I’m offering up an open thread here for ideas & comments about the FMMC program. I just had a great conversation with the seniors about the program, and would love to open that up to other students or alums to offer thoughts as to what FMMC could be doing more of, differently, or “stay the course.” This could refer to curricular issues, project opportunities, outreach, community building, or what have you. Please keep it constructive – comments that include personal attacks will be swiftly deleted! And feel free to sign your name or contribute anonymously. We’d all just love to get a better sense of what you want out of the department, and how we can best make the program grow and thrive!
Thanks in advance for your thoughtful comments.
not sure what’s changed since i’ve graduated, especially with the addition of the axinn center, but i always thought the department could benefit from some interdisciplinary collaboration, especially with regards to production. getting art, theatre, english, and music majors to collaborate on the writing, shooting, acting, costume design, and set design would be a huge boost for thesis directors who often end up flying solo throughout the whole process. i know my films would have benefited from some more outside help (both technically and creatively), and if the collaboration provided class credit for both parties (and was maybe required for majors in other disciplines), i think you could really make some on-screen magic happen!
I think the number one thing that could be added would be a class specifically addressing the art of editing. The analytical classes are top notch and some very interesting ideas come out of Sight and Sound and Screenwriting but a lot of film majors do not know how to use Final Cut. Regardless of whether people plan on taking the production track, or the critical track, knowing how to edit and understanding the process of editing is a foundation to the study of film.