Return to Film | Courses Index
[1] Graduate Courses in Film (FILM)
5V90 FILM INTERNSHIP (Variable credit: 1-3 credit hours.) The internship provides students an opportunity to integrate professional experience in the filmmaking industry with traditional academic study. Successful internships expose students directly to professional camera work, editing, writing, producing, and/or sound recording and design, and allow students to develop potential career contacts. Internships require 40 work-experience hours per credit hour (120 work-experience hours for three credits) to be completed and verified. Internships must be approved by the instructor or graduate coordinator. May be repeated for a maximum of six credit hours. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film and permission of instructor.
5305 PRODUCTION DESIGN An elective course for Film graduate students. This is an advanced course in production design and art direction for filmmaking. Topics include the design process, visualization techniques, implementing scenery and costumes, the profession of designer, and the role of art director as head of a film production’s art department. Students develop projects that show the impact scenery, light, costumes and props have in a completely designed production. Lecture. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5310 PRE-VISUALIZATION AND DIGITAL WORKFLOW Graduate level course required for MFA students in Film. This course covers the fundamentals of working in a primarily digital environment applied to filmmaking. Students will learn contemporary practices and technologies used in the pre-production process of filmmaking as well as focusing on the “digital pipeline” from story development to production, to post production, to multi-venue delivery methods. Lecture/Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5311 CINEMATOGRAPHY An elective course for Film graduate students. This advanced course expands students’ understanding of visual storytelling through cinematography. Topics include creative approaches to composition, lighting techniques, digital cinema workflows, and color grading. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5320 FILM EDITING An elective course for Film graduate students. This is an advanced project-oriented lecture course in non-linear film editing, with an emphasis on classical continuity editing as a storytelling device. Topics include history, aesthetics, techniques, and technical aspects of editing. Emphasis will be placed on advanced short film development through editing. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5354 ANIMATION FOR VISUAL EFFECTS An elective course for Film graduate students. This is an advanced production class on the art and science of 3D computer animation for pre-rendered and real-time applications. Topics include planning, modeling, surfacing, lighting, animation, physical simulation, rendering, and compositing rendered footage for use in film visual effects. Lecture. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5355 VISUAL EFFECTS COMPOSITING An elective course for Film graduate students. This is an advanced production class on the art and science of visual effects compositing for filmmaking. Topics include the visual effects workflow, compositing strategies, shot planning, and post-production quality control and management. Lecture. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5363 AUDIO PRODUCTION AND DESIGN An elective course for Film graduate students. This course focuses on the advanced use of audio to support filmmaking and storytelling. Students will study and implement the elements of sound design to create full soundtracks for advanced film projects. Students will also learn to record and mix production audio using different types of microphones and recording equipment. Lectures, discussion, practical exercises. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5373 DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION An elective course for Film graduate students. This is an advanced production class on documentary films and documentary filmmaking. Students will be exposed to a variety of documentary films encompassing different subjects and styles and will learn the advanced production process used in the planning, execution, and construction of short-format documentary. Lecture/Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
5392 TOPICS IN DIGITAL PRODUCTION Special topics in advanced issues of digital production, including but not limited to pre-production, digital cinematography, directing, and editing. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6300 PRODUCTION PROJECT Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. This is a project-oriented course that provides students the opportunity to create practical, team-based production projects suitable for portfolio inclusion. Repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6316 FILM THEORY Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. A historical account of theoretical writings about cinema, including apparatus theories, feminist theories, post-structuralism, identity politics, and postmodernist theories of cinema. Lecture. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6317 COGNITIVE/ECOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CINEMA Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. This course sets as its task the laying of a foundation for a theory of moving images which goes beyond traditional film theory and encompasses images that are currently being produced in the convergence of film, video, and computer technologies, taking into account the development of human capacities for perceiving mediated images and sounds. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6320 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: AUDIO Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. This course is designed to develop skills in audio production for film and video. Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6321 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: CINEMATOGRAPHY Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. An exploration of cinematography concentrating on composition and lighting. The student will get hands-on experience with camera and lighting equipment used to light and shoot a scene. Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6322 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: EDITING Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. An advanced course on editing. Basic editing knowledge is required. The class will focus on use of current digital non-linear editing systems. Technical issues concerning non-linear editing will be covered. In addition, the general mechanics of editing as well as the history and aesthetics of editing will be discussed. Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6323 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS Graduate-level course required for the MFA in Film. This is a course in the theory and practice of contemporary digital visual effects using a production-centric approach. The focus is on-set production practices, post-production techniques, and use of digital technology. Production. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6324 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: PRODUCING THE MOTION PICTURE Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. The course covers the role of the independent producer through the life cycle of a project, from development, financing, and pre-production, through production, marketing, distribution, and exhibition. Students will develop their own business plans/prospectuses for original film projects of their own choosing. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6325 PRODUCTION SEMINAR: DIRECTING ACTORS Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. Students will learn script analysis, casting, rehearsal technique, communicating and working with actors. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6326 STORYTELLING 2: DIRECTING THE MOTION PICTURE Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. Course covers all aspects of directing, including working with actors, blocking and staging, shot creation and composition, visual design, and working with a production crew. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6327 STORYTELLING 1: INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL NARRATIVE Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. The course introduces students to the fundamentals of visual and narrative storytelling for motion pictures, covering structure and construction of the motion picture treatment and screenplay as well as storyboarding and visual design. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6340 HISTORY OF AMERICAN CINEMA Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. History of cinema in the United States from its beginnings around 1895 until present day. Relevant events are considered in chronological order with screenings of representative films from each decade. Topics discussed include changes in the national studio systems and the role of independent producers, as well as trends, movements, and influences. Cinema as a commercial enterprise as well as an artistic enterprise will be considered. The class will also address historiography—the way that historical information is gathered and organized. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6341 HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL CINEMA Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. History of international cinema from its beginnings around 1895 until the present day. Relevant events are considered in chronological order with screenings of representative films from each decade. Topics discussed include establishment and evolution of influential national cinemas as well as trends, movements, and influences. The class will also address historiography—the way that historical information is gathered and organized. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6360 STORYTELLING 4: SCREENWRITING Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. Students will write a feature-length screenplay, reinforcing skills in scene structure, act structure, character, conflict, and other aspects of writing for the screen. Creative writing theory will also be discussed. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6363 STORYTELLING 3: SHORT FILM WRITING Graduate-level course required for the MFA program in Film. The course addresses the unique structural and character demands of writing the short script (fewer than 60 pages). Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film or permission of instructor.
6390 DIRECTED STUDY IN FILM Graduate-level course. Involves in-depth study of a topic or topics to be determined by individual student need. May be repeated for up to six hours of credit. Prerequisite: Admission to the MFA program in Film and permission of instructor.
7V80 THESIS PROJECT (Variable credit: 1-6 credit hours.) An advanced culminating course in the MFA program in Film. Each student will be responsible for producing, directing, and editing a complex sync-sound narrative film (or video) production to completion. Because there are no scheduled class meetings, students will work independently while periodically seeking the assistance and approval of his or her thesis committee. The committee must approve the script, breakdown, and budget. The committee must approve the picture cut and sound cut as the student progresses through the project. Failure to seek the approval of the committee may result in a no-pass mark. Enrollment contingent upon the successful completion of the comprehensive exam, successful completion of 48 credits of course work toward the MFA, and the approval of the student’s thesis committee. May be repeated for credit.