Cinema Courses | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

This course requires students to attend a selection of events and presentations by leading practitioners and thinkers on media arts, scholarship, contemporary practices hosted by the University through the semester. These events include exhibitions, lectures, screenings, performances, conversations, and readings. The goal is to foster a deeper appreciation of art and culture and its significance in our lives.

Credit Hours: 1

(University Core Curriculum) An introduction to critical tools for analyzing moving images, featuring screenings of important and innovative films and video art, from early cinema to social media. Formal and technical aspects of various screen media and genres are examined in cultural and historical context. Emphasis on the relationships among aesthetic expression, media technologies, and social formations. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) (University Honors Program) An introduction to world history of cinema from its origins to the present, featuring important and influential films of various types and genres from many countries. Basic formal and technical aspects of the medium and means of analysis are also introduced. Students purchase texts. It is also the required foundation course for the Cinema Specialization in the Cinema & Photography major. Course restricted to University Honors Program students. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

Intro to basic digital photo and video media tools including basic camera functions, Apple i-life software, image capture, transfer, and basic editing. Students produce a final photo or video project published via DVD or the Web. Students use SIUC Mac labs or personal computers for hands-on assignments outside of class. Students must have a simple digital camera or camera phone capable of still image and short video capture. Lab fee: $35.

Credit Hours: 3

Used to recognize work experience related to the student's educational objective. One to six hours of credit may be applied toward graduation requirements following departmental evaluation and approval. Mandatory Pass/Fail. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 1-6

Credit is awarded to occupational educational experiences, beyond the high school level, related to cinema, photography, and/or media arts. Experiences may involve life-long learning, apprenticeships; military, corporate, or volunteer organizations or non-accredited post-secondary vocational-technical institutions. Credit will be determined by department evaluation. This credit may only be applied to general electives. Restricted to Cinema majors.

Credit Hours: 1-24

Various beginning level topics courses Cinema, Photography or Intermedia Arts. A) History/Theory/Criticism. May be repeated up to 12 credits as topics vary.

Credit Hours: 3

Various beginning level topics courses Cinema, Photography or Intermedia Arts. B) Production. May be repeated up to 12 credits as topics vary.

Credit Hours: 3

Various beginning level topics courses Cinema, Photography or Intermedia Arts. C) Scriptwriting. May be repeated up to 12 credits as topics vary.

Credit Hours: 3

Various beginning level topics courses Cinema, Photography or Intermedia Arts. D) Interdisciplinary. May be repeated up to 12 credits as topics vary.

Credit Hours: 3

Student initiated production of a short narrative film based on original or adapted script. Each student will perform a particular crew role in consultation with the film's producers. Roles include: assistant director, production manager, still photographer, assistant camera, location sound crew, script supervisor, gaffer, grips, production assistants, etc. Activities include pre- and post-production, production management, research on crew roles, analysis of films and photography relevant to the topic, style, and genre of the proposed project, equipment demonstrations. Faculty review and approval of student film proposal required before course will be offered. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 3

Individual research or projects in Cinema at the beginning or intermediate level. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-6

This production course is the first in a two-semester sequence. Problems, themes, concepts, and issues call upon the media maker to utilize and explore a diversity of mediums, tools, techniques and approaches to produce a portfolio of creative, research-based storytelling projects. These essential competencies may include creative writing for media, illustration, composition and design, interactivity, installation, performance, and audio, film and video production and editing. Equipment Usage fee: $75.

Credit Hours: 3

This production course is the second in a two-semester sequence. The media maker will be called upon to achieve a greater proficiency and depth of experience with media arts practices and to produce a portfolio of creative, research-based storytelling projects. These experiences may include creative writing for media, illustration, composition and design, interactivity, installation, performance, and audio, film and video production and editing. Prerequisite: CIN 301 Media Arts Practice I with a C or better. Equipment Usage fee: $75.

Credit Hours: 3

In this course we will explore the process of creativity as we explore a variety of media arts practices. We will consider what we make, how we make it, and we will ask, why? How do we generate and capture ideas? How can our research become part of this process? Through individual and collaborative group activities you will engage in a series of media projects that ask you to experiment, visualize, question, look, listen, play, fail, iterate, and reflect. As part of a unique sequence of foundations courses, Integrative Studio I seeks to integrate history, theory and practice by directly addressing the ideas and concepts taught in CIN 361, New Media Now, and is co-taught by both instructors. These two courses work to bridge theory and practice as students complete projects which connects their studio practice and their scholarly research. Our shared goal is to integrate making, writing, and reflecting essential components of the creative process. Media and Materials fee: $75.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is a continuation of Integrative Studio I, as we continue our explorations of the process of creativity while exploring a variety of media arts practices focusing on adaptation and interdisciplinarity. We will consider what we make, how we make it, and we will ask why? How do we generate and capture ideas? How can our research become part of this process? Through individual and collaborative group activities you will engage in a series of media projects that ask you to experiment, visualize, question, look, listen, play, fail, iterate, and reflect. As part of a unique sequence of foundations courses, Integrative Studio II seeks to integrate history, theory and practice by directly addressing the ideas and concepts taught in CIN 362, New Media Then, and is co-taught by both instructors. These two courses work to bridge theory and practice as students complete projects which connects their studio practice and their scholarly research. Our shared goal is to integrate making, writing, and reflecting essential components of the creative process. Media and Materials fee: $75.

Credit Hours: 3

The cinema as a communicative and expressive media. Study of film types illustrated by screenings of selected films. May be repeated as topics vary. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) A study of the relationship between American Studies and American audio-visual culture. Sample topics include: the development of the 20th century American city with emphasis on the importance of mass media to that process; the American landscape in cinema; the American West. Students will learn the methods of American and cinema studies, and write papers and deliver oral presentations about those methods. No prerequisites. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) (Same as HIST 358I) Introduces students to Peace Studies as an interdisciplinary field, focusing on the history, theory, and practice of alternatives to violence. Considers the structural and systemic reasons for violence and war; the history of peace movements; the role of media in escalating violence and providing solutions. Lecture-discussion format with presentations by speakers from a variety of disciplines. No prerequisites.

Credit Hours: 3

A survey of the current media landscape. Focus on the social, political, economic, cultural, aesthetic, legal, and ethical ramifications of media digitization and globalization. Critical analysis of form and content through case studies from various media platforms and genres. Required for RTD/CIN majors. Screening fee: $35.

Credit Hours: 3

A survey of media history from oral storytelling to the digital era. Situates each medium in the historical and cultural context of its emergence and traces its transformation over time. Introduces fundamental theories of the relationships among media technologies, economic structures, social practices, and aesthetic forms. Required for RTD/CIN majors. Screening fee: $35.

Credit Hours: 3

Topics course in cinema studies: history, theory, criticism. Sample topics: Film Authors, Film Genres, Film Movements, National Cinemas, American Film and Politics, Women and Cinema, Art and Cinema. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3-6

This course will explore the inner workings of contemporary independent filmmaking practice. This course is designed to provide students with knowledge of all aspects of independent film production from development and financing to production and distribution. In addition to broadening your knowledge of independent cinema, this class will help to prepare you to enter a number of career pathways in the indie film business.

Credit Hours: 3

Creative study and practice of the principles, techniques, and strategies of film production. Filming is done using HDSLR cameras. In pre-production, students produce camera, lighting, and sound tests, and storyboards, filming schedules, and planning steps appropriate to their specific film projects. In production, students must experience the primary roles of film direction, cinematography, and sound recording. Students are encouraged to crew on each other's films to achieve these experiences and the various production assistance roles that arise. In post-production, films are finished to HD video. Film editing, color correction, and sound mixing are done using specified digital applications available in the College. Students purchase texts, digital camera card(s), incident light meter, portable hard drive(s) with specified connectivity, and any incidental materials specific to their projects. Equipment use fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

The Internet is revolutionizing the way the world communicates. Students will investigate how the Internet works, as well as explore relationships among design, technology, and user experience while developing web sites, information architectures, interface behaviors, and navigation systems. Topics include: XHTML/CSS, Javascript, open source software, as well as incorporating sound, video, and images into web pages. Equipment fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is an overview of the work and ideas of artists who have explored new interactive and interdisciplinary forms, as well as engineers and mathematicians who have developed information technologies and influential scientific and philosophical ideologies that have influenced the arts. Seminal artistic movements and genres will be explored, such as: the Futurists, Bauhaus, Happenings, video art, etc. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

Narrative film-making for individual filmmakers or groups, from pre-production through to completion of filming, ready for post-production, potentially in CIN 496 Post-Production Workshop, in a subsequent semester. Study/practice all facets of and techniques and strategies for pre-production/production phases. Access and instruction provided to 16mm synchronous sound cameras, HD video cameras, film lighting and sound recording equipment. Students are responsible for purchase of all materials and outside services and fees. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Equipment Use fee: $75.

Credit Hours: 3

This creative writing course introduces the student writer to the discipline of screenwriting for short films. Readings, screenings, class presentations, in-class critiques, and a series of structured assignments give writers the opportunity to practice critique skills and the craft of writing and produce a script for an 8- to 12-minute film that could be produced here in our film school environment. Prerequisite: ENGL 102 and CIN 101 with a grade of B or better, with concurrent enrollment in CIN 101 allowed. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

A study of screenplay structure for feature-length, classically-structured scripts. Includes treatments, scene-by-scene outlines, character development, and script formatting. Students are required to create original script material. Prerequisite: CIN 451 with a grade of C or better. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

An introductory course aimed at students who wish to explore and expand the artistic and creative possibilities of their work. Students will engage in exercises that focus on developing conceptual creativity as well as technical skill. May be repeated as topics differ. Sample topics include: Optical Printing, Handmade Film, Collage, Digital Compositing, Experimental Animation. Equipment usage fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3-6

This studio production course provides the student animator the opportunity to explore selected 2-D animation approaches, concepts, and techniques using the venerable Oxberry film animation stand. The stand has been modified and to film with a HDSLR camera and software. The approaches, concepts, and techniques selected by the instructor may include but not be limited to various forms of hand-drawn or cut-out animation, cel animation, and rear-lit animation. Students purchase text(s), portable hard drive(s), art supplies, and any additional incidentals required by individual practical or aesthetic choices. Restricted to sophomore standing or higher. Equipment use fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will provide conceptual and hands-on experience for researching, writing and producing documentary video. This course will emphasize conceptual processes from invention of the documentary idea to post-production. Students will apply contemporary methods of criticism to the production process with particular emphasis on revision and audience. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Equipment usage fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Intensive study of particular periods of cinema history, including technological developments, national and international movements, aesthetic traditions, economic and political determinations, and concerns of film historiography. May be taken twice, if topic differs. Prerequisite: CIN 101 a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will investigate the history, theory and aesthetics of non-fiction cinema and media culture. Developments in international non-fiction cinema will be discussed in relation to technology, history, politics of visual culture, and the continuous questioning of our ability to understand and change reality. We will study how documentary film has been continuously radicalized with newer media technologies. Prerequisite: CIN 101 with a grade of C or better. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

Study of experimentation in film from the early 20th century to the present, beginning with the international avant-garde of the 1910s and 1920s. Focus on non-commercial and radical use of the medium, including abstract, cameraless, animated, trance, underground, and structural films. Study of expanded cinema, among other trends, as well as an introduction to experimentation in video. Prerequisite: CIN 101 with a grade of C or better. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is an introduction to the history of animation, its practitioners and its technological developments. The course introduces students to the aesthetics of the animated image and their relation to animation's unique ability to communicate. Additionally, the course discusses some of the major theoretical constructs surrounding the study of animation. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

A study of short format narrative (including the short story, the short poem, and the one-act play) as a method for approaching the history and criticism of the short film. Students will learn the methods of film and literary studies, and write papers and deliver oral presentations about those methods. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

Intensive study of a specific body of films grouped by similarities in style, genre, period, or cultural origin. Emphasis on historical, theoretical, and critical issues. Topics vary. Sample topics: Science Fiction Film; Film Noir, French New Wave; Third World Cinema; Surrealism in Film. May be taken twice, if topic differs. Students purchase texts. Prerequisite: CIN 101 with a grade of B or better, consent of instructor. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

Intensive study of the work of one or more film authors (directors, screenwriters, etc.). Emphasis is on historical, theoretical, and critical issues. Topics vary. Sample topics: the films of Alfred Hitchcock; the films of Jean Renoir; the films of Andrei Tarkovsky. May be taken twice, if the topic differs. Students purchase texts. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

This course attempts to re-invent film criticism, forging a middle-ground between academic, theoretical writing about the cinema and popular journalism. Students will learn how to apply the methods of academic film studies to films in current release, designed by their studios to make money and win Oscars. Students will learn how to think, write, and speak with clarity and sophistication about films in a timely manner, as they are being discussed by the general population. Prerequisite: CIN 101 with a grade of B or better. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as WGSS 440) Course discusses aspects of the aesthetics, history, theory and politics of media representations of gender and sexuality. Cultural texts from one or a combination of media forms, genres, historical periods, and platforms, will inform the historical and theoretical consideration of media representations of gender and sexual variation with a special interest on their bearings upon the present moment. May be repeated, if topics vary.

Credit Hours: 3

An advanced topics course in cinema history, theory, and criticism. Sample topics: visualizing the body, feminist film theory, surveillance and the cinema. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than twelve (12) credit hours combined from 470 Advanced Topics courses counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

An advanced topics course in film production. Sample topics: location lighting, production management, film sound workshop. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than twelve (12) credit hours combined from 470 Advanced Topics courses counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor. Screening fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Advanced interdisciplinary studies in cinema, photography or new media. Sample topics: visual perception, ethics of image making, 3-D filmmaking. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than twelve (12) credit hours combined from 470 Advanced Topics courses counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Restricted to junior standing or higher or consent of department. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Honors Program) An Advanced topics course in cinema history, theory, and criticism. Sample topics: film criticism, whiteness and masculinity, surveillance and the cinema. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than 12 credits combined from 470 Advanced Topics courses counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

An advanced topics course in film production. Sample topics: Proto-Cinematic Production, Videography. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than twelve (12) credit hours of CIN 470I Topics in Film Production may be counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Equipment use fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

An advanced topics course in screenwriting. Sample topics: experimental script to screen, adaptation, comedy, autobiography. May be repeated if topics differ. No more than twelve (12) credit hours combined from 470 Advanced Topics courses counted in the undergraduate Cinema and Photography degree. Prerequisite: CIN 451 with C or better or consent of department. Screening fee: $30.

Credit Hours: 3

This course explores ideas, methods and theories of film directing with emphasis on two areas: directing filming-scene construction, coverage, staging, blocking and camera perspective; directing acting-audition, casting, rehearsal, and performing for camera. Students work in groups on a series of focused directing, acting and filming projects. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Restricted to junior standing or higher. Equipment Use fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Intensive examination and problem solving, through readings, screenings, and filmmaking, of a cinematic genre, style, or technical challenge. Theory is combined with practice. Individual and group projects. Sample problems: cinematography, digital filmmaking, 35mm filmmaking, film as performance, optical printing. May be repeated once if topic differs. Restricted to junior standing or higher. Equipment usage fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

An intensive production course for students who want to expand their creative possibilities and develop depth in their conceptual understanding of experimental processes and strategies in film, video or new media. May be repeated as topics differ. Sample topics include: Live Art/Generative Art, Advanced Film Arts, Poetic Autobiography, 3-D filmmaking, Experimental Animation. Restricted to junior standing or higher. Equipment usage fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3-6

A creative, frame-by-frame study and practice of 16mm filmmaking. Use of 16mm optical printer to complete projects, techniques include: fades, dissolves, freeze frames, step printing, multi-frame presentations, frame magnification, Super 8 enlargement to 16mm, matt construction. Students process 16mm and Super-8 film. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Equipment use fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

The course explores the new visual expression possibilities of High Definition digital medium as compared with traditional film. Aiming to understand the evolving digital motion imaging technology, the course focuses on its aesthetic and technical applications in the art of cinematography in areas of image construction, exposure control, lighting and color manipulation, and post-production workflow. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Restricted to junior standing or higher. Fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Senior Seminar course focuses on the connections among media and the arts. Students explore how artists and media practitioners use the potentials offered by various media forms, create new ways of expression and prepare ways to share their work, such as a portfolio and/or a demo reel. Written responses and presentations will facilitate discussion and critique. Topics will vary. Screening fee: $35.

Credit Hours: 1

Advanced individually directed research in film or new media: history, theory, or aesthetics. No more than six hours of 491, 492, 494, 495 and 497 combined may count toward the first 30 hours in the Cinema major. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-9

Practical experience in the presentation of photographic theory and procedures. No more than six hours of 491, 492, 494, 495 and 497 combined may count toward the first 30 hours in the Cinema major. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the department. Mandatory Pass/Fail.

Credit Hours: 1-3

Cinema students are placed in summer internships in various cities to gain experience and insight into their chosen fields. Each enrollment is limited to a maximum of 6 credit hours. No more than six hours of 491, 492, 494, 495 and 497 combined may count toward the first 30 hours in the Cinema major. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 1-6

Credit for internship with professional film. Each enrollment is limited to a maximum of six credit hours. No more than nine hours of CP 491, 494, 495 or 497 combined may count toward the Cinema major requirements. Mandatory Pass/Fail grading. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 1-12

Post production on a 10-12 minute film/video in any genre. Students must have all dailies prior to enrollment. Study of editing practice and aesthetics of picture and sound editing, design, ADR, foley, and mixing through hands-on editing, reading, screenings, and critique. The department retains a copy of the final project. Editing facilities are provided. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better or consent of instructor. Equipment Usage fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Individual supervised motion picture production project by an individual student or group of students. No more than six hours of 491, 492, 494, 495 or 497 combined may count toward the first 30 credit hours required for the Cinema major. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the instructor. Equipment use fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 1-9

Individually supervised senior thesis production under a cinema faculty member. Opportunities for enrollment are limited. Normally taken during last term in residence. The department will retain a copy of the thesis, usually on video or DVD. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: CIN 400 with a grade of C or better. Restricted to senior standing. Special approval needed from the instructor. Course fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 4

Completion of a critical or research paper as thesis work under the supervision of a cinema faculty member. Opportunities for enrollment are limited. Normally taken during last term in residence. The department will retain a copy of the thesis. Not for graduate credit. Restricted to senior standing. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 4

Writing of a screenplay as a thesis work under the supervision of a cinema faculty member. Opportunities for enrollment are limited. Normally taken during last term in residence. The department will retain a copy of the thesis. Not for graduate credit. Prerequisite: CIN 452 with a grade of C or better and consent of instructor. Restricted to senior standing. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 4