Animation

A BA degree is offered in Film & Video with courses in the Animation Program. The BA degree implies a broad field of study offering more choices of courses and requiring a minimum of general studies in Film & Video and Animation. Specific classes in Computer Animation and intermediate Traditional Animation courses are not required for this degree.

As an integral part of the Film & Video Department, the Animation Program encourages and inspires students to become informed filmmakers who choose the medium of animation as their form of expression. Our curriculum offers the experience of animation through hands-on access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.

Mirroring professional production practices, students are urged to explore multiple approaches to the art form, remaining open to the possibilities of this powerful medium. Upon completing the three required classes in the Animation core, students have the option of exploring a variety of courses employing traditional and computer animation techniques. Students learn the art of timing, movement, and storytelling by taking a series of classes that teach both the skill and history of the animation process.

The BA may attract students who wish to continue on to graduate studies and to those with an interest in animation who may not chose this as a direct career choice.

Program Requirements  

Cinema Studies

For Cinema Studies majors, the concentration offers in-depth study of genres, filmmakers, national cinemas, film movements, and other critical and historical approaches to the screen arts. This constitutes a rich preparation for graduate work or careers in film writing and criticism.

Program Requirements  

Cinematography

The Cinematography concentration offers a curriculum that develops a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the camera assistant’s, camera operator’s, and director of photography’s work. It covers 16mm and 35mm film formats and equipment, electronic imaging, image optics, visual effects, lighting, and laboratory practices. Students learn to develop and execute visual concepts that give full expression to the underlying intentions and complexities of narrative, documentary, and experimental projects, and to develop strategies to communicate with all the creative and technical contributors to the film production process.

Program Requirements  

Directing

The Directing concentration trains students in all aspects of fictional directing, including analysis of dramatic texts, casting of actors, rehearsal procedures, direction of performance, and application of camera to dramatic material. Work on a Director’s Breakdown includes the preparation of storyboards, ground plans, brackets, and shooting scripts. Advanced coursework emphasizes collaboration with producers, editors, directors of photography, and production designers. Our faculty represents a variety of directorial backgrounds and approaches. The goal is for students to develop personal directorial styles based on solid technique, a responsive inner life, and a critical awareness of the world around them.

Program Requirements  

Documentary

The Documentary curriculum and the specially equipped Michael Rabiger Center for Documentary are dedicated to a vision of documentary filmmaking that places people above product, exploration and discovery above pre-conception. We validate tolerance and understanding, and emphasize the power and responsibility documentary makers have in a world where communication is dominated by the moving image media. Students are encouraged “to grasp the lived reality of people and to convey the quality of their experience.” The curriculum prepares students for work in the many varieties of non-fictional filmmaking and emphasizes the dynamic interplay among reality, experience, and representation. Many fiction directors also find they benefit from exposure to the direct, improvisational training Documentary provides.

Program Requirements  

Post-Production

Through training in a custom-designed Post-Production Center, students prepare for careers in offline and online picture and sound editing, digital and optical effects design and creation, and post-production supervision. Using 16mm and 35mm film, film digitally transferred via the Center’s telecine, or material shot in digital video or sound acquired digitally, Post-production students learn the craft’s vital function in structuring and pacing film, video, and multimedia productions across all the moving image modes, from fiction and documentary to experimental screen art. They work closely with directors and producers to maximize the strengths of field footage and to realize the specific aims for each project through the creative and imaginative interplay of sound and vision. The concentration also emphasizes the history and aesthetics of editing and utilizes a range of non-linear digital platforms and associated techniques.

Program Requirements  

Producing

Good producers work to ensure that screen productions exceed the reasonable sum of the myriad elements from which they are crafted. In the department’s Producing Center, film and video makers acquire the skills to pitch film and video ideas to producing entities within the existing system of professional film production and financing. They also learn how to manage a full range of productions across the moving image media and how to sell completed works to a producer/distributor. Courses emphasize merging the creative and business skills necessary to: find material, conduct research, productively employ “people management” skills and networking strategies, develop project proposals, build creative teams, and interact with creative and technical personnel. Students are taught how to negotiate, finance, and distribute creative work for the screen according to the aims, content, and approach of any particular project. Career outcomes may be in producing, line producing, and production management, and senior students are eligible to apply to participate in our Semester in L.A program.

Program Requirements  

Screenwriting

In the Screenwriting Center students learn storytelling for the screen through a managed regimen of in-class and out-of-class experience that emphasizes the essential mix of imagination and craft in screenwriting. They hone their skills in observation, communication, and visualization, and receive instruction on structure for screenwriting and how to employ written language to articulate dramatic and visual expression. Through constant practice and self-reflection they learn story development, re-writing, story analysis, constructive critique, and a range of strategies for selling scripts. The curriculum is designed for both those solely interested in writing and those wanting to direct their own work. Students explore the various available roles of the screenwriter in Hollywood, in independent film production, and in the international film world, and are eligible to apply to participate in our Semester in L.A program near the end of their study.

Program Requirements  

Sound for Cinema

The Sound for Cinema concentration prepares students for audio careers in film, video, and related visual media. Students study the theory and practice of soundtrack design, recording, editing, and mixing sound in relationship to story structure. Students develop an understanding of aesthetic principles as well as communication and professional skills that allow them to effectively pursue their future goals.

Program Requirements