ES 129 or equivalent.
FI 246 — Italian Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is taught in English. This course is cross-listed with MC 251. This course introduces students to the world of Italian cinema. They survey some of the defining elements of Italian cinema from its inception to contemporary Italian cinematic practices. Screenings include Neorealist masterpieces, cinema d'autore, commedia all'italiana, spaghetti Westerns, and contemporary Italian films. (G6: Arts; G7: Humanities).
FI 256 — Screenwriting I
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
This course is cross-listed with EN 266. This course introduces the practice of writing fiction for the screen, focusing on the short film. In a workshop setting, students explore a range of approaches to the short screenplay, from traditional to innovative, and use examples from a variety of genres and geographical origins. (G6: Arts)
Prerequisite(s): EN121 or equivalent.
FI 261 — Introduction to Sound
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
In this production course in sound for digital filmmaking, students explore the phenomena of sound, the art of audio recording, and the function of sound for the screen. Technical topics include digital recording, editing, and mixing; sound wave manipulation; audio processing; microphone technique; preparation for multi-track mixing; and final digital mixing to picture.
FI 262 — Costume and Fashion in Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with HA 347. This course surveys the history of costume design in films from 1895 to the present. Through screenings, museum visits, and readings, students view the work of leading costume and fashion designers and explore the connections between film and related visual art and media. (G7: Humanities).
FI 271 — Fans and Fandom in the Internet Age
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
This course examines fans and fandom within the context of the history and evolution of mass media and participatory culture. Students explore fan communities as subcultures with their own social structures and cultural practices and engage their origins in cults, celebrity culture, and technological change and innovation.
FI 272 — Introduction to Television Studies
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
This course analyzes the medium of television in terms of its history, narrative, style, technique, editing, sound, and representation. Students view programs from the 1950s to the present, marking and investigating TV’s transformations as it moves with and creates cultural history. Students acquire and use skills for reading television in terms of its production and signification. (Formerly LA 243)(G7: Humanities)
Prerequisite(s): EN 121 or ES 129.
FI 273 — The Other Hollywood: Film in New York
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines New York’s significance in the history of American film. As the birthplace of the industry, the city has been a seedbed for innovation in documentary, avant-garde and independent film, as well as an icon in Hollywood cinema. (Formerly LA 247)
Gen Ed: Humanities (G7).
FI 299 — Independent Study - Film & Media
1-3 credit
FI 300 — Digital Storytelling: Creating A Web Series
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Focuses on serialized storytelling using video, images, audio and text, to post engaging and compelling online stories. Students research current trends in online storytelling, develop a vocabulary for critical analysis of current practices, and build on their existing knowledge of production tools to create their own Web series. (G6: Arts).
FI 319 — Sound Design For Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is a digital audio production course that provides students with the skills necessary to create compelling soundtracks for film. Students will be guided through all the vital stages of sound design including sound effects, music selection and voice editing to enhance the visuals and narratives of a film. (G6: The Arts).
FI 320 — Major Directors: Federico Fellini
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Federico Fellini’s highly personal films consistently expand the boundaries of cinematic narratives and visual imagination. This course traces the development of Fellini's work from the 1940s to the 1990s, and examines his many contributions to the craft, art, and to the language of cinema.
Prerequisite(s): FI 111.
FI 321 — Film Theory and Criticism, An Introduction
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
Students are introduced to the major issues and movements in film theory and criticism. Examining key issues such as the relationship between film representation and reality and the roles of image, narrative, and the industrial infrastructure, students learn to place critical statements about film into a theoretical discussion that has flourished since the early days of silent film. (G7: Humanities)
Prerequisite(s): FI 111.
FI 322 — Major Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course provides an in-depth study of the films of Alfred Hitchcock, which are examined within the context of his life and the Hollywood system. Students learn the concepts of auteur theory by focusing on Hitchcock’s storyboarding method, his stylistic and cinematic technique, and his innovative use of editing and sound. (Formerly LA 443)
Gen Ed: Humanities (G7).
FI 323 — Sexuality in Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This lecture/screening course examines the representation of sexuality in cinema as it’s been constructed by Hollywood, independent filmmakers and contemporary media artists. Starting with early cinema and moving through the Hays Code era, the radical ‘60s, and into contemporary times, students view works that portray
multiple forms of sexuality and gender identity, while contextualizing it with the politics of its time. (G6: The Arts).
FI 324 — The Romantic Comedy
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course surveys romantic comedy from the early sound era to the present, considering how cultural anxieties about gender, class, and marriage influenced the representation of sex, love and courtship rituals; interrelations between stardom and authorship; and the changing nature of cinematic sexuality after World War II. (G7: Humanities).
FI 325 — Major Directors: Akira Kurosawa
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines selected works by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, tracing the evolution of his personal cinematic style from the end of World War II to the 1970's. Through study of Kurosawa's choices of subject, talent, camera work, music, production design and editing, students learn what made Kurosawa so innovative and significant.
Prerequisite(s): FI 111
Gen Ed: Humanities (G7).
FI 326 — Major Directors: Charlie Chaplin and Frank Capra
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines the work of two seminal directors of classic Hollywood who profoundly influenced American culture: Chaplin's "tramp" persona became an instrument of acute social criticism and broader humanist reflection; Capra's beleaguered "common-man" protagonists brought issues of new deal politics to the pinnacle of box-office popularity. (G7: Humanities)
Prerequisite(s): FI 111.
FI 327 — Post Production Digital FX
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
An introduction to the digital techniques of post-production visual effects. Students create their own elements and incorporate “stock” elements to enhance and expand cinematic visuals, mastering the core competencies of Digital FX production through creative personal projects. (G6: The Arts)
Prerequisite(s): FI 232.
FI 328 — Directing The Actor
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
An introduction to the relationship between film directors and film actors. Students practice practical directing techniques through scene work, dramatic analysis, and action workshops. The history of directing is covered through readings, screenings, and collaborative exercises using outside actors. (G6: The Arts).
FI 331 — Film Genres: Crime Stories
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines interrelationships in film and literature, focusing on “Crime Stories” – novels and cinematic adaptations that tell stories of crimes from differing points of view, starting with the detective, moving toward the criminal, and ending with the victims. Students study a variety of crime genres: the whodunit, the film noir, the docudrama, the neo-noir and the metafiction. (Formerly LA 342)
(G7: Humanities).
FI 332 — The Science Fiction Film
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines the science fiction film from its beginnings. Students analyze the genre’s merits and flaws, conventional narrative themes and iconography, relevance, and fundamental departures from science fiction literature. They explore how science fiction films mirror the social and political environment of their time. (G7: Humanities).
FI 333 — Film Genres: Animation
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
In this history of animation course, students gain an understanding of animation as an art form and as a series of ideological texts to be read and interpreted within the context of the cultures that produced them. (G7: Humanities).
FI 334 — Film Genres: Films of the Supernatural
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course examines films that involve the supernatural, frequently a subgenre of the horror film. Students explore story conventions, iconography, and the relationship to cultural and literary foundations from which these films derive.
FI 335 — Film Genres: Melodrama
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with MC 331. Students are introduced to the genre of melodrama and its development from the silent era through the present day. Students analyze formal and thematic elements, with a focus on political and social-cultural contexts: Screenings include classical Hollywood pictures, soap operas, telenovelas, and films from Asia, Europe, and Latin America. (G6: Arts; G7: Humanities).
FI 341 — French Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Students are introduced to the rich legacy of French Cinema, from its early days in silent film to Surrealism and Poetic Realism between World War I and World War II to its position of influence with the New Wave in the 1960s. The political cinema of the 1970s is examined, as well as today's new French filmmakers. (G7: Humanities).
FI 342 — Contemporary Korean Cinema
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is an introduction to South Korean cinema from the late 1980s to the present. Students study the concept of New Korean Cinema, the rise of the domestic film industry and auteurs, and the emergence of blockbusters and their growing regional and international recognition. (Formerly LA 251)
(G7: Humanities; G9: Other World Cultures).
FI 343 — Contemporary Chinese Cinema (Honors)
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
This course is cross-listed with EN 382. An introduction to the contemporary cinemas of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Diaspora, this course focuses on selected major directors, movements, and genres from the 1990s to the present. Students study the formal and stylistic aspects of films as well as their historical, transnational, and sociocultural contexts. (G7: Humanities; G9: Other World Civilizations)
Prerequisite(s): qualification for Presidential Scholars Program, or 3.5 GPA with approval of dean for Liberal Arts.
FI 356 — Screenwriting II
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
This course is cross-listed with EN 366. This course focuses on elements of screenwriting for feature-length films, including story concept, three-act structure, the world of the story, protagonist and antagonist, conflict, characterization, scene development, and dialogue. Students formulate individual projects, from pitching a story to presenting a synopsis, preparing an outline, and writing a screenplay. The business end of screenwriting is discussed and students meet film industry professionals. (G6: Arts).
Prerequisite(s): FI 256.
FI 361 — Third-Year Production I
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Focuses on the tools, techniques, and hands-on experiences required to become proficient in shooting digital video. Aesthetic, technical topics are addressed, including camera movement, use of filters, and introduction to color grading. Students shoot several short films throughout the semester.
Prerequisite(s): PH 283.
FI 362 — Third-Year Production II
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Building on skills acquired in Junior Production I, this course refines the student's shooting and editing techniques. Students use more complicated lighting set-ups, and will incorporate dollys and handheld rigs into their films. With both group and individual projects, each student prepares for their thesis films to be shot Senior year.
Prerequisite(s): PH 284.
FI 373 — Advanced Cinematography
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Building on earlier courses, this production course continues to explore cinematography as the means of shaping visual and narrative aspects of any project. Advanced uses of composition, camera, and lighting are mastered through lectures, technical workshops, and creative projects. Screenings, discussions, and readings help students understand cinematography in historical context. (G6: Arts)
Prerequisite(s): FI 232 or PH 372.
FI 400 — Screenwriting III
3 credits; 3 lecture hours
Building on skills and projects developed in previous screenwriting courses, students successfully complete feature-length scripts. They refine their understanding of story concept, structure, protagonists and antagonists, conflict, characterization, scene development, and dialogue.
Prerequisite(s): FI 356 or EN 366.
FI 461 — Senior Production I
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Students begin shooting their thesis films. Through readings, in-class visits, field trips, and lab experiences, students study the four aspects of production – development, pre-production, production, and post-production. The second of a two-course sequence in production.
Prerequisite(s): FI 362.
FI 462 — Fourth-Year Production II
3 credits; 2 lecture and 2 lab hours
Students continue shooting their thesis films. Through readings, in-class visits, field trips, and lab experiences, students study the four aspects of production – development, pre-production, production, and post-production.
Prerequisite(s): FI 461.
FI 499 — INDEP STUDY - FILM & MEDIA
1-3 credit