Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Personal Cinema (Face-to-Face)

FILM 1100-04

Course: FILM 1100-04
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: Filmmaking, Art, & Design
CRN: 33694

Course Description

Using their personal stories as basis, students write, produce, edit, and screen an individual project aimed at developing their individual voice as an artist. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded Letter] General Education Category: Art

Required Texts

Schroeppel, Tom. 2015. The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video, Third Ed. New York, NY: Allworth Press.

Learning Outcomes

General Education Designation: Arts

Personal Cinema fulfills the Arts General Education Breadth requirement. Through the study and creation of personal and essay films, students explore filmmaking as an artistic practice and as a means of expressing human experience, ideas, identity, and emotion. Students engage with the creative process through conceptualization, visual storytelling, cinematography, sound, editing, critique, revision, and the completion of an original short essay film.

Throughout the course, students view and analyze creative works, apply concepts of cinematic form and visual storytelling to their own work, and consider how personal cinema and filmmaking reflect cultural, historical, and social contexts.

 

Personal Cinema Course Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to effectively shoot footage for professional/ artistic video projects. Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to use creative thinking to generate original ideas for video projects. Students will be able to utilize creative/ critical thinking to assess and troubleshoot common problems which occur during shooting. Students will understand some basics of cinema history and concepts from film aesthetics. 

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

CLO 1 – GE Arts: Understand Explain and demonstrate filmmaking as an iterative creative process through idea development, scripting, previsualization, production, critique, editing, revision, and completion of an original essay film.

CLO 2 – GE Arts: Appreciate Identify, analyze, and apply concepts of cinematic storytelling, including composition, montage, sound, editing, visual structure, and aesthetic choices, in both the interpretation and creation of moving-image works.

CLO 3 – GE Arts: Connect Examine how personal and essay films communicate human experiences, perspectives, and ideas within broader cultural, historical, and social contexts.

CLO 4 – Communication Communicate an original perspective or idea through purposeful visual, aural, and cinematic choices.

CLO 5 – Critical Thinking Evaluate creative choices in one's own work and the work of others through critique, reflection, feedback, and revision.

Course Requirements

Course Requirements

10% - Attendance & Participation

10% - Exam on Basics of Cinema History and Film Concepts (in-class, open-note exam consisting of short essays and short-answer)

 

Practice & Skills Prep Assignments (30% of Final Grade):

5% - Filmmaker checklist (paper assignment)

5% - Storyboard assignment

5% - Shallow depth of field shot (submit on Canvas, Assignments tab) & Video Framing Practice in One Take (submit on Canvas, Assignments tab)

5% - Montage #1, edited sequence (submit on Canvas, Assignments tab)

5% - Montage #2 (submit on Canvas, Assignments tab)

5% - Film shoot checklist assignment (turn in hard copy, in class)

 

Final Project (50% of Final Grade):

10% - “Film Pitch” for the final Short Essay Film (slideshow presentation in class)

10% - Rough Cut of Short Essay Film (at least 3 minutes long & starting to gel – submit on Canvas under Assignments tab)
 30% - Final Short Essay Film (3 to 5 minutes) – submit on Canvas under Assignments tab, but also present it for the class during the Final Exam period for this course

Course Outline

COURSE SCHEDULE: 

 

Week #1

Read Chapters 1 & 2
 
Week #2
No class on Monday
Read Chapter 3, 4 & 5
 
Week #3
Read Chapter 6 on Montages
[  ] Storyboard/ Camera framing (paper copy) assignment due on Fri, in class (Sept. 18)
 
Week #4
Read Chapter 7 & 8
[  ] Video Framing in 1-take due (no edits needed) on Canvas on Fri., before midnight (Sept. 25)
[  ] Shallow depth of field clip due on Canvas on Fri. before midnight (Sept. 25)
[  ] This week: in-class demonstration of Adobe Premiere Pro editing in the computer lab
 
Week #5
Read Chapter 9 & 10
[  ] Montage (edited sequence) due on Friday, before midnight (Oct. 2)
 
Week #6
[  ] Montage #2 (edited sequence) due on Friday, before midnight (Oct. 9)
 
Week #7
[  ] Wed (Oct. 14) & Fri (Oct.16): Film pitch presentations in class (slideshow presentation)
 
Week #8
No class on Monday
[   ] Film pitch presentations continue, if needed
 
Week #9
[  ] Film shoot checklist due (paper hard copy assignment) on Fri., in class (Oct. 30)
[  ] Organize film shoot for next week: if you need the cooperation of others, set that up & confirm details this weekend or next week
 
Week #10
[  ] Begin shooting your film
 
Week #11
[  ] Continue shooting your film, begin editing, consult with professor as needed
[  ] Study for Exam
 
Week #12
[  ] Continue shooting your film, begin editing, consult with professor as needed
[  ] Friday (Nov.20): in-class, open note Exam on Basics of Cinema History, Aesthetics, Composition, and other Film Concepts
 
Week #13
[  ] Rough Cut of film is due on Friday (Dec. 4), before midnight, on Canvas
[  ] look for feedback on your Rough Cut, posted to Canvas
 
Week #14
[  ] work on film project (in your final cut of the film, be sure to show that you have taken on feedback from the rough cut by making revisions & additions), consult with professor as needed
 
Week 15/ Finals Week  
[  ] submit your Final Film (3 to 5 minutes) by midnight on Monday, Dec. 14, on Canvas, under the Assignments tab.**
[  ] You are required to attend the screening of Final Films (in our regular classroom) during the Final Exam period scheduled for this course, as follows...

Section 1 (regular class meeting time is MWF 9am): the Final Exam (when your Final Film will screen) is Wed., Dec. 16, 9 – 10:50 am

Section 2 (regular class meeting time is MWF 10am): the Final Exam (when your Final Film will screen) is Thurs., Dec. 17, 9 – 10:50 am

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Instructor’s Policies on Late Assignments

If you are unable to submit assignments on the scheduled day and time, students should contact the professor right away by e-mail and plan to submit the assignment by the next class day. If the assignment needs to be delayed further, please let the professor know. 

Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each meeting. Your attendance grade is based on how often you attend (students who miss more than 3 classes will see their attendance grade drop). 

Course Fees

TBA

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.