Film

Introduces students to the language of motion pictures and to critical tools for discussing and writing about the 7th art – the art of film. By studying how movies function aesthetically, and how they become meaningful to audiences, students will acquire critical and formal analytical skills that will both enhance their appreciation for cinema and serve them more broadly as consumers and/or producers of visual culture. Topics will include mise-en-scène, framing, image composition, photographic space, colour, editing, sound, and narrative structure.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 2022 and MAAC 2022.

This course introduces students to major stages in the development of film as an international art. Topics include Silent Cinema, German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, Classical Hollywood, Italian Neorealism and Modernism, French New Wave, Japanese New Wave, British New Wave, Australian New Wave, Experimental Cinema, Cinema Novo, New German Cinema, Postcolonial Cinema, Bollywood, the New Hollywood, American Independent Cinema, Dogme 95, and others. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of ENGL 2909 and FILM 2909. 

An introduction to the fundamental concepts and procedures of visual and audio production, including the techniques and aesthetics of shooting, lighting, and editing. Over the course of the term, students will engage in a series of short exercises covering a variety of styles, genres, and modes. Taught cooperatively with the New Brunswick Filmmakers' Co-op. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of the following courses: FILM 2998, MAAC 2998, FILM 3999 “Video Production”, MAAC 3999 “Video Production”, ENGL 3999 “Film and Video Production”. Students may take both FILM 2998 (or MAAC 2998) and FILM 3999 “Editing and Post-Production” (or MAAC 3999 “Editing and Post-Production”).

This second course in the production sequence puts emphasis on applications of skills learned in FILM 2998/MAAC 2998 by focusing on production of several short projects in various formats. Group work and analysis of student productions constitute the main course activities. Taught cooperatively with the New Brunswick Filmmakers' Co-op. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 2999, MAAC 2999, FILM 3998, MAAC 3998.

Beginning with the earliest silent movies and concluding with National Socialist propaganda films, this course offers an introduction to a prolific and important era in German film history: the Weimar Republic and pre-WWII period, 1918-1939. Our discussions will situate the films within larger political and cultural discourses. Emphasis will be placed on such topics as the cinematic response to the trauma of WWI; German national identity; expressionism and modernity; the politics of gender and sexuality; the impact of sound on film aesthetics; the relationship between cinema and other media; the ethics of film production. Films to be studied include features by directors such as Lang, Lubitsch, Murnau, Pabst, Riefenstahl, Sagan, von Sternberg, and Wiene. In English. 

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of GER 3066, WLCS 3066, CCS 3066, FILM 3066, and MAAC 3066.

This course surveys the history and aesthetics of non-fiction filmmaking from the birth of cinema to the digital age. It will examine epistemological and ethical questions raised by documentary's encounter with reality and its attempt to present “the truth.” Films screened are drawn from an array of nations and range from the personal to the political as well as more experimental and avant-garde works. The course includes a film production component as students apply what they have learned in class by producing a short non-fiction film as a final project.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 3075 and MAAC 3075.

Focuses on the first half-century of filmmaking in Canada and the nation's long struggle to develop and sustain a functioning film industry in the shadow of Hollywood. Readings and screenings trace the history of the movies in Canada from the silent era to the 1970s. Issues raised may include Canadian/American relations, national and regional identities, tensions between art and entertainment, media and cultural policy, representation of race, class, and gender, and relation of Canadian film to other media (TV, radio, video) and other arts (painting, music, literature) in Canada.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of CCS 3082, FILM 3082, WLCS 3082, and MAAC 3082.

This course guides writers through the basics of short format screenplay structures and introduces them to basic story, character, and dialogue principles.  Students will be exposed to a wide range of short films in a variety of genres and forms so that they can explore the limits and possibilities of briefer forms of cinematic storytelling.

This intensive course guides writers through the basics of feature screenplay structure, character principles, archetypal storytelling, writing and rewriting strategies, and ‘the biz.’ Classes are a combination of lectures, discussion, and workshops.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 3186 and ENGL 3186.

This course introduces students to the major debates in the field of film theory, including (but not limited to): Early Silent Film Theory, the Soviet Montage-Theorists, Russian Formalism and the Bakhtin School, the Historical Avant-gardes, French Auteur Theory and its Americanization, Third World Film and Theory, Genre and Authorship, Marxist film theory, Spectatorship, Feminist Film Theory, Cognitive and Analytic Theory, Postcolonial Film Theory, and Race and Ethnicity in Cinema. NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of ENGL 3903 and FILM 3903. 

The Film Genre course explores the history, iconography, and socio-cultural significance of one particular film genre by means of a number of examples. The specific focus of the course varies from year to year.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 3907 and ENGL 3907. 

The National Cinemas course explores significant historical periods, movements, styles, film theories, directors, and topics in the development of particular national and/or transnational cinemas. The specific focus of the course varies from year to year.

NOTE: Students can obtain credit for only one of FILM 3917 and ENGL 3917.

This course introduces students to the processes and technical aspects of video production. Topics include videography fundamentals, digital camera techniques, location sound recording, lighting for video, scriptwriting for documentary and dramatic productions, post-production picture editing and finishing. Various scriptwriting, shooting, and editing exercises are done in a small group environment. Taught cooperatively with the New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-op. NOTE: Students who already have credit for ENGL 3999 “Film and Video Production” cannot obtain credit for FILM 3999 "Editing and Post Production" or MAAC 3999. 

This full year course takes students through the entire process of production of a professional quality short film, from fundraising, budget planning, and pre-production work through the shoot to the final edit and on to the marketing and submission of the film to festivals. Students work together as a production team, taking on a variety of responsibilities while supervised by the instructor.