Film & Media Studies

Although a script poses infinite possibilities for realization, common situations frequently occur in film. This course will examine such basic occurrences (three or four person dialogue, movement shots, car scenes, landscapes, cityscapes) and how various directors have interpreted them in the short film form. Specific situations and the rudiments of directing them are analyzed. The analysis is deepened by an examination of master directors and how they developed creative solutions to common cinematic problems such as exposition, scene changes, and beginning and ending a film. The course is intended for students who plan to direct their own short films. Students will have exposure to a range of directing styles to better execute their vision. All students interested in learning the practical techniques of directing are welcome.

The course presents a practical and theoretical study of radio production, broadcasting, and recording. It examines radio as a communication medium and the technical components to develop radio programming. Principal topics include the fundamentals of radio broadcasting; technical and operational components; reading and writing; the functions of a producer; scripts; radio genres (fact, fiction, and opinion); types of stations and programming; target audiences; commercials; and selling air-time.

The extensive independent study field research paper produced by the student is both the centerpiece of the intern's professional engagement and the culmination of the academic achievements of the semester. During the preparatory session, IFE teaches the methodological guidelines and principles to which students are expected to adhere in the development of their written research. Students work individually with a research advisor from their field. The first task is to identify a topic, following guidelines established by IFE for research topic choice. The subject must be tied in a useful and complementary way to the student-intern's responsibilities, as well as to the core concerns of the host organization. The research question should be designed to draw as much as possible on resources available to the intern via the internship (data, documents, interviews, observations, seminars and the like). Students begin to focus on this project after the first 2-3 weeks on the internship. Each internship agreement signed with an organization makes explicit mention of this program requirement, and this is the culminating element of their semester. Once the topic is identified, students meet individually, as regularly as they wish, with their IFE research advisor to generate a research question from the topic, develop an outline, identify sources and research methods, and discuss drafts submitted by the student. The research advisor also helps students prepare for the oral defense of their work which takes place a month before the end of the program and the due date of the paper. The purpose of this exercise is to help students evaluate their progress and diagnose the weak points in their outline and arguments. Rather than an extraneous burden added to the intern's other duties, the field research project grows out of the internship through a useful and rewarding synergy of internship and research. The Field Study and Internship model results in well-trained student-interns fully engaged in mission-driven internships in their field, while exploring a critical problem guided by an experienced research advisor.

The course covers the variety of cinematic representations of National Socialism and the Holocaust, including an overview of the different filmic approaches used to represent and refer to the Third Reich. Students examine the most intense cinematic production phase of German history, which is the time between Hitler’s coming to power in 1933 and the end of the Second World War in 1945. Students examine movies by filmmakers such as Riefenstahl and Steinhoff, who created propaganda films glorifying the Nazi movement, as well as movies by Chaplin and Lubitsch who sought to fight the Nazi regime with satirical strategies. Students then analyze the equally wide spectrum of movie production after 1945. Some of the films discussed include: TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, SHOAH, SCHINDLER'S LIST, TRAIN OF LIFE, and INGLOURIOUS BASTARDS. Assessment is based on participation in working groups and a final exam.

The course covers the most important developments in the history of the media concerning how historical studies are conducted today in theory and practice. Special emphasis is placed on how digital tools and digital sources influence the conditions for historical inquiries. The course introduces methods and tools for digital history, e.g. text analysis and data visualization.