Film Studies Courses
Study online & in London

Experimental film is often non-narrative and avant-garde. It is made to explore the boundaries of film and push the limits of what is considered normal filmmaking. Experimental films often use unconventional techniques such as animation, found footage and non-linear narrative structures to create unique visual experiences. The class will look at early experimental films by Georges Méliès, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Maya Deren, alongside recent digital works.

The history of the cinema is a rich, rewarding and dynamic area of study. Cinema, because it is both an art form and an industrial product, can be studied from several different historical perspectives. These have included investigations into the history of technological development associated with cinema’s origins and its subsequent development, but historians have also explored its evolution into an art form. They have written about important individual figures or influential groups and have examined specific films in great detail. Historians have also examined the national, cultural, political and social contexts that might offer insight into the cinema at a given historical moment. They have examined the changing demographic and viewing habits of spectators and explored the mutability of cinemas themselves. With so much to consider and so many different approaches to take, the history of cinema continues to evolve. As such this advanced level film studies course will explore what it means to study film history, examine the various methodologies that one might take, while at the same time looking at relevant filmic and cinematic examples.

Have you ever wondered what lies beyond Hollywood? Are you interested in films from across the globe? Then this six-week introductory course is for you. We will consider alternative cinemas to the dominant North American industry and will focus each week on a selection of illustrative films from movie producing continents such as India, Asia, South America and Africa.

This online film studies course will offer an introduction to the relationship between film and music from an historical, political and cultural viewpoint. Key theorical concepts will be introduced to discuss landmark film scenes and evaluate the impact music has on the audience, the role it can play in the narrative, in the editing style, in relation to film space and time. We will focus on key filmmakers, key music styles and specific cinematic genres to offer an overview of the historical evolution of music in films from the beginnings of the sound film to new contemporary approaches. We will as well discuss how instruments and musicians are depicted in films, from historical period films, album videos, biopics to documentaries from all over the world.