This introductory screenwriting course will provide you with a working knowledge of screenplays, teleplays, plot structure, character arcs, dialogue, scene construction, and story conflict viewed through the exciting prism of Hollywood.
Through lectures, discussions and workshops, you will break down narrative films and their corresponding scripts, dream up marketable, high-concept ideas, convert such ideas into treatments, and bring these treatments to life in the form of a “spec” screenplay. Along the way, you will also learn how to navigate the “biz”, meet some exciting industry gatekeepers, and learn how to speak “industry speak.”
Students will develop and refine their knowledge of video equipment, production methods and terminology.
The course will introduce students to new equipment, which they will use in a series of hands-on exercises while they create finished pieces in several genres. During these exercises, students will practice creativity, efficiency and teamwork.
Students will also learn about the vital connections between shooting and editing of video as they practice both skills during in-class exercises. Mastering these technical elements of film production, students will be able to apply their skills with any film type (experimental, documentary and narrative).
This image is from Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali’s famous surrealist film Un Chien Andalou (1929) which comes a few seconds before the notorious eyeball slitting shot. Widening our eyes will be a metaphor for this class—we will be learning to see, and to see again through a number of different methodological frames: aesthetic, industrial, theoretical, technological and cultural. This class will introduce you to some key movements or moments in the history of world cinema, from its origins at the end of the nineteenth century through to the present era. It will consider the earliest years of cinema; Russian montage and German Expressionism; the development of the classical Hollywood system and specific genres; the relationship of propaganda media to the Second World War; postwar art cinema; Italian neo-realism; the decline of the studio system and the French New Wave, and finally, the contemporary arthouse film. It will include comparative selections from other influential movements in international filmmaking including French actualités, German expressionism, Soviet montage, the international avant-garde, and Japanese, Italian and New Zealand cinema. The course will also develop your close analysis skills in watching, describing and analyzing film form and aesthetics. By the end of the class you will have the tools necessary to begin to describe, historicize, and analyze the film text. This class is a requirement for all film majors and minors.
It is impossible to talk about the City of Angels without talking about its movie business. The history of American cinema is so intertwined with Los Angeles that the term “Hollywood” is used interchangeably with “American film” worldwide. The earliest film pioneers migrated to Southern California in the early twentieth century to take advantage of ideal shooting conditions—over 300 days of sunshine a year—and to evade patent enforcement from the Edison Studios. By the end of the century, natural disasters, punk rock music, ethnic enclaves, and star culture would contribute to what today we can call “Los Angeles Cinema.”
This course will look at the history of Los Angeles Cinema and the complex relationship that American film has had with its host city. We will look at the mythical allure of the region that enticed film showmen to leave the East Coast for the land of sunshine, what Carey McWilliams called “An Island on Land.” We will consider the ways that Los Angeles is depicted by native “Angelenos” and by outsiders. This course will also look at the so-called “hood films,” the city’s penchant for destroying itself on film, and how the late 70s/early 80s Los Angeles hardcore scene fueled a punk aesthetic in independent films. Lastly, we will explore Los Angeles neo-realist cinema and how it contrasts sharply with the glittering image of the city in mainstream American film and television.
Degree Requirements: Individual course descriptions available in the catalog.
For the Major you must take these three required classes:
In addition, you will take at least one class from each of these categories for a total of 20 elective credits.
Film Genre Elective
Select one:
Visual Storytelling Elective
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International Cinema Elective
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Special Topics Elective
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Requires total of 30 credits in film studies.
Degree Requirements: Individual course descriptions available in the catalog.
In addition, you need to take at least one class from each of these categories.
Film Genre Elective
Select one:
International Cinema Elective
Select one:
Overall Best College
Arts & Sciences/Humanities
Arts & Sciences/Humanities Graduates
Communication and Media Studies Graduates
