Cinematic Arts
Institute of Arts and Humanities
Ridge Walk Academic Complex, Sixth Floor
9625 Scholars Drive North
858-534-0491
https://cinematicarts.ucsd.edu/
All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice.
The Major
The cinematic arts major is an interdisciplinary major for students eager to engage in the study and practices of film and filmmaking. Students will explore a wide range of film studies, including film histories, theories, directors, cultural perspectives, and more. In addition, students will take courses offering instruction in production techniques such as cinematography, directing, and upper-division courses in animation, editing, sound, visual effects, and screenwriting. The interdisciplinary nature of the major allows students to study cinematic arts through connection to related fields while completing a capstone thesis project.
The Cinematic Arts Major
Degree offered: Bachelor of Arts
The major in cinematic arts consists of seven lower-division courses and twelve upper-division courses. None of the major courses may be taken on a Pass/Not Pass basis.
Seven Lower-Division Core Courses (twenty-eight units)
Foundational Courses
All four courses are required:
FILM 71. Fundamentals of Cinematography
FILM 72. Fundamentals of Directing
FILM 73. Fundamentals of Editing
VIS 84. Film History
Choose three courses:
COMM 10. Introduction to Communication
COMM 20. Analysis of Media Forms and Cultures
COMM 30. Digital Media Literacy: Analyzing Forms, Practices, and Infrastructures of Mediated Public Life
HILD 14. Film and History in Latin America
TDGE 10. Theatre and Film
TDGE 11. Great Performances on Film
TDGE 12. Topics in Cinema and Race
TDTR 20. Dance on Film
VIS 6. Race, Gender, and Robots
VIS 7. Movie Magic from Melies to Marvel
VIS 70N. Introduction to Media
VIS 84B. Film Aesthetics
Twelve Upper-Division Core Course Requirements (forty-eight units)
Studies and History Courses
Choose any five courses:
CGS 119/LTCS 119. Asian American Film and Media
COMM 103D. CM: Documentary History and Theory
COMM 106F. CI: Film Industry
COMM 107. Visual Culture
COMM 118T. Television as a Cultural Form
COMM 135. Contemporary Minority Media Makers and the Festival Experience
COMM 137. Black Women Filmmakers
COMM 139. Examining Marvel’s Black Panther
COMM 140. Cinema in Latin America
COMM 142. Film Authorship
COMM 143. Science Fiction
ETHN 101. Ethnic Images in Film
ETHN 163F/TDGE 131. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
ETHN 163FR/TDGE 131R. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
HIEA 154. Korean History through Film
HIUS 122. History and Hollywood: America and the Movies since the Great Depression
LTAF 120. Literature and Film of Modern Africa
LTCS 119/CGS 119. Asian American Film and Media
LTCS 172. Special Topics in Screening Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality
LTEA 120A. Chinese Films
LTEA 120B. Taiwan Films
LTEA 120C. Hong Kong Films
LTEA 138. Japanese Films
LTEA 142. Korean Film, Literature, and Popular Culture
LTWL 157. Iranian Film
LTWL 180. Film Studies and Literature: Film History
LTWL 181. Film Studies and Literature: Film Movement
LTWL 183. Film Studies and Literature: Director’s Work
LTWL 184. Film Studies and Literature: Close Analysis of Filmic Text
RELI 150. Religion and Cinema
SOCI 105. Ethnographic Film: Media Methods
SOCI 150. Madness and the Movies
SOCI 172. Films and Society
SOCI 184. Gender and Film
SOCI 187. African Societies through Film
TDGE 124. Cult Films: Weirdly Dramatic
TDGE 125. Topics in Theatre and Film
TDGE 127. The Films of Spike Lee
TDGE 131/ETHN 163F. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
TDGE 131R/ETHN 163FR. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
USP 164. Cities in Film
VIS 150. Landmarks of World Cinema
VIS 150A. Seminar in Film History and Theory
VIS 151. Experimental Cinema
VIS 151A. Seminar in Media History and Theory
VIS 152. Media in Social Context
VIS 152D. Identity through Transnational Cinema
VIS 155. Media Artists at Work
VIS 156. Latino American Cinema
VIS 157. Environmentalism in Arts and Media
VIS 157D. US Civil Rights in Art and Media
VIS 194S. Fantasy in Film
The following courses frequently cover topics related to cinematic arts. Students should check the departments’ quarterly course descriptions and yearly course spreads for their applicability to the program and discuss if a petition is needed in advance with the adviser.
HIEA 133. Twentieth-Century China: Cultural History
HIEA 153. Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Korea
LTCS 111. Special Topics in Popular Culture in Historical Context
LTCS 150. Topics in Cultural Studies
LTWL 120. Popular Literature and Culture
Production series
Choose one screen writing course:
LTWR 110. Screen Writing
LTWR 110C. Screen Writing Craft
LTWR 110W. Screen Writing Workshop
TDPW 104. Screen Writing
VIS 177. Scripting Strategies
Choose any three courses:
General
COMM 101. Introduction to Audiovisual Media Practices
COMM 101T. MPL: Topics in Production
VIS 174. Media Sketchbook
Editing and Sound
COMM 101D. MPL: Nonlinear/Digital Editing
COMM 101K. MPL: Documentary Sketchbook
COMM 101N. MPL: Sound Production and Manipulation
VIS 175. Editing Theory and Practice
VIS 178. Sound Theory and Practice
Animation
FILM 179. Fundamentals of Animation
FILM 180. Advanced 3-D and CGI
TDGE 126. Storytelling and Design in Animation
VIS 172. Motion Design and Visual Effects
Shooting and Staging
FILM 182. Production Studio Technique
TDAC 110. Acting for the Camera
VIS 171. Digital Cinema: Theory and Practice
VIS 176. 16 mm Filmmaking
Practicum (one course/four units)
Required:
FILM 170. Cinematic Arts Practicum
Capstone/Thesis series (two courses/eight units)
To take place across two consecutive quarters.
Required:
FILM 184A. Thesis I
FILM 184B. Thesis II
The Minor
The cinematic arts minor provides students an exciting opportunity to examine the many facets of US and international cinema. Students interested in exploring cinema as a multidimensional art medium will engage in the analysis of cinematic works of various forms. Study of film genres, history, theories, directors, cultural perspectives, and more allow students to gain a robust understanding of cinema as a historical and contemporary means of expression. The interdisciplinary nature of the minor provides investigation of cinematic art through its connection to related fields such as communication, history, literature, sociology, theatre, and visual arts.
The cinematic arts minor was previously named the film studies minor. The requirements below apply to both.
Requirements
The minor requires completion of seven courses (twenty-eight units), at least five of which must be upper division. The seven courses chosen must be selected from at least two different departments.
ANSC 156. Mad Films: Cultural Studies of Mental Illness in Cinema
ANSC 166. Film and Culture in Asia
CGS 119/LTCS 119. Asian American Film and Media
COMM 10. Introduction to Communication
COMM 20. Analysis of Media Forms and Cultures
COMM 30. Digital Media Literacy
COMM 103D. CM: Documentary History and Theory
COMM 106F. Film Industry
COMM 106T. CI: Television Culture and the Public
COMM 107. Visual Culture
COMM 118T. CI: Television as a Cultural Form
COMM 135. Contemporary Minority Media Makers
COMM 137. Black Women Filmmakers
COMM 139. Examining Marvel’s Black Panther
COMM 140. Cinema in Latin America
COMM 142. Film Authorship
COMM 143. Science Fiction
ETHN 101. Ethnic Images in Film
ETHN 163F/TDGE 131. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
ETHN 163FR/TDGE 131R. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
FILM 71. Fundamentals of Cinematography
FILM 72. Fundamentals of Directing
FILM 73. Fundamentals of Editing
HIEA 154. Korean History through Film
HILD 14. Latin American History and Film
HIUS 122. History and Hollywood: America and the Movies since the Great Depression
LTAF 120. Literature and Film of Modern Africa
LTCS 119/CGS 119. Asian American Film and Media
LTCS 172. Special Topics in Screening Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality
LTEA 120A. Chinese Films
LTEA 120B. Taiwan Films
LTEA 120C. Hong Kong Films
LTEA 138. Japanese Films
LTEA 142. Korean Film, Literature, and Popular Culture
LTWL 157. Iranian Film
LTWL 180. Film Studies and Literature: Film History
LTWL 181. Film Studies and Literature: Film Movement
LTWL 183. Film Studies and Literature: Director’s Work
LTWL 184. Film Studies and Literature: Close Analysis of Filmic Text
LTWR 110. Screen Writing
LTWR 110C. Screen Writing Craft
LTWR 110W. Screen Writing Workshop
RELI 150. Religion and Cinema
SOCI 105. Ethnographic Film: Media Methods
SOCI 150. Madness and the Movies
SOCI 172. Films and Society
SOCI 184. Gender and Film
SOCI 187. African Societies through Film
TDGE 10. Theatre and Film
TDGE 11. Great Performances on Film
TDGE 12. Topics in Cinema and Race
TDGE 122. Films of Woody Allen
TDGE 124. Cult Films: Weirdly Dramatic
TDGE 125. Topics in Theatre and Film
TDGE 127. The Films of Spike Lee
TDGE 131/ETHN 163F. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
TDGE 131R/ETHN 163FR. Playing Indian: Native American and First Nations Cinema
TDPW 104. Screenwriting
TDTR 20. Dance on Film
USP 164. Cities in Film
VIS 6. Race, Gender, and Robots
VIS 7. Movie Magic from Méliès to Marvel
VIS 70N. Introduction to Media
VIS 84. Film History
VIS 84B. Film Aesthetics
VIS 150. Landmarks of World Cinema
VIS 150A. Seminar in Film History
VIS 151. Experimental Cinema
VIS 151A. Seminar in Media History
VIS 152. Media in Social Context
VIS 152D. Identity through Transnational Cinemas
VIS 155. Media Artists at Work
VIS 156. Latino American Cinema
VIS 157. Environmentalism in Arts and Media
VIS 157D. US Civil Rights in Art and Media
VIS 171. Digital Cinema
VIS 172. Motion Design and Visual Effects
VIS 174. Media Sketchbook
VIS 175. Editing Theory and Practice
VIS 176. 16mm Film
VIS 177. Scripting Strategies
VIS 178. Sound Theory and Practice
VIS 194S. Fantasy in Film
The following courses frequently cover topics related to cinematic arts. Students should check the departments’ quarterly course descriptions and yearly course spreads for their applicability to the program and discuss if a petition is needed in advance with the adviser.
HIEA 133. Twentieth-Century China: Cultural History
HIEA 153. Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Korea
LTCS 111. Special Topics in Popular Culture in Historical Context
LTCS 150. Topics in Cultural Studies
LTWL 120. Popular Literature and Culture
LTWL 128. Introduction to Semiotics