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Academic Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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Film/Video |
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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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
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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
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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
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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
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MPFV249 Editing I 3cr
This hands-on editing class introduces both
traditional and experimental editing techniques
on Avid nonlinear editing software. Through
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
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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
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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
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MPFV264 Performance for Camera 3cr.
This class is an introduction to working with performers, both in a traditional narrative
context and in a more experimental mode, with an emphasis on building performance for camera. The
class will take a experiential approach - the students work with each other, allowing their
experience as actor/performers to inform their choices as director/filmmakers. Trained actors
may be brought in at some point for additional experience. Topics covered include an overview of
traditional acting techniques, classical scene analysis, working with “non-actors” (including
oneself), and post-modern performance techniques. Selected viewings supplement each lesson, and
occasional guest speakers from the theater, film and art world bring further depth and context to
the subject matter.
Undergraduate Elective
Fall Only
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MPFV300 Advanced Sound Technique and Design 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. Time each week will be allocated to technical demonstrations of studio equipment (including
various workshops exploring Pro-Tools and Digital Performer 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.[Formerly Titled: Sound Design for Film]
Prerequisites: MPFV245
Hybrid Studio/Critique
Departmental Elective
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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MPFV326 Autobiographical Screenwriting: Working With Your Life Story 3cr
This screenwriting workshop examines ways to use and explore autobiography as the basis for a short script. Students create works that are autobiographical or autobiography-inspired, working in a range of genres and formats, from narrative (i.e. autobiography-based fiction) to film-essay, video art, and hybrid forms. Throughout the semester we view work by filmmakers and video artists who draw from their life story in different ways. There will be readings, critical and creative short writing assignments, and a final script/project. Prerequisite: Script 1 (in FV or LA) or equivalent experience and permission of instructor.
Prerequisites: MPFV-235 or LALW-338
Seminar
Fall
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MPFV327 The Business of Film/Video 3cr
This course provides the basics of business
practices for media creators. Topics include:
understanding the world of freelance, skills to
understand and execute production management,
creation of a proper budget and schedule,
communicating an effective brand for yourself and
your work, and learning to identify pitfalls in
development, pre-production, production,
post-production and beyond. Visiting speakers
include narrative and documentary producers, film
festival directors, museum curators, line
producers/UPM’s, and directors. No longer are
you just an artist, you are an entrepreneur.
After taking this course, students should have
learned foundational business skills for their
projects and present their work in the
professional arena. The course concentrates on
the moving image, but students of all mediums are
encouraged to register.
Hybrid Studio Critique
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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MPFV328 Video Installation 3cr
Video installation is a contemporary and
expanding art genre that intersects with the
world of video art, expanded cinema, sound,
performance, sculpture and new media. In this
intermediate to advanced course, students can
expand the current themes and styles of their
work by integrating various video installation
strategies such as: video with 2D or 3D objects,
site-specific or multiple-projection video
environments, mixing video with performative or
interactive elements.
Prerequisites: Students should be able to create their own video or other
moving image content: video, film, animation, computer
generated imagery.
Hybrid Studio Critique
Undergraduate Elective
Fall
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MPFV336 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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