FAMS 101: Introduction to Film & Media Studies
This is a foundational course that introduces students to basic concepts, theories and methods that are central to film and media studies. We will study the histories and genres of cinema and formal techniques such as lighting, editing and sound to develop a critical understanding of film as a dominant mode of representation. We will also study other forms of electronic media to gain a better understanding of the perspectives and practices of emerging technologies and forms of distribution. Through required weekly screenings, readings, writing and regular discussion, we will analyze these various kinds of screen medias as they influence our world. No prerequisites. FAMS F & CSS HUM course. Katherine Groo TR 2:45-4:00 PM class & M 7-9:50 PM lab
FAMS/DOC 150: Introduction to Documentary Storymaking
This course is an introduction to digital documentary story making. It merges the critical study of documentary media with the hands-on construction of documentary stories waiting to be found in local communities. Working with tools of the documentary arts-video, still images, audio, writing-students will acquire the foundational skills of media production and effective story telling while absorbing and analyzing rich examples of documentary story telling over time and place. FAMS E course. Open to all majors. No prerequisites. Class meets at Lafayette. Nandini Sikand M 7:00-9:50 PM
FAMS 201: Making Media 1
This hands-on course introduces students to the creative and technical aspects of media production, and models foundational practices in productive collaboration and ethical media making. The course provides a basic understanding of framing, composition, and storytelling through the use of sound and images. Students work with lighting, audio recording, digital video cameras, and non-linear editing through a series of hands-on assignments, readings, screenings, discussion of assigned exercises, and workshops with digital equipment. Prerequisite FAMS 101 or permission of instructor. FAMS P course. Drew Swedberg/Nandini Sikand MW 1:10-4:00 PM
FAMS 202: Making Media 2
This is the second hands-on course in the media production sequence begun in FAMS 201 and builds on the fundamentals of light, sound, camera, editing, and motion graphics. Students will learn further techniques such as stop motion animation, chroma key compositing, color grading, rudimentary computer animation in After Effects, creative lighting with colored gels, and utilization of the Film and Media Studies program’s “Sandbox” studio. Students will enhance their production skills through individual assignments and group critiques. Prerequisite FAMS 201 or instructor permission. FAMS P. Adam MacHose TR 1:10-4:00 PM
FAMS 220: Poetics and Politics of Film
The study of film theory gives us deeper insight into film as a language and social practice, allowing one to explore cinema’s relationship to historical, aesthetic, social, political and technological influences. In this course, we will study some of the key debates and concepts in film theory, including ontology, semiotics, materialism, psychoanalytic criticism, feminist and queer theory, genre theory, and phenomenology. Prerequisite FAMS 101 or permission of instructor. FAMS T course & CCS GM1/W course. Katherine Groo TR 11:00-12:15 PM & W 1:10-4:00 PM
FAMS/PHIL 240: Philosophy of Art—Focus on Faces.
What is art? And how should art be interpreted and evaluated? What is the nature of artistic representation? What is the connection between art and emotion? What role does form play in art? Can art ever be a source of knowledge or of moral growth? This course examines these and other fundamental questions by looking at the classical theories of art, with a special emphasis on the visual arts and on the theme of portraiture. The course includes hands-on activities, as the students reflect on the answers to those fundamental questions also by producing photographic portraits of different kinds of subjects. No prerequisites. FAMS E & CCS HUM & VALUES. Alessandro Giovannelli TR 1:15-2:30 PM
FAMS 270: World Cinemas—Trauma and Testimony in Post-War German Cinema
Film has a unique relationship to trauma, offering critical ways of perceiving, presenting, and giving testimony to painful and unacknowledged experiences. This course explores the histories of trauma and testimony in German cinema from post-war rubble films and New German Cinema to contemporary productions by Fatih Akin and Maren Ade. Through critical analysis, weekly screenings, and creative projects, we examine topics such as Holocaust representation, the Berlin Wall, gender discrimination, and the European migrant crisis. Prerequisite FAMS 101 or permission. FAMS H & CCS HUM/GM1/GM2. Dennis Johannssen MW 11:00-12:15 PM class & W 7:00-9:50 PM lab
FAMS 420: Capstone
This required course for FAMS majors is a chance for students to synthesize their course of study into one major individual project. The capstone is a workshop-based experience where students design and complete either a critical or creative (or some combination of the two) media project that results in a public presentation of their most advanced work as FAMS majors. Open to senior FAMS majors only. FAMS C course. Katherine Groo M 1:10-4:00 PM
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED COURSES FOR FALL 2019
ENG 116: Literature and Film: Blackness in Print; Blackness on Screen
From the minstrel show to contemporary issues in film and representation like #OscarsSoWhite, African Americans have always had a precarious relationship to film. On the one hand, film has been a vehicle for African Americans to assert their political, social and cultural agency; on the other, film has also been a technology that ensnares African Americans into the same controlling images and stereotypes that both produce and perpetuate their dehumanization and require white affirmation for legibility and validity. Nevertheless, African American literary figures have still found themselves drawn to this cultural medium. This course will explore the various intersections of African American literature and film from the early twentieth century to the contemporary moment. No prerequisites. FAMS E, CCS HUM course. Randi Gil-Sadler—TR 9:30-10:45 class & R 7:00-9:50 PM lab
ENG 251: Screenwriting
This course will introduce students to feature film screenwriting. Students will examine various narrative tools and methods of screenwriting including story structure, character development, use of conflict, scene writing and dialogue. Students will analyze films and their accompanying shooting scripts to discover what works and what is less successful at the script level. These formal investigations will then be applied to students’ own original material in a workshop environment where student scripts will be critiqued. Prerequisite permission of instructor. FAMS E, CCS HUM & W. Jennifer Gilmore—MW 11:00-12:15 PM
THTR 270: Design for Stage and Screen
Through lecture, discussion, performances, hands-on experience, films, guest artists, and readings of primary texts, this course intends to introduce the student to the principles of visual design as applied to scenic, lighting and costume design for theatre and film. No prerequisites. FAMS E, CCS HUM course. Staff. MW 2:10-4:00 PM