FTVM 150 (RC HUMS 150) Introduction to Film, Television, and Media
(4). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course provides an introduction to film, television, and media. You will learn the critical vocabulary and methods of media analysis, and use this knowledge to make your voice heard in the form of audiovisual essays rather than written papers. The course is designed to build basic video editing and sound recording skills throughout the semester--no prior experience is needed. With a focus on representations of race, gender, class, and sexual identities, you will learn how to assess film, television, and digital media with an eye (and ear) keenly attuned to the ways that style shapes the meanings of the media that surround all of us in everyday life. We are committed to a model of student-centered learning, so your experience in this course will not resemble a typical, large-lecture format. Instead, we will engage in interactive, peer learning activities such as discussions, debates.
FTVM 190 First Year Film Seminar (does not count for credit toward FTVM major)
Enrollment restricted to first-year students, including those with sophomore standing. (3; 2 in the half-term). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
The goal of this course is to help students understand the ways in which cinema functions as a form for artistic expression. The course will examine cinematically specific structures (time and space manipulation, montage, etc.) as well as examine film's relationship to other artistic enterprises such as theater, literature, painting, etc. Although based on this premise, topics will rotate.
FTVM 202/DIGITAL 220 Introduction to Digital Media Studies
(4). (HU). May not be repeated for credit. AMCULT 202, ENGLISH 280.
This course examines contemporary topics in digital studies by focusing on current debates prompted by the relationship between new media and society. Students are introduced to key frameworks for studying the aesthetic, social, political, and economic impact of internet connectivity, digital platforms, technological innovation, small screens, and mobile media.
FTVM 203 Media Production Mini Course I (does not count for credit toward FTVM major)
(1). (CE). May be elected three times for credit. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This course covers specific media production topics, allowing students from all majors to gain experience in an aspect of making media.
FTVM 210 Intro to Screenwriting
FTVM 150. (3). May not be taken for FTVM elective credit, Required for students intending to sub-major in Screenwriting. May not be repeated for credit.
Excellent preparation for screenwriting, this course focuses on developing an appreciation of great film screenplays as dramatic literature and an understanding of what characterizes them as such. The readings will progress from screenplay adaptations and their source materials to original screenplays, covering a broad range of themes and genres.
FTVM 232 / AAS 232 Survey of African American Cinema
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines the history and aesthetics of African American film making form the silent era to the present. Films are analyzed within their socio-cultural contexts, with particular attention to how race and identity interact with class, gender, and sexuality. We will consider the link between film and other forms of Black popular culture.
FTVM 245 / ASIAN 245. Anime
(4). May not be repeated for credit.
In this course, we examine the history of Japanese animation and its relationship to the social, political, and economic transformations of the nation. Anime's roots are in 1930s children's films promoting the colonization of Asia, followed by propaganda films from World War II.
FTVM 250 / HJCS 250 / JUDAIC 250. Jewish Film: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality
(4). (HU). (R&E). May not be repeated for credit.
This lecture course offers an introduction to Jewish cinema from the earliest silent films to contemporary animated documentary. A range of European, American, and Israeli films will offer contrasting representations of Jewish ethnicity across diverse national contexts. We will consider how the nexus of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality and class informs images of Jews on the screen created in divergent historical periods and political circumstances.
FTVM 272 Classical Film Theory
(3). May not be repeated for credit.
What is cinema? What are its defining properties? What should film do, and what does it do best? How do spectators perceive and understand projected moving images? These are kinds of questions that classical film theory attempted to answer. This course examines the writings of a number of classical film theorists, working to understand, apply, and interrogate their respective arguments in relation to a series of selected films.
FTVM 290 - Introduction to Media Production
FTVM 150 or RCHUMS 150, completed with a minimum grade of C- or better. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). (CE). May not be repeated for credit.
FTVM 290 is a hands-on survey course in media production introducing television, digital video, and film. Students gain first hand experience in strategies and techniques of scripting and pre-production, production, and post-production. Students will master a basic understanding of the aesthetics and processes of film, video, and television production.
FTVM 300 Movie/Serial TV Production I
FTVM 290; and major in Department of Film, Television, and Media. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This introductory motion picture course familiarizes students with dramatic narrative movie production from interpreting the screenplay through location production techniques and post-production. It provides students with a solid understanding of how standard movie production processes and techniques are used to effectively communicate ideas in Dramatic Narrative productions (any genre: comedy to drama). Students work in teams of four to six to produce two short films as well as participating in two in-class dramatic narrative film productions.
FTVM 301 Documentary I
FTVM 290 and FTVM major. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This course is designed to teach the theoretical, aesthetic and technical principles of making a meaningful and compelling documentary. An introduction to documentary, this class will focus on knowing what makes a story compelling and how to clearly convey ideas visually. The craft of shaping of story ideas, creating powerful images that drive the story, capturing and use of sound, script writing, narration, and advanced editing with Final Cut Pro will be explored.
FTVM 302 Multi-Camera Television Production
FTVM 290; and major in Department of Film, Television, and Media. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
Building on previous television experience, this course is designed to focus on the relationship between technique and content in television programs. Students receive continued hands-on experience in multi-camera studio television production through a series of increasingly complex directing projects.
FTVM 303 Media Production Mini Course II
(1). (CE). May be elected three times for credit. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This is a workshop-based course designed to teach specific topics, approaches, and subjects in media production.
FTVM 304 Topics in Media Production I
FTVM 290 with a minimum grade of C- or better, and major in Department of Film, Television, and Media. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This course provides intermediate experience in special production topics: Film, video, television and/or digital production and may focus on a particular subject area and/or approach to the medium.
FTVM 305 The Experimental Screen
FTVM 290. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
Following up on some of the concepts in FTVM 290, this course encourages students to consider alternative and hybrid practices in moving image and sound production. We will examine the numerous production and presentation tools and how they can be used to make compelling time-based media projects. Students will work individually and in small groups to conceptualize, write and produce works for a variety of settings in a range of media including 16mm film, HD video, portable mini cameras and other resources.
FTVM 306 Animation and Digital Media Practices I
FTVM 290. Students should have basic working knowledge of the Macintosh platform, Photoshop, and digital video. (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This course is an intensive, 15-week introduction to time-based new media processes and practices. With an emphasis on individual and team-based activities, students engage with an array of materials, hardware and software to produce short projects for a variety of potential platforms that include single-channel presentation, web-based programming, portable media, installation and live audio/visual performance. Using 2D animation as a starting point we consider a number of current strategies to produce media (both lens-based and non lens-based), how it has evolved, and how contemporary new media interface with current cinematic and artistic practices.
FTVM 307 Film Analysis for Filmmakers
FTVM 150 and FTVM 290. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
Filmmakers learn about filmmaking by watching films. This course reverse engineers movies to understand how they were produced. The goal is to learn from a finished film how the scenes were produced in front of the camera and microphone and how the captured material was edited.
FTVM 308 Screenwriting for Non-Majors
(3). (CE). May not be repeated for credit. Does not count toward FTVM major.
In this course designed for non-majors, students are required to write character profiles, a treatment, a complete three-act step outline for their proposed screenplay, and a first act of approximately 25 pages.
FTVM 309 Shorts from Short Stories
(4). (CE). May not be repeated for credit.
This fast-paced adaptation course encompasses both screenwriting and production, taking published works of short fiction by contemporary authors and turning these short stories into short screenplays and then completed short films.
FTVM 310 Screenwriting I: The Feature Script
FTVM 210, FTVM 290, FTVM majors only. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (3). May not be repeated for credit.
This course teaches students to write a feature-length screenplay. Students begin with the development of a concept, proceed to writing a treatment, and then spend the majority of the semester working on the full script. Students will read and critique each other's work.
FTVM 311 Writing for Television I: The Spec Script
FTVM 290, FTVM majors only. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (3). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This course teaches students to write full length teleplays for various small-screen formats. The class has rotating formats so students will focus on one genre or serial format during a given semester, such as sit-coms, dramas, soap-operas, etc.
FTVM 313 / RCHUMS 313 / SLAVIC 313 Russian and Ukrainian Cinema
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
Before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Russian cinema genres resembled those common in Europe at the time. In the 1920s, however, Russian filmmakers, armed with bold new ideas about cinematic art and with a revolutionary political ideology, created theories of "montage" and a decade of acknowledged film masterpieces. In the 1930s, the experimental directions of early Soviet cinema were replaced by the doctrine of "socialist realism," a style closer to that of classical (Hollywood) narrative cinema, with themes intended to foster the political and didactic agenda of the state. After Stalin's death in 1953, however, filmmakers were able to reintroduce personal and even religious and philosophical themes, as well as return to a more 'poetic' style, particularly in Ukrainian film. As censorship ended during the Gorbachev period of glasnost (openness), 1985-91, a more honest and naturalistic cinema emerged, along with renewed stylistic experimentation. In the 1990s and in the first decades of the 21st century Russian cinema has reacted to American-style genre films by adapting those patterns to deal with new pressing concerns, such as ethnic conflict and the economic traumas of the transition to capitalism. We will view, analyze and discuss fifteen films from the 1920s through the 2000s-with an eye both to their intrinsic artistic structure and to the social and cultural background and the political events with which they deal.
FTVM 314 / POLISH 314 Polish Cinema
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
Course covers Polish cinema from WWII to the present, tracing the development of film styles in the context of the historical, political, and cultural features of Polish society, with focus on the use of realist norms, intricate symbolism, and absurdist allegory to critique the loss of civic values under Communism.
FTVM 315 / CZECH 315 The Czech New Wave and Its Legacy
(3). (HU). (R&E). May not be repeated for credit.
This course covers an extremely important film movement in Eastern Europe, encompassing a broad range of film styles, from cinema verite (Milos Forman) to surrealism and the absurd (Chytilova, Svankmayer). It also critiques authoritarian systems, ethnic discrimination, and sexism. Fourteen films are studied and discussed, with accompanying readings. Three medium-length papers are required.
FTVM 316 / ITALIAN 316 Screening Italian-Americans
(3). (R&E). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines the history of Italian Americans' representation from gangster films to “The Jersey Shore”. It also explores how the American film and television industries have historically translated stereotypes about Italians' national, racial, and ethnic difference into a wide range of appealing representations to achieve popular and political consensus.
FTVM 317 WOLV TV
(4). (CE). May not be repeated for credit.
This course is designed for students involved in WOLV TV. Shows produced for WOLV could be considered as some of the work expected for the class and critical analysis of these shows will be an important piece of the course work.
FTVM 320 Documentary Film
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
The films studied in this course will be selected from the full spectrum of documentary film practices from the 1920's to the present, but will concentrate on the specific topics rather than on a historical overview. The developing and shifting conception of documentary film practice, issues of social import, of political and propagandistic values, of documenting the "other" as well as claims to veracity and objectivity, will be treated within an analytical framework.
FTVM 325 New Line and New Hollywood Cinema
(3). May not be repeated for credit.
This class examines New Line Cinema as a way to better understand the cultural, economic, and historical conditions of contemporary cinema. By looking at the different films, genres, and franchises put out by New Line, we will see how they have shaped the cultural scene in the United States since 1967.
FTVM 330 / ENGLISH 330 Major Directors
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
The various sections of this course are devoted to concentrated analysis of particular directors or of particular schools of filmmaking. Representative films are shown and discussed in terms of their place in the context of film history. General theoretical concepts about film are developed.
FTVM 331 / ENGLISH 331 Film Genres and Types
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Careful analytical studies of representative films from various film genres. The course concentrates on one particular genre every semester it is offered. Past subjects have included non-narrative film, post-1972 gore, farce, and the American musical.
FTVM 332 / GERMAN 330 German Cinema
(3; 2 in the half-term). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
An introduction to German cinema and its cultural background from the beginning to the present, with emphasis on the classical period (ca. 1918 to 1938) and the modern (post-1965) resurgence.
FTVM 333 / GERMAN 333 Fascist Cinemas
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). (R&E). May not be repeated for credit.
This interdisciplinary course explores the fascist-era cinemas of Germany, Spain, Italy, and Japan. It focuses on a set of common themes to identify both commonalities and specificities of a given context or historical moment.
FTVM/AMCULT 334 Race, Gender, Sexuality, and U.S. Culture in Video Games
(4; 3 in the half term). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines how video games function as a window into U.S. race relations. We will study the history, theory, and practice of video games in the U.S. with particular attention to racial stereotyping, user demographics, diversity of the industry, and racial conflict in shared world and social games.
FTVM 340 Writing Film Criticism
FTVM 230 or 150. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course is aimed at helping students write illuminating and stylistically engaging film criticism. Students will do this within the context of screening contemporary films and reading various types of critical writing in popular and academic criticism.
FTVM 341 / ASIAN 341 Bollywood and Beyond: An Introduction to Popular Indian Cinema
(4). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course provides a critical overview of the history, aesthetics, and cultural politics of cinema in India, with a focus on the Hindi film industry of Bombay and its role in the making of modern India. It also introduces students to Indian history and culture through the study of film.
FTVM/GERMAN/AMCULT 346 Media Matter: From Print to Screen Culture
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course explores the histories of writing, photography, radio, film, television, and the computer in order to gain a firmer understanding of how technology shapes culture, politics, and personal identity in the German-speaking world and beyond.
FTVM 350 The Silent Screen: Arts and Cultures
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
The screening of moving images encompasses a long and fascinating history that begins even before the emergence of cinema. International in scope and intermedial in approach, this course examines the diversity of screen practices that preceded the introduction of synchronized sound at the end of the 1920s.
FTVM 352 Film History: Origins to the French New Wave
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course introduces students to the history of cinema from its technological and cultural origins in the late nineteenth century to the global impact of the French New Wave. The objectives are to orient students to a wide range of cinema, establish the relationships between films from different aesthetic, industrial, and national contexts, and illuminate the development of narrative form and film style.
FTVM 353 Film History: Post New Wave
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines the development of cinema during a period characterized by significant changes in film form and style as well as by important industrial and technological developments. It considers the international dimensions of these changes as well as their specific national and institutional contexts. The course also addresses questions of historical method in film scholarship and the relevance of this period to current trends in film production and reception.
FTVM/DIGITAL 354 New Media History
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
The history of new media extends back into the histories of media and technology far deeper than we might first imagine. Computers, software programs, networks and the innovative social, cultural and artistic exchanges and representations that occur through them have emerged from, adapted and re-formed prior media like film and television while also introducing and spreading new kinds of content and experiences across a range of networks and devices. This class looks back at the history of media in order to best understand our present notion of what new media is and how it has come to be. From photography to weaving, radio to television, automobiles to airplanes, we seek to understand how the technologies of the Industrial age are part of the history of our current and future forms of new media.
FTVM 355 Television History
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course traces the development of television from the medium's historical, industrial and technological roots in radio to the advent of new audiences, technologies and forms in the 1990s. Addressing television as a global phenomenon, we will investigate televisions institutions, structures, and programming from various perspectives in order to understand television's role in mass culture.
FTVM 358 / ITALIAN 358 Italian Film: History, Art, Entertainment
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
Focusing on the post-WWII period, this course looks at Italian cinema from a number of perspectives: political, commercial, social, and aesthetic.
FTVM 361 / WGS 361 Women and Film
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
An examination of films made by, for, and about women. Focus is on how societal norms and film language have constructed the representation of women in film and how women have appropriated the medium for self-representation through both narrative and experimental filmmaking.
FTVM 365 Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary American Television
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
What forms do racial and ethnic representations take in contemporary American television? How do these representations function politically and culturally? This course will address these questions and consider the racial and ethnic meanings that television produces in relationship to gender and sexual identity, economic consciousness, nationality and notions of "Americanness."
FTVM 366 Topics in Film, Television and Popular Culture
(3). May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This course addresses the role of film and television as popular media. It emphasizes the acquisition and use of analytical skills relevant to the given topic and serves as an introduction to cultural studies. Students will be taught to read and analyze specific popular films, genres, or figures; at the same time, the course introduces broader issues in cultural studies, such as definitions of popular/mass culture and the 'culture industry', the role of intertextuality, reception or globalization in popular culture, and the function of gender and sexuality in popular culture. Topics may include: James Bond as Popular Hero; Serials in Film and TV; Popular Cinema Beyond Hollywood; Cult Films/Cult Shows.
FTVM/DIGITAL 367 Digital Media & Identity
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course surveys the technologies, representations, and experiences that constitute digital media culture. Course goals are to understand the aesthetic, political, and cultural roles of digital media by reading diverse texts and entering into the debate around new technologies and the ways that we imagine them.
FTVM/DIGITAL 368 Topics in Digital Media Studies
FTVM 367. (3). May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
This course explores topics relevant to film and video studies and emerging entertainment, communications, and computer technologies. Courses methodologically use critical theory, industry studies, media and cultural studies to analyze digital media representations and experiences. Topics include but are not limited to digital media theory, video games, and virtually and identity.
FTVM 372 Contemporary Film Theory
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines approaches to film theory. It explores how different theories and methods of analysis built on structural and post-structural presuppositions and paradigms have influenced recent film theory, its consideration of narrative practice, the psychological experience of viewing, the construction of moving image representations, and the impact of technology on aesthetic practice.
FTVM 375 Television Theory and Criticism
FTVM 150. (3). (ULWR). May not be repeated for credit.
Introduction to various methodologies in study of commercial television programming; semiotic, linguistic, rhetorical, cultural, etc. Throughout the course, emphasis will be upon inquiry into what television is saying and how messages are represented for mass comprehension.
FTVM/DIGITAL 376 New Media Theory
FTVM 150. (3). (HU). (ULWR). May not be repeated for credit.
This course surveys the major theories of digital media culture from theories of media convergence to "cyberfeminist" analysis of identity politics and accounts of the formal properties of digital media.
FTVM 379 / HISTART 379 / HISTORY 379 / JUDAIC 379 Jewish Photographers Picture the Modern World
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit. Rackham credit requires additional work.
This course traces a history of image making by Jews in twentieth-century Europe and the U.S. While Jewish photographers participated in many different aspects of photography, particular attention will be given to documentary photography.
FTVM 380 / AMCULT 380/ LATINOAM 380 - Studies in Transnational Media
Prior coursework in the Department of Film, Television, and Media, Communications (TV), or Latino Studies. Knowledge of Spanish is not required. (3). May not be repeated for credit. Taught in English.
Drawing from writings in cultural theory and criticism in both English and Spanish. This course will examine national and transnational trends in Spanish and Portuguese language TV, alternative video and cinema since WW II.
FTVM 381 / AMCULT 381/ LATINOAM 381 Latinas/Latinos and the Media
(3). (HU). May not be repeated for credit.
This course examines the access and contributions of Latinas/os to the U.S. media from an historical perspective, with a culminating emphasis on the contemporary period. The cultural scope is pan-Latino, covering a range of genres and formats, from documentary to experimental film and television.
FTVM 391 Editing Theory & Practice
(4). (CE). May not be repeated for credit.
With a focus on theory and craft, this class will explore editing as the third and final authoring of a motion picture. With an emphasis on technique and storytelling over software, this class will initially challenge students to consider the power of the "cut" and from there quickly progress into more advanced editing methods and considerations.
FTVM 392 Cinematography
(4). (CE). May not be repeated for credit.
This course is an introduction to cinematography where students learn the basics of motion picture photography as it applies to the analog film medium.
FTVM 393 Screendance
Consent of instructor required. A 300 (or 400) level production course in the relevant emphasized area: FTVM 300 or 301 and permission of instructor. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
From Maya Deren to Merce Cunningham, to music video and beyond, this course will explore the unique challenges of capturing and creating dance for the camera. Through class screenings of film and video work, class exercises, and reading and discussion, students will learn about various historical and contemporary issues and approaches in combining dance and the moving image. Students will work alone and in small collaborative groups to create their own works integrating dance and video. Through creative projects, students will develop their own visual style and an increased proficiency with digital video cameras and editing.
FTVM 394 /DIGITAL 394 Topics in Digital Media Production
Some media production experience. (4). (CE). May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
This course provides an introduction to key software tools, techniques, and fundamental concepts supporting digital media arts production and design. Students will learn and apply the fundamentals of design and digital media production with software applications, web-based coding techniques and study the principals of design that translate across multiple forms of media production.
FTVM 400 Movie/Serial Television Production II
Permission of Instructor (4). A 300- (or 400-) level production course in a relevant emphasized area: FTVM 300, 301, 302, or 304. (3). May not be repeated for credit. May not be repeated for credit.
This is an intermediate sync-sound movie production course. It familiarizes students with dramatic narrative (any genre comedy to drama) sync-sound movie production from interpreting the screenplay through sync-sound shooting and post-production. Students have access to high-end production equipment and work in large teams to produce a substantial sync-sound final project. They also participate in dramatic narrative productions in class in collaboration with Theatre and Drama students.
FTVM 401 Documentary II
FTVM 301, FTVM majors only. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This advanced course is designed to teach the theoretical, aesthetic and technical principles of making compelling non-fiction productions. The class includes readings and viewing of clips to investigate current and past issues in non-fiction production that include documentary form, objectivity in documentary production, ethics, and representation.
FTVM 402 Topics in Television Production
FTVM 302, FTVM majors only. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This is an advanced course in television production focusing on a multi-camera studio or location production. Possible topics may include Situation Comedy or Live Event Production.
FTVM 403 Television Sketch Comedy
Permission of Instructor only. FTVM 310 or FTVM 311, FTVM 300 or FTVM 302. (4). May not be repeated for credit.
From television's earliest history, sketch comedy has been an integral part of the television landscape. Through screenings, readings, discussion, guest speakers, and productions. Television Sketch Comedy will explore this perennial form. Students will collaborate on original sketch comedy programs in a variety of forms.
FTVM 404 Topics in Media Production II
A 300- (or 400-) level production course in the relevant emphasized area: FTVM 300, 301, 302, or 306; or permission of instructor. (4). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
An advanced course in special production topics that may include film, video, television and/or digital production within a particular subject area and/or approach to the medium. It also may focus on collaborations with other courses or units.
FTVM 406 Animation and Digital Media Practices II
FTVM 306 or equivalent experience and permission of instructor. (4). May not be repeated for credit.
This intensive course further explores and builds upon the practices and strategies in FTVM 306. Students work individually and in small groups to research new media practice, new software and hardware, and new presentation methods. Rotating topics include: special effects for cinema; audio/visual performance; web-based serial production; and 2D digital animation. Research and seminar-based presentations along with workshops and demonstrations ultimately culminate in the design and production of individual or team-based final projects.
FTVM 409 Pitching and Professional Development
This capstone course prepares screenwriting sub-majors to pitch concepts for feature films and to take meetings with industry producers and executives. Students create and deliver 1-minute, 5-minute, and 15-minute pitches for original feature films. Students also create a portfolio page for a directory which will be distributed to industry professionals at the end of the school year.
FTVM 410 Screenwriting II: The Rewrite
FTVM 310 and FTVM majors. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
This course follows FTVM 310 as an intermediate course in the art and practice of screenwriting. It stresses creative dramatic writing and focuses on critical tools for rewriting. Each student is expected to write or rewrite a feature length screenplay.
FTVM 411 Writing for Television II: Pilots
FTVM 311. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) FTVM 290 and 310. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
This course offers students who have succeeded in FTVM 311 the opportunity to conceive and develop their own hour-long television program, from the creation of a "show bible" to the completion of a full-length spec script of the pilot episode.
FTVM 421 TV Pilots
Consent of instructor required. (4). May not be repeated for credit.
TV Pilot is a production/writing course. Students work collaboratively to produce a full-length TV Pilot conceived in 411 Writing for Television II. Students are admitted from any U of M unit based on appropriate skills; by permission of instructor. This course prepares you for both creative and crew positions in TV and Movie Industries.
FTVM 422 Topics in Avant-Garde Film
FTVM 150. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
Historical and theoretical studies of topics in avant-garde film and video. The class examines the cultural contexts of the firms as well as their formal innovations.
FTVM 423 Practicum for the Screenwriter
FTVM 290, 310, and 410. (4). May not be repeated for credit. Permission of instructor.
This course is a writing practicum in which students will learn the role of the screenwriter in the greater production process. Students will participate in the various creative steps involved in bringing a script to the screen. Topics may include Dramatic Narrative and Sketch Comedy.
FTVM 427 Screenwriting III
FTVM 310 and 410. Limited to students whose work is judged as showing outstanding potential in writing for the screen. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
An advanced screenwriting course that provides individual and small group instruction to select students who have completed basic (FTVM 310) and intermediate (FTVM 410) screenwriting. Students will write a final draft of a revised original screenplay (see FTVM 410) and a first draft of a new screenplay.
FTVM 435 Authorship and the Archive: Exploring the Screen Arts Mavericks & Makers Collections
(3). (HU). May be repeated once for credit.
The Screen Arts Mavericks & Makers Collections in the University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center is a major resource for researchers interested in a number of important film and media makers. Students in this laboratory course develop proficiency with primary-source archival research while using unique materials found only in these collections to create new knowledge.
FTVM 440 / AAS 440 African Cinema
AAS 200. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
A critical and interdisciplinary look at the development of African cinema from its inception in the 1960s, at the height of the sociopolitical upheavals experienced by many nations in the transition from colonialism to independence, to the recent phase of introspection and diversification.
FTVM 441 National Screens
FTVM 150 or 360. (3). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
An in-depth exploration of the evolution and forms of specific national or regional cinema in terms of its stylistic, socio-political, economic, and technological dimensions. Close study of the development of a cinema (e.g. Japanese, Eastern European, British) or of a film movement, e.g., Italian Neorealism, German Expressionism, French New Wave.
FTVM 442 / AAS 442 Third World Cinema
AAS 202 or FTVM 150. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
The interrelationships and disruptions between dominant cinema practices and Third World and marginal cinema on the level of aesthetics, production, economic, social and cultural history. Cinema as ideological practice: the formulation of new approaches to film practice sympathetic to the cultural specifications of the producing nations.
FTVM 451 / AMCULT 490 American Film Genres
Junior standing. (4). May not be repeated for credit.
The development of American film genres as a popular art form, considered within the broad context of American cultural development since the late nineteenth century.
FTVM 455 Topics in Film Studies
FTVM 150. (3). May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Studies in various film topics, such as silent film, women and film, German Expressionism, and Latin-American film.
FTVM/ASIAN 458 Film Culture in Korea
(3) May not be repeated for credit.
This course will explore the history of Korean cinema through the framework of national/transnational cinema discourse, auteur/genre theory, globalization, the division system, and the problem of nation/state which evokes the question of identity. Students will learn Korean cinema through key films, directors, and dominant genres.
FTVM 460 Technology and the Moving Image
FTVM 150. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) (3). May not be repeated for credit.
This course traces the impact of such technological innovations as sound, color, and wide screen on the history of the motion picture and the evolution beyond cinema of the new digital technology, virtual reality, and multi-media performances. This class examines the aesthetics of technology and the ways in which technology through art influences individual psychology and society at large.
FTVM 461 / WGS 461 Feminist and Queer Film Theory
WOMENSTD 240 or AMCULT 240; and junior standing. (3). May not be repeated for credit.
This course offers an in-depth exploration of feminist and queer theories that address film in relation to gender. Discussion focuses on contemporary feminist and queer scholarship that draws upon a variety of viewpoints, including psychoanalysis, cultural theory, postmodernism, historical research and ideological theory.
FTVM 475 Popular Film and TV Culture
(3). (R&E). May not be repeated for credit.
An upper-level introduction to critical theory and cultural studies of popular film and television, drawn from theoretical traditions including the Frankfurt School, Marxism, feminism, post-colonialism, post-structuralism, and critical race studies.
FTVM 480 Internship
Consent of instructor required. (2). (EXPERIENTIAL). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term. Pass/Fail with Narrative Evaluation.
FTVM 485 The Global Screen
Junior or Above. (Prerequisites enforced at registration.) Junior standing; FTVM 150. (3). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Explores the impact of global trade and cultural exchange on audiovisual media during different periods in media history. Topics rotate. Possible topics include international film co-productions, censorship and state regulation, the transnational transmission of television, and translation and the politics of reception.
FTVM 490 Senior Honors Research
Consent of instructor required. FTVM majors only. (1 - 4). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Candidates work independently on a written thesis or on a media production project under supervision of FTVM faculty.
FTVM 495 Senior Honors Seminar
Consent of instructor required. FTVM majors/Honors students only.
This is a year-long (fall and winter terms) workshop led by a faculty member which includes all seniors writing Honors theses or completing Honors production projects. Although the theses or production project is completed primarily under the guidance of the faculty advisor, students assist one another with projects in the workshop by sharing experiences, advice, interests, and, ultimately, portions of their theses. Theses projects are evaluated by the advisor and one or more other faculty, on the basis of the quality of the research, analysis, and writing (theses). Production projects should demonstrate a strong command of organizational, technical, and/or creative skills such as scriptwriting, cinematography/videography, lighting, direction, audio construction, and/or editing. The letter grade for FTVM 495 and the level of Honors with which the student will be graduated (i.e., "Honors," "High Honors," "Highest Honors") are based on the evaluations of the thesis or production project.
FTVM 499 Independent Study
Consent of instructor required. (1 - 4). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for credit. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Independent study on a subject to be determined by student in conjunction with a faculty member. Does not count toward major requirements. Must be approved by Department in term prior to enrollment. In exceptional cases, students can petition for enrollment during current term.
FTVM 500 Directed Study in Department of Film, Television, and Media
Consent of instructor required. (1 - 4). (INDEPENDENT). May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits. May be elected more than once in the same term.
Directed Study on a subject to be determined by student in conjunction with a faculty member. Does not count toward major requirements. Must be approved by Department in term prior to enrollment. In exceptional cases, students can petition for enrollment during current term.
Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM) Waitlist Policy:
Students who wish to obtain an override must get permission from the instructor of the course.
The Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM) majors will be given preference on the waitlist over non-FTVM students.
Waitlist priority will be at the discretion of the instructor.
If a student does not use the class permission before it expires, the next student chosen by the instructor will be given permission.
It is critical that students attend classes from the beginning of the term. The department may drop a student from a course if the student does not attend the first course meeting. If a student plans to miss the first course meeting, arrangements must be APPROVED by the instructor in ADVANCE.
Special Department Policies
Effective Fall 2016 – Present
A grade of C– or better must be achieved in any course taken to satisfy the requirements for the Department of Film, Television, and Media major.
Prerequisite for the FTVM major may be taken for a grade or may be taken P/F.
A minimum grade of C– or better must be achieved in any course taken to satisfy the requirements for the Global Media Studies Minor.
