FILM 425: Experimental Filmmaking I

This production-based course explores breaking the boundaries of conventional cinema through experimental formal approaches, techniques and content. Students will create projects in the modes of key figures from the history of experimental and avant-garde film and video, such as Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Luis Bunuel, Maya Deren, Dana Hodgdon, David Lynch, Bill Viola, or Andy Warhol. Additionally, students will be encouraged to capture, edit and process material through non-traditional means, and to explore unconventional content. Screenings of experimental works may be tailored to the specific interests of students as projects develop. The influences of experimental cinema on conventional media such as Hollywood movies, commercials, and music video will also be analyzed.