Courses

FI 200: Elements of Film
Introduces the basic concepts of analysis of film as an art form as well as the field of film studies through examples from different national cinemas, genres, and directors.

FI 204A: The Horror Film
This course will explore the horror film, including its mythological and literary roots. We will view a wide range of films analyzing specific sub-genres of horror as well as cultural, historical, and psychological angles.

FI 206H: Film Genres
Focus on a traditional genre (such as comedy or the Western) in order to investigate how classification is understood in both film production and reception. May be repeated for credit, with different genres.

FI 210A: Introduction to Filmmaking
Introduction to the theories, concepts and techniques of cinematic video production and post-production. Students will produce short video projects that emphasize visual storytelling, technical proficiency, and creative authorship.

FI 224G: International Cinema
Study the history and diversity of world cinema as a reflection of the modern world, including the influence of geopolitical events on film style and cinema’s role throughout history as a force for social change.

FI 230H: Film and Identity
This course engages with issues of gender, race, and sexuality as they apply to their representation in film. Focus on larger societal implications and the craft of writing about moving images.

FI 301: Documentary Filmmaking
Immersion into the world of short documentary production, including a wide variety of approaches, practices and issues in the documentary form. Students will develop and produce short documentaries. Prerequisites: FI 200 & FI 210A

FI 302: Narrative Filmmaking
Immersion into the world of short narrative film production with exposure to a wide variety of approaches, practices, and issues. Students will develop scripts and produce their own short films. Prerequisites: FI 200 and FI 210A

FI 303: Film Technique
This course introduces students to the advanced concepts, approaches, and techniques of professional film/video editing. Students will become more familiar with the full range of tools within Adobe Premiere platform with the aim of elevating their technical and creative skills. The class will investigate the role of the Editor in Film and TV production, as well as fundamentals of motion picture editing theory. We will look at how a professional editing room operates, study the various functions

FI 304: Film & Media Industries
Film & Media Industries: L.A. is a faculty-led Spring into Summer course designed as an entertainment industry immersion experience. Students will form a broad understanding of how multiple facets of the entertainment and media industries operate with faculty who have industry experience, while simultaneously gaining more specific understanding of potential career paths, creative and business approaches to entertainment media, and the future of these related industries through site visits, round

FI 306H: Theories of Film
Critical analysis of key texts and relevant films, both historical and contemporary. Topics include the relevance of genre and nationality, film history, film spectatorship, psychoanalysis, feminist film theory, and cognitive film theory. Prerequisite: CM 302A.

FI 308H: Hitchcock: Master of Suspense
This course examines the career and legacy of director Alfred Hitchcock, the "Master of Suspense," as an auteur, film theorist, and provocateur who understood film as the premiere modern medium to terrify audiences.

FI 310H: Major Directors
Focus on the films of a major director in order to consider the role of the individual filmmaker within a wider artistic, social, and ideological context. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

FI 331H: Special topics

FI 410: Film Production Seminar
This capstone seminar for Film Studies majors focuses on the production of a creative thesis film project. Prerequisites: FI 210A; FI 301 or FI 302; FI 498, or permission of instructor.

FI 498: Methods and Issues in Film Studies
This seminar prepares majors to do original academic research and, in some cases, creative work for their senior projects. Prerequisites: FI 200, FI 224G or AM 310H, and FI 306H.

FI 499: Senior Project