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Film and Video Arts (FVA, FILM)
Professor: Peterson (Chair)
Assistant Professor: Reese
The major and minor in Film and Video Arts offer courses that cover development and production techniques for a variety of film genres such as narrative, documentary, experimental film, video installation, and stop motion animation. The Film Studies minor focuses on the theory and history of film. The Screenwriting minor focuses on writing skills as they apply to cinematic storytelling.
FILM AND VIDEO ARTS (FVA)
Film and Video Arts is an innovative major that helps students develop skills in digital filmmaking and storytelling in a wide range of genres such as narrative, documentary, experimental film, animation and stop motion animation, and video installation. The major has a strong relationship to other disciplines at the college that address content incorporated in film and video arts, including art, theater, creative writing, electronic music, business, sociology, political science, and history. The Film and Video Arts curriculum at Lycoming College teaches the theory, skills, and grammar of the visual language necessary to work with the moving image. Upper level development and pre-production, production, and post-production courses, film theory and history courses, and the opportunity to do a professional internship provide the conceptual, technical, and theoretical knowledge necessary to create compelling films and videos and compete in the industry.
Major Requirements
All students majoring in Film and Video Arts must complete the core courses and the required number of courses from each additional category listed below:
CORE COURSES:
FVA 200 Digital Film and Video Production I
FVA 300 Digital Film and Video Production II
FVA 340 Special Topics in Filmmaking and Video
FVA 400 Digital Film and Video III/Senior Project
Participation in the Senior Film and Video festival is also required.
Specialized Courses (choose three, at least one must be at the 300 level):
FVA 120 Stop Motion Animation
FVA 220 Sound for the Screen
FVA 230 Editing and Post
FVA 310 The Moving Image in Series
FVA 320 Narrative Filmmaking
FVA 330 Documentary Filmmaking
Foundations of Film Theory and History (choose two):
ARHI any one 300-level course (including FVA 322)
FILM 221 Screenwriting
FILM any one 200-level course
FILM any one 300-level course
FVA 100 Introduction to Visual Media
Fine Arts Courses (choose two):
ART 212 Color and Design
ART 213 3D Animation
ART 227 OR 240 Photography I or Digital Photography I
ART 243 Introduction to Digital Art
ART 344 Time Based Digital Media
Generalist Courses (choose two):
ART 449 Practicum
BUS any course
CCOM any course
ENTR any course
MUS 224 Music and Technology I
MUS 225 Music and Technology II
Film and Video Arts Colloquium
All majors must successfully complete two semesters of FVA 248: Film and Video Arts Colloquium.
Capstone Requirement
All majors must successfully complete FVA 400.
Diversity and Writing Courses
The following courses satisfy the Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement: ARHI 320/FVA 322, FILM 210 and 214, and FVA 322. A list of courses that, when scheduled as W courses, count toward the Writing Requirement, can be found on the Registrar’s website and in the GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS section of the catalog.
Minor Requirements
The department offers three minors:
The Film and Video Arts minor will be of interest to students who want to use film as a medium to communicate the content of their majors. Students of various majors might want to create a documentary film or educational website on the subject of their senior research. Minors in Film and Video Arts may pursue graduate studies and/or employment in a variety of fields including film or video production, advertising, and cultural analysis. Five courses are required: ART 227 or 240, ART 243, FVA 200 and 300, and any of the following: FVA 220, 230, or one additional FVA 300-level course.
The minor in Film Studies develops skills in media writing and the critical analysis of film, television, and video as an art form. Minors develop skills in researching film history and thinking creatively about contemporary attitudes, values, and beliefs associated with film. The minor requires any four courses from the following list:
- Any course from the FILM prefix
- FVA 100
- One of the following may be substituted: GERM 221, PHIL 145, REL 232, or when focused on film, FRN 321, FRN 426, GERM 426, SPAN 321, or SPAN 426.
In the Screenwriting minor, students learn the art of screenwriting through courses that focus on writing, film history, film genres, and filmmaking production, all of which combined, teach cinematic storytelling skills. The minor requires six courses: CRWR 240, CRWR 342, FILM 221, FILM 325, one additional FILM course, and FVA 200.
100
INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL MEDIA
This lecture course is an introduction to the history and methodology behind the digital processes of a broad range of visual media such as in advertising, filmmaking, photography, and video art.
120
STOP MOTION ANIMATION
Takes the student through various aspects of stop motion animation. Includes analyzing animation shorts, developing concepts, and the production of stop motion animations. Emphasis is on conceptualization, creativity, and visual aesthetics. Intended for beginners (experience with creating videos or films is not necessary).
200
DIGITAL FILM AND VIDEO I
Introduces students to the basics of digital filmmaking. Topics include the principles, techniques, and fundamentals of the development stage of digital filmmaking, including storyboards and treatments, as well as film production and post-production. Students will engage in film screenings and technical demonstrations related to visual storytelling and editing.
220
SOUND FOR THE SCREEN
A concept-driven course where students learn the principles of sound design techniques such as folley sound, building soundtracks, using field recorders, and related sound editing software. This course will help students to understand sounds in the world around us and how they play a part in creative film and sound-based projects.
230
EDITING AND POST
This post-production course emphasizes editing techniques such as color correction, understanding pacing and tone, visual effects, and sound editing for film. The course focuses on editing for a variety of film genres and how to utilize editing as a transformative tool to combine both visuals and sound elements to covey a specific meaning or story. Prerequisite: FVA 200.
248
FILM AND VIDEO ARTS COLLOQUIUM
Students are required to successfully complete the non-credit Colloquium for a total of two semesters through academic experiences such as WRLC and Crossing the Frame Productions. Enrollment in other similar academic experiences on or off campus can be accepted with departmental approval. Pass/Fail. Non-credit.
300
DIGITAL FILM AND VIDEO II
A continuation of the skills developed in FVA 200, including film and video project research, title sequences, and color grading. An introduction to digital image manipulation and motion graphics as they apply to film and video. Prerequisite: FVA 200 or consent of instructor. ART 243 is strongly recommended but not required.
310
THE MOVING IMAGE IN SERIES
This production course prepares students to work with the moving image as a series of video shorts that stem from one concept or idea. The course is strongly encouraged for the FVA major; it aids in preparation for the senior project. Prerequisite: FVA 200.
320
NARRATIVE FILMMAKING
An introduction to fiction filmmaking through lecture, screenings, and hands-on demonstrations. Principles of cinematography, technical processes, and continuity editing are covered. Students also discuss storytelling techniques and analyze the techniques used by established filmmakers. Prerequisite: FVA 200. FILM 221 is recommended but not required. Alternate years.
322
VISUAL MEDIA IN THE DIGITAL AGE
The historical study of new media, with emphasis on video and interactive art forms, in relationship to the development of television, the World Wide Web, and social networks. Cross-listed as ARHI 320. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
330
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
Through a combination of lecture, screening, and hands-on demonstrations, this course familiarizes students with planning, writing, developing, and shooting non-fiction films. Students also discuss storytelling techniques and analyze the techniques used by established filmmakers. Prerequisite: FVA 200. Alternate years.
340
SPECIAL TOPICS IN FILMMAKING AND VIDEO
Study of selected subject matter such as Motion Graphics and Special Effects, Advanced Stop Motion Animation, Lighting and Green Screen, or Installation Video. Prerequisite: FVA 200. May be repeated for credit when topics are different.
400
SENIOR PROJECT
Advanced production of documentary, narrative, animation, or experimental video, multi-media, or interactive media incorporating advanced directing, shooting, lighting, sound, effects, and editing. This is the capstone course for the Film and Video Arts major. Prerequisite: Two FVA courses at the 300 level or above and senior status.
FILM STUDIES (FILM)
210
FILM ART: MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECES
Study of selected classic experimental and narrative films from around the world as well as from Hollywood. Consideration of what makes a classic through examination of such topics as acting, writing, directing, style, and genre. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement. Alternate years.
212
MULTICULTURAL AMERICA ON SCREEN
Introduction to the art of understanding moving images to discover the cultural values of American filmmakers and their audiences. Comparison of the ways in which films and television use comedy, drama, and the documentary to examine topics having to do with values, beliefs, and cultural diversity in America.
214
SURVEY OF LANDMARKS IN FILM HISTORY
Close reading of selected films from around the world in an historical context using basic film theory to guide the reading with a major emphasis on cinematography, editing, and mise-en-scene. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or 107. Fulfills Domestic Cultural Diversity Requirement.
215
WATCHING CARTOONS
Introduces students to the history of animation from its inception to today. The focus will be on independent animators and filmmakers who approach animation as a process, a craft, a representational idiom, and as an artistic medium that has the capacity to address a wide range of subject matter.
220
TOPICS IN GENRES, ACTORS, AND DIRECTORS.
Comparative study of film genres, directors, and/or performers from an historical perspective. Prerequisite: ENGL 106 or 107. May be repeated for credit when topics are different.
221
INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING
Training in methods of creating the original screenplay for film and/or television. Emphasis is placed on scene and plot construction, character development, and using the language of film to tell a story. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107.
300
FILM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Close analysis of selected documentary, propaganda, and social problem films that seek to influence our perceptions of reality. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107.
315
CREATIVITY IN FILM
Study of ground-breaking artists who developed new ways of relating form to content in independent, experimental, animated, and digital films. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107.
320
TOPICS IN FILM AND CULTURE
Exploration of film and related media texts in a particular historical context. Includes a study of the art, music, literature, political, and social framework of the period and culture under consideration. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107. May be repeated for credit when topics are different.
325
SPECIAL TOPICS IN SCREENWRITING
Students become familiar with how to develop thematic, emotional, and visual unity through structure, character development, scene shaping and dialogue. We address effective writing techniques for achieving complex visual and emotional rhythm. Topics may include feature, episodic shorts, short films, and specified genre. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107.
326
MEDIA CRITICISM
Practice in analyzing print, auditory, visual, and digital texts from a cultural studies point of view. Emphasis is placed on basic methods of semiotic theory and application of structuralist analysis and frame theory. Prerequisites: ENGL 106 or 107 and sophomore standing.