Cinema (BA, Minor)
Binghamton, USA
DURATION
4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
May 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 7,070 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for new York state residents | for out-of-state residents and international residents - $26,160
Introduction
The cinema major at Binghamton works on honing a student’s analytical and production skills. The primary focus of this program is how technical skills are used in the creation of meaningful artworks. Upper-level classes such as Filmmaking and Digital Video-making help students craft their artistic voices and explore experimental modalities, while also gaining technical proficiency.
The Cinema Department has an active campus presence through its Visiting Artists program that invites innovative and inspirational artists to speak on campus. These filmmakers often have varied backgrounds in experimental film, photography or documentaries. Previous speakers have included artists whose works have been screened at the New York Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum, and a winner of the Sundance 2005 Best Documentary prize.
Binghamton’s BA focuses on avant-garde, experimental, and documentary output rather than commercial skills and connections.
Gallery
Scholarships and Funding
High-performing students are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships.
Curriculum
Some courses to consider in your first year:
CINE 121 - Exper.Hist.&Analysis Of Cinema
Expanding appreciation and perception of cinematic works as expressive forms. How history shapes cinema and how cinema shapes history. Methods of analyzing films and video work as individual creations and as manifestations of genres, national traditions, or stylistic movements. Technological and economic development of cinema. 4 credits. Fall and Spring. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes. Levels: Undergraduate
CINE 122 - Expres.&Innovatn.In Film&Video
Explores personal works created by film and video artists, usually outside the commercial studio. It fosters an understanding of and sensitivity to those aspects of form, subject, and technique that have been employed in innovative cinema art from its beginnings to the present. Selected examples illustrate the relationship between artistic creation in cinema and in other arts, including movements such as surrealism, expressionism, and minimalism. Expansion of the capacity to see, hear, and enjoy in creative response to cinema. This course develops on certain themes introduced in CINE 121 and is best taken in sequence. 4 credits. Fall and Spring. Levels: Undergraduate
CINE 252 - Video & Filmmaking I
Introduction to shooting and editing silent Super-8 film and digital video. Investigating possibilities of discovery and expression in the basic processes of cinema. The aim is to become comfortable, sensitive, playful, and inventive in exposing film or CCDs to light; use of basic cameras, projectors, and editing systems; with emphasis on increased awareness of the moving image and of non-narrative formal structures. Prerequisite: CINE 121. Prerequisite or corequisite: CINE 122. 4 credits. Fall and Spring. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes. Levels: Undergraduate
CINE 250 - Animation
This introductory-level class will explore animation as a unique and personal approach to working with cinematic concepts in experimental, documentary, and narrative forms. Projects will emphasize experimentation with processes in digital 2D and object animation. Approaches include cut-out collage, rotoscoping, found object manipulation, and digital construction. Tools will include Photoshop, After Effects and Dragon Frame capture software. Prerequisite: CINE 122 or consent of instructor. Offered fall only. 4 credits. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes. Levels: Undergraduate
CINE 253 - Intro to Creative Sound Proc.
This introductory course will emphasize the creative possibilities of working with sound as a cinematic form. Students will learn how to construct concrete sound compositions through the use of samples, looping, and field recordings. Knowledge of the essentials of the recording process such as signal routing, levels, dynamics, layering, and equalization will be part of the creative projects assigned. We will look at how to manipulate the color of sound using vintage and new recording technologies and how to create unique acoustic spaces through the use of heights, width, and depth. Class assignments will push critical thinking about the relationships between sound to image. Texts and recordings of contemporary and early experimental sound artists will be presented as well as films that employ innovative sound/image relationships. Offered regularly. 4 credits. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes. Levels: Undergraduate
CINE 286S - Studies In Cinema And Art
Topics in Cinema. Topics change each semester. 4 credits Levels: Undergraduate
Program Outcome
After You Graduate
A BA in cinema at Binghamton prepares students for a wide variety of careers in cinema. Graduates of the program are well-prepared to pursue advanced degrees or enter the workforce as independent filmmakers, cinematographers, editors, and more. Though our students aren’t specifically trained for industry work, they can succeed in that area with the education they receive at Binghamton University.
Program Tuition Fee
English Language Requirements
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