Motion Pictures & Television MA

Gain visual storytelling skills by shooting and directing short scenes. You'll use the camera as an optical tool to learn bracketing, depth of field, shot size, framing, composition, and more.

In this hands-on directing class you will learn how to direct actors in a movie or TV show. You will gain the techniques and communication skills needed to work with the actors on set. While mastering the process of communicating your vision of the story to your actors.

Students will generate ideas for a short film. They will acquire the skills necessary to tell stories in a logical and emotionally connective way. Students will develop either original ideas or ideas adapted from existing material, through the outline stage.

Learn to edit using non-linear Adobe Premiere Pro. You will explore the roots and theory of montage editing, screen direction, continuity, and elements of style across all genres. You will additionally learn how to create titles, basic color correction and visual effects.

Discover the power of visual storytelling by studying the work of great directors and cinematographers. You will make numerous short films demonstrating a variety of pictorial concepts, refining your visual vocabulary. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 377.)

You will learn to capture incredible performances from actors by thoroughly analyzing your script and mastering the technique of holding auditions. Actors have a special language, and your job as a director is to know how to guide them to get their best performance on screen. This is the first half of a two-part class coupled with MPT 664/MPT 299 Organic Blocking for Camera. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 378.)

As the second half of a two-part class joined with MPT 644/MPT 378 Directors Rehearsing Actors, you'll not only learn how to direct scenes in a professional, efficient manner, you'll experience the technical side of movie-making by decorating sets, operating camera, lighting performers, and recording sound. Follow that up with editing the scenes you'll direct, and you're experiencing the film-making process from all sides. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 299.)

Astronaut training camp for directors! Here, you'll guide a professional cast and crew through a professional shoot day. Tackling 5-7 page scenes and working within a set time-frame, you will learn industry methods and protocol, taking your directorial skills to the next level. As close as it gets to the real thing! (This course is cross-listed with MPT 477 and MPT 877.)

No matter what you make-app, fashion line, game, product, film-social media marketing creates an impact. You'll learn to secure funds, and practice building your brand, attracting supporters, and navigating multitudes of social media channels to bring your dream project to life. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 204, LA 204, and GLA 705.)

This two-semester portfolio course feels like a real-world production company, where you will write, direct, or produce at least 2 different projects: an assessment scene, and a thesis film. In this hands-on advanced production environment writers, directors, and producers collaborate todevelop scripts in the first semester along with writing and shooting assessment scenes. In the second semester they collaborate to prepare, shoot, and post-producehigh-quality projects that are suitable for film festival release. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 850 and MPT 471)

In this advanced course, teams of students work in a production environment to develop scripts and prepare, shoot and prepare for/execute postproduction on projects. Students will troubleshoot and solve development and production problems working in assigned roles. Students will become adept at implementing notes to improve projects, as in a studio model. (This course is cross-listed with MPT 852 and MPT 472)