Cinema Department at San Francisco State University

SFSU Cinema Department
55
Established 1967
Academic staff
 20
Students 700
Undergraduates 650
Postgraduates 50
Location San Francisco, California, United States
Website www.cinema.sfsu.edu

The Department of Cinema is housed in the College of Arts and Humanities at San Francisco State University (SFSU). It is located in San Francisco, California, USA, and offers a Bachelor of Arts, a Masters of Arts, and Masters of Fine Arts in Cinema. The curriculum combines film production, screenwriting, animation and critical theory in both its undergraduate and graduate programs.

The Department specializes in 16mm film education, but also offers a wide range of courses in digital, interactive and experimental production, as well as cinema history, theory and criticism[1] Currently there are approximately 700 students enrolled, the majority in the undergraduate program.[2]

Facilities

The department's production and research facilities include:

History

The Cinema Department was founded amid the political activism and artistic experimentation of the 1960s. Originally part of the Broadcast and Electronic Arts Department, Cinema faculty such as Jim Goldner successfully made the case to the university that filmmaking was both an art and industry, and that it needed to be housed in a separate Department.

In the 1990s, a new facility was constructed, featuring a 2500 square foot shooting stage, greatly enlarging the department's post-production studios and labs,and beginning the transition from analogue to digital processes. A new screening room, the Coppola Theater (FA 101), equipped for both 16mm and 35mm projection and featuring a Dolby sound system, was named for former Dean of Creative Arts, August Coppola, whose efforts were primarily responsible for funding the new building.[3] Digital upgrades to sound and editing labs have further modernized the department's production facilities.

In more recent times, filmmakers as diverse as Francis Ford Coppola and Ken Burns have given talks, master classes and screenings of their work. Alumni have also returned to the Department to critique student work, to provide internships, and to continue the tradition of giving back to their community. And the Department has long-standing relationships with the San Francisco Film Society and Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), among many other San Francisco based film production and cultural institutions.

Today, Students take classes from a diverse group of over 20 tenure-track faculty committed to exploring all dimensions of film and media production and studies: from independent filmmaking to experimental animation to critical and cultural theory. And all while faculty continue to make films, write books on film and media culture, and give talks around the world on such diverse topics as Chinese Cinema, digital culture, television aesthetics, experimental narrative, screenwriting and the politics of documentary film.

Current Faculty

Distinguished Alumni

Former Faculty

References

  1. ↑ "Road Trip: San Francisco State University". US News. 2010-08-17.
  2. ↑ "SF State Cinema Bulletin 2011-12". SFSU.
  3. ↑ "SFSU names screening room after ex-dean Coppola". San Francisco Chronicle. 1997-09-17.
  4. ↑ "45 Years On, Why Has 'Star Trek' Stayed So Popular?". Life's Little Mysteries. 09/06/2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ↑ Asimov, Nanette (2011-10-16). "Navy pays for rumor research". The Charlotte Observer.
  6. ↑ "Extreme Educator: SF State’s Jameson Goldner". CineSource. 01/05/2009. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ↑ Associated Press (2008-07-31). "Festival seeking short films". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. ↑ "The Searcher. Joseph McBride". Moving Image Source. 2011-02-28.
  9. ↑ Kelly, Ray (10/01/2011). "Film historian and author Joseph McBride". MassLive. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links: SFSU

Cinema Department San Francisco State University

Cinema Department Facebook

Cinema Collective

Doc Film at SF State

Julian Hoxter Screenwrting Blog

Joseph Mcbride Website

Martha Gorzycki's Website

Scott Boswell Website