14 sessions will be devoted to a history of the genre, screening essential films both inside and outside the canon, with a focus on the changes in style, technique, and subject matter which influenced the form from its earliest beginnings to the present. Undergraduates who take the course for three points are required to keep journals in which they respond to each session and compare observations with those made when viewing at least one documentary of their choice seen outside class, as well as in response to critical essays provided at each session and references in the text.
Category Archives: Fall 2026
Universe in a Blender (COART-UT 508)
Blender is a dynamic tool that can be used to design real world sets, physical objects and virtual assets for various media and live performance. It can render robust animations and impose visual effects on recorded video. It has the capacity to interface easily with interactive softwares like Unity and Unreal, while having the potential to output hi-fidelity renders for print. But beyond that it’s just a software. The ability to create any believable world comes from you. In this class we will explore a variety of techniques to create living, breathing fictional worlds while honing the skills in Blender to bring them to life. Students will be asked to create food, buildings, clothing, people and traffic signs from their fictional universe – building consistency of aesthetic, narrative allusion, and the fine details that make any world “believable”. The class will involve dissecting and discussing media on this world building, technical tutorials and instruction in Blender, and hands on workshops that tackle the conceptual questions of world building while exploring how to interface Blender with an outside medium: (3D printing, Pattern Making, Asset Development, Unity, Unreal, After Effects, recorded video). Students will be expected to watch technical tutorials and read short pieces on these topics for homework. Students will also complete weekly deliverable assignments.
Playful Performance Props (COART-UT 505)
TouchDesigner is a powerful software hub for live audiovisual performance and installation art. With a cutting-edge buffet of inputs and outputs at our disposal, what new, evolved, or remixed types of art can we create? If you’re a musician, you’ll make and play an instrument that didn’t exist before. If you’re a dancer, your movements will become the music and visuals, instead of the other way around. If you’re a visual artist, you’ll collage with code, sculpt with magic, and create installations that respond to your audience instantly. If you’re all of the above, you’ll have fun in this class. The course starts with video art — live camera feeds, visual effects, and projection mapping — then weaves in audio reactivity and sound generation for DJ/VJing. We will use the MediaPipe plugin to detect our faces, bodies, and objects and use that data to make music, control systems, and modulate visual effects. We will scan objects, people, and environments with our phones to create virtual scenes and 3D animations rendered live. We will learn communication protocols — MIDI to send input and receive output from MIDI controllers or DAWs such as Ableton; OSC to wirelessly connect to other computers, software, and livecode environments; and NDI to send high-resolution and low-latency video feeds between devices. By the end of the course, students will be able to use TouchDesigner to connect and control any modern art/performance/game software. Assignments are time-intensive: creating original work to be shown in class and watching recorded lessons of the next week’s concepts. Classtime is a mix of homework performances, collaborative exercises, concept walkthroughs, and studio time. The final is a small group performance or interactive installation that is a part of a public show. No previous coding, fabrication, or performance experience necessary. Note: There is no longer mandatory use of Arduino in this course, though students with interest in Arduino microcontrollers can still create custom hardware interfaces that send sensor input or receive command signals and turn TouchDesigner into a hub for interactive installations or performance props.
Storyboarding (FMTV-UT 1033)
Students will create a storyboard from an assigned literary property (i.e., fairy tales, folk tales, famous short stories, etc.) and research the chosen material visually in picture libraries, print and photo archives, museum/gallery libraries and online. From this basic research, the student will create and develop all the visual elements that lead to a final production storyboard; these elements include character model drawings; styling sketches for costumes and sets; experimental “inspirational” sketches exploring mood, color, and character relationships and experiments in animation and color test footage. Each week, students will “pitch,” (i.e. present material) as it is being developed. Through weekly critiques from the instructor and students, elements and shape of the production storyboard is refined to its final form. The approved storyboard at the end of the semester should be ready to go into production, and must reflect character ,attitude, design, entertainment, mood, expressions, feeling and type of action. It must use dialogue, music/sound effects, and tell the story in the best possible way. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors.
History of Cinematography (FMTV-UT 1206)
This course deals with the history of the art and science of cinematography. A working Director of Photography will relate a perspective that is unique and factual to a theoretical discussion, which is traditionally academic. Cinematography has a strong tradition of adapting its tools to enhance the storytelling experience. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES. “Non-majors must process a “Permission Notice for Non-Majors” form” to register for the course (subject to availability).
Film Story Analysis: (DWPG-UT 1105)
This text analysis course is designed to provide a platform for an in-depth study of how the story of a film is presented, what choices are made by the author, how information is offered or withheld and what effect this has on the drama. This class will be an “anthology” of different works, each selected for a different aspect of storytelling, exploring how the stylistic choices, themes, and dramatic devices reveal themselves within the body of work. The course is designed to better help students organize their own narratives by analyzing the techniques employed by various screenwriters in constructing their screenplays. A selection of films will be screened and discussed in terms of continuity of theme; delineation of plot, development of structure, protagonist’s story purpose, dialogue as action and character. After each screening, the instructor will lead a group discussion and analysis of the film, focusing further on the techniques, conventions and devices employed by the screenwriter to both tell a good story and satisfy the demands of the audience.
The Art of Sound (FMTV-UT 1007)
This is a critical studies course exploring the aesthetics and psycho-acoustics of sound: how sound works in art and life; how it affects emotions and stimulates the imagination; and how it is used in film, radio, television and other creative or artistic contexts, particularly its application as a key element in storytelling. This course examines the meaning and character of the soundscape (the acoustic environment) and the ways it has technically and aesthetically evolved throughout film history from the Kinetophone to the iPhone. The course includes reading in the theory of sound, and listening to examples of sound work by composers and sound designers. In previous semesters we have looked at the soundtrack in such films as: Playtime; Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, Aliens, The Evil Dead II, Saving Private Ryan, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Class meetings will be devoted to: 1) lecture and discussion based on assigned readings and listening and viewing assignments; and 2) screening of selected audio and video works. Students are graded on class participation, journals, a paper, and exams. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors.
History of Editing (FMTV-UT 1003)
The theory and practice of editing, from Griffith to Kubrick. The emphasis will be on experiments in narrative clarity and dramatic emphasis in storytelling. For many, editing is the unique source of the art of filmmaking. This course addresses this point of view. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors.
The Black Image in Cinema (FMTV-UT 1216)
This is a critical analysis of the Black image in cinema through film screenings, discussions, and selected readings. Film is an art form whose influence dictates how we see others and ourselves. It shapes our worldview and, yet, it is one of the youngest and most misunderstood art forms. On the surface, film viewing might seem like a passive form of learning, but effective films engage us on emotional, intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and political levels. Film is one of the most powerful mediums ever invented and since it’s invention, the Black image and experience has been distorted, demonized, romanticized, erased, appropriated as well as exalted and reified. So, it is our duty and responsibility to know its history, understand its present effects, so we can dictate its future and participate in how the Black image evolves and is treated over time. This course will survey and critically explore an historical range of the Black image on screen and Black films in relation to inspiration, narrative, a scene, set, and site of production. Screening will include a sampling of important Black independently made, and/or Black cast and narrative feature films. We will discuss and analyze specific technical elements (direction, editing, framing and composition, mise-en-scene, music, etc.) that reinforce and demonstrate these larger themes. Accordingly, our discussions and readings will cover the full range of current issues and debates in Black cinema studies, from independence vs. mainstream filmmaking; gender and sexuality; class and color caste; the ghettoization and upwardly mobile integration of urban zones; cooptation and the rise of the bourgeois story as genre, and so on.
Music for Film and TV (FMTV-UT 1008)
This course examines the artistic, aesthetic, and technical aspects in composing and creating music for film and television. It provides an inside look into the relationship between composer, director, and music editor, exploring music as a creative tool. Through lectures, analysis, demonstrations, and presentations by guest speakers, students learn and deal with the specifics of the film composer’s job, duties, and responsibilities, including the basics of film scoring. As a result, students develop the listening and production skills necessary for creative use of music in films, television, and media. In addition to creative and technical considerations, the business and personal relationship between composer and director/producer will be discussed. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors.
Hollywood Auteurs (FMTV-UT 1154)
This course will analyze the possibility of pursuing the ideals of an “author cinema” – a personal way of expressing ideas that can deal with Hollywood mainstream and also with the independents, but will never be considered an integral part of either one. The “author cinema” would be a cinema of personal expression that refuses the mainstream’s prison of “three acts, happy ending, stars, etc.”; and at the same time, refuses the trends and the limited scope of most of the independents: a cinema that shows not only how to make a film, but why. Films from all over the world will be analyzed, focusing in particular on the authors that are able to keep alive their personal vision while dealing with the studios (i.e. Stone, Lee, Scorsese, Kubrick), the ones that dared to fight Hollywood (i.e. Welles, Peckinpah, Cimino, von Stroheim) and the loose cannons independent at heart (Altman, P.T. Anderson, Coen brothers). A series of guests to the class will be comprised of critics, curators and cultural organizers, filmmakers and producers. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES. Non-majors must process a “Permission Notice for Non-Majors” form to register for the course (subject to availability).
Film Analysis (FMTV-UT 1204)
A rival reportedly asked Walt Disney why Disney’s films were so much better. Disney replied, “I analyze.” His rival said, “So do I.” Disney answered, “I analyze better.” Film Analysis is an advanced course in film criticism taught by practitioners. We build upon the analytical skills developed in Language of Film, Storytelling Strategies and the various production courses in order to strengthen the students’ ability to critically assess the weave of narrative content, mise-en-scene, cinematic technique and structures. Through this in-depth examination of a wide range of films, students deepen their understanding of how filmmakers over the years and in various cultures have created meaningful experiences for their audiences.This course counts as History & Criticism for Film Majors.
Legal Aspects of The Entertainment Industry (FMTV-UT 1195)
A course that tracks the filmmaking process from its inception, at the idea phase and follows the creative process through development, pre-production, principal photography and post-production. The class will focus on the business and legal issues that arise during every phase of filmmaking. Key topics covered will include: copyright law; option agreements for underlying rights such as books, plays, magazine and newspaper articles; sources of financing; distribution agreements; licensing of music; agreements for actors, directors, producers and writers. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors. Students must have Junior or Senior standing. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES.
History of Animation (FMTV-UT 1144)
Offered in the fall semester only. A chronological survey of the art and commerce of the animated film internationally over the last 100 years. Designed to expand students’ awareness of the origins of a significant 20th-century art form and to acquaint them with a wide variety of practical techniques and styles, from pre-film influences to computer-generated images; from “Golden Age” studio cartoon factories to today’s independent avant-garde animator-filmmakers. Designed to expand student aesthetic sensibilities and sharpen critical perceptions about this unique genre. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES. Non-majors must process a “Permission Notice for Non-Majors” form to register for the course (subject to availability).
Strategies for Independent Producing (FMTV-UT 1092)
Today’s content creators must be entrepreneurs, navigating dynamically changing industry. How does emerging talent gain traction in a ’tsunami wave’ of independent films, episodics, webisodes and podcasts? This class explores development, funding, and legal strategies to make, market and distribute DIY low and ultra-low budget projects. Ones you can make now. Students will develop core competencies, culminating in a pitch deck for a viable indie feature film.
American Cinema: Origins to 1960 (CINE-UT 50)
This course offers a broad survey of American cinema from its beginnings (and even its pre-history) up to 1960. While the emphasis will be on the dominant, narrative fiction film, there will be attention to other modes of American cinema such as experimental film, animation, shorts, and non-fiction film. The course will look closely at films themselves — how do their styles and narrative structures change over time? — but also at contexts: how do films reflect their times? how does the film industry develop? what are the key institutions that had impact on American film over its history? We will also attend to the role of key figures in film’s history: from creative personnel (for example, the director or the screenwriter) to industrialists and administrators, to censors to critics and to audiences themselves. The goal will be to provide an overall understanding of one of the most consequential of modern popular art forms and of its particular contributions to the art and culture of our modernity.
The Directors Process (FMTV-UT 125)
This class is an introduction to the craft of directing. We will take a step-by-step look at the director’s process and responsibilities in this most collaborative of arts. Our focus will include script, character and scene analysis; performance, casting and rehearsal; design and visual style; assembling the final form. We’ll talk about what an actor wants from a director, how to talk to the cinematographer and production/costume designers and why we look at editing as the final rewrite. Through lectures, screenings, assignments and discussions with working professionals, the class will offer a comprehensive foundation for the director on which to build a rich creative experience at Tisch and a long and satisfying professional career thereafter.
Life Drawing: The Figure (FMTV-UT 1112)
Reccomended for students studying both animation and live action. This course is designed to train animation students to think visually, and to strengthen their overall drafting and design skills. The focus of the course is drawing humans and animals from live subjects, thereby learning to translate the three-dimensional world into two-dimensional terms. Drafting skills are important to all animators, regardless of their chosen media or focus. In particular, strong drafting skills are essential for character animators. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES.
History of Children’s Television (FMTV-UT 1022)
Through lectures, discussion, program viewing, projects, guests, and our own lives, this course explores the state of children’s media for pre-schoolers to adolescents. The goal is to understand how we all have been affected by the media and how we can determine change for the next generation. We will consider the role television, videos, and the internet play in regard to family and peer relationships, education and social issues. We will also examine the broadcasting and cable industry as well as the success and failure of the government and such media groups as ACT (Action for Children’s Television) in regulating content of children?s programs. Assignments will include interviews of pre-schoolers and adolescents, website presentations, critique of children’s programs, and a proposal for children’s media. This course allocates as History & Criticism for Film & TV majors.
Stop Motion Animation (FMTV-UT 214)
Includes all techniques in which the animator works directly in front of the camera. Examples include: Claymation, puppet animation, paint under the camera, in-camera special effects, and pixillation. Demonstrations on character building, set construction, and design, armatures, and lighting for miniature. Several short assignments are required to introduce students to intricacies of stop-motion animation and relationship to 3-D computer animation. Each student will produce a short film with sound. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES. THIS COURSE HAS PREREQUISITES. Non-majors must process a “Permission Notice for Non-Majors” form to register for the course (subject to availability).
Podcasting Workshop (FMTV-UT 1006)
“True stories in sound” podcasts are among the most popular and innovative formats in audio, driven by the success of shows like Serial, 99% Invisible, and Ear Hustle. While challenging to produce, these podcasts offer a compelling mix of intimacy and urgency, making them a powerful medium for storytelling. In this course, students will navigate the full production process—pitching, recording, writing, and producing a complete episode in formats such as audio documentary, memoir, essay, how-to, or experimental. We’ll refine interview and writing techniques, develop individual storytelling voices, and explore creative approaches to sound editing. Additionally, students will craft a podcast pitch deck to support their episode and learn strategies for marketing, distribution, and monetization.