Communication Studies

The Film Studies Major (AA) is designed for students pursuing transfer majors in Film, including Cinema Studies, Film History, Film Production, Media Studies, and Screenwriting. It provides a basic foundation in film aesthetics, film history, and digital film production while meeting the typical lower division requirements for a bachelor’s degree in Film at a four-year institution. The major is also designed to prepare students for careers in the film and television industries with opportunities to write and produce screenplays, collaboratively work in film production teams, and gain experience in programming and festival management through internships with the Petaluma campus cinematheque and Film Fest Petaluma, the city’s annual short film festival.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this major, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a technical and theoretical understanding of cinema, including narrative forms, genres, and the complex interplay of image, sound, and  motion.

2. Demonstrate a broad-based understanding of the historical and aesthetic development of world cinema from its origins to the present day, including the impact of historical movements and new technologies.

3. Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a production team to effectively plan, organize, and execute the production of a short digital film project.

4. Demonstrate fluency in the vocabulary of film production and criticism.

5. Demonstrate skills in the critical analysis of cinema by identifying how specific formal techniques are used to functionally support film narratives.

6. Demonstrate an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of various industry professionals in both the artistic and commercial side of motion picture production, distribution, and exhibition.

7. Demonstrate an understanding of motion pictures as a technology, business, cultural product, global entertainment medium, and industrial art form.

Program Requirements:

Recommended Sequence