LOOKING AHEAD: FILM AND MOVING IMAGE
PRACTICAL ARTS
LOOKING AHEAD: FILM AND MOVING IMAGE
Starting this fall, the film and moving image program has consolidated into a two-track structure, says Chris Reed, Chair and Professor of Film and Moving Image.
“ When the major was introduced under its current name in 2013, the program offered four tracks: cinematography, editing, producing, and writing,” he explains.“ As we have evaluated the track requirements since then, we have noticed that our technically minded students identify interests in both cinematography and editing courses and producing and writing courses by taking electives in those areas.” Now, the program offers the two tracks of cinematography / editing and producing / writing to both streamline and round out students’ academic experience.
Reed adds that the outside world of various film-and-moving-image professions also drove the decision to combine the tracks.“ There is an increasing need for filmmakers who can do these combinations of shooting and editing their own material, for hire, and writing and producing their own material, for production. As such, the combination of our tracks better serves the professional needs of our graduates.”
Projects from the course— the last design course taken by all visual communication design students in their last semester— are shown as a gallery exhibit for the entire community to see.“ Traditional design campaigns start at a prototype stage, so conceivably, the exploration of ideas in the capstone could lead to real things being produced,” Moore says.
External professionals also lend their guidance; last semester, for example, students took part in a workshop at Open Works, a community-based hub for fabrication tools.“ It’ s looking outside the classroom— they’ re interacting with real people and real problems.
“ And that’ s the interesting challenge: these projects address real issues, which means that students don’ t necessarily always come up with an answer or a solution, and they learn that through the process, too— just as they will in the real world once they graduate. Now, they’ re already equipped to face both challenges and opportunities.”
12 | VENTURES / FALL 2017
To learn about one alumna ' s capstone experience, go to stevenson. edu / ventures.