Eastern Illinois University Film Studies Minor http://castle.eiu.edu/~filmmnor/ Fall 2017 Newsletter We are looking for short films of high artistic quality made by student filmmakers. Preference will be made for filmmakers from the Central Illinois area and films that align with the conference theme: horror and the thriller in Illinois How to submit: Submit through Film Freeway: FilmFreeway.com/festival/EmbarrasVall eyfilmfestivalstudentcontest Send a link to your Vimeo, YouTube, or other source to rlmurray@eiu.edu Guidelines: 1. Films should be short: under 10 minutes in length. 2. Films should be labeled with your name, address, and email address, and the title of your film. 3. In your cover letter, explain how you and your film fit our criteria and include a two-three sentence synopsis. Note: There is no submission fee for this student film festival. Film Festivals and Calls for Submission Embarras Valley Film Festival Call for Submissions Deadline: October 8, 2017 Festival: October 28, 2017 The Embarras Valley Film Festivaal (EVFF) is a yearly event honoring a person or theme relevant to the Embarras Valley, which encompasses much of East Central Illinois. This year s festival highlights horror and the thriller in Illinois. For more information about the festival visit www.eiu.edu/~evff or email rlmurray@eiu.edu
Film Minor Courses Spring 2018 Required Courses: Film 2759G, History of Cinema The course offers a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. WI Credits: 3. Online. CMN 3530, Film Communication. Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism. WI Credits: 4 TR 11-12:15 TR, CH 1721 with screenings T 7-9:30. ENG 4904, Studies in Film Robin L. Murray In-depth study of major periods, genres, history, criticism and/or theory of film. Topics to be announced. (Group 5) WI Prerequisites & Notes: ENG 1002G. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson. Credits: 3 3:30-6:50 R Elective Courses: CMN 2575, Field Communication Students are introduced to visual theories and techniques of digital video production in the field. Through hands-on projects, students learn the basics of visual storytelling, composition, editing, audio, lighting, and more. Prerequisite: CMN 2525. 3 CR 1-3:05 TR CMN 4540 - Advanced Video Production. This course deals with the principles of preproduction planning, scripting, lighting, and audio and video mixing for studio and remote television productions as unified by the television director. Credits: 3 Prerequisites and Notes: Completion of CMN 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040 with a grade of "C" or better, and CMN 3540 or permission of instructor. 8:30-10:35 MW EIU 4170G - History on Film. David Smith. Through an investigation of the problems with and possibilities of cinematic depictions of the historical past, this course will explore the ways in which film uses historical images to project social ideals. Special attention will be placed on developing a method by which to critique the historicity of historical films. History majors are excluded. WI Credits: 3 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Online. EIU 4192G, Film and Contemporary Society, Honors: Robert Martinez A study of the theory, aesthetics, history, and cultural contexts of film, concentrating on the relationships among film, literature, popular culture, music, and the plastic arts. Students will explore the ways in which we read film and culture from around the world, and the ways in which we write about film. English majors are excluded. WI Credits: 4 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Credits: 4 MUS 2558G, Film Music: Exploring the Evolution of Music in Film Jemmie Robertson In this course students will survey the evolution of musical practices in film from the early twentieth century through the present. Students will learn to distinguish the major eras of film history and associated composers and musical styles. 10-11:15 TR THA 3754G, Theatre and Film Nicholas E. Shaw This course examines the relationship between the complementary and competing arts of theatre and film. Sampling globally, students will critically examine how plays have been adapted for the movies and vice versa. The aim is to gain a greater appreciation of the similarities and differences between the two arts, and through this to gain a deeper understanding of the cultures/societies that produce them. No background in theatre or film is required. Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in ENG 1001G and 1002G. WA 3.000 Credit hours. TBD
Fall 2017 AFR 3300, African Cinema. James Ochwa-Echel. (3-0-3) F. This is a course which encounters and interprets traditions of Africa through its cinema. 4-6:30 R in Blair 3103 CMN 2575, Field Communication: Students are introduced to visual theories and techniques of digital video production in the field. Through hands-on projects, students learn the basics of visual storytelling, composition, editing, audio, lighting, and more. Prerequisite: CMN 2525. 3 CR 8-10:05 MW CMN 3530, Film Communication. Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism. WI Credits: 4 TR 12:30-1:45 with screenings T 7-9:30. CMN 3540, Videography: TBA The study and practice of the production of video programs, with an emphasis on camera techniques. Practical experience in a wide variety of production exercises. MC 916 Credits: 3 Prerequisites and Notes: CMN 2525 or Permission of Instructor. Credits: 3 TR 8:00-10:05, Buzzard 1712 EIU 4174G, Documentary Film and Society: Joseph Heumann. This course will examine some of the aesthetic, social, and cultural issues unique to documentary film and video. TBD. EIU 4192G, Film and Contemporary Society, Honors: Robert Martinez A study of the theory, aesthetics, history, and cultural contexts of film, concentrating on the relationships among film, literature, popular culture, music, and the plastic arts. Students will explore the ways in which we read film and culture from around the world, and the ways in which we write about film. English majors are excluded. WI Credits: 4 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Credits: 4 Film 2759G, History of Cinema The course offers a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. Prerequisites: ENG 1002G. WI Credits: 3. MW 1-2:15 in CH 2120 and 6-8 M in CH 1255 ENG 3504 - Film and Literature. Robin Murray. (2-2-3) F, S. Practical and theoretical relations between film and literature. (Group 5) WI. Prereq: ENG 1002G. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chair. This semester s focus will be Comics, Graphic Narratives, and the Movies: Expanding the Boundaries of Film" Credits: 3 TR 3:30-5:10. CH 1255. ENG 4764 Advanced Dramatic Writing. Olga Abella. Advanced practice and instruction in dramatic writing. Students will participate in workshops of their creative work, read writing in forms of dramatic writing. TR 12:30-1:45 in CH 3159.. Summer 2017 Film 2759G, History of Cinema The course offers a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. Prerequisites: ENG 1002G. WI Credits: 3. Online EIU 4128G, Politics and Popular Culture This course examines the relationship between politics and popular culture and focuses on how politics and culture interact. Students will examine how various media including music, television, film, and the Internet influence and reflect political behavior and institutions. Majors in Political Science are excluded. WI. TBA EIU 4174G, Documentary Film and Society: David Gracon. This course will examine
some of the aesthetic, social, and cultural issues unique to documentary film and video. Online. Spring 2017 Required Courses: Film 2759G, History of Cinema The course offers a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. Prerequisites: ENG 1002G. WI Credits: 3. TR 12:30-1:45 with screenings T 7-9:30. CMN 3530, Film Communication. Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism. WI Credits: 4 TR 9:30-10:45 with screenings T 7-9:30. ENG 4904, Studies in Film Parley Ann Boswell In-depth study of major periods, genres, history, criticism and/or theory of film. Topics to be announced. (Group 5) WI Prerequisites & Notes: ENG 1002G. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chairperson. Credits: 3 3:30-6:50 R Elective Courses: CMN 2575, Field Communication: Students are introduced to visual theories and techniques of digital video production in the field. Through hands-on projects, students learn the basics of visual storytelling, composition, editing, audio, lighting, and more. Prerequisite: CMN 2525. 3 CR 9-11:05 MW CMN 4540 - Advanced Video Production. This course deals with the principles of preproduction planning, scripting, lighting, and audio and video mixing for studio and remote television productions as unified by the television director. Credits: 3 Prerequisites and Notes: Completion of CMN 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040 with a grade of "C" or better, and CMN 3540 or permission of instructor. 3.000 Credit hours. 8-10:05 TR EIU 4114G--Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies in Matters of Culture, Women and Film Robin Murray and Sally Renaud This co-taught course will examine the depiction of women in films of the United States from the silent era to today. Readings of films by and about women will allow us to explore the multiple stages of a woman's life, from childhood to old age, examining representations and stereotypes through historical periods and cultural contexts. By reading U.S. movies through multiple lenses, the course will also intertwine history, media, women s studies, film studies and sociology. 2-3:15 TR EIU 4174G, Documentary Film and Society: David Gracon. This course will examine some of the aesthetic, social, and cultural issues unique to documentary film and video. Online. Note: EIU 4174G is also being offered at Parkland College. EIU 4192G, Film and Contemporary Society, Honors: Robert Martinez A study of the theory, aesthetics, history, and cultural contexts of film, concentrating on the relationships among film, literature, popular culture, music, and the plastic arts. Students will explore the ways in which we read film and culture from around the world, and the ways in which we write about film. English majors are excluded. WI Credits: 4 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Credits: 4 ENG 3064, Intermediate Dramatic Writing. Olga Abella An intermediate course centered on dramatic writing. Class time will be devoted to writing, reading, and discussion of dramatic writing. Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in ENG 2000 or its equivalent. WC 3.000 Credit hours. 2:00-3:15 TR Fall 2016
Required Courses: Film 3750G, History of Cinema. The course offers a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. Prerequisites: ENG 1002G. WI Credits: 3. TR 12:30-1:45 with screenings T 7-9:30. CMN 3530, Film Communication. Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism. WI Credits: 4 TR 12:30-1:45 with screenings T 7-9:30. Elective Courses: CMN 2575, Field Communication: Students are introduced to visual theories and techniques of digital video production in the field. Through hands-on projects, students learn the basics of visual storytelling, composition, editing, audio, lighting, and more. Prerequisite: CMN 2525. 3 CR 9-11:05 TR CMN 3540, Videography: TBA The study and practice of the production of video programs, with an emphasis on camera techniques. Practical experience in a wide variety of production exercises. MC 916 Credits: 3 Prerequisites and Notes: CMN 2525 or Permission of Instructor. Credits: 3 MW 8:30-10:35, Coleman Hall 1781 Note: EIU 4174G is also being offered at Parkland College. EIU 4192G, Film and Contemporary Society, Honors: Robert Martinez A study of the theory, aesthetics, history, and cultural contexts of film, concentrating on the relationships among film, literature, popular culture, music, and the plastic arts. Students will explore the ways in which we read film and culture from around the world, and the ways in which we write about film. English majors are excluded. WI Credits: 4 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Credits: 4 3:00 pm - 6:20 pm W Coleman Hall 3170 ENG 3504 - Film and Literature. Ann Parley Boswell. (2-2-3) F, S. Practical and theoretical relations between film and literature. (Group 5) WI. Prereq: ENG 1002G. May be repeated once with permission of the Department Chair. Credits: 3 R 3:30-6:50. CH 3170. Film Review Bob and the Trees: Netflix, Climate Change, and the Economy in the Berkshires EIU 4170G - History on Film. David Smith. Through an investigation of the problems with and possibilities of cinematic depictions of the historical past, this course will explore the ways in which film uses historical images to project social ideals. Special attention will be placed on developing a method by which to critique the historicity of historical films. History majors are excluded. WI Credits: 3 Prerequisites & Notes Completion of 75 semester hours. Online. EIU 4174G, Documentary Film and Society: Robin Murray. This course will examine some of the aesthetic, social, and cultural issues unique to documentary film and video. Online. Screened in notable film festivals around the world including the Maryland Film Festival, Hamburg Int. Short Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro Int. Short Film Festival, and the Sundance Film festival, Diego
Ongaro s Bob and the Trees (2015) expands on Bob's compelling narrative, adding environmental themes to its economic message. Set during a winter in rural Massachusetts. Bob and the Trees details the evolution of Bob (Bob Tarasuk), a 50-year-old logger with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap. Struggling to make ends meet in the merciless logging industry, Bob makes a bad investment that threatens the family business and, according to the production notes, begins to heed the instincts of his ever darkening self. Although Matt blames the ants on the wet landscape, a radio broadcast the family listens to around the dinner table connects this ant infestation with climate change. And a Harvard Forest study confirms this connection, arguing, Projected atmospheric warming will lead to increases in abundance or range extensions of ant species at the cooler, northern extent of their ranges in the US. Although Bob the Trees does highlight Bob s journey from hubris in a verité neo-realistic style, for us the low-budget film does more. With its close ups of ants feeding on rotten wood, radio announcements about global warming, and references to rabid skunks attacking livestock, Bob the Trees touches on climate change and environmental destruction caused by habitat collapse. The reference to rabid skunks also emerges during a dinner conversation, and the solution ends up being slaughtering the livestock, since the farmer cannot afford to sustain them for the six-month quarantine. Bob s bad investment underpins much of the film s narrative and broaches the fragility of both the economy and environment in 21 st century Massachusetts. Instead of taking a share of a client s trees, Bob pays the owner a lump sum that far surpasses the amount he can earn when he and son Matt (Matt Gallagher) discover many of the trees are rotted and full of ants. These scenes are brief but powerful environmental messages, and they are heightened by the top-notch cinematography using the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera. The film left me thinking about these environmental issues. But it also prompted me to look up at the trees with Bob.