Film & Media Studies

This course discusses the various types of audiovisual media on the internet. Topics include: concepts and challenges posed by internet information and communication technologies-- digital impact on audiovisual media; video, film, and television on the internet; case studies of the creation of apps, web pages, and other audiovisual content.

In the course expressions of modern advertising in different media forms are studied using theories derived from semiotics, rhetoric and image analysis. Advertising is defined as a form of communication. Its intermedia concept is analyzed in relation to, for example, music videos or other means of popular culture. Questions concerning branding, gender, or globalization are treated in relation to visual, verbal, or musical means of advertising. The main emphasis is on an intermedia analysis of concrete examples of advertising in newspapers, television, Internet, buzz marketing, and brand hacking. The focus is on analyzing but also creating different forms of advertising in the twentieth century, as a manifestation of modern popular culture.

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.