Film and Television
College of Communication
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Screen Language: The Aesthetics, Grammar, and Rhetoric of the Moving Image
COM FT 201
Students study and practice the art and craft of expressing themselves persuasively through audio-visual media. The aim is both to familiarize students with the conventions of screen language and to test the validity of those norms. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation. 4 cr.
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Understanding Film
COM FT 250
Introduces students to key aesthetic aspects of film. Students study a variety of historical and contemporary examples of fiction and nonfiction films that illustrate the expressive possibilities of image and sound. Students learn to analyze, explain, and write about these formal elements. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.
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Understanding Television
COM FT 303
Examines television (and its foundation in radio) as it emerged, stabilized as an aesthetic and technological form, interacted with other media, was regulated and deregulated, and was shaped by and shaped the culture around it. Uses the sitcom and soap opera genres as aesthetic through-lines for this study and examines their evolution in historical contexts. Throughout the semester, we focus on broadcasting's beginnings, expansion, establishment as the national mass medium in America, and eventual fracturing into niches. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. 4 cr.
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Storytelling for Film and Television
COM FT 310
An introduction to the art and craft of storytelling through the moving image. Particular emphasis is given to writing short scripts. Topics covered include character development and narrative structure as it applies to shorts, features, and episodic television. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation. 4 cr.
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Production I
COM FT 353
Prereq: (COM FT 201) with a grade of B- or higher. An intensive course in all the fundamental aspects of motion picture production. Students learn to use cameras, sound recording equipment, and editing software and then apply these skills to several short productions. Emphasizes the language of visual storytelling and the creative interplay of sound and image. 4 cr.
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Super Heroes in Film
COM FT 460
Online Offering. Focusing on films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this course explores the thematic and aesthetic aspects that have made super hero films so popular. Students learn and utilize basic film studies terminology (the close-up, the long take, cross-cutting, etc.) in order to understand how filmmakers create meaning through the use of specific cinematic techniques. In addition, the course contextualizes MCU films by explaining how each has operated within Marvel's cinematic history and its competition with DC. Taking the films themselves and their historical context into consideration, students are introduced to a basic understanding of the field of film studies and the types of analyses those working in the field undertake. 4 cr.
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Promoting Your Content Online
COM FT 521
Teaches students how to market their creative works online. Students learn to identify targeted marketing and distribution platforms for new websites, pilots, video channels, series, and blogs. Explores how to use social media to find an audience, generate buzz, and identify potential funding sources. Students also learn practical entrepreneurial tools needed to organize their creative work as a business venture. 4 cr.
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Writing Television Situation Comedy Scripts
COM FT 522
Intense writing workshop that teaches how to write professional sitcom scripts. Elements of character, dramatic story structure, how comedy is created, how scenes build and progress a story, formal story outlines, dialogue, the business of sitcom writing, pitching, arc, and comedic premise are analyzed. The class becomes a sitcom writing team for a current hit series and writes an original class spec script to understand the process of group writing employed on most sitcoms. Also, students write their own personal spec scripts with individual conferences with the professor. 4 cr.
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Special Topics
COM FT 554
Topic for Summer 1 2023: Gangster Film. Studies the rise of the gangster film in America and its growth as a genre. Examines the conventions of the genre, drawing on early classic gangster films, and then discuss how later gangster films complicated those conventions. Some films discussed: Scarface, Public Enemy, G-Men, Gun Crazy, White Heat, Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather I and II, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, American Gangster, Gomorrah, Black Mass. 4 cr.
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2D Animation Basics
COM FT 590
Prereq: (COM FT 201). From TV shows to feature films and webisodes, 2D animation is more popular than ever, but how is it created? This fun yet intensive hands-on beginner course teaches all the fundamental skills needed to create great 2D character animation--the way it's done in the industry, with Adobe Animate CC. Through progressive lessons, students learn basic drawing and character design, storytelling, and how to make characters walk, talk, and come to life. The course covers acting, timing, and facial expressions, drawing "keys and in-betweens," scene composition, color backgrounds, and more. The history of animation and industry trends are also discussed. Students complete numerous projects including a fully produced animated short film. Many of the skills covered in this class can also be applied to 3D and experimental animation, filmmaking, art, and broadcast design. 4 cr.