Upcoming Courses

We will examine feature filmmaking as simultaneously an art form and a culture industry, considering

1. Formal components that make up feature films, such as the narration, mise en scène, composition, editing, etc.

2.  Industrial practices that shape its production and exhibition.  

You will consider the Western genre and the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock to explore how filmmakers have used feature films to comment on dominant social questions such as the challenge of racial and ethnic differences, the relations between genders, and the complexity of violence.

MW 9-11 am, Badgley and MW Noon-2 pm, Badgley

Through readings, hands-on workshops, critical discussions, individual projects, and group exercises, foundational aspects of digital video production will be highlighted. You’ll better understand what you want to say and how to communicate those ideas to others. Camera operation, sound recording, editing, and expression through visual storytelling will be covered.

TR Noon-1:15 pm, Lab W 6-8 pm, Bertucci

Ready to take your filmmaking skills to the next level? In this hands-on course, you’ll direct, produce, shoot, and edit your very own short film—culminating in an end-of-semester screening. Gain real-world experience as you rotate through key crew roles, from director to cinematographer to sound designer to editor. Whether behind the camera or in the editing suite, you’ll have full creative control while mastering the tools of audiovisual storytelling. You’ll learn to thrive as an independent creator and as a vital part of a collective team.

MW 1:30-2:45, Peretti

In this class we look at Italian cinema in its Mediterranean and global context. Since its beginning Italian cinema has in fact been in constant dialogue with the cinema from the United States, France, North Africa etcetera. We will study individual films, looking at their formal components (narration, screenwriting, editing, acting, mise-en-scene), but we will also analyze the historical and social context of Italian cinema, as well as industrial practices that shape production and exhibition. While most of the films in the syllabus are Italian, we will branch out to other Mediterranean cinemas to understand the mutual influences and constant borrowing. Some of the directors included in this class are Gillo Pontecorvo, Roberto Rossellini, Cecilia Mangini, Liliana Cavani, Sergio Leone, Luca Guadagnino, Youssef Chahine.