Film and Media Arts Major
The film and media arts major combines critical studies with production experiences and provides students with a foundation of theory and application. Blending creative expression with technology, students study critical perspectives and practice implementing techniques in traditional (16 mm) as well as emerging (digital) formats. Courses cover narrative, documentary and experimental forms and utilize both single- and multiple-camera approaches. Students must take a minimum of 60 credit hours to fulfill the requirements of the major.
The FMA curriculum is divided into five categories. (1) Core: students must take all listed courses (12 credit hours). (2) Production: students select 16 credit hours as described below. (3) Critical Studies: students take both American Cinema and World Cinema along with two more courses, for 16 credit hours. (4) Capstone Senior Seminar: required in either Film and Digital Production or Cinema Studies (4 credit hours). (5) Electives: students select 12 credit hours of FMA courses, as described later in this section, with the advice of their faculty adviser.
Degree Requirements
Core
| COM 226 | Introduction to Scriptwriting for Motion Pictures and Television | 4 |
| COM 232 | Visual Literacy | 4 |
| COM 241 | Introduction to Sound, Image and Motion | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Production (16 Credit Hours)
Two of the following courses:
| COM 312 | Narrative Production | 4 |
| COM 313 | Documentary Production | 4 |
| COM 314 | Experimental Filmmaking | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 8 |
Two of the following courses:
| COM 331 | The Creative Triangle | 4 |
| COM 340 | Screenwriting I | 4 |
| COM 342 | Producing for Motion Picture and Digital Media | 4 |
| COM 343 | Advanced Post-Production Techniques | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 8 |
Critical Studies (16 credit hours)
Two of the following courses:
| COM 300 | The Documentary Tradition | 4 |
| COM 335 | Survey of Independent Video and Film | 4 |
| COM 360 | Film Directors | 4 |
| COM 361 | Film Genres | 4 |
| COM 370 | Women, Film and Popular Culture | 4 |
| COMH 390 | Ethnicity in Film and Literature (Honors) | 4 |
| COM 435 | Women Directors: Theory and Criticism | 4 |
| COM 445 | The Image and the Reality | 4 |
| COM 450 | Experimental Cinema: History and Theory | 4 |
| COM 455 | Film Theory and Criticism | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 8 |
Capstone Senior Seminar (4 credit hours)
Students must take one capstone course that involves either a film or digital production or a paper in cinema studies.
| COM 460 | Senior Seminar in Film and Digital Production | 4 |
| COM 465 | Senior Seminar in Cinema Studies | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 4 |
FMA Electives (12 credit hours)
Students must take at least three electives from Production or Cinema Studies categories listed above or from the following courses:
Total Credit Hours: 60