Fall 2025 Cinematic Arts Courses of Interest
Current USC students, please keep an eye out for emails about important dates and information sessions.
Every Semester, the School of Cinematic Arts offers a selction of courses available to all students at the University of Southern California. Any USC student with an interest in film, media studies, animation, screenwriting, game development, the entertainment industry or digital art can explore how cinematic art is made in one of these courses.
To register for courses go to USC Web Registration
View our Non-Major Frequently Asked Questions
View our Minor Frequently Asked Questions
*Please note that some of these courses will require D-Clearance. To learn more see https://cinema.usc.edu/studentaffairs/nonMajor.cfm
Animation & Digital Arts:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTAN 451: History of Animation (2 units)
17888R
In-depth survey of historical developments, styles, techniques, theory and criticism of animation as an art form.
CTAN 280 : Intermediate Character Animation for Games (4 units)
Section Number: 17852R
An applied introduction to the techniques used for animating 3-D bipedal human character content for the movement and interactive experience within 3-D video games.
Minor Course: [Media and Social Change]
CTAN 420 : Concept Design for Animation (2 units)
Section Number: 17917R
Creating characters and environments for animation, live action, and video games.
CTAN 436 : Writing for Animation (2 units)
Section Number: 17865R
Workshop exploring concept and structure of long and short form animated films through practical writing exercises.
CTAN 452 : Introduction to 3-D Computer Animation (2 units, max 4 units)
Section Number: 17891D
Lecture and laboratory in computer animation: geometric modeling, motion specification, lighting, texture mapping, rendering, compositing, production techniques, systems for computer-synthesized animation.
Note the sections for Non-majors to register for are: 17891 & 17894
D-Clearance is required.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]
CTAN 455L : Organic Modeling for Animation (2 units)
Section Number: 17897R
The art of digital sculpting for animated characters, with visual effects integration. Recommended preparation: CTAN 452 or CTAN 462.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]
CTAN 462 : Visual Effects (2 units)
Section Number: 17900D
Survey of contemporary concepts and approaches to production in the current state of film and video effects work. Digital and traditional methodologies will be covered, with a concentration on digital exercises illustrating modern techniques.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Immersive Media] [Cinematic Arts]
CTAN 464L : Digital Lighting and Rendering (2 units)
Section Number: 17909R
Concepts, tools and techniques used to create cinematic lighting and rendering in computer-generated imagery (CGI). Prerequisite: CTAN 452 or CTAN 462.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Immersive Media]
CTAN 466 : Projection Mapping Design and Production (2 units)
Section Number: 17911R
An exploration of projection mapping with hands-on learning and projects providing professional skills and workflows for helping students create their own content.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]
CTAN 485L : Pipeline and Character Modeling for Animation (2 units)
Section Number: 17918R
Modeling and pipeline integration for 3-D animation props, sets and characters. Recommended preparation: Prior knowledge in Maya preferred.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Immersive Media]
CTAN 504L : Creative Production in Virtual Reality (2 units)
Section Number: 17990R
A creative studio course in producing both a linear cinematic virtual reality short film and associated real-time immersive experience.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Immersive Media] [Future Cinema]
CTAN 564L : Motion Capture Fundamentals (2 units)
Section Number: 17997D
Fundamental principles of motion capture technology explored while working through a structured series of assignments based around performance, gesture and motion. Prerequisite: CTAN 452 or CTAN 462.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Immersive Media] [Future Cinema]
CTAN 571 : Motion Capture Fundamentals (2 units)
Section Number: 17958D
A creative 2-D motion graphics course covering animation technique, visual design aesthetics and software skills.
Industry Relations (CNTV):
FEATURED CLASS:
CNTV 473: Digital Media Techniques of Entertainment and Fake News (2 units)
17826R
Comment: Need to check if images are cleared
Examines media disinformation in content creation, online news sources and entertainment; includes guest experts on technology, media and ethics.
Minor Course: [Entertainment Industry]
CNTV 375 : Breaking into the Entertainment Industry (2 units)
Section Number: 17827R
Comment: Course is full as of 4/14/25
An overview of the entertainment industry and the tools needed to secure jobs and survive and succeed in the market.
Minor Course: [Digital Studies] [Entertainment Industry]
CNTV 499 : The Future of AI Media: From Workflows to Worldbuilding (2 units)
Section Number: 17829R
This course will delve into philosophical, business, ethical, and creative effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the entertainment industry and beyond.
Cinema & Media Studies:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 190g: Introduction to Cinema (4 units)
18000R
Rated one of the top six USC classes you cannot afford to miss and fulfilling the GE-A requirement, this course explores the formal properties of movies and their social context: literary design, performance, art direction, cinematography, post-production, sound design, genre, style, and the production process – how movies are made, how they work their magic on us, how we can improve our perceptive abilities when it comes to filmgoing, and how the wider cultural, sociopolitical, and industrial environment of film shapes our perceptions of the world. A perennial favorite, CTCS 190 fills fast. Open to all majors. You must also register for a discussion section.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinema-Television for the Health Professions (CNHP)] [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 464: Film and/or Television Genres - Asian Horror (4 units)
18160R
This course focuses on the genre of horror within Asian cinemas. In this class, we will explore Asian-specific notions of the supernatural and examine the figuration of ghosts and spirits in filmic works from Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Laos, and South Korea. Studying this genre across multiple regions allows us to probe how disability, gender, sexuality, and class often function in relation to the construction of the Other in horror films. Through the readings, we will draw from different theoretical lenses (feminist film theory, disability studies, sound studies) that will help to structure our discussions of the horrific in film and shape the ways that we, as spectators, feel about this film genre. Another layer of looking will involve contextualizing these films as cultural products of the national cinemas, film industries, and film cultures from which they hail. Our discussion of the films, when placed against the backdrop of Asian transnational histories, will be framed by the contexts of colonialism, war, globalization, and displacement that have occurred within these regions and across them. Finally, while we seek to draw parallels across the national cinemas, we will also be attentive to the specificities of the cultural traditions and attitudes toward the dead that mark each region’s varying apprehensions of the spiritual world.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 464: Film and/or Television Genres - The Gangster Film (4 units)
18206R
The gangster film has a long history in Hollywood. During the early 1970s the genre began to take on a renewed cultural significance. The remaking of the genre as a vehicle for commentary on history, cultural identity, and the “American Dream” elevated this genre in ways both popular and political. Over time the gangster would displace the cowboy as one of America’s favorite fictional characters, becoming an especially important symbolic figure across the cultural landscape in the process. This course is interested in analyzing what we might refer to as the “modern American gangster film” from the 1970s through the present. In addition to focusing on several cinematic gangster classics, the course will also observe the influence of the gangster film relative to other forms of media and popular culture. Screenings to include: Goodfellas, Casino, Across 110th Street, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Scarface, Donnie Brasco, American Gangster and Gomorrah, among other titles.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 468: Media Industry Studies - The Star Wars Phenomenon (4 units)
18198R
Survey of the history of the Star Wars phenomenon from upstart independent production to world-straddling IP colossus under the Disney umbrella. Transformations of craftwork including VFX, editing, and sound. The mass production of lore and the explosion of licensed products. Narrative expansion into animation, videogames, theme parks, and museums. Metafranchise successes and missteps. Course will feature guests from LucasFilm.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 469: Film and/or Television Style Analysis - LYNCH-VERSE: David Lynch’s Cinema and Art (4 units)
18254R
This course explores the universe of David Lynch’s cinema and art, an oeuvre that includes over five decades of film and television, but also painting, photography, music, music videos, commercials, cartoons, and weather reports, among many other arts and activities. LYNCH-VERSE considers the complex ways in which Lynch’s work produces in the aggregate a universe, perhaps even a multiverse that connects these seemingly disparate practices into a terrifyingly beautiful cosmos. Course will consist of weekly screenings and lectures, with frequent guest appearances by the many people that worked with Lynch in cinema and art.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Game Studies] [Cinematic Arts]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTCS 482: Transmedia Entertainment - The Wonderful World of Wicked (4 units)
18199R
Wicked from page to stage to global box office triumph. We'll go behind the scenes with interviews with key personnel covering aesthetic transformations and business challenges covering the 25 years of Wicked. From the allegorical origins of The Wizard of Oz at the dawn of the 20th century to Comcast's marketing "symphony" in the 21st. Hold space in your schedule!
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Game Studies] [Themed Entertainment] [Future Cinema]
CTCS 200g : History of the International Cinema I (4 units)
Section Number: 18160R
How do we understand a time when cinema was new? This course surveys the first 60 years of world cinema, from the turn of the 20th century to the end of World War II: a tumultuous period full of opportunity, transformation, and upheaval that played out in politics and cultural life. Our lectures, screenings, readings, and discussions will think collectively through cinema’s social, aesthetic, and narrative development during this period of rapid change, as cinematic experimentation and innovation imagined new forms of perception and experience. In particular, we will focus on how new popular film genres – comedy, science fiction, the western, melodrama, crime, the musical, and horror, among others – helped audiences to understand and intervene in the changing world around them.
CTCS 400 : Documentary Film and Media (4 units)
Section Number: 18170R
What is documentary? How do documentaries construct “the real” and produce truth claims? What role do ethics play in documentary filmmaking? How has documentary been used for political and propaganda purposes? How do documentary practices compare around the world and over time? This course will search for answers to these and other questions.
Minor Course: [Documentary] [Media and Social Change] [Cinematic Arts]
CTCS 414 : Latina/o Screen Cultures (4 units)
Section Number: 18197R
Latinxs constitute the fasting growing ethno-racial group in the United States and comprise a significant percentage of regular movie goers and yet in 2023 only 5.2% of speaking roles in Hollywood films were played by Latinxs. The situation in the writing room is equally dire. This course explores this conundrum by examining the presence of Latinxs in U.S. media production from the perspectives of representation, participation, and reception. Taking up both historical and contemporary examples we will explore the role of media in shaping Latinx identity, analyze the politics of representation, and examine how media has been used in struggles for social justice. In addition to our film and television screenings we will draw on scholarship from history, sociology, cultural studies, and other fields to construct a critical account of Latinx Media grounded in the past, attuned to the present, and oriented toward the future.
Minor Course: [Media and Social Change] [Cinematic Arts]
CTCS 466 : Theatrical Film Symposium (4 units)
Section Number: 18125R
Theatrical Film Symposium brings you face-to-face with leading film directors, writers, producers, and actors working today. Throughout the semester, students will watch a wide selection of new film releases, followed by exclusive Q&As with the creative teams behind them. The class is taught by film critic LEONARD MALTIN and meets every Thursday night in Norris Cinema Theatre from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Recent screenings included: Wicked, Moana 2, Emilia Perez, September 5, Here, The Wild Robot, Saturday Night, Dune: Part Two, Mean Girls, The Fall Guy, Past Lives, Rustin, Bob Marley: One Love, Nimona, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Marvels, The Holdovers, American Fiction, The Killer, Nyad, Fair Play, The Persian Version, Bottoms, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3., John Wick: Chapter 4, Air, The Blackening, Turning Red, Navalny, All That Breathes, You People, Knock at the Cabin, Close, Missing, Babylon, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Woman King, Bros, On the Come Up, Do Revenge, The Fabelmans, Armageddon Time, Till.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTCS 467 : Television Symposium (4 units)
Section Number: 18126R
Taught by Mary McNamara, Pulitzer-prize winning TV Critic and Cultural Editor for the LA Times. Each week, students meet with current TV Creators and Showrunners for Q&As about writing and producing their shows. Recent guests include: Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian), Adam McKay (Succession), Alena Smith (Dickinson), Stephen Williams (Watchmen), Chris Mundy (Ozark), Susannah Grant (Unbelievable), David Mandel (Veep), Steven Canals (Pose), Sam Levinson (Euphoria), Raphael Bob-Waksberg & Kate Purdy (Undone), Joel Karsberg & Jesse Daniels (Surviving R. Kelly), Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Marti Noxon (Sharp Objects), David Kajganich (The Terror), Tanya Saracho (Vida), Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer (Stranger Things), Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch (Glow), Hiro Murai (Atlanta), Noah Hawley (Fargo), Ron Moore (Outlander), Kenya Barris (black-ish), Prentice Penny (Insecure), Lang Fisher (Never Have I Ever), and Sarah Paulson and Jay Roach (Coastal Elites).
Professor: Mary McNamara
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
Interactive Media & Games Division:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTIN 488: Game Design Workshop (4 units)
Are you interested in making games, but don't know where to start? In Game Design Workshop students of any background learn the fundamentals of interaction design and collaboration as they make a series of board games with other students.
Note: this course is included in the Communication Technology Practices and Platforms Minor. Please refer to the USC Course Catalogue for more information.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor] [Documentary] [Game Audio] [Game Design] [Game Entrepreneurism] [Game Studies] [Immersive Media] [Themed Entertainment] [Media and Social Change] [Screenwriting] [Entertainment Industry]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTIN 499: Special Topics - Games as a Service and Live Operations (GLO) (4 units)
18357R
Get invaluable hands-on experience working on a live service game and shipping content to an audience! USC Faculty will guide you through conceptualizing, designing, developing, and releasing a content pack for a living game.
CTIN 291 : Crew for Advanced Game Project (2 units, max 4 units)
Section Number: 18413R
Do you want to be a part of making something special the world can see? Join Advanced Game Project crew and help create a polished playable video game with a large team as a part of the USC Games Studio.
Note: this course is included in the Video Game Production minor. Please refer to the USC Course Catalogue for more information.
Minor Course: [Game User Research]
Division of Film & Television Production:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTPR 386: Film and Television Case Study (4 units)
18518R
The course studies the anatomy of a current film or television release by analyzing its development, from conception through critical reception, to develop an understanding of it as art, craft, and industry. The class includes guest speakers involved in the making of the production. Films and television shows previously studied include The Avengers and The Sessions.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTPR 288 : Originating and Developing Ideas for Film (2 units)
Section Number: 18469R
Class offers exercises in observation, imaginative association, visualization, etc., that deepen the creative process, leading to ideas, stories, characters, and images for narrative, documentary, and experimental films.
CTPR 327 : Motion Picture Cinematography (3 units)
Comment: Limited seats are available at this time.
The course focuses on the magic of creating images using high-definition motion picture equipment to explore the fundamentals of shot design, movement, and lighting to understand better the role of cinematography in interpreting story. The class involves hands-on group projects, putting theory into practice
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 335 : Motion Picture Editing (3 units)
Comment: Limited seats are available at this time.
The class covers theory, techniques, and practices in motion picture editing, including the use of standard editing equipment. Assignments include individual projects in editing.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 340 : Creating the Motion Picture Sound Track (2 units)
Section Number: 18503R
Comment: Limited seats are available at this time.
Course covers general techniques and aesthetics for recording production sound, editing dialogue, sound effects, music, Foley and preparing for the mix for film, television, and other media.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 371 : Directing for Television (4 units)
Section Number: 18502R
Comment: This course is almost full as of 12/9/24.
The class covers general preparation duties during the pre-production stage for television directors, emphasizing the directorial role of production leader and visionary. Students will work in teams creating short scenes in various formats, including traditional drama, episodic and situational comedy.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 385 : Colloquium: Motion Picture Production Techniques (4 units)
Section Number: 18515R
Comment: Limited seats are available.
The class offers the opportunity to shoot and edit a short digital video project from idea and script. The class takes on a hands-on approach and introduces both the creative side and the basic technical side of the filmmaking process.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 404 : Practicum in Podcast Production (2 units)
Section Number: 18519R
Comment: Limited seats are available.
The course covers the basics of podcast production, including creating an idea, researching and writing the script, hosting, casting, recording and promoting a podcast episode
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 407 : Sound Design for Podcasting (2 units)
Section Number: 18536R
Explores the nature of storytelling through sound, and the technical skills necessary to create vibrant and intriguing soundscapes for these stories to live in.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 409 : Trojan Vision, Live Television Production (1, 2, or 4 units)
Section Number: 19111D
The class offers a variety of television shows that live stream weekly from a television multi-camera studio. Students are offered wide-ranging experiences from planning to producing and crewing on a television set.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 410 : The Entertainment Industry: From Idea to Audience (2 units)
Section Number: 18525R
Examination of the industry from story ideas, through script development, production and exhibition; evaluation of roles played by writers, agents, studio executives, marketing and publicity. Guest speakers and lectures discuss and cover the role of the writer, agent, studio executive, producer, director, as well as address the topics of marketing, publicity, and distribution.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTPR 426 : The Production Experience (2 units)
Section Number: 18541R
To provide students with basic working knowledge of both the skills of the motion picture set and production operations through classroom lectures and hands-on experience. Learn the fundamentals of episodic TV drama and participate in the shooting of an episode written and directed by students. Positions available in producing, camera, sound, production design, or editorial.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 431 : Developing the Documentary Production (2 units)
Section Number: 18548R
The tools and skills necessary to turn an idea into a documentary story, using sample reels, pitches, and writing to develop a professional proposal. Course is designed to teach students the knowledge, skills, insight and judgment needed to research, develop and create pitch materials for a documentary production.
Minor Course: [Documentary] [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 448 : World Building Design Studio (2 units)
Section Number: 18556R
The course is designed for students to bring together visual and scenario designs to construct diverse worlds as containers for storytelling across genres: documentary, drama, fiction, and fantasy, as well as, experimental immersive experiences.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 456 : Introduction to Art Direction (2 units)
Section Number: 18561R
Comment: Limited seats are available.
Introduction to drafting, set design, set decoration and creating models for students with diverse abilities. Guest lectures, group discussions and hands-on workshop.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 457 : Creating Poetic Cinema (2 units)
Section Number: 18557R
Comment: Limited seats are available.
An investigation of poetic cinema from four different perspectives: found poetry; applied poetry; poetry as image; and poetry in narrative fiction. Production of short films. Explores the relationship between poetic cinema and artistic expression — especially the visual arts, literature and music — through the creation of short films. Approaching the poetics of cinema through: found poetry, translating written poetry, cinema AS poetry and the poetic image in narrative cinema.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 460 : Film Business Procedures and Distribution (2,4 units)
Section Number: 18564R
Financing, budgeting, management as applied to films; problems of distribution, including merchandising, cataloging, evaluation, and film library management. Introduces film economics, exhibition, distribution, and production. Budgets, financing, television/non-theatrical and theatrical films, production and distribution agreements, copyright and legal considerations will also be covered.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTPR 461 : Managing Television Stations and Internet Media (2 units)
Section Number: 18569R
Managing electronic media, including radio and television stations, broadcast and cable networks, and the internet. In a period of unprecedented growth and change in media, students focus on how managers of TV, cable, radio and digital mass media are facing the challenges of the era. The class includes guest speakers, field trips and studies in mass media financing, marketing and history.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTPR 470 : Practicum in On-Screen Direction of Actors (4 units)
Concentration on the basic skills in working with actors from a director’s point of view. Students learn to experiment and discuss the many choices in directing actors, including laboratory and scene analysis. The course also breaks down a script from the emotional point-of-view of the actor.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 474 : Documentary Production (4 units)
Section Number: 18569R
Pairs produce, direct, shoot, and edit a short documentary on a subject of their choice. Finished projects will be suitable for broadcast/festivals. Students are encouraged to form pairs before class; individual students form partnerships at the beginning of the term. Students must come prepared with two to three documentary ideas. The finished films will be approximately fifteen minutes in length.
Minor Course: [Media and Social Change] [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 484 : Comedy Television Production (4 units)
Section Number: 18594R
Exercises and practical application for writing and producing a comedy television project.
Recommended Preparation: CTPR 371 required for undergraduate students who wish to direct a sitcom and CTPR 523 for graduate students who wish to direct.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 487 : Recording for Film Scores (2 units)
Section Number: 18593R
Exploration of the role of the recording studio in professional film and video productions. Emphasis on technical and hardware considerations.
Minor Course: [Cinematic Arts]
CTPR 491 : Viral Comedy (2 units)
Section Number: 18596R
Translating traditional storytelling tools into short form comedy that stands out online. Writing, directing and producing creative projects designed for current online platforms. Learn how to translate storytelling into short form comedy that will stand out online. Students explore newer avenues, such as YouTube, IGTV and TikTok as outlets for their creative voices with projects they will write, direct and perform in.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTPR 496 : Women in the Entertainment Industry (2 units)
Section Number: 18599R
Class offers discussions of women’s roles in the entertainment industry and career opportunities available to them in the business, corporate and creative sectors. Course features guest speakers and group discussions.
Minor Course: [Entertainment Industry]
John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTWR 431: Screenwriters and Their Work - A Touch of Evil: Noir and Neo-Noir (2 units)
19350R
Join Professor Howard A. Rodman in exploring the origins and evolution of writing the noir genre, and its transformation from fedora-and-painted-hat nostalgia to a vital genre for investigating and mirroring dominant social issues of our current moment.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Screenwriting]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTWR 432: Television Writers and Their Work - #1 on the Call Sheet: Female Lead (2 units)
19406R
Join Alexa Alemanni in exploring the female leads in television drama who have broken boundaries, redefined their genres, and charted new ways forward; from Buffy to Olivia Pope to Maisel and more.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Screenwriting]
FEATURED CLASS:
CTWR 541: Dreams, the Brain, and Storytelling (2 units)
19312R
Join Writing Division Chair Mary Sweeney at the nexus of art and science, exploring brain research and the poetry of cinematic dreamscapes. You will watch feature and short films, TV episodes, and music videos, listen to guest lectures from neuroscientists and filmmakers, and discuss assigned readings, writings, and podcasts. It is a dive into the dream of cinema, while exploring sensory intelligence, perception, and consciousness.
CTWR 303g : From Page to Screen: Adapting Stories for Film and TV (4 units)
Section Number: 19152R
A detailed investigation into the choices TV and film writers make translating the source material to your favorite series or feature film. Through lectures, special guests, and reading, we’ll examine how the material changes and what liberties Hollywood takes in that process. **CTWR 303g is a GE-A in “The Arts” category.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Screenwriting]
CTWR 409 : Fundamentals of Screenwriting: Character, Conflict and Story (4 units)
Introductory workshop course open to all majors across the University to learn the fundamentals of writing compelling scenes, creating authentic characters, and structuring a feature screenplay. **Students who successfully complete CTWR 409 can apply to the BFA in Writing for Screen and Television and, if accepted, complete the degree in 3-years from date of acceptance.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Comedy] [Screenwriting] [Cinematic Arts]
CTWR 411 : Television Script Analysis (2 units)
Section Number: 19205R
In-depth analysis of the structure of television. Through lectures and guests, we’ll examine the elements of good TV from premise to character to structure to story engine.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
Minor Course: [Screenwriting] [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTWR 416 : Motion Picture Script Analysis (2 units)
Section Number: 19359R
In-depth analysis of the structure of feature films. We’ll examine the elements of good storytelling, 3-act structure, character development, and theme.
Minor Course: [Screenwriting] [Cinematic Arts] [Entertainment Industry]
CTWR 417 : Script Coverage and Story Analysis (2 units)
Section Number: 19206R
Evaluation of completed scripts prior to their production. Coverage and analysis of scripts as potential properties from the perspective of a production company.
Minor Course: [Screenwriting]
CTWR 422 : Creating the Dramatic Television Series (2 units)
Section Number: 19432R
How do you create a world that can sustain several seasons of television? What makes SWAT different from NCIS? The Good Doctor from Grey’s Anatomy? This is Us from Shameless? In television, your world is as much a character as your protagonist. In this class, you will examine and create several different worlds for the dramatic hour-long television landscape and create characters to populate those concepts. You’ll leave this class with a detailed outline for one of your concepts you can further develop into an original hour-long pilot.
Minor Course: [Screenwriting]
CTWR 516 : Advanced Motion Picture Script Analysis (2 units)
Section Number: 19449R
Critical analysis of the structure of films from the classics to current award winners. Students will learn how to identify key story concepts and break down three act structure in finished films and scripts.
Media Arts + Practice Division:
FEATURED CLASS:
IML 424: The Music Festival Experience (4 units)
37435R
Exploring the cultural significance of music festivals as spaces where music, media and culture intersect; learning experience design and planning innovative experiences for music festivals.
Minor Course: [Future Cinema] [Media and Social Change]
FEATURED CLASS:
IML 520: Graduate Media Arts Research Lab (2 units)
37465R
A graduate-level course for aspiring and intermediate filmmakers looking for a highly supportive space in which to develop their documentary skillset for use in creative and scholarly work. This class is great for students desiring guided practice, or for those already working on a project looking for structure to keep their process on track.
IML 140 : Short Form Video Storytelling for the Web (2 units)
Section Number: 37401R
Introduction to the expressive potential of multimedia as a critical and creative tool, supplementing traditional forms of academic work.
With social media as an accessible tool for most, how can it function as a critical and creative tool? Students will conceptualize, create, and distribute media narratives that challenge and intervene within social media platforms.
Minor Course: [Digital Studies]
IML 425 : Narrative Across Media (4 units)
Section Number: 37436R
Traditions and emerging practices in multimedia storytelling. Narrative convergences of literature, film, television, comics, mixed reality, videogames or physical/virtual environments.
Minor Course: [Digital Studies] [Future Cinema] [Media and Social Change]
IML 456 : Nature, Design and Media (2 units)
Section Number: 37445R
Investigation of the impact of natural patterns on digital media design. Explores the relationships among chaos, harmony, beauty, proportion, spirituality, holistic systems and shaped experience.
Minor Course: [Digital Studies] [Future Cinema]
IML 460 : AI and Creativity (4 units)
Section Number: 37447R
Hands-on exploration of the history, theory and uses of a broad range of AI-related tools for creative expression.
Minor Course: [Digital Studies] [Future Cinema]
IML 501 : Digital Media Authorship and the Archive (4 units)
Section Number: 37462R
An in-depth examination of emergent technologies in their cultural and historic contexts, with an equal emphasis on production and analysis.
Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.
IML 560 : Embodied Knowledge and the Fantastical (4 units)
Section Number: 37472R
Exploration of conceptual approaches from the sciences, arts, and humanities that challenge the mind/body split. Investigation of epistemologies that are considered fantastical.
Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.
IML 575 : Graduate Media Arts Research Lab - World Building, Narrative Design and Design Visualization (2 units)
Section Number: 37475R
Section Number: 37476R
In conjunction with the World Building Media Lab, students will imagine and co-create and distant-future world.
Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.
Expanded Animation:
FEATURED CLASS:
CTXA 470: Documentary Animation Production (2 units)
19724R
Examination of the history, techniques, and methods of documentary animation production.
FEATURED CLASS:
CTXA 523: Visualizing Science Production (2 units)
19718R
Principles of 3-D digital animation applied to scientific themes, research topics and natural phenomena.
CTXA 522 : Advanced Animation Research Seminar (1 units)
Section Number: 19711R
A weekly academic forum in which guest researchers, academics, and professionals in the leading edge of their fields share their research and engage students in their process.
CTXA 540 : Survey of World Animation (2 units)
Section Number: 19712R
A historical survey of world animation. Independent and studio animation from around the world will be examined.
CTXA 550 : Stop Motion Puppet and Set Design (2 units)
Section Number: 19706R
Students will explore the craft of stop motion animation, using historical and current examples of stop motion as a framework for creating their own projects.
Multiple Sections: This course has an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.
CTXA 560 : Animation Sound Design Practice (2 units)
Section Number: 19730D
Theory, aesthetics and practice for recording dialogue, sound effects, music, Foley, track development and mixing for animation films. Prerequisite: CTXA 547