Ohio University
Graduate Catalog
Film
The School of Film offers two graduate degree programs: the Master of Fine Arts and the Master of Arts. The M.F.A. program and both tracks of the M.A. program are designed to allow the entrance of talented students with no formal film training who have demonstrated extensive experience in another medium or academic discipline. While prior achievement in filmmaking, video, or film scholarship is not necessary, acceptance to graduate study in the school requires a major commitment to these areas of study.
Graduate study in the School of Film should not be perceived in terms of a vocational trade school; technical knowledge and skills are offered only as tools to achieve creative conceptual goals. Further, because the film discipline requires full integration and knowledge of related disciplines, all graduate study in film requires a minor area of study outside the school.
The School of Film publishes Wide Angle, a quarterly journal of film; hosts the annual Ohio University Film Conference; and with the Peterson Sound Studio, provides students with access to an on-site professional sound mixing facility. The School of Film cooperates with the Athens Center for Film and Video, which sponsors the annual Athens International Film Festival, Video Festival, and the Athens Film Society. Students accepted for graduate study in the School of Film may take an active role in center activities.
Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts is a professional three-year program of study for talented individuals seeking advanced training in directing, screenwriting, producing, cinematography, editing, and motion picture sound with a solid background in film history, theory, and criticism. The Master of Fine Arts is a terminal degree and is designed for students who wish to enter the film industry, to teach at the college or university level, or to make their way as independent film artists.
The Master of Fine Arts degree program involves intensive coursework in two areas: film production and film scholarship. The program requires 135 hours of graduate study, including a minor in a related discipline, a 15-credit hour second-year production project, and the completion of a creative thesis. You will determine the scope and nature of the thesis with your thesis advisor and the film faculty; a feature-length thesis can take the form of (a) a thesis film or films, (b) a thesis videotape or group of videotapes, (c) a narrative screenplay.
You are required to maintain a 3.00 average in all coursework, and your overall creative and scholastic performance is formally evaluated in three steps:
Failure twice at any stage of the evaluation process will result in denial of further enrollment in the M.F.A. program.
Master of Arts
The Master of Arts program has two tracks.
Track One: International Film Track One is a carefully structured two-year program in international film scholarship for students planning continued study at the doctoral level or planning to enter the international film industry. It consists of a carefully designed program in international film scholarship including film history, theory and criticism, and international studies. Track One requires 75 credit hours and a written thesis.
Required coursework for the International Film track includes a three-quarter sequence in film theory and criticism or in international film history, a three-quarter sequence in international cinema, one quarter of film production, and additional courses in film aesthetics, ideology, structural analysis, and contemporary issues in international film. The program also requires completion of a graduate minor in international studies including either study of a second language or, for those who already have a second language, study of computer science. The program is selected in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Final degree requirements include a comprehensive written examination administered during the third quarter of enrollment, evaluated by members of the School of Film faculty. Two-thirds of this examination will address your major area of study within the school. Failure twice at this stage of the evaluation process will result in denial of further enrollment as a Master of Arts candidate.
After you have completed comprehensive examinations, consulted with your advisor, submitted a thesis prospectus to the film faculty, and selected a thesis committee, you will begin your written thesis. After completing the thesis, you must complete an oral defense of it before the thesis committee.
Track Two: Continuing Training for the Returning Student Track Two is designed to meet the specific needs of experienced returning students seeking additional training, study, and certification. Returning students may design a program that specifically meets their career objectives.
Required coursework for the Track Two Master of Arts in film consists of at least 45 credit hours of graduate study plus a written thesis. Of the required coursework, 12 credit hours must be a graduate minor in a related discipline. You will design your curriculum in consultation with a faculty advisor and subject to the formal approval of the School of Film faculty.
Candidates must complete a comprehensive written examination evaluated by the members of the school faculty. After successful completion of the comprehensive examination, you will initiate a thesis prospectus to be approved by the School of Film faculty in consultation with your advisor. The Track Two thesis is expected to emphasize practical rather than scholarly concerns. After completing the thesis, you must complete an oral defense of it before the thesis committee.
Admission
Because certain core courses must be taken in sequence, admission to all graduate programs in the School of Film is restricted to fall enrollment.
To apply, you must demonstrate a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 for your undergraduate major and a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution. Your undergraduate degree may be in any discipline. Supporting documents required are:
- A transcript of all undergraduate work
- Three letters of recommendation
- A formal application with fee
- A sample of your written work consisting of a paper or papers on any subject, such as a research paper, article, or critical analysis
- A 500-word personal essay on your goals in pursuing graduate study in film and the relationship of previous education and experience to these goals
- For M.F.A. applicants only, examples of creative work such as a film, videotape, or portfolio of work from another medium. GRE scores are not required.
Send transcripts, formal application, and fees directly to the Office of Graduate Student Services. Your application cannot be processed until the application fee has been received. Send all other materials to the Director, School of Film, Lindley Hall, Ohio University, Athens OH 45701-2979. The normal deadline for receipt of applications is February 15.
A limited number of scholarships and graduate associateships are available. While a majority of these awards are given to students who have already been approved for M.F.A. candidacy, highly qualified students may receive scholarships or graduate associateships during their first year on campus.
Faculty
Film (FILM) Courses
501 Film Symposium (1)
Current issues of film studies. Presentations by students, faculty, and guest speakers.
Staff; F, W, Sp.
521 International Film I (4)
Analysis of the relationship between film and culture, with emphasis on how cultural meanings influence film aesthetics and critical assessment of the medium. Examination of the work of filmmaking nations such as Brazil, China, India, Sweden, and the United States. Weekly screenings.
Staff; F.
522 International Film II (4)
Development of a nation's or cultural region's filmmaking, with emphasis on the films of self-defined identity groups such as Asian- or African-American and women's films. Weekly screenings.
Staff; W.
523 International Film III (4)
Aesthetics and uses of film and related technologies in the study of Western and non-Western peoples, with emphasis on ethnographic and documentary filmmaking. Field exercises. Weekly screenings.
Staff.
531 Film History I (4)
Study of the history of the motion picture. Emphasis on alternatives to the film canon and revisionist approaches to film history. Weekly screenings.
Staff; F.
532 Film History II (4)
History of international silent and sound documentary film. Weekly screenings.
Staff; W.
533 Film History III (4)
History of international silent and sound experimental film. Weekly screenings.
Staff; Sp.
538 Studies in Documentary Film (4)
Development of naturalistic and polemic traditions, cinema verité, and personal documentary. Weekly screenings.
Staff.
541 Film Analysis (4)
Overview for screenwriters and directors of dramatic and filmic structure in contemporary narrative film. A lecture/screening format will be used to study dramatic action, characterization, plot, and scene structure; students will analyze motion pictures as well as scripts on which they were based.
Staff.
542 Scriptwriting (4, max 12)
Introduction to craft of developing narrative screenplay. Workshop/tutorial approach to study of screenplay structure, format, dialogue, and theory, culminating in completed screenplay.
Staff.
543 Advanced Scriptwriting (4)
Prereq: 541 and 542. Seminar/tutorial approach to the study of advanced problems in writing the narrative screenplay.
Staff.
551 Film Theory and Criticism (4)
Examination of various approaches to film theory and criticism including formal aspects of cinema, tools for stylistic analysis, and ideological implications of film. Weekly screenings.
Staff; F.
552 Film Theory and Criticism II (4)
Prereq: 651. Examination of materialist approaches to film theory and criticism including works of Eisenstein, Arnheim, and Burch. Weekly screenings.
W.
553 Film Theory and Criticism III (4)
Prereq: 652. Topics in film theory and criticism including feminist perspectives, political cinema, theatricality in film, structuralist and psychoanalytic approaches to film. Weekly screenings.
Staff; Sp.
561 Motion Picture Production I (5)
Professional 16mm film production. Instruction in basic camera and lighting technique, elementary film structure, and in-camera editing, leading to production of individual silent film projects.
Staff; F.
562 Motion Picture Production II (5)
Prereq: 561. Continuation of 561 introducing color emulsions and lighting techniques, leading to production of individual color, non-synch film project.
Staff; W.
563 Motion Picture Production III (5)
Prereq: 562. A continuation of 562 focusing on advanced sound motion picture production techniques, leading to an individual color, synch-sound film project.
Staff; Sp.
564 Video Art I (4)
The development of contemporary video and music video within the context of art. Emphasis on time, motion, and color.
Staff.
565 Video Art II (4)
Prereq: 564. A continued study of contemporary video and music video within the context of art with emphasis on recent technological innovations and their effect on expression.
Staff.
566 Film Methods for Video I (5)
Philosophical and practical blending of film and video with emphasis upon current industrial standards for film and video production.
Staff.
567 Film Methods for Video II (5)
Continuation of 566.
Staff.
571 Film Topics Seminar (1-5)
Investigation of selected motion picture topic announced before registration. Focus may be scholarly/critical, industry-related, or an aspect of motion picture production or screenwriting. Topics and credit hours vary.
Staff; F.
572 Film Topics Seminar (1-5)
See 571 for description.
Staff; W.
573 Film Topics Seminar (1-5)
See 571 for description.
Staff; Sp.
583 Film/Video Post-Production (2)
Practicum course in post-production for students with a film or video project requiring a final edit, conforming, and sound mix.
Staff; F, W, Sp.
633 International Film Seminar I (4)
Advanced topics in film scholarship. Weekly screenings.
Staff; F.
634 International Film Seminar II (4)
Advanced topics in film scholarship. Weekly screenings.
Staff; W.
635 International Film Seminar III (4)
Advanced topics in film scholarship. Weekly screenings.
Staff; Sp.
661 Cinematography (3-5)
Prereq: 563. Advanced study of aesthetics, techniques, and approaches to cinematography.
Staff.
662 Editing (3-5)
Prereq: 563. Advanced study of techniques and aesthetics of film and video editing.
Staff.
663 Film/Video Studio Sound (3-5)
Prereq: 563. Advanced study of audible elements of film including dialogue, sound effects, music, dubbing, looping, and post-production mixing.
Staff.
664 Directing (3-5)
Prereq: 563. Examination of various theories and techniques of motion picture directing including script analysis and interpretation, directing actors for film and video, mise-en-scene, coverage, and continuity through practical directing exercises and lectures.
Staff.
665 Producing (4)
Prereq: 563. Examination of function of producer in financing, organizing, scheduling, budgeting, managing, and securing distribution for a film.
Staff.
682 Independent Study (1-5)
Advanced individual creative or scholarly work in film. May be repeated.
Staff.
691 Thesis Seminar (4)
Presentation and discussion of thesis projects in progress. May be repeated.
Staff.
780 Individual Production Problems (1-5)
Individual production of motion picture. May be repeated.
Staff.
781 Individual Readings (1-5)
Readings and reports on works related to motion pictures. Reading list selected in consultation with faculty member. May be repeated.
Staff.
795S Film Studio Thesis (1-15)
795W Film Written Thesis (1-15)
Return to 1995-1997 Graduate Catalog Table of Contents
University Publications and the Computer Services Center revised this file ( https://www.ohio.edu/~gcat/95-97/area/film.html
) April 13, 1998.
Please e-mail comments or suggestions to " gcat@www.cats.ohiou.edu ."