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The Media School

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinematic Arts

Students on Summer 2020, Fall 2020, or Spring 2021 requirements CINEARTBFA

This degree aims to provide students with an aesthetic and technical foundation in cinematic production including scripted narrative movies, single-camera television series, cinematic documentary, web-based platform series, and short film. Studies will be grounded in contemporary industry practices with an emphasis on the systems and ecological nature of cinema production. In addition to hands-on training, students will engage with visual theory, cinema history and seminal films, global trends, and networks/platforms of distribution in order to develop an understanding of their own, emerging voice within the field of cinema.

Requirements

The major requires at least 60 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Media School Core.
    1. Introduction to Media. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 101 Media
    2. Managing Media. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 207 Introduction to Media Industry and Management
    3. Thinking Media. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 210 Introduction to Games
      • MSCH-C 211 Screening Gender and Sexuality
      • MSCH-C 212 Screening Race and Ethnicity
      • MSCH-C 213 Introduction to Media Psychology
      • MSCH-C 214 Race, Prejudice, and the Media
      • MSCH-C 215 History of Videogames
      • MSCH-C 216 Social Scientific Perspectives of Gender and Media
      • MSCH-C 218 Sports, Media and Society
      • MSCH-C 219 Media in the Global Context
    4. Making Media. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 223 Introduction to Design and Production
  2. Theory and Industry.
    1. Image Cultures. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 217 Image Cultures
      • MSCH-C 247 Screen Cultures
    2. Watching Film. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 241 Watching Film
    3. Production as Criticism. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 335 Production as Criticism
    4. Genre Electives. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-F 392 Media Genres
      • MSCH-F 377 Cinemas of the Black Diaspora
  3. Production.
    1. Multi-Camera TV Studio Production. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 228 Multi-Camera TV Studio Production I
    2. Single-Camera Production. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-C 229 Introduction to Single-Camera Production
    3. Scriptwriting. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 331 Scriptwriting
    4. Editing for Cinema. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 352 Editing for Cinema
    5. Intermediate Production. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 361 Intermediate Motion Picture Production
  4. Production Electives. Five (5) courses:
    • MSCH-G 340 Animation for Digital Media
    • MSCH-G 390 Topics in Game Design and Development
    • MSCH-G 434 Technical Game Art and Visual Effects
    • MSCH-M 330 Production Management
    • MSCH-M 332 Media Law for Producers
    • MSCH-P 344 Introduction to Documentary Filmmaking: Theory & Practice
    • MSCH-P 351 Advanced Video Field and Post Production
    • MSCH-P 353 Production Audio
    • MSCH-P 354 Program Graphics and Animation
    • MSCH-P 360 Motion Picture Production
    • MSCH-P 362 Cinematography
    • MSCH-P 369 Sound Design
    • MSCH-P 416 Program Analysis and Criticism
    • MSCH-P 422 Color Correction & Finishing
    • MSCH-P 431 Feature Film Screenwriting
    • MSCH-P 432 TV Series Writing
    • MSCH-P 434 Advanced Documentary Filmmaking: Theory & Practice
    • MSCH-P 435 Advanced Documentary Workshop
    • MSCH-P 436 Advanced Production Workshop
    • MSCH-P 438 Experiments with the Film Camera
    • MSCH-P 440 Directing the Cinematic Story
    • MSCH-P 441 Directing Actors for Cinema
    • MSCH-P 452 Topical Seminar in Design and Production
    • MSCH-P 453 Postproduction
    • MSCH-P 455 Topics in Music Scoring for Visual Media
    • MSCH-P 460 Advanced Motion Picture Production
    • MSCH-P 467 Short Film
    • MSCH-P 470 LA Production
    • MSCH-X 472 Media Internship
    • MSCH-X 490 Projects in Media (approved topic: "Short Film Production in Prague” and “Documenting our Changing World")
  5. Thesis Sequence. Courses must be taken in the order listed.
    1. Thesis Production. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 461 BFA Cinema Thesis: Production
    2. Thesis Postproduction. One (1) course:
      • MSCH-P 462 BFA Cinema Thesis: Postproduction
  6. GPA and Hours Requirements.
    1. Major Residency. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
    2. Major Upper Division Courses. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
    3. Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
    4. Major GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.

Major Area Courses

Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:

  • Any course at the 100-499 level with the MSCH-C or MSCH-P subject area prefix--as well as any other subject areas that are deemed functionally equivalent
  • Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken--as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent--except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
  • Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception

This program of study cannot be combined with the following:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (JOURBAJ)
  • Bachelor of Arts in Media (MEDIABA)
  • Bachelor of Science in Game Design (GAMEDSGNBS)
  • Minor in Black Cinema and Media Studies (BLKCNMDMIN)
  • Minor in Cinema and Media Studies (CNMDASTMIN)
  • Minor in Film Production (FILMPRDMIN)
  • Minor in Game Design (GAMEDSNMIN)
  • Minor in Global Media (GLVMDIAMIN)
  • Minor in Media and Creative Advertising (MDCRADMIN)
  • Minor in Media and Diversity (MDIADIVMIN)
  • Minor in Media Law and Ethics (MDLWETMIN)
  • Minor in Media Persuasion (MDIAPRSMIN)
  • Minor in Media, Sex and Gender (MDGNDRMIN)
  • [Discontinued credential name unavailable] (NMISTACRT)
  • [Discontinued credential name unavailable] (PBLCRELMIN)
  • [Discontinued credential name unavailable] (FAMEDIAMIN)
  • [Discontinued credential name unavailable] (SPORTMDMIN)

Exceptions to and substitutions for major requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.