52 Credit Hours
Application Deadline: December 15, 2011
Bring Your Creative Vision to Life
Dedicated to the development of emerging screen storytellers, Columbia's two-year MFA in Film and Video - Screen Directing emphasizes the individual filmmaker's personal voice and cultivates the leadership role of the director. The program teaches authorship by asking the student filmmaker to create work that is authentic, diverse, and invokes the human experience. Committed individuals with a strong creative vision, a collaborative spirit, and the desire to express their narrative or documentary stories through film or video will thrive in this exciting and rigorous program.
the program teaches authorship by asking the student filmmaker to create work that is authentic, diverse, and invokes the human experience
Content, Technique, and Practical Experience
Under the guidance of a dedicated faculty of working professionals, film scholars, and independent filmmakers, students engage in a comprehensive curriculum that centers on writing and directing, but also includes film production, theory, and history. The MFA in Film and Video - Scren Directing provides students with a strong base in the craft of filmmaking which allows them to expand their sense of aesthetic possibilities and further develop their individual voice as a writer and director. The technical skills required to support a student's creative passion can be developed during the course of his or her studies; prior filmmaking experience is not required.
a careful balance of narrative development, film theory, and technique in the classroom is reinforced by practical filmmaking experience
This careful balance of narrative development, film theory, and technique in the classroom is reinforced by practical filmmaking experience—students begin making short films in their first semester and continue to develop their creative portfolio throughout the program. The capstone project is a twenty minute thesis film written and directed entirely by the student.
Why Columbia?
Students who wish to immerse themselves in the art and community of filmmaking have the advantage at Columbia—as part of the nation's largest film and video program, they pursue their work in collaboration with a diverse group of actors, writers, composers, and creative producers who have expertise in multiple modes of presentation. Film and Video - Screen Directing MFA students can also recruit crew for specialized positions from a talented pool of undergraduate cinematographers, sound engineers, editors, post-production specialists, and animators. The lively cultural landscape of Chicago—a city renowned for being "film-friendly"—provides the backdrop for study in this creative college environment.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration is supported by innovative facilities such as the College’s new 35,000 square foot Media Production Center which features two sound stages, a motion-capture studio, production shop, and animation lab. Students also have access to the vast resources of their department, which include an inventory of professional motion picture and video equipment, several lighting and directing stages, and digital editing suites.
the program emphasizes professional interactions and exposure within the larger film industry
Connect to the Industry
In addition to the development of a strong on-campus network, the program emphasizes professional interactions and exposure within the larger film industry. A dedicated Internship and Industry Relations Coordinator works closely with the Chicago Film Office to place interested students in internships on feature-length productions filmed in Chicago. Students also have opportunities to show their work on the festival circuit. In addition to the College’s own Big Screen Film Festival, graduate student and alumni films are often official selections at prominent festival such as: Berlin International Film Festival, Cannes Short Film Corner, Tribeca International Film Festival, and Chicago International Film Festival. Students retain all the rights to their films, which form a strong professional portfolio and serve as genuine point of entry into the field.