Motion Picture Arts (former program)

A program of the Department of Theatre and Motion Picture Arts at Thorneloe University, the priority of the Motion Picture Arts program is to prepare students for traditional careers in the production of theatrical features, TV programs, and in advertising. Until recently, the platforms for this traditional media were once limited to movie theatres, broadcast TV, and home-video. With the introduction of the communications revolution brought about by the internet, new platforms are continually emerging and evolving, such as smartphones, tablet computers, etc. Each of these platforms then generates demand for supplementary content, thus generating more opportunity for employment for motion picture artists. Furthermore, an education in motion picture arts production prepares students for careers in the production of video games, webisodes, and all other media implementing motion pictures.

The constant expansion of 21st century digital media gives graduates more points of entry into the motion picture arts industry, such as social-media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, etc. Essentially, students of the motion picture arts option are prepared for careers as 21st century motion picture artists: creatively independent writer-director-producers who are equally comfortable analyzing the aesthetics, and application, of production design, cinematography, picture editing, and sound design.

Program Options Include

1. Bachelor of Fine Arts – Specialization in Motion Picture Arts (4 years)
2. Minor in Motion Picture Arts

Admission Requirements

Based on Grade 12 4U/M courses:

• 1 English
• 5 other courses
• Minimum Average of 70%

For more information, contact MPArts@thorneloe.ca

Motion Picture Arts

1. Bachelor of Fine Arts – Specialization in Motion Picture Arts (4 years)
2. Minor in Motion Picture Arts

Motion Picture Arts

Regarding the Specialization in Motion Picture Arts, students must obtain 120 credits in the following credit structure to obtain the BFA degree:

• 60 credits in Specialization (Motion Picture Arts)
• 24 credits in Fine Arts electives: Students may choose to include these electives in a minor in a second Fine Arts discipline.
• 36 credits of General Electives: The remaining 36 credits must include 6 credits in the Social Science, 6 credits in the Sciences, and 24 elective credits in subjects other than Theatre, Music, or Motion Picture Arts.

Students must follow the pre-September 2017 BA regulations in order to meet graduation requirements for the BFA.

Bachelor of Fine Arts – Specialization in Motion Picture Arts (4 years)

First Year

• CINE 1005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Form (6 credits)
• CINE 1206 EL – Photography (3 credits)
• ENGL 1705 EL – Introduction to Writing and English Studies (6 credits)
• 6 elective credits in Fine Arts
• 9 elective credits*#

Second and Third Years

• CINE 2005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production I (6 credits)
• CINE 3005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production II (6 credits)

3 credits from Motion Picture Arts Composition Theory:

• CINE 2036 EL – Theories and Practice of the Motion Picture Arts (3 credits)
• CINE 2046 EL – History of the Motion Picture Arts (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 2846 EL – Rhetoric of Film and Image (3 credits)

6 credits from Motion Picture Arts Composition Practice

• CINE 3205 EL – Screenwriting (6 credits)
• ENGL 3516 EL – Creative Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3517 EL – Studies in Creative Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3556 EL – Principles and Practices of Workplace Communication (3 credits)

9 credits from Motion Picture Arts Interdisciplinary Studies:

• CINE 2207 EL – Cinematography (3 credits)
• CINE/DEUT 2216 EL – German Cinema (3 credits)
• CLAS 2036 EL – The Ancient World in Film (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 2815 EL – World Cinema (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 2826 EL – Rhetoric of Documentary Films (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 2827 EL – Documentary Film Making (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 2835 EL – American Film Directors (6 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 3836 EL – Applied Media Aesthetics (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 3846 EL – Applied Media Aesthetics (3 credits)
• ENGL/FILM 3847 EL – Film Theory (3 credits)
• ESPA 3226 NL – Film in Spain and Latin-America (3 credits)
• HIST 3916 EL – Propaganda, Politics and Film (3 credits)
• HIST 3917 EL – Fascism on Film (3 credits)
• ITAL 2216 NL – Italian Cinema (3 credits)
• MUSC 2046 EL – Soundtracks: Music in the Movies (3 credits)
• PHIL 2716 EL – Philosophy and Film (3 credits)
• RLST 2327 EL – Jesus in Film (3 credits)
• RLST 2365 EL – Religion in Film (6 credits)

• 12 elective credits in Fine Arts
• 18 elective credits*#

Notes:
*Should a student take more that 3 credits of “Composition Theory,” these extra credits will be counted as part of the Motion Picture Arts “Interdisciplinary Studies” requirement.

**Should a student take more than 6 credits of “Composition Practice,” these extra credits will be counted as part of the Motion Picture Arts “Interdisciplinary Studies” requirement.

Fourth Year

• CINE 4005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production III (6 credits)
• 9 Credits from any of the following Motion Picture Arts Interdisciplinary Studies. See Above.
• 6 elective credits in Fine Arts
• 9 elective credits*#

* in subjects other than Theatre (THEA), Music (MUSC), or Motion Picture Arts (CINE)
#Students must include at least 6 credits in the Social Sciences and 6 credits in the Sciences from among their elective credits.

Note: Students may not exceed 48 credits at the 1000 level or 9100 level in their degree program.

Minor in Motion Picture Arts

24 credits

• CINE 1005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Form (6 credits)
• CINE 1206 EL – Photography (3 credits)
• CINE 2005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production I (6 credits)
• CINE 2036 EL – Theories and Practice of the Motion Picture Arts (3 credits) or CINE 2046 EL – History of the Motion Picture Arts (3 credits)
• CINE 3205 EL – Screenwriting (6 credits)

Courses offered by the Department of Theatre and Motion Picture Arts

CINE 1005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Form

This course provides an understanding of form (i.e., the shot, montage and sound), and the subsequent formal conventions, of the motion picture arts. Prominence is given to the fundamental elements that comprise form in the motion picture arts, and how they may function both individually, and as a unit(s) of communication.
PREREQ: none
(lec 2/sem 1) 6 credits

CINE 1206 EL – Photography

This course introduces the basic principles of photography: focal length, aperture, shutter speed, pixel formation, file format, etc. Advanced theories of composition and the art of photography will also be discussed in depth. The major assignment is a slide exhibition.
PREREQ: none
(lec 3) 3 credits

CINE 2005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production I

Through a series of independent practical exercises regarding form in the motion picture arts (i.e., the shot, montage, and/or sound), class discussions, readings, screenings, workshops, lab work, and lectures, this course facilitates the opportunity for students to develop a personal sensibility as creators of motion pictures, and will lead to the enrichment of a distinct creative voice in the motion picture arts. This is the first of three consecutive production courses in the Motion Picture Arts curriculum.
PREREQ: CINE 1206 (Photography), and CINE 1005 (Motion Picture Arts: Form), or ENGL/FILM 2805 (Film Foundations).
(sem 3) 6 credits

CINE 2036 EL – Theories and Practice of the Motion Picture Arts

This course provides a general analysis of the theory and practice of the motion picture arts. Writings by theoreticians such as Arnheim, Bazin, Kracauer, Metz, and Bordwell are examined as well as writings by practitioners such as Eisenstein, Hitchcock, Welles, Godard, Antonioni, and Bresson. Clips from various films are shown.
PREREQ: none
(lec 2, sem 1) 3 credits

CINE 2046 EL – History of the Motion Picture Arts

This course provides a comprehensive and chronological survey of the motion picture arts from its inception in the 1800s to the present. The evolution of the motion picture arts is analyzed with emphasis placed on biography, industry/economy, technology/aesthetics, and society/culture/politics. Clips from various films are shown.
PREREQ: none
(lec 2, sem 1) 3 credits

CINE 2207 EL – Cinematography

This course applies the theory and practice of photography to the operation of digital video camera and film aesthetics. Basic principles of film editing and sound recording are also studied, envisioning that a cinematographer must fully understand the total film form in order to become an effective director of photography. The major assignment is a group film project.
PREREQ: CINE 1206 or CINE 2206 or consent of instructor
(exp 3) 3 credits

CINE 2216 EL – German Cinema

This course is an introduction to German cinematographic culture. The course examines the relationship between culture and cinematic representation through the analysis of a variety of German films. Directors studied may include Lang, Herzog, Fassbinder, von Trotta, and Wenders.
PREREQ: none
(lec 3) 3 credits

Crosslisted with DEUT 2216. Students may not retain credit for both CINE 2216 and DEUT 2216.

CINE 3005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production II

The objective of this course is to further the practice-based study of form in the motion picture arts. Specifically, it is concerned with various interpretations and adaptations of narrative texts. In the process, each student will create a number of short motion pictures.
PREREQ: CINE 2005 (Motion Picture Arts: Production I) and CINE 3205 (Screenwriting), or permission of the instructor.
(sem 3) 6 credits

CINE 3205 EL – Screenwriting

After an introduction to selected intellectual understandings and poetic principles of creative expression, this course studies the theories and practices of script writing. It is divided into four sections: (1) Creativity and Artistic Expression; (2) Cultural Context and Writing; (3) The Filmmaking Process; and (4) Story-making.
PREREQ: none
(lec 3) 6 credits

CINE 3306 EL – Silent Cinema

This course will undertake a critical study of the silent film from its beginnings in 1895 through the struggle to retain the form after the advent of the sound film in 1927. The genre will be examined both as a unique art form and as an evolutionary medium which contributed to the development of cinema.
PREREQ: none
(lec 3) 3 credits

CINE 4005 EL – Motion Picture Arts: Production III

The objective of this course is the comprehensive practice-based study of form in the motion picture arts from project development through to exhibition. In the process, each student will create a number of short motion pictures.
PREREQ: CINE 3005
(sem 3) 6 credits

Courses offered by other departments at Thorneloe and Laurentian:

• ENGL 1705 EL – Introduction to Writing and English Studies (6 credits)
• ENGL 2827 EL – Documentary Film Making (3 credits)
• ENGL 3516 EL – Creative Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 3556 EL – Principles and Practices of Workplace Communication (3 credits)
• ENGL 3846 EL – Applied Media Aesthetics (3 credits)
• HIST 2806 EL – Propaganda, Politics and Film in 20th Century Europe (3 credits)
• HIST 2847 EL – Fascism on Film (3 credits)
• MUSC 2046 EL – Soundtracks: Music in the Movies (3 credits)
• PHIL 2716 EL – Philosophy and Film (3 credits)
• RLST 2327 EL – Jesus in Film (3 credits)
• RLST 2365 EL – Religion in Film (6 credits)