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Film and Media Studies

Overview Degrees/Certificates Courses

Degrees Offered

A.A. in Film and Media Studies

Dean Brian Rickel
Department Chair Adam Wadenius
Phone (916) 691-7171
Email wadenia@crc.losrios.edu

Associate Degree

A.A. in Film and Media Studies

Film and Media Studies is designed to develop critical thinking and screenwriting skills while fostering a humanistic and social scientific understanding of the media. Students combine hands-on courses in scriptwriting, with critical studies of the visual media as an art form and social force. This major is particularly encouraged for students who intend to transfer to university film and media programs or pursue careers that demand a high level of visual literacy, analytic and writing skills. The production of digital film and broadcast television are taught through the Radio, Television and Film production program.

Highlights include:

* State-of-the-art 32-station computer lab for graphics and non-linear editing including Apple's Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects.

* Hand-on courses in film and video production and editing

* Screening room with rear screen projector and advanced sound system

Note to Transfer Students:

If you are interested in transferring to a four-year college or university to pursue a bachelor’s degree in this major, it is critical that you meet with a CRC counselor to select and plan the courses for your major. Schools vary widely in terms of the required preparation. The courses that CRC requires for an Associate’s degree in this major may be different from the requirements needed for the Bachelor’s degree.

Catalog Date: August 1, 2024

Degree Requirements

Course Code	Course Title	Units
FMS 300	Introduction to Film Studies	3
FMS 305	Film History I (1895-1949)	3
FMS 320	Film Genre	3
JOUR 310	Mass Media and Society (3)	3
or RTVF 300	Mass Media and Society (3)
RTVF 330	Beginning Single Camera Production	3
A minimum of 3 units from the following:		3
FMS 310	Introduction to Screenwriting (3)
RTVF 362	Digital Non-Linear Video Editing (3)
Total Units:		18

The Film and Media Studies Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree may be obtained by completion of the required program, plus general education requirements, plus sufficient electives to meet a 60-unit total. See CRC graduation requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, the student will be able to:

Analyze, interpret, and exercise critical judgment in the evaluation of film and media forms and cultures. (SLO-1)
Recognize, articulate, and judge the visual, verbal, and audio conventions through which images, words, and sounds make meaning in film and media texts. (SLO-2)
Write clear, concise, and well-developed analyses of film and media texts. (SLO-3)
Demonstrate an understanding of the professional, technical, and formal choices that realize, develop, or challenge existing practices and traditions in film. (SLO-4)
Determine what type of information is needed for a research question, problem, or issue and identify, evaluate and effectively apply this information in scholarly or visual projects. (SLO-5)
Articulate the history, development, genre, and movements of the film medium and recognize the contributions of national, minority, diasporic, and subaltern filmmakers. (SLO-6)
Explain the processes, current structure, and ethical norms of American media. (SLO-7)
Evaluate research on and popular claims of the media's social, political, and individual effects. (SLO-8)
Produce videos that demonstrate an understanding of camera coverage, frame composition and mise-en-scene, camera perspective and blocking, editorial rhythm, pace, structure and style. (SLO-9)

Career Information

Career Options Director, Entertainment Writer or Editor, Producer, Screenwriter, Script Supervisor, Story Editor Some career options may require more than two years of college study. Classes beyond the associate degree may be required to fulfill some career options or for preparation for transfer to a university program.

Film and Media Studies (FMS) Courses

FMS 300 Introduction to Film Studies

Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C1; IGETC Area 3A
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course is an introduction to the system of film, and its various forms, styles, and genres. Students will study a wide variety of films to further an understanding of the conventions by which motion pictures address social, and aesthetic experience. Through the class lectures, readings, and screenings, students will be introduced to the multiple functions of film, conventional and alternative ways of reading a film text, and will develop the critical tools necessary for thinking and writing about film as both an art form, and as a medium that reflects popular culture.

FMS 305 Film History I (1895-1949)

Same As:RTVF 305
Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C1; IGETC Area 3A
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course is an introduction to the early history of motion pictures (1890s to 1949), with an emphasis on examining how film functions as a telling historical document. We will explore the evolution of cinema around the world, investigating the emergence of various styles and movements, the contributions of seminal directors and performers, the effects of developing technologies, and the evolution of cinematic storytelling techniques. **Please Note: FMS/RTVF 305 is not a prerequisite of FMS/RTVF 307 and the courses can be taken in any order, or concurrently**. This course is the same as RTVF 305 and only one may be taken for credit.

FMS 307 Film History II (1950-present)

Same As:RTVF 307
Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C1; IGETC Area 3A
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course is an introduction to the modern history of motion pictures (1950s to the present), with an emphasis on examining how film functions as a telling historical document. We will explore the evolution of cinema around the world, investigating the emergence of various styles and movements, the contributions of seminal directors and performers, the effects of developing technologies, and the evolution of cinematic storytelling techniques. **Please Note: FMS/RTVF 305 is not a prerequisite of FMS/RTVF 307 and the courses can be taken in any order, or concurrently**. This course is the same as RTVF 307 and only one may be taken for credit.

FMS 310 Introduction to Screenwriting

Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:ENGWR 300 with a grade of "C" or better, or placement through the assessment process.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course is an introduction to the craft of screenwriting, and to the various approaches used for developing an original screenplay or teleplay. We will be primarily concerned with narrative structure and character development as key components in storytelling. Students will analyze canonical film and television scripts as examples, participate in writing exercises and workshops, and complete a final treatment for a film, or show bible for a television series.

FMS 320 Film Genre

Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C1; IGETC Area 3A
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and theories of film genre. Students will examine the structures, styles, and major themes of film genres such as comedy, horror, science fiction, teenpics, action-adventure, social problem films, disaster movies, and the western. Special attention will be paid to the tension between Hollywood filmmaking and auteur cinema.

FMS 488 Honors Seminar: Introduction to Critical Theory

Same As:HONOR 350
Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Enrollment Limitation:Enrollment is limited to Honors Program students. Details about the Honors Program can be found in the Cosumnes River College Catalog and on the College's website.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I; CSU Area C2; IGETC Area 3B
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This course investigates questions of interpretation and representation in film, literature, media, and culture. Students examine historical and contemporary critical and cultural theories, then apply these theories in analyzing various works, including films, literary texts, commercials, music videos, and more. Theories introduced include, but are not limited to, semiotics, psychoanalysis, Marxism, critical race theory, gender theory, and postmodernism. Students intending to transfer into arts, film, literature, humanities, and cultural studies programs will find this course particularly useful in understanding the critical language of the university. As an honors course, this is a seminar with advanced teaching methods focusing on complex theories, major writing, reading, and research assignments, in-depth film analysis, student class lectures, group discussions and interactions. Distinguishing features include a deep focus on research, analysis, application, strong communication, and critical thinking. Enrollment is limited to Honors Program students. Details about the Honors Program can be found at the front of the Catalog and on the CRC website. This course is the same as HONOR 350, and only one may be taken for credit.

FMS 489 Honors Seminar: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock

Same As:HONOR 352
Units:3
Hours:54 hours LEC
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU; UC
General Education:AA/AS Area I
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This seminar studies the work of Alfred Hitchcock from the perspective of the key concepts in film theory. Students will investigate the films and criticism of one of the greatest and strangest directors, the self-styled master of suspense. This seminar takes a close reading of Hitchcock’s
most important films and the most significant writing on the director’s work. For students interested in film, media, art, literature, and the humanities, the course examines Hitchcock’s visual style, thematic concerns, and directorial techniques, and introduces the major critical
approaches to cinema studies. Enrollment is limited to Honors Program students. Details about the Honors Program can be found in the front of the Catalog and on the CRC website. This course is the same as HONOR 352, and only one may be taken for credit.

FMS 495 Independent Studies in Film and Media Studies

Units:1 - 3
Hours:54 - 162 hours LAB
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

An independent studies project involves an individual student or small group of students in study, research, or activities beyond the scope of regularly offered courses. See the current catalog section of "Special Studies" for full details of Independent Studies.

FMS 499 Experimental Offering in Film and Media Studies

Units:0.5 - 4
Prerequisite:None.
Transferable:CSU
Catalog Date:August 1, 2024

This is the experimental courses description.