Section Number: 17856R

Introduction to the expanding field of visual effects; topics include integration for cinematic storytelling and the study of digital productions employing the latest visual effects.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17865R

Workshop exploring concept and structure of long and short form animated films through practical writing exercises.

Section Number: 17891D

Lecture and laboratory in computer animation: geometric modeling, motion specification, lighting, texture mapping, rendering, compositing, production techniques, systems for computer-synthesized animation.

Note the sections for Non-majors to register for are: 17891 or 17894 or 17895

D-Clearance is required.

Multiple Sections: Check the schedule of classes for more details. This course may have an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17919D

The fundamentals of lighting and rendering in real-time. Creating complex, compelling and dynamic scenes and manipulating them in real-time using Unreal Engine.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 17900D

Survey of contemporary concepts and approaches to production in the current state of film and video effects work. Digital and traditional methodologies will be covered, with a concentration on digital exercises illustrating modern techniques.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]  [Immersive Media]  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 17912D

All aspects of digital effects animation, including particles, dynamics, and fluids. Creating water, fire, explosions, and destruction in film.

Prerequisites: 1 from (CTAN 452 or CTAN 462)

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 17921D

Introduction to software packages and practices exploring current animation techniques that leverage simulation systems. Artificial intelligence as a tool for animation.

Prerequisite: CTAN 452

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17920D

Focus on film grammar, perspective, and layout, staging and acting as it relates to storyboarding for animation.

Section Number: 17990D

A creative studio course in producing both a linear cinematic virtual reality short film and associated real-time immersive experience.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]  [Immersive Media]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 17925D

A comprehensive overview of compositing techniques to effectively create film looks in 3D/2D animations and visual effects.
Prerequisite: CTAN 452 or CTAN 462

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17991D
Comment:

Create 3D models for environments for urban and natural settings and props including vehicles, rocks, trees and furniture.

Prerequisite: CTAN 452

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17947D

A creative development workshop for animated pitch storytelling, supported by an introduction to character development and story structure fundamentals.

Section Number: 17931D

Constructing a persuasive fictional animated world via narrative techniques, a fixed premise and a degree of believability supported by five fundamental visual design elements.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Section Number: 17997D

Fundamental principles of motion capture technology explored while working through a structured series of assignments based around performance, gesture and motion. Prerequisite: CTAN 452 or CTAN 462.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]  [Immersive Media]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 17999D

A creative 3-D motion graphics course focusing on animation technique, design and skills in Cinema 4-D.

Minor Course:  [3-D Animation in Cinematic Arts Minor]

Rated one of the top six USC classes you cannot afford to miss and fulfilling the GE-A requirement, this course explores the formal properties of movies and their social context: literary design, performance, art direction, cinematography, post-production, sound design, genre, style, and the production process. If you enroll, you will learn how movies are made, how they work their magic on us, how we can improve our perceptive abilities when it comes to filmgoing, and how the wider cultural, sociopolitical, and industrial environment of film shapes our perceptions of the world. A perennial favorite, open to all majors.

Professor George Carstocea

Minor Course:  [Cinema-Television for the Health Professions (CNHP)]  [Cinematic Arts]  [Entertainment Industry]

What was television, what has it become, and what does this transformation mean for the future? What is the relationship between objects, technologies, institutions, narratives, aesthetics, audiences, and viewing practices? To discuss these questions, this course uses the prism of contemporary programming to reflect on TV history, theory, and practice. Our goal is to develop a historical and critical framework for understanding television and to become critically informed viewers, scholars, and makers (and hopefully to enjoy TV even more...). 

Professor: Jennifer Hessler

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

This course surveys a wide range of international films that were produced after 1945. The end of World War II saw social and economic devastation, the redrawing of borders, and mass displacements across the globe. This marked a historic change in how national cinemas would be funded, produced, and distributed by the various political regimes that came into power in the postwar period. Interrogating the notion that national identities are constructed through film, we will examine the ideological undercurrents of the “national,” and of the cinematic movements and counter-movements that have constituted it in the decades that followed. We will analyze the sociocultural, economic, and technological conditions that led to major cinematic movements like Italian neorealism, the French New Wave, and Third Cinema. Our lens will widen to include works from Argentina, India, Iran, Japan, Mainland China, Senegal, and other nations, considering their production in the shifting contexts of the Cold War, decolonization, and globalization. We will discuss how the films negotiate class, race, gender, sexuality, and ability, and evaluate how they impact us as spectators.

Prof. Lan Duong

This course is a survey of American film and film history from the 1960s through the present. The focus of the class involves understanding the history of Hollywood as an industry, while using various films to illustrate the social, cultural, and political history of America during this time. Film screenings for the course will consider a number of different topics having to do with the work of various auteurs, the popularity of certain genres, the influence of particular stars, the financial implications of the industry and the connection of film to particular circumstances within the larger society. In addition, the course will also discuss the overall cultural relevance of American cinema as a distinct form of representation more broadly. Screenings to include; Dr. Strangelove, There Will Be Blood, Platoon, Jaws, Taxi Driver, Lost in Translation, Do the Right Thing, American Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and The Social Network, among other titles.

Professor: Todd Boyd 

A study of film and television censorship from the origins of motion pictures to the present day, with emphasis on specific censorship cases from the United States and around the globe. We will study the foundations of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (forerunner to today's MPA), the Production Code Administration, the development of the studio ratings system, and approaches to censorship in the streaming era.

Why do con stories fascinate us, and what makes them different from more pedestrian crime fictions? Why do cons work? What makes us susceptible to them, and how do they reflect the structure of our desires? How does the world of cons react to technological change, and how are certain cons made possible or impossible by specific material, technological, and media affordances? How are cons presented in films, and how has our image of the con changed in the past century? What do we find funny about them, and how have con stories been used to elicit comedy in film? Can we place the current golden age of technologically-aided cons in a longer trajectory? All these questions and more will guide our inquiry into the cinematic genre of the con and its somewhat contentious relationship with comedy. Screenings will likely include F for Fake, Trouble in Paradise, The Lady Eve, The Sting, Paper Moon, The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Chameleon Street, My Kid Could Paint That, Six Degrees of Separation, Kajillionaire, Close-up, and The Handmaiden.

Professor: George Carstocea

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

What is Blaxploitation? During the 1970s a group of popular low budget movies with predominately Black casts, marketed towards urban audiences, built around certain distinct style characteristics, featuring a series of recurrent cultural, social and political themes, came to be known as Blaxploitation (“Black – Exploitation”). The often-misunderstood term Blaxploitation is a film style that evolved to define a historical era. A significant component of Blaxploitation would involve the influential soundtracks of these films, soundtracks created by prominent soul and R&B artists whose music still resonates in contemporary society. This course will study Blaxploitation cinema within the context of the 1970s. In addition, the course also explores Blaxploitation and its relationship to music, television, sports, politics, art and fashion. Further, the class will focus on the lasting influence that Blaxploitation has had on film and popular culture in the decades since the 1970s. Screening to include; The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Claudine, Sparkle, Coffy, The Mack, Let’s Do It Again, Which Way is Up, Car Wash, Cooley High, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and Soul Train, among other titles.

Professor: Todd Boyd

Minor Course:  [Game Studies]  [Cinematic Arts]

This class will focus on the work of writer-director Billy Wilder, from the noir thrillers Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. to the comedy of Some Like It Hot and One, Two, Three, the biting satire of Ace in the Hole to the romance plights of The Apartment. As with any auteurist class, we’ll explore Wilder’s biography, influences, and stylistic and thematic preoccupations, including his status as a Jewish refugee of European fascism and formative experiences in Weimar Germany which formed his supposed ‘cynicism’ but also his empathy for those on the margins of respectability and victimized by the powerful. But we will also use his career as a means to explore larger phenomenon of the Hollywood Studio System including the absorption of European refugees, Classical Hollywood style, the studio system and its decline, film noir, the rise of independent production, gender and stardom, and the breakdown of the Production Code and censorship. Wilder was at the center of this key period of Hollywood and cinema’s history and his work and words will serve as our guide.

Professor: Luci Marzola

Minor Course:  [Game Studies]  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18352R

Making a great game is only part of the equation, you also need to launch it. This course teaches publishing fundamentals, and by semester's end you will actually launch a game on Steam. Your education will come from industry experts and Ed Zobrist, the Head of Publishing who launched Fortnite. Whether you are doing it yourself or working with a marketing team, understanding principles of publishing is a key component of the game industry.

Section Number: 18519
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of video podcast production and the skills to develop, produce, record and post original episodes. Podcast formats vary by semester.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18520
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The course explores how visuals communicate emotions and ideas in streaming media, videos, theatrical films and television for scripted and documentary storytelling.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18527
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of planning, producing and crewing for classic Trojan Vision television shows that live stream weekly from TV multicam studios.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18523
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of planning, producing and crewing for classic Trojan Vision television shows that live stream weekly from TV multicam studios.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18528
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of planning, producing and crewing for classic Trojan Vision television shows that live stream weekly from TV multicam studios.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18530
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of planning, producing and crewing for classic Trojan Vision television shows that live stream weekly from TV multicam studios.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 18531
Comment: Limited seats are available.

The practice of planning, producing and crewing for classic Trojan Vision television shows that live stream weekly from TV multicam studios.

Minor Course:  [Cinematic Arts]

Section Number: 19152R
Comment: Counts for credit in: GE-A “The Arts”

An investigation into the choices TV and film writers make translating source material to your favorite series or feature film. Through lectures, special guests, and readings, we’ll examine how material changes and what liberties Hollywood takes in that process. Potential screenings/readings to include Hamilton, Watchmen, Little Women, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and others.

Taught by Beverly Neufeld, who worked in development and as a reader and screenplay consultant for over 6,000 scripts–spreading her industry knowledge to companies such as Slamdance Films, CAA, FOX, Gersh, Coverage Ink, The Page Competition, Roadmap Writers, and others.

Minor Course:  [Screenwriting]

Section Number: 19163R

Develop and write an original narrative podcast with an emphasis on auditory storytelling. The final project will involve taking that podcast and creating a pitch for a television series or feature film.

Suggested Listening: Limetown, The Burned Photo, Blackout, Homecoming, The Bright Sessions, Welcome to Night Vale, Passenger List, Next Stop, Unwanted, Electric Easy, Alice Isn’t Dead, Edge of Sleep, The Left Right Game, and others.

Taught by Jeremy Novick, a graduate of the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen and Television. Jeremy has written for TV shows such as USA’s “Queen of the South,” as well as written, directed, and produced award-nominated narrative podcasts such as “Blackout,” “The Burned Photo,” and “Hum."

Minor Course:  [Comedy]  [Screenwriting]

Comment: Counts for credit in CTWR-100g “Character, Conflict, and Catharsis” for major credit, not GE credit.

What’s your story? In CTWR 409, you’ll learn the nuances of writing Hollywood movies and television through small workshop-style classes in character, scene work, and story development. This course is the gateway class into the Screenwriting minor and, if accepted, will allow you to transfer into Year 2 in the BFA in Writing for Screen and Television degree.

All CTWR 409 instructors are professional Hollywood screenwriters. Across the multiple, a sampling of their credits include: Community, Malcolm in the Middle, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, VeggieTales, The King of Fighters, The Simpsons, iCarly, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Frasier, and others.

Multiple Sections: Check the schedule of classes for more details. This course may have an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.

Minor Course:  [Comedy]  [Screenwriting]  [Cinematic Arts]

Learn to write coverage of feature-length screenplays and television pilots! In this course, you’ll learn the practical skills to make you an invaluable intern at any production company and how to get noticed for your expert script evaluation skills.

Multiple Sections: Check the schedule of classes for more details. This course may have an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.

Minor Course:  [Screenwriting]  [Entertainment Industry]

How do you create a world that can sustain several seasons of television? What makes High Potential different from Murder in a Small Town? The Pitt from Grey’s Anatomy? Summer I Turned Pretty from My Life with the Walter Boys? In television, your world is as much a character as your protagonist. You’ll develop multiple original pilot ideas across several dramas all leading up to an outline of your own television series!

Multiple Sections: Check the schedule of classes for more details. This course may have an additional lab or lecture section you may need to add.

Minor Course:  [Screenwriting]

Section Number: 37400R

An introduction to the expressive range of screen languages in their cultural, historical, and technological contexts. 

Minor Course:  [Digital Studies]

Section Number: 37445R

Investigation of the impact of natural patterns on digital media design. Explores the relationships among chaos, harmony, beauty, proportion, spirituality, holistic systems and shaped experience. 

This class offers three prompts for critical making: The Inner Eye, which invites you to explore the nature of self; The Shared Experience, which focuses on the potential for synergy with other sentient beings; and The Trades, which delves into our connections with larger systems, communities, or belief structures. You are free to work in any medium—whether film, sound design, performance, installation, interactive media, or transmedia—allowing for creative freedom and expression across diverse forms.

Minor Course:  [Digital Studies]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 37447R

Hands-on exploration of the history, theory and uses of a broad range of AI-related tools for creative expression. 

This class puts artists, filmmakers, and storytellers at the center of this converation about AI and our current existence within a world of data. We will dive into the major issues, hear from filmmakers both for and against AI, try out the tools, and see if we can think more expansively about the futures of entertainment, community, and culture.

Minor Course:  [Digital Studies]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 37452D
Comment: Media Arts Research Lab

A hands-on mentored research lab experience within the context of media art and in association with a real-world project.

In collaboration with a major AR wearables brand, this course will focus on the development of interactive multi-player story experiences for augmented reality glasses and wearable media. You will collaborate with students, faculty, and industry professionals to conduct research, ideate, develop, and playtest prototypes. We seek a wide range of skillsets, including AR and AI programming, 3D modeling, narrative design, UI/UX design, and a strong interest in XR technologies.

Minor Course:  [Digital Studies]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 37453R
Comment: Media Arts Research Lab ONLINE

A hands-on mentored research lab experience within the context of media art and in association with a real-world project.

This course explores the critical, conceptual, and practical dimensions of exhibiting media-based artworks in contemporary contexts. Students engage with the history and theory of curating digital, interactive, and time-based media while developing hands-on skills in exhibition design, documentation, and audience engagement.  By the end of the semester, students will conceptualize and propose their own media art exhibition.

Minor Course:  [Digital Studies]  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 37465R

A graduate-level course for aspiring and intermediate filmmakers looking for a highly supportive space in which to develop their documentary skillset for use in creative and scholarly work. This class is great for students desiring guided practice, or for those already working on a project looking for structure to keep their process on track. 

Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.

Section Number: 37476R
Comment: Graduate Media Arts Research Lab

A hands-on mentored graduate research lab experience within the context of media art and in association with a real-world project.  In conjunction with the World Building Media Lab, students will imagine and co-create and distant-future world. 

Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.

Section Number: 37475R
Comment: Graduate Media Arts Research Lab

A hands-on mentored graduate research lab experience within the context of media art and in association with a real-world project.  Capture, reflect and interrogate your life experiences by creating mediated memoirs from your personal archives. Use auto-ethnographic strategies to coax machines, technologies and algorithms to relieve yourself of the “burden of memory” and live an examined life. 

Note: this course counts towards a Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture.

Minor Course:  [Future Cinema]

Section Number: 37492R

Introduction to methods of critique, critiques of critique and alternatives to critique, with specific attention to interdisciplinary media-rich practices and works created by students.

Section Number: 19720R

Experimental and traditional audio design practices for animation, culminating in an immersive audio project utilizing acoustic design, surround sound, and professional recording and editing tools.

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Section Number: 19758R

Principles of 3-D digital animation applied to scientific themes, research topics and natural phenomena. 

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Section Number: 19757R

Students will explore the craft of stop motion animation, using historical and current examples of stop motion as a framework for creating their own projects. 

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Section Number: 19755R

Designed to explore the illusion of life, sentience and how to develop compelling animation, diverse stories and gesture for virtual characters, AI and robotics.

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Section Number: 19727R

Use Dragonframe stop motion software! Animate sand, clay, food, paper, paint, and people! Open to all grad students, with or without animation experience!