Bachelor of Fine Arts - Film and Television

Program Description The BFA in Film & Television provides students with the ability to specialize in a specific area of film and television production by choosing one of 10 concentrations: cinematography, comedy, creative producing, directing, documentary, editing, production design, screenwriting, sound design, and visual effects. Concentrations Cinematography Concentration The cinematography concentration will provide a strong technical foundation for cinematographers enabling students to focus on lighting, color correction, or special effects while facilitating the creation of more portfolio pieces. Comedy Filmmaking Concentration This robust four-year comedy filmmaking concentration will enable students to have sufficient time to develop a methodology for creating, developing and showcasing their comedic writing and directing, from the script to the screen. Additionally, these students will have access to Second City’s Master Seminar classes. Creative Producing Concentration The creative producing concentration allows students to achieve competency in multimedia streaming, creative financing structures, international distribution, intellectual property and original content acquisition. This concentration will enable students to oversee more portfolio pieces. Directing Concentration The directing concentration lays a strong foundation for students who wish to direct coupled with a strong technical and storytelling foundation. Documentary Concentration The documentary concentration provides students with the opportunity to experience different documentary modes of production, dig deeper into issues that interest them, and experiment with the styles of documentary creation that are best suited to their personal vision. Editing Concentration The editing concentration will provide a solid foundation in managing media during production to editing and finishing a project. This includes picture, sound, titles, color correction, and mastering workflows. The concentration will allow students to specialize in both the technical and creative aspects of editing. Production Design Concentration The production design concentration was developed in conjunction with DePaul’s Theater School and provides students with a strong foundation in production design across several media. Students can specialize in various crafts including art direction, scene design, costume design, property, hair and makeup. Screenwriting Concentration The screenwriting concentration enables students to enhance their creative voice and spec portfolio which will prepare them to become professional screenwriters. Showrunner Concentration The showrunner concentration will allow students to hone and showcase their voice within the web series format. Showrunners have become the most sought-after producers in an ever-changing television landscape, as studios and networks. Emphasis will be placed on branding and marketing in addition to cultivating innovative storytelling techniques.​ Sound Design Concentration The sound design concentration provides a solid foundation in sound design for the visual image. The concentration will provide deep exploration of all elements of sound design including audio engineering, field recording, dialogue recording, dialogue and sound effects editing, sound mixing, re-recording mixing, deliverables, and film scoring. Visual Effects Concentration In the visual effects concentration students learn digital composition, motion capture, match moving techniques, and other ways to acquire and combine various elements into fully realized VFX sequences. Learning Outcomes Students will be able to: Write a short screenplay in proper format employing standard narrative conventions. Direct a crew and talent/subject in a fiction or non-fiction film. Employ the principles of invisible/continuity cutting and montage in picture editing. Perform basic tasks of the post-production sound process including sound editing and mixing. Use compositional rules, lighting/exposure techniques, and visual design elements in the filming of shots and scenes. Apply basic functions of the pre-production process, including scheduling and budgeting. Identify major genres, figures, and works in contemporary and historical film and television.