May 07, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2022-2023 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  About MassArt
  Academic Calendar
  Academic Policies
  Academic Programs
  Academic Resource Center
  Accreditation and Board of Trustees
  Campus Resources
  Confidentiality of Student Records
  Cross-Registration
  Courses
  GPA Disclaimer
  International Education Center
  Leave of Absence
  Office of the Registrar
  Professional and Continuing Education Courses
  Standardized Test Policy
  Student Financial Assistance
  Tuition and Fees
  Veterans
HELP
Academic Catalog 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

 

Film/Video
  

  • MPFV101 Intro to Film and Video 3 cr.

    This course introduces students to working with film and video. The emphasis of the course will be each student’s personal film and video work. Classes include technical demonstrations and lectures along with screenings and discussions of film and video work, both by other artists and projects made for the class. Students will learn the basics of digital video production (including HD), how to shoot 16mm using a Bolex non-sync camera and the fundamentals of digital editing. No previous experience required.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    All College Elective
  

  • MPFV104 Collage and the Moving Image 3cr

    This course introduces students to making
    handmade films and video collages with an
    emphasis on exploring various layering methods.
    The course will focus on creating rhythmic
    movement and textures through layering processes
    in analog, digital and hybrid forms. Students
    will learn techniques for applying imagery
    directly onto 16mm film by drawing, painting and
    collaging as well as experimenting with various
    blending methods on After Effects. Each student
    will use the skills attained in this course to
    complete a final collage project consisting of a
    visual arc created through the use of unique
    color, tempo, sequencing, and other formal
    elements. The goal of this class is to introduce
    students to the technical and artistic use of
    hand-applied elements and computer-generated
    effects to produce moving images and to become
    familiar with the concept of movement, space and
    time.

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall
  

  • MPFV105 Cinematic Drawing 3cr

    Students can take this class in place of a
    Drawing Project class, one of the first year
    Spring requirement.

    The interplay between still and moving image will
    be explored through a wide range of drawing
    techniques, in-class screenings, and image
    lectures. Students will experiment with layering,
    sequencing, and collaging, while exploring the
    relationships between stasis and movement, canvas
    and screen, surface and projection. During a
    number of camera-less filmmaking sessions,
    students will be introduced to the process of
    applying imagery directly onto 16mm film by
    scratching, drawing, and coloring. The goal of
    this class is for students to develop conceptual
    and visual ideas through the multifaceted,
    interrelated nature of drawing and moving image.
    Students can take this class in place of a
    Drawing Project class which is one of the first
    year Spring requirement.

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Instructor’s Discretion
  

  • MPFV210 Film I 3 cr.

    The first semester of the sophomore film major will introduce the student to non-synchronous 16mm filmmaking, with an emphasis on experimental, exploratory film techniques. Through a series of class exercises and individual student assignments, students explore 16mm non-synchronous production, basic lighting, and analog film editing techniques. The emphasis of this class is on the student finding a personal means of expression using the film medium. Offered Fall.

    Prerequisites: Open to Film/Video Majors or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • MPFV211 Film II 3 cr.

    In this second semester required sophomore film course students develop their personal skills and ideas in 16mm film production. In this class students will explore an in depth use of the Arri-S and the Arri-BL Sync cameras, lenses and filters. In addition, students will study the principles of lighting and exposures for color film stocks and practice how to work with the Lab for color digital transfers. The equipment and demonstrations are explored within a context defined by the history, aesthetics, and theory of film practice. Offered Spring.

    Prerequisites: MPFV210 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • MPFV220 Video Experiments I 3 cr.

    Using an array of digital and analog tools including video cameras, computers, microphones and digital and analog image processors, students explore multiple strategies for making personal, time-based art. Production topics covered include lighting, shooting and audio recording for video. Video post-production topics covered include non-linear editing and current methods for output and distribution. Screenings, workshops, readings and discussions will expose and challenge students to discover the diversity that video as a medium has to offer artists. Offered Fall. [Formerly titled Video I]

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall
  

  • MPFV221 Video Experiments II 3 cr.

    Video Experiments II is an intermediate level video production for personal time-based art making that advances the techniques and concepts learned in Video I. Through a series of workshops and assignments students are challenged to further develop their independent video work while experimenting with the various modes of presentation and distribution of video art, including concerns specific to videos multiple-channel potential. Through group projects students learn to seek out audiences and create unique methods of reception in public space. Individual projects centered on contemporary media issues provide students the opportunity to gain skills in intermediate production techniques. Offered spring semester.[Formerly titled Video II]

    Prerequisites: MPFV220

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • MPFV234 Optical Printing: Conscious Manipulation of Space, Time and Light 3 cr.

    Students will focus on how to shape the space, time and light of the motion picture image on one of the most versatile of film devices, the optical printer. The optical printer consists of a camera, a projector head and a light source on which a student may rephotograph already developed film to extract and explore the hidden potentialities of the image. Students will quickly gain hands-on experience with the printer through numerous demonstrations and exercises. Screenings of key works will illustrate myriad techniques. Students of all artistic disciplines are welcome and encouraged to attend.

    Prerequisites: MPFV101 or MPFV210 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    All College Elective
  

  • MPFV235 Scriptwriting I 3 cr.

    A successful short-film is not simply an abbreviated version of a feature film but entails a different kind of storytelling. Edgar Allen Poe’s description of a good short story is as relevant to film as it is to literary fiction. A good short story, he said, is not just “an incident or an episode extracted from a longer tale,” but a work of narrative-art that “impresses the reader with the belief that it would be spoiled if it were made longer.” Designed as a writing workshop, this course will address the many facets of writing screenplays for short films. Students will develop at least three scripts (2-8 pages long), from idea to end product, through individual and collaborative exercises, rewriting, and discussion of their works-in-progress. Students are encouraged to write scripts that can be produced with resources available to most students.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    All College Elective
  

  • MPFV245 Sound I 3 cr.

    This is a required course for the F/V major. Students are introduced to studio and field recording and post production for audio through a series of workshops. Subjects covered include the basic physics of sound, digital and analog audio formats, microphones, and understanding how to use audio recorders, amplifiers and speakers. The basic structural properties of sound and their relationship to the listener are explored through sound editing, effects processing and audio mixing using digital audio editing software. Emphasis is placed on the consideration of sound as a medium in its own right with a study of acoustic principles and effects. Whether working on soundtracks, musical compositions or sound art, this class provides the student with a solid foundation in audio production. No previous experience required. It is advisable to take this course in the sophomore year.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • MPFV249 Editing I 3cr

    This hands-on editing class introduces both traditional and experimental editing techniques on Adobe’s Premiere Pro and other nonlinear editing software. Through individual projects, screenings, in-class demonstrations and short editing assignments, students will study the art and aesthetics of editing in experimental, documentary and narrative genres while developing a vocabulary to discuss both the function and art of the cut. The class covers elements of storytelling, performance, pace, emotion, action, continuity, and time manipulation.

     

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall and Spring
  

  • MPFV256 Video Installation:Site, Performance, Sculpture 3cr.

    Video installation is an ever-expanding contemporary art genre. This introductory course
    is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in learning how to create
    videos and integrate them into 3D and interdisciplinary art practices. Readings,
    screenings and discussions address a range of video installation art practices past and
    present. Students are challenged to address various approaches to video/audio creation,
    presentation styles, and the meanings created from pairing video with forms, performance or
    environments. Through the semester, projects progress from assignment-based prompts to a
    final, self-designed project. Technical demonstrations cover strategies and techniques
    for filming, video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, and the use and positioning of video projectors
    and other devices in relationship to surfaces and forms. The goal of this class is for students to
    become technically proficient in creating and combining video, audio and physical elements in
    conceptually cohesive ways. [Formerly titled Intro to Video Installation]

    Fall Only
  

  • MPFV272 Time-Based Digital Media 3cr

    This class is designed to offer students from other art disciplines a technical and conceptual foundation for using video in their own art practice. From omnipotent surveillance to TikTok, video alters our sense of reality and representation. In this broad theoretical context, video is a cannibalistic medium. It ‘eats’ other media to efficiently deliver a complex message. Many contemporary artists engage with the medium as a part of their practice. Class time will be split between learning video production with in-class demos and exercises and more conceptual issues related to the image and editing. Videos utilizing alternative strategies to mainstream media and examples of artists utilizing video medium will be introduced. No previous experience required. [Formerly titled Video Prod. for Non-Majors]

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Fall
  

  • MPFV287 Making Meaning: Video Portraiture & Identity 3cr

    This course introduces students to creative tools
    for video portraiture with an emphasis on identity
    exploration. Class demonstrations and hands-on
    class assignments provide students with exposure
    to video production and projection; retro,
    surveillance and 360 video cameras; and live
    streaming. In-class screenings foreground moving
    image portraiture addressing gender, race,
    sexualities and socioeconomic status.

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Fall
  

  • MPFV308 Cinematography and Lighting 3 cr.

    This course deepens the student’s understanding of cinematography and introduces the student to studio lighting. In this course, students explore how cinematography serves directorial and creative intent, while being liberated to explore its own visual language. Technical and aesthetic concerns are given equal weight.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 or by permission of the instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Elective
  

  • MPFV309 Advanced Creative Lighting 3cr

    This class explores the art and craft of lighting
    and cinematography to enhance further
    experimentation in the creation of the image.
    Students learn lighting for a specific film
    genre, including documentary, experimental, and
    narrative. In addition students will learn
    various techniques for metaphorical lighting, FX
    lighting, stage and realism vs pictorial
    lighting. Technical and aesthetic concerns are
    given equal weight. The class will cover the
    proper use, handling, and care of cameras,
    lenses, tripods, filters, and lights.[Formerly
    titled Cinematography&Lighting II]

    Prerequisites: MPFV-308

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Spring
  

  • MPFV312 Junior Major Production 3 cr.

    This class is a spring semester requirement for junior Film/Video majors. In this course, students develop and refine their creative voices, with freedom to work in any time-based format to produce three completed pieces. Students creatively demonstrate both technical focus and conceptual rigor in their completed works.

    Prerequisites: MPFV321 or MPFV323

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • MPFV314 Advanced Editing 3 cr.

    This course assumes that students come to it with
    technical skill at Avid and other non-linear
    editing systems and moves instead into conceptual
    and aesthetic aspects of motion-picture editing,
    examining how an editor creates a sense of time,
    space, tone, and rhythm. We look at both
    short-form and long-form work in the documentary,
    fiction, and experimental traditions. Sound/image
    relationships, including continuity and
    discontinuity, and non-traditional approaches are
    all examined through short editing assignments.
    In addition, there is time for critique of your
    own works-in-progress, as well as a term-long
    group assignment to edit a documentary feature
    out of materials provided by the instructor.

    Prerequisites: MPFV220 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Elective
  

  • MPFV314 Advanced Editing 3cr.

    This course assumes that students come to it with technical skill at Avid and other non-linear
    editing systems and moves instead into conceptual and aesthetic aspects of motion-picture editing,
    examining how an editor creates a sense of time, space, tone, and rhythm. We look at both
    short-form and long-form work in the documentary, fiction, and experimental traditions. Sound/image
    relationships, including continuity and discontinuity, and non-traditional approaches are
    all examined through short editing assignments. In addition, there is time for critique of your
    own works-in-progress, as well as a term-long group assignment to edit a documentary feature
    out of materials provided by the instructor.

    Fall and Spring
  

  • MPFV317 Finishing Touches 3cr

    Finishing Touches is a course in which students

    analyze and practice digital film finishing

    strategies, techniques, and workflows including

    audio mixing, color correction and video effects.

     Emphasis is placed on how these technical and

    aesthetic decisions impact how the audience feels

    and connects to the piece. Students are asked to

    bring projects to work with throughout the

    semester.

    Prerequisites: MPFV-221 or Permission of the Instructor

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Instructor’s Discretion
  

  • MPFV321 Short and Fast: From Idea to Critique 3 cr.

    This course is one of two options to fulfill the fall Film/Video junior production requirement. It concentrates on the production of short, finished work each week for substantial in-class critique. The content of the work produced for the class divides evenly between individual student preference and predetermined topics formulated to complement class screenings, readings and discussions. Methods for rapidly generating completed works are examined and a wide variety of critique strategies are employed.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 and MPFV221

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
  

  • MPFV322 Junior Major Viewing 1 3 cr.

    This class is the first installment of a two-semester required course introducing film/video theory and criticism. The class explores film and video informed by changing media practice and by art. Screenings encompass installation and performance as well as single channel work. Both historical and contemporary work is presented. All work shown is considered in relation to semiotics, psychoanalysis, feminism, race, documentary practice, identity issues, and representation.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 and MPFV221

    Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • MPFV323 Experiments in Film Narrative 3 cr.

    This course is an intensive film and video production class for the junior film students to find and realize their own personal voices through moving image. Students explore traditional narrative frameworks such as character, conflict, script structure, and narrative voice. Students expand upon these frameworks and push the boundaries of conventional film narrative. The class touches upon all stages of preproduction, including production design, storyboards, shot design, script breakdown, preparing the shot list, casting, location scouting, and production scheduling. Classes include technical workshops, in depth analysis, viewing and critique. Students direct their own scripts and work in crews to produce each other’s films.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 and MPFV221

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
  

  • MPFV325 Junior Major Viewing II 3 cr.

    This class is the second installment of a two-semester required course introducing film/video theory and criticism. In the second semester, the class continues to explore film and video informed by media and by art. In addition to this content, the second semester explores contemporary issues in new media. The class examines how new media employs cinematic conventions while breaking the traditional role of the spectator in the viewing experience.

    Prerequisites: MPFV322

    Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • MPFV327 The Business of Film/Video 3cr

    How does an art student become a professional artist and still survive in the world of freelancing?

    This course covers a range of strategies for students to build their public profile and portfolio while developing a sustainable plan to
    survive as an artist after school. Topics include: creating project proposals and professional portfolios; developing budgets; funding through
    grants and crowd sourcing; internships and learning to write and speak effectively about their work to film producers, film financiers,
    museum curators, and art dealers. Visiting speakers include local curators, festival directors, critics, and exhibition professionals.
    This course will also cover the ever elusive production management of any project from film, to live events and shows, to art exhibition and media installations in out of the box venues and locations.  Travel into the City of Boston on assignment and field trips while learning.  After
    taking this course, students should have all the necessary skills to present their work in the professional arena. While the course focuses on
    moving image work, students working in any medium are encouraged to register.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211

    Hybrid Studio Critique

    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall
  

  • MPFV336 Scriptwriting II 3 cr.

    Scriptwriting II builds on the skills learned in Scriptwriting I and asks students to push
    further.  You may write in the format and genre/mode of your choice: narrative,
    experimental-narrative, web series, non-fiction/essay, video installation, etc. You
    will develop your scripts through writing exercises and revisions as well as by hearing
    them read aloud and critiqued.  All majors welcome. 

    Prerequisites: MPFV235 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Elective
  

  • MPFV392 Film/Video Course Assistantship 3 cr.

    A course assistantship allows qualified
    sophomores, juniors, and seniors to assist a
    faculty member with whom they have studied
    previously. Duties may include set up, assisting
    with demonstrations and critiques during class
    meetings. Course assistants may not grade
    students. Students may register for only one
    3-credit course assistantship each semester, and
    no more than two such assistantships may count
    toward degree requirements.
    Students selected by faculty to be course
    assistants submit a Course Assistantship form
    with the faculty and chair’s signatures to the
    Registrar during registration and no later than
    the end of the Add/Drop period. Students who are
    performing a Teaching Assistantship should follow
    Independent Study procedures

    Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  

  • MPFV398 Film/Video Internship

    An internship is a supervised professional
    experience that allows you to use classroom
    training in a real work environment, develop your
    skills, focus your career goals, and make
    professional contacts.
    MassArt offers students enrolled in a degree
    program the opportunity to register an internship
    for credit. An internship counts as 3 studio
    elective credits. To receive credit, the
    internship must meet our basic internship
    requirements, be approved by a faculty advisor,
    and registered before you start the internship.

    Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  

  • MPFV399 Film/Video Independent Study

    Juniors and seniors who have a specific studio
    project which cannot be accomplished within the
    structure of a course may arrange to work with a
    faculty member on an independent basis. The
    Independent Study form (available in the
    Registrar’s Office) includes a description of the
    project. Students may take only one 3-credit
    independent study each semester, and no more than
    four independent studies will count toward the
    degree.
    Independent Study forms, with faculty and the
    chair’s signatures, should be submitted to the
    Registrar during registration and not later than
    the Add/Drop deadline.

    Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  

  • MPFV402 Contemporary Issues in Film/Video 1 3 cr.

    Students in this class view work by exemplary artists and media makers who visit the class to present and discuss their films within the MassArt Cine-Culture Visiting Filmmaker Series, a program free and open to the public. Students are invited and expected to engage in dialogue with the visiting filmmakers and, as soon to be artist-citizens, reflect on the significance of cutting-edge moving image art in the contemporary world. This is the first installment of a year-long course that is a Senior requirement for all Film/Video Majors.

    Prerequisites: MPFV325 or by permission of instructor

    Critique

    Departmental Elective
    Fall
  

  • MPFV403 Contemporary Issues in Film/Video II 3 cr.

    This survey class views film and video by
    contemporary artists and media makers together
    with occasional older works. Emergent and
    established artists will visit to present and
    discuss their work at MassArt Cine-Culture
    (formerly MassArt Film Society). Among the issues
    to be discussed related to contemporary moving
    image discourse and production are:
    narrative/form, fiction/non-fiction, independent
    production and exhibition, and the
    social/political relevance of film as an art.
    This is the second installment of a year-long
    course that is a Senior requirement for all
    Film/Video Majors.

    Prerequisites: MPFV402 or by permission of instructor

    Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • MPFV410 Senior Thesis Studio I 3 cr.

    This fall course is designed to facilitate the production of each student’s thesis project. Projects consist of at least one fifteen-minute film/video or five three-minute films/videos to be done by the end of the semester. Students may propose equivalent work in sound, installation or live performance and media work. Individual meetings are held every other week for critique. Group meetings take place twice a semester for class critique. There is a variety of tech workshops and visiting artists who look at students’ work. In addition to this 3-credit class seniors are required to take Issues in Contemporary Film/Video in order to familiarize them with aspects of film and video history. In this course see and hear filmmakers and artists talk about their own work.

    Prerequisites: MPFV312, MPFV325

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • MPFV411 Senior Thesis Studio II 3 cr.

    This spring course is designed to facilitate the production of each student’s thesis project. Projects will consist of at least one fifteen-minute film/video or five three-minute films/videos to be completed by the end of the semester. Students may propose equivalent work in sound, installation or live performance and media work. Individual meetings will be held every other week for critique. Group meetings will take place at least twice a semester for class critique. Senior review boards will be held in March for feedback on their thesis work-in-progress and to allow enough time for each student to tweak their projects by the end of the semester. Seniors are also required to take Issues in Contemporary Film and Video in order to familiarize them with aspects of film and video history. In this course they will see and hear filmmakers and artists talk about their own work.

    Prerequisites: MPFV410

    Hybrid Studio/Critique

    Departmental Requirement
    Spring

Graduate
  

  • MPFV601 Major Studio-Filmmaking Sem 1 6cr

    The Film/Video seminar is a critique course where the graduate student meets weekly with a Film or Video faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress. Visiting artists often participate, and have included Rebecca Baron, Yann Beauvais, Robert Beaver, Andrew Bujalski, Martha Coburn, Joe Gibbons, Jacqueline Goss, Ed Halter, Julie Heyward, Lewis Klahr, Lynne Sachs, Deborah Stratman, Elisabeth Subrin, Tracy and the Plastics and The Yes Men.

    Fall
  

  • MPFV602 Major Studio-Filmmaking Sem 2 6cr

    The Film/Video seminar is a critique course where the graduate student meets weekly with a Film or Video faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress. Visiting artists often participate, and have included Rebecca Baron, Yann Beauvais, Robert Beaver, Andrew Bujalski, Martha Coburn, Joe Gibbons, Jacqueline Goss, Ed Halter, Julie Heyward, Lewis Klahr, Lynne Sachs, Deborah Stratman, Elisabeth Subrin, Tracy and the Plastics and The Yes Men.

    Prerequisites: MPFV601

    Spring
  

  • MPFV701 Major Studio-Filmmaking Sem 3 6cr

    The Film/Video seminar is a critique course where the graduate student meets weekly with a Film or Video faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress. Visiting artists often participate, and have included Rebecca Baron, Yann Beauvais, Robert Beaver, Andrew Bujalski, Martha Coburn, Joe Gibbons, Jacqueline Goss, Ed Halter, Julie Heyward, Lewis Klahr, Lynne Sachs, Deborah Stratman, Elisabeth Subrin, Tracy and the Plastics and The Yes Men.

    Prerequisites: MPFV602

    Fall
  

  • MPFV702 Major Studio-Filmmaking Sem 4 6 or 9cr

    The Film/Video seminar is a critique course where the graduate student meets weekly with a Film or Video faculty to present and discuss work-in-progress. Visiting artists often participate, and have included Rebecca Baron, Yann Beauvais, Robert Beaver, Andrew Bujalski, Martha Coburn, Joe Gibbons, Jacqueline Goss, Ed Halter, Julie Heyward, Lewis Klahr, Lynne Sachs, Deborah Stratman, Elisabeth Subrin, Tracy and the Plastics and The Yes Men.

    Prerequisites: MPFV701

    Spring