Intro to Media Aesthetics

Making powerfully effective moving images demands an understanding of the fine art of transferring ideas, meanings, and feelings into emotionally charged visual communication. This course examines broad questions of form and content, aesthetics and meaning, and history and culture that underlie the timeless value of works fashioned by the world's master image-makers. Instruction includes lectures, discussion, and critical analysis of texts drawn from feature films, documentaries, television, and other media. Diverse possibilities presented by the cinematic art form are explored through an examination of a wide variety of productions, national cinemas, and film movements. Topics include modes of production, narrative and non-narrative forms, visual design, editing, sound, genre, ideology and critical analysis. Recommended Prep: ENGL V02 or ENGL V03, or eligible to enroll in ENGL V01A as determined by the college's multiple measures assessment process. Field trips may be required. Transfer credit: CSU; UC.