Art & the History of Art 315 - Experiments in Narrative

(Offered as ARHA 315 and FAMS 443.)  What constitutes cinematic narrative, distinct from other forms of storytelling? How do we engage film form to tell a story?  Can the camera be a narrator?  How can we alter a traditional narrative structure, and, what are the implications of these transformations? How can we use color to construct the subjective space of a character, or use sound to manipulate the temporal order of the story, creating flashbacks, ellipses or flash-forwards?

In this advanced production workshop we will explore cinematic narrative first by closely studying how a group of classical, experimental, and contemporary filmmakers have engaged narrative through filmic form. We will then formulate our own new cinematic narratives. Cinema is no longer restricted to the theater or the gallery. Moving images surround us--online, on our phones and screens, in the streets, and in stores, taxis, and train stations.  We will consider the formal parameters of these new cinematic spaces and their possibilities. Coursework consists of film viewing, analysis and discussion, and the production of several short narrative films.

Requisite:  Prior film production experience; Recommended requisite: ARHA 102 or 111.  Limited to 8 students. Fall semester. Visiting  Lecturer Rivera-Moret.