Undergraduate Minor

The Minor in Fiction Filmmaking educates students in the history, theory, and production of fiction film. Students who enroll in this minor combine practical skills in production with conceptual training in film studies to produce theoretically informed work while developing an understanding of the challenges of creating high-quality films. 

The Minor in Fiction Filmmaking is jointly administered by the Department of English within the College of Arts and Letters and the School of Journalism in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The Department of English is the primary administrative unit. The minor is available as an elective to students who are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs at Michigan State University.

Students who are interested in the minor are eligible to apply if they have attained sophomore standing, and have completed at least one of the prerequisite courses listed below. Both prerequisite courses need to be completed prior to or concurrent with FLM 335. Students must submit an application available in the advising offices of the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Communication Arts and Sciences during late February. Applications will be reviewed prior to annual enrollment. Applications are also available online at www.film.msu.edu.

With the approval of the department that administers the student’s degree program, courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for the minor may also be used to satisfy the requirements for the bachelor’s degree. The student’s program of study must be approved by the student’s academic advisor for the minor.

Prerequisite Courses

1.	The following course:
	FLM	230	Introduction to Film						4
2.	One of the following courses:
	CAS	112	Story, Sound and Motion						3
	FLM	260	Introduction to Digital Film and Emergent Media						4

Requirements for the Minor in Fiction Filmmaking

The student must complete a minimum of 15 credits from the following:

1.	The following course (3 credits):
	FLM	335	Film Directing						3
2.	One of the following courses (3 credits):
	FLM	300	History of Film to Midcentury						3
	FLM	301	History of Film after Midcentury						3
	FLM	380	Classical Film and Media Theory						3
	FLM	381	Contemporary Film and Media Theory						3
3.	One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
	DS	337	Compositing and Special Effects						3
	DS	341	Filmmaking II: Creating Short Films						3
	DS	344	Sound Design for Cinema, Television, and Games						3
	DS	351	Producing for Cinema and Television						3
	DS	409	Advanced Lighting and Camera Techniques						3
	DS	440	Advanced Video Editing						3
	FLM	334	Introduction to Screenwriting (W)						3
	FLM	336	Aesthetics of Film Editing						3
	FLM	434	Advanced Screenwriting (W)						3
	FLM	438	Film Financing, Programming, and Distribution						3
	FLM	460	Seminar in Digital Film and Emergent Media (W)						3
4.	Both of the following courses (6 credits):
	FLM	435A	Creating the Fiction Film I						3
	FLM	435B	Creating the Fiction Film II (W)						3