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Cinematic Arts

[ courses | faculty ]

Institute of Arts and Humanities
Ridge Walk Academic Complex, Sixth Floor
9625 Scholars Drive North
858-534-0491
https://iah.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 (fifty-two units)

Studies and History Courses

Choose any five courses:

COMM 101. Introduction to Audiovisual Media Practices

COMM 101T. MPL: Topics in Production

COMM 103D. CM: Documentary History and Theory

COMM 106F. CI: Film Industry

COMM 107. Visual Culture

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 133. Twentieth-Century China: Cultural History

HIEA 153. Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Korea

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 111. Special Topics in Popular Culture in Historical Context

LTCS 119. Asian American Film and Media

LTCS 150. Topics in Cultural Studies

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 120. Popular Literature and 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

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

Production series

Choose one course:

LTWR 110. Screen Writing

TDPW 104. Screen Writing

VIS 177. Scripting Strategies

Choose any three courses:

Editing and Sound

COMM 101D. MPL: Nonlinear/Digital Editing

COMM 101N. MPL: Sound Production and Manipulation

COMM 101K. MPL: Documentary Sketchbook

VIS 175. Editing Theory and Practice

VIS 178. Sound Theory and Practice

Animation

FILM 179. Fundamentals of Animation

FILM 180. Advanced 3D 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