Objectives
The School of Film and Television’s major in Film and Television Production is designed to enable students to express their ideas on the screen—whether that screen is in a theater, at home, or held in one’s hand. Beyond the existing television and theatrical feature landscape, new forms of media empower a single person to be both a worldwide broadcaster and a very selective receiver. Digital technologies have created new ways of working that transcend the traditional distinctions between film and television. The Film and Television Production major combines the best of both of these fields.
Students admitted to this rigorous major become quickly immersed in the art of storytelling for the screen. They encounter and study great works of world cinema, both past and present, and ponder the ramifications of the emerging media of the future. They receive expert hands-on training in writing the screenplay, directing actors, cinematography, sound recording and design, and editing. In the process, each student learns about the challenging relationship between art and technique, and how both serve each other. Students learn the practical aspects of mounting a production: budgeting, location scouting, casting, set design and construction, post production, and the importance of safety in all aspects of what they do. Complete premier state of the art equipment and technology are available 24/7—all in service of story. Through teamwork, students learn an appreciation for all of the artists who labor to serve the story, and the camaraderie that comes from working as part of a crew engaged in a large, collaborative creative enterprise.
Students also learn to find their individual voices, and express their own points of view, on projects driven by their own creative choices. Beginning with their work on a series of short and intermediate films, students forge the fundamental skills of visual storytelling. Each student’s experience culminates with a final project in which advanced students write, cast, direct and edit their own thesis films.
These projects may be entirely from the imagination, or they may document the real world. These finished works are produced and owned by the students, and many are distributed and celebrated far beyond the confines of our campus, through the exciting world of festivals, theatrical, television, and other channels of local, national, and international exhibition.