MDIA 4: EXPERIMENTAL FILM & VIDEO
Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading | Value |
---|---|
Effective Term: | Summer 2023 |
Units: | 4 |
Hours: | 4 lecture, 1 laboratory per week (60 total per quarter) |
Degree & Credit Status: | Degree-Applicable Credit Course |
Foothill GE: | Area I: Humanities |
Transferable: | CSU/UC |
Grade Type: | Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass) |
Repeatability: | Not Repeatable |
Description
Course Objectives
The student will be able to:
- Identify and analyze the major historical developments and movements in experimental film and video
- Critically analyze the works of major film and video artists
- Identify and explain innovative techniques employed by experimental filmmakers and video artists
- Identify and explain the inter-relationship between experimental film/video and other art forms
Course Content
- Major historical developments and movements in experimental film and video
- Dada, Cubism, Surrealism 1920-1940
- Russian Realism
- Animation
- Pre- and Post-War American Avant Garde 1930s-1950s
- Underground film 1960s
- Structuralist film 1960s
- Psychedelic light shows 1960s
- Video art pioneers 1960s-1970s
- Reflexive performance video 1970s-1990s
- Video installation 1980s-2000s
- The digital present and future
- Projection mapping
- Dome projection
- Generative video
- Works of major film and video artists
- Hans Richter
- Man Ray
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Dziga Vertov
- Oskar Fischinger
- Maya Deren
- Fluxus
- Kenneth Anger
- Bruce Conner
- Stan Brakhage
- Andy Warhol
- Yoko Ono
- Morgan Fisher
- Peter Kubelka
- Joshua White
- Nam Jun Paik
- Steina and Woody Vasulka
- Joan Jonas
- Bill Viola
- Diana Thater
- Tony Oursler
- Matthew Barney
- Innovative techniques employed by experimental filmmakers and video artists
- Superimposition
- Slow-motion
- Negative reversal
- Stop-motion animation
- Split screen
- Kaleidoscoping
- Blue/green screen
- Step-printing
- Inter-relationship between experimental film/video and other art forms
- Avant garde and electro-acoustic music
- Cubist, Surrealist, and abstract painting
- Kinetic sculpture
- Modern dance
- Graphic design
- Music video
Lab Content
Screenings of experimental films/videos on-campus or online for completion of written assignments and quizzes.
Special Facilities and/or Equipment
2. Library for film research, books, scripts, DVD/Blu-ray playback facility.
3. When taught online, access to computer with email; email address, internet browsing software and embedded video viewing.
Method(s) of Evaluation
Written essays and papers on individual films, film movements, filmmakers
Quizzes, midterm, and final exam on readings, screenings, and presentations
Method(s) of Instruction
Lecture/online presentations and classroom/online discussion
In-class/online viewing of films, followed by instructor-guided interpretation and analysis
Group presentations of major projects followed by in-class/online discussion and evaluation
Discussion and critique of assigned readings and film screenings
Representative Text(s) and Other Materials
Ramey, Kathryn. Experimental Film: Break the Machine. 2015.
Lippit, Akira. X-Cinema: From a Theory of Experimental Film and Video. 2012.
Rees, A.L.. A History of Experimental Film and Video. 2011.
Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary Cinema. 2002.
Kuenzli, Rudolph E.. Dada and Surrealist Film. 1996.
Le Grice, Malcolm. Abstract Film and Beyond. 1982.
Although these texts are older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal in this area of study.
Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments
- Critical film analysis in the form of quizzes or online discussion assignments
- Analytical essay that requires student to select a film and develop an argument referencing the film and the reading materials
- Analytical essay that requires student to conduct research on an experimental film/video of their choice in relation to form, theory, aesthetics, or social issues