May 22, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2013-2014 
    
Catalog Navigation
  Catalog Home
  About MassArt
  Academic Policies
  Academic Programs
  Academic Resource Center
  Accreditation and Board of Trustees
  Confidentiality of Student Records
  Consortia, Cross-Registration, and Exchange
  Courses
  Office of the Registrar
  Professional and Continuing Education Courses
  Tuition and Fees
  Student Financial Assistance
HELP
Academic Catalog 2013-2014 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

 

Film/Video
  

  • MPFV4X6 Stop Motion Animation II 3 cr.

    Students will work cooperatively on a short animated sequence designed to demonstrate and develop advanced stop motion animation skills. Topics will include miniature set construction and detailing, tabletop and practical lighting, motion control cinematography, front light /back light and compositing, casting of foam puppets, armature fabrication, use of surface gauges and frame grabbing, and puppet animation.

    Prerequisites: MPFV214

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • 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
  

  • 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
  

  • MPFV214 Stop Motion Animation 3 cr.

    Stop-motion animation covers a vast array of techniques, skills and history. We will discover underlying common principles through screenings, demonstrations and exercises. Since students don’t have access to the three hundred person, three year production schedule that a stop-motion feature requires, we will learn effective strategies to make more with less. Most assignments will require students to isolate production elements and explore multiple paths to solutions. Emphasis here will not be on product, but on process. Therefore it will be expected that various paths may reveal failed strategies. The point will be to gain broad experience rapidly. It is expected that students will learn skills needed to produce expressive and engaging stop-motion animated pieces.

    Prerequisites: MPFV101 or CDAN200

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Fall/Spring
  

  • MPFV220 Video I 3 cr.

    This introductory course focuses on video production for personal time-based art making. Through a series of in-class workshops and assignments students will develop basic skills in digital video production, while becoming familiar with video’s unique technical and aesthetic qualities. Using an array of digital and analog tools, including video cameras, computers, microphones and digital and analog image processors, the students explore multiple strategies for making art with video. 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. Additionally, screenings, readings and discussions expose and challenge students to discover the diversity that video as a medium has to offer artists. Offered Fall.

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

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • MPFV221 Video II 3 cr.

    Video II is an intermediate level video production course 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. Students will learn an array of digital and analog tools to make expanded video projects which may include: multi-channel installation, live video mixing, webcasting, performance, and installations using found objects and live video feeds. Field trips to local galleries and museums will expose and challenge students to discover the diversity video, as a medium has to offer artists. This class aims to challenge notions of what video art is, and can be. Students are expected to think outside the box and try new approaches to time-based media. Through both group projects students learn to seek out new audiences and create unique methods of presenting video in the public arena. Individual projects centered on contemporary media issues provide students the opportunity to gain skills in intermediate production techniques. Offered Spring. Prerequisite: MPFV220 or by permission of the instructor.

    Prerequisites: MPFV220

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • MPFV229 Video Installation in Hi-Def 3 cr.

    High Definition video installation is a new genre of video art that uses state of the art technology to create visually stunning imagery. In this course will be working with high definition video as an art form, creating individual and collaborative projects that may include: multiple screen high def video installations, video sculptures combining found objects, high definition video and surround sound, high definition projections in public spaces and new forms yet to be discovered. Through the manipulation of time and space, and the fragmentation of narrative, students will learn techniques of high definition video production as it is incorporated into large-scale video installations. This includes specialized lighting and the authoring of blu-ray discs. By the end of the class students will have a greater understanding of the commitment it takes to make a successful high definition video art installation.

    Prerequisites: MPFV220 or by permission of the instructor

    Lecture/Seminar
  

  • MPFV233 Performance/Acting 3 cr.

    This course is an introduction to performance and acting for the screen. Introductory acting techniques will be covered in a workshop setting. The course will also consider the role of acting in the history of performance art.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  

  • 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
  

  • MPFV236 Documentary to Mockumentary 3 cr.

    This video production course charts the territory between documentary and mockumentary, looking at the history of truth in media. We begin by examining the history and production techniques of documentary filmmaking, then move into the genre of mockumentary, examining everything from reality TV to fake news. We examine how mockumentaries use sophisticated editing techniques to present work that is truthful in form, yet falsified in content. Over the course of the semester we analyze the fine line between media manipulation and editorial representation through production activities that critically engage the ethics of truth in the documentary form. Throughout the semester students will produce short documentaries and mockumentaries. They complete a series of assignments including on-the-street interviews about real and fake news items, fake biographical videos, mockumentaries and class presentations on the issue of trust between the director and viewer. The goal of the class is to build a complex discourse around issues of representation, trust, and responsibility by examining how the technological advancement in media production has altered our perception of the “real” and how it is often manipulated for emotional and political impact. We approach the material as both critical media makers and devoted viewers.

    Prerequisites: MPFV220 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  

  • MPFV244 Imaginative Pre-Production 3 cr.

    Pre-Production is an art form unto itself whether the end goal is clarifying the essence of a project, or clearly communicating the director’s vision to the cast and crew. In this multi-media production course we will explore a wide range of pre-visualization masterpieces through the techniques of artists who are as varied as Alfred Hitchcock, Matthew Barney, Robert Smithson, Cindy Sherman and Agnes Martin. We’ll delve into multiple types of storyboards, from hand-drawn to photo realistic to computer generated, create relational lists, mash-up visual source collages, shoot real-time video reenactments, and examine possibilities for timing, lighting and color palettes. Students will compile an image source bank in order to develop their personal pre-productive style and complete multiple projects.

    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
  

  • MPFV261 Handmade Film 3 cr.

    This course is designed to introduce the student to the physicality of film by directly painting onto film and hand-processing film. No previous experience required.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  

  • MPFV300 Sound Design for Film 3 cr.

    This course will offer an in depth look at the use of recorded sound within the context of moving image production. Live sound and expanded cinema experiments will also be encouraged. Students will be expected to produce 2-3 sound film/video pieces during the course of the semester and are expected to come prepared to develop their own work under guidance of the course instructor. Time each week will be allocated to technical demonstrations of studio equipment (including various workshops exploring Pro-Tools audio software), recording and mixing experiments, and discussions on the many aesthetic and conceptual frameworks of cinematic sound. Examples from the history of cinematic sound will be screened on a weekly basis throughout the semester. In addition to weekly course meetings, students will be expected to meet certain scheduled benchmarks in the production of their projects.

    Prerequisites: MPFV245

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • MPFV307 Creative Nonfiction Film 3 cr.

    Creative nonfiction is a relatively new genre in literature, media and communications that is expanding and evolving continually. “Creative” refers to the craft and attention to form in presenting nonfiction. The genre of creative nonfiction film has almost infinite possibilities, ranging from personal memoir to film essay to dramatized reportage. The genre offers greater flexibility and freedom to create nonfiction film than traditional documentary modes. Students will engage in producing films that are grounded in real world facts and events with equal emphasis on form. The main question for this class is what is the relationship between Self and Other, and between Art and Truth. Throughout the course students will engage in the discourse of art, truth and fiction as they produce their own work. Students will focus on how to do research, how to use the tools of fiction film such as constructing mise-en-scene, working with cinematic narration (not necessarily voice over), and find a personal approach to form that suits the subject matter. Students will explore the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, and wrestle with their own subjectivity and authorship in creating films based on actual events and experiences. This class is a junior level production course. Students will shoot film and/or video.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 or by permission of the instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • 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
  

  • 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.

    Building on the basic techniques of non-linear editing this elective course serves as a logical next step in mastering Avid non-linear editing. Students study editing from an aesthetic rather than a technical perspective, to enhance editing skills beyond functional, software-driven techniques. We examine how an editor creates a sense of time, space, tone, and rhythm in a film or moving image project. Sound/image relationships, including continuity and discontinuity, and professional and non-traditional working procedures are all examined through short editing assignments.

    Prerequisites: MPFV220 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • MPFV320 Creative Lighting and Projection 3 cr.

    This course will deepen the student’s understanding of basic cinematography and introduce the student to studio lighting. In this course, students will explore how cinematography is in the service of overall directorial or creative intent, while liberated to explore its own visual language. Technical and aesthetic concerns are given equal weight. This is a workshop class where every week the class lights and shoots a student’s project.

    Prerequisites: MPFV211 or by permission of instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • 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
  

  • MPFV336X Scriptwriting II 3 cr.

    Scriptwriting II builds upon the skills learned in Narrative Scriptwriting. Students will continue their study of narrative scriptwriting through examining a wide variety of genres. Students have the option of producing a feature length script or a series of shorter scripts based upon original ideas.

    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.

    This survey class views film and video works by contemporary artists and media makers, in the context of historical works. Students meet with the film and video artists presenting work at MassArt Film Society as well as the instructor for discussions of the work shown. Attendance is mandatory.

    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 works by contemporary artists and media makers, in the context of historical works. Students meet with the film and video artists presenting work at MassArt Film Society as well as the instructor for discussions of the work shown. Attendance is mandatory.

    Prerequisites: MPFV402 or by permission of instructor

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    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