The Bachelor of Fine Arts is a competitive degree program requiring an application and selection procedure. All students begin their Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts track declaring the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Cinema Studies as their major. Students wishing to declare a BFA in Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts as their major must first satisfy specific prerequisites. The mission of the BFA is to prepare artists who will be competitive and original as independent filmmakers, who may aspire to advanced graduate degrees beyond the BFA, or who are considering an artistic approach to their filmmaking portfolio.
In addition to acquiring the skills to make creative films and video works, students completing the BFA will also advance their ability to analyze and interpret films critically, and to communicate and express themselves about film competently in written form.
Requirements
Admission Requirements
The Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts educates students in the history and development of film as an art form and contemporary medium. The curriculum instills an informed analytic awareness of the ways in which film has evolved artistically, stylistically and provides the resources for significant creative exploration of the medium.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is competitive. In order to graduate with a BFA degree, students must first satisfy a number of prerequisites and then submit a formal application to the BFA program at the prescribed time (deadline will be posted each semester on the Cinema Studies website). There are two rounds of applications a year, at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Students are encouraged to apply to the BFA program at the end of their sophomore year.
Applicants must have a cumulative GPA at CU Boulder of 2.3 or higher and a CINE GPA of 3.2 or higher. Students are required to have completed CINE 1502, 2000 and 2500 to apply. Applicants must submit an online application, an essay, and two creative samples of Moving Image. Admission into the BFA program is contingent upon approval of the application materials by the BFA committee. The program recommends that BFA students purchase film and sound media-capable Apple computing systems.
For more information, visit the department website. Students are encouraged to consult with the cinema atudies advisor in order to obtain advice and current information.
Program Requirements
No more than 6 credit hours of independent study may be credited toward the major. Students must complete the required cinema courses with a grade of C or better.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the required courses listed below. The Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts requires a minimum of 57 credit hours in support of the BFA degree requirements.
Required Courses and Credits
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Critical Studies Courses | 17 | |
| Introduction to Cinema Studies 1 | ||
| Film History 1 and Film History 2 2 | ||
| Form, Structure, and Narrative Analysis | ||
or CINE 2105 | Introduction to the Screenplay | |
| Colloquium in Film Aesthetics | ||
| Required Production Courses | 22 | |
| Moving Image Foundations I | ||
| Moving Image Foundations II | ||
| Cinema Production I | ||
| Lights, Camera, Action | ||
| Post Production Lecture | ||
| Cinema Production 2 (Part I) | ||
| Cinema Production 2 (Part II) | ||
| Production Course Electives | 9 | |
| Select 9 credit hours (6 hours must be upper-division)—see degree audit for specifics | ||
| Moving Image Computer Foundations | ||
| Beginning Filmmaking - Aesthetics | ||
| Animation Production | ||
| Lighting | ||
| Film Production Topics 3 | ||
| Filmmaking Abroad: Acting & Directing Internationally | ||
| Producing the Independent Film | ||
| Experimental Digital Animation | ||
| Cinema Audio Design | ||
| Independent Study (Production) 4 | ||
| Professional Seminar | ||
| Cinema Studies Internship | ||
| Advanced Digital Postproduction | ||
| Screenwriting Workshop: Short Form | ||
| Topics in Film Production 5 | ||
| Directing/Acting for the Camera | ||
| Advanced Analog Alchemy | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting | ||
| Digital Post-Production | ||
| Screenwriting Workshop: Long Form | ||
| Critical Studies Elective Requirements | 9 | |
| Select 9 credit hours (6 credit hours must be upper-division) from the following: | ||
| Space Odysseys: Astrophys/Astronomy via Cinema/Arts | ||
| Recent International Cinema | ||
| Film Topics 3 | ||
| CU Cinema Studies Seminar: Film Festival Cultures | ||
| Form, Structure, and Narrative Analysis | ||
| Film Trilogies | ||
| American Indians in Film | ||
| Nazis on Screen: Hollywood, War, Propaganda | ||
| Major Asian Filmmakers | ||
| Classics of the Foreign Cinema: 1960s to Present | ||
| Major Film Movements 3 | ||
| Major Film Directors 3 | ||
| Alfred Hitchcock: The American Films | ||
| Documentary Film | ||
| Women and Film | ||
| Environmental Cinema | ||
| Horror Film: History, Contexts, Aesthetics | ||
| Topics in Critical Film Studies 3 | ||
| Contemporary American Cinema: 1980 to Present | ||
| Film Criticism and Theory | ||
| The Hollywood Musical | ||
| German Film Through World War II | ||
| German Film and Society 1945-1989 | ||
| Independent Study (Critical Study) 4 | ||
| Cinema Studies Internship | ||
| Screening Race, Class & Gender in the U.S. and the Global Borderland | ||
| Film and Literature | ||
| Topics in Film Theory 3 | ||
| Topics in International Cinema 3 | ||
| Advanced Research Seminar 3 | ||
| Topics in Cinema Critical Studies | ||
| Advanced Screenwriting | ||
| History of Russian and Soviet Cinema | ||
| History of Avant-Garde Film | ||
| Colloquium in Film Aesthetics | ||
Any CINE class crosslisted with another department (i.e., foreign language) that has been approved by the cinema studies chair | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 57 | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | It is recommended that these courses be taken in chronological order. |
| 3 | Course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topics vary. |
| 4 | Total number of independent study credit hours cannot exceed 6, and they cannot be used to duplicate regular course offerings. |
| 5 | Course may be taken for credit more than once. |
Graduating in Four Years with a BFA
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress toward a BFA in cinema studies & moving image arts, students should meet the following requirements:
- Declare and start the cinema studies major the first semester freshman year.
- Complete CINE 1502, CINE 2000, CINE 2005 or CINE 2105 and one lower- or upper-division critical studies course for 3 credit hours by the end of the third semester.
- Complete 3 credit hours upper-division Critical Studies Elective, CINE Production Elective (3 credit hours) and CINE 2500 by the end of the fourth semester.
- Note: In order to graduate in four years, a student must apply and be accepted into the BFA program at the end of the fourth semester. See the admission requirements section above for details of the application process.
- Complete CINE 3051, CINE 3400, CINE 3515, CINE 3525 and CINE 3061, and two production elective (6 credit hours) by the end of the sixth semester.
- Complete CINE 4500, 3 credit hours upper-division critical studies elective by the end of the seventh semester.
- Complete 3 additional credit hours of CINE 4500, CINE 4604, by the end of the eighth semester.
Recommended Four-Year Plan of Study
Through the required coursework for the major, students will complete all 12 credits of the the Arts & Humanities area of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| CINE 1502 | Introduction to Cinema Studies | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: QRMS) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Lower-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CINE 2005 or CINE 2105 | Form, Structure, and Narrative Analysis or Introduction to the Screenplay | 3 |
| CINE 2000 | Moving Image Foundations I | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/US Perspective) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CINE 2500 | Moving Image Foundations II | 3 |
| CINE Critical Studies Elective (Lower or Upper-division) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/Global Perspective) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences with Lab) | 4 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CINE Critical Studies Elective (Upper-division) | 3 | |
| CINE 2010 | Moving Image Computer Foundations or Beginning Filmmaking - Aesthetics or Animation Production or Lighting | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 4 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CINE 3051 | Film History 1 | 4 |
| CINE 3400 | Cinema Production I | 4 |
| CINE 3515 | Lights, Camera, Action | 3 |
| CINE 3525 | Post Production Lecture | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CINE 3061 | Film History 2 | 4 |
| CINE 3620 | Experimental Digital Animation or Cinema Audio Design or Digital Post-Production | 3 |
| CINE 3010 | Film Production Topics or Cinema Studies Internship or Screenwriting Workshop: Short Form or Topics in Film Production or Directing/Acting for the Camera | 1-3 |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Upper-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 14-16 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| CINE 4500 | Cinema Production 2 | 3 |
| CINE 4604 | Colloquium in Film Aesthetics | 3 |
| CINE 4000 | Advanced Digital Postproduction | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CINE 4500 | Cinema Production 2 | 3 |
| CINE Critical Studies Elective (Upper-division) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 120-122 | |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate substantial to advanced technical proficiency in various film, video and media-making formats including (but not limited to) analog and digital capture cameras, as well as analog and digital editing, sound and general post-production skills.
- Develop advanced creative principles of screenwriting, producing and directing film and video projects.
- Exhibit significant understanding of cinema aesthetics in narrative, experimental, animation and/or documentary practices.
- Apply safety protocols, crew etiquette and other related professional practices.
- Demonstrate significant understanding of film criticism, aesthetics, history and theory.