Minor in
Minor in Film Making

US Credits

UK Credits

• FILM 4102 Introduction to Filmmaking

  This course introduces students to key skills required for contemporary filmmaking in its various contexts. Students will experience working as part of a crew within a group, and be introduced to essential tools including video cameras, tripods and professional editing software. Using these tools, students produce short videos in response to specific briefs that each introduce different aspects of the filmmaking processes. By looking at noteworthy examples of other films, students are also introduced to the breadth of contemporary filmmaking practice and gain a basic introduction to relevant theoretical concerns.

• FILM 5101 Video Production

  A ‘hands-on’ video course involving most aspects of production from camera work and sound recording to editing, audio design and working within a studio environment. The course develops students’ skills in both the theory and practice of video production through a series of group exercises and out of class individual assignments. During the class students will be encouraged to consider the contexts of their videos through responding to an open brief for one of the assignments. There will be multiple screenings of recent and historical videos as a means of understanding the language of the medium. 

• FILM 5103 Documentary Theory and Production

  This course gives students hands-on experience in producing their own short documentary films. Students will examine some of the major works of the genre and explore how documentaries, like other types of “factual” texts, can present evidence, argue persuasively, shape public opinions, as well as entertain. We will also analyze many theoretical debates posed by the documentary practices, including the blurring of fiction and nonfiction, the shifting definition of “documentary” through the last century and the problematic assumption of objectivity. Students have the opportunity to try the different ‘parts’ of documentary filmmaking, including researching and developing topics for a documentary production, writing a treatment or proposal for the film, shooting and interviewing in the field, as well as crafting a story during the post-production and editing process. 

• FILM 6101 Advanced Digital Video

  The contemporary practitioner is often called upon to deploy media technologies (filming, sound recording and editing software) in a range of new and unexpected ways and must understand not just the application of these tools but how to sophisticatedly exploit them in the service of a complex, often minimal briefs. The course gives students the space to design their own projects within an open brief that allows them to develop their own interests as a filmmaker and consider the context they intend to work within in the future. Alongside the student-led structure of the class, students will gain advanced skills in using the tools of contemporary production including cinematography, colour grading and audio production, and will need to carefully consider how they apply this new knowledge to their own projects. As part of the class students will need to consider the distribution of their projects, culminating in a collaborative public event.

• FILM 6102 From Script to Screen

  From Script to Screen will explore the creative and practical aspects of script writing and advanced video production. The course is intended for students who have experience of video production and want to expand their knowledge and skills. Students will create and produce a video, starting from the inception of the idea through to the realization of a finished film to be screened at the end of the course. Focusing on the journey from having an idea for a film through to writing a high spec script, students will learn how drama is represented in the written form, analyze and explore scripts from existing films or other forms of drama, and learn more about the film and TV industry and the place of screenwriting in it. In doing so, students have the opportunity to try the different ‘parts’ of filmmaking, from the creative and theoretical – writing, story boarding, workshopping, casting and directing, to the technical – camera operation, sound recording and video editing.