Digital Filmmaking Major (BFA)
Take action. Our Upside-Down Curriculum allows you to begin taking your Digital Filmmaking classes in your first semester.
Why Digital Filmmaking?
The digital filmmaking revolution has bred a new generation of filmmakers who have opportunities to free themselves from the constraints, politics and policies that dictated traditional movie-making for generations. Democratized production and distribution methods and the convergence of global media networks mean there has never been more media to consume—or more opportunities to produce and find an audience for quality filmmaking.
The Digital Filmmaking BFA major offers you an innovative approach to a filmmaking education by taking full advantage of the digital revolution to bring you the best of both traditional and new media filmmaking worlds.
Why Digital Filmmaking at Champlain?
An education for a new generation of filmmakers, this program provides the cutting-edge technical and creative skills you’ll need to work both inside and outside the traditional Hollywood system. Unlike conventional film schools, whose reliance on increasingly archaic celluloid technologies precludes meaningful hands-on experiences until the junior or senior year, Champlain’s digital focus supplies ample opportunity for you to produce your own works every semester—starting with your first semester.
You’ll acquire a broad set of skills as you try out different production roles, from director and cinematographer to sound designer and editor. You’ll choose an area of focus and gain invaluable exposure to various filmmaking genres, including narrative, documentary, animation and experimental. You’ll also build a deep foundation in history and theory, technology and aesthetics while learning the vital business aspects of the filmmaking profession, such as budgeting, funding and marketing.
This remarkable combination of conceptual engagement, technical skills acquisition, artistic experimentation and business training will prepare you to take maximum advantage of a unique moment in film history, when digital production and distribution methods are converging with global media networks to create unprecedented creative opportunities.
In the Champlain Digital Filmmaking major, you get all the benefits of studying film in a big city—without having to live in one. Here, you get a first-class film education, in classes taught by accomplished filmmakers, while enjoying Burlington’s big music and arts scene and living the Vermont outdoor lifestyle. Then take a semester at Champlain Montreal to intern on a big studio film, or take the summer to head off to L.A. or New York City for a summer internship or workshop.
ADMISSION PREREQUISITE: PORTFOLIO REVIEW
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Use cutting-edge facilities and the latest equipment, including Apple’s post-production technologies and software suites like Final Cut Pro HD, DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Motion, Soundtrack Pro and After Effects. Create freely with your access to professional private editing suites with dual-screen monitors, NTSC viewing capability, analog and digital sound mixing, and dedicated RAID drives.
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Take advantage of our Media Services Lab's vast selection of digital video cameras in multiple formats, lighting and sound gear, camera dollies, professional-grade cranes and Steadicams, as well as its Foley library, chroma key studio and special-effect and makeup materials.
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Explore a semester abroad at Champlain Montreal. A dynamic cultural and media center, Montreal is home to the production of many Hollywood films and many cultural festivals and events (including the Montreal World Film Festival in August), there are few cities in the world offering this much access to film and creative culture .
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Participate in the Vermont International Film Festival's Student Filmmakers Showcase.
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Produce a professional-quality portfolio film in your senior year, and shop it to national film festivals.
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Pursue exploding career opportunities in digital filmmaking, feature film production, screenwriting, directing, producing, documentary filmmaking, cinematography, post-production and editing, special effects, art direction, digital sound design and digital cinema distribution.
Ask a Question about our Digital Filmmaking BFA Degree Program
Ask a question, and someone from our Admission team will put you in touch with the faculty or staff member who can best answer your questions.
Public Relations work created by graduate Robyn Estabrook