A collaborative space in which to complete the First Year Film and make necessary progress toward the Thesis Project. Students workshop the production and editing of the required First Year Film, which is presented as a picture-lock edit to the public at the end of the semester. They also prepare their Thesis Packet, including a preliminary draft of the Electronic Press Kit, which they submit for committee approval at the end of the semester. To these ends, students participate in individual meetings and editing labs with faculty, the Filmmaker-in-Residence, and guest filmmakers.

A comprehensive, hands-on studio course, exploring the technical and theoretical dimensions of motion picture cinematography and lighting, using both 16mm film and mini-DV videotape as creative formats. The course covers the practical aspects of camera and lighting techniques as applied to a variety of genres (documentary, narrative and experimental); also screen and analyze a wide range of film and video material as examples of creative cinematography.

Teaches students to craft cinematic short stories that have descriptive imagery, clarity, and impact. Immersed in simulated writers’ rooms, students will write two film-ready scripts that emphasize camera POV - one with sound that is dialogue-free and one with both sound and dialogue. These scripts will include key milestones, such as loglines, outlines, beat sheets, and character development. Along the way, students will analyze examples from film, TV, pilots, and literature. Dedicated class time will support work on the semester’s deliverables, which also includes an industry standard pitch for one script.

Teaches students to craft cinematic long-form stories that have descriptive imagery, clarity, and impact. Immersed in simulated writers’ rooms, students will create either a feature-length script or a pilot for television or web that emphasizes camera POV. [They] may choose to expand on a short form script or proof of concept that they have previously written. The script or pilot will include key milestones, such as loglines, outlines, beat sheets, and character development. Along the way, students will analyze examples from film, TV, pilots and literature. Dedicated class time will support work on the semester’s deliverable, which also includes an industry standard pitch for the feature or pilot.

Provides students with an understanding of production sound and its critical role in the art and craft of filmmaking. This hands-on course covers equipment, mic techniques, wireless systems, boom operation, and field recording. Through guided instruction and on-set exercises, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the responsibilities and workflow of the sound department within the industry.

Teaches students dialogue editing, sound design, and re-recording mixing, and elucidates their critical role in the craft of filmmaking. Students use Adobe Audition and Pro Tools software to complete sound design for both theatrical and online screenings of their short film and teaser/trailers.

This hands-on studio is where good, smart and cool movies are born. Students work in groups, particularly during their first year. While writing and editing are often solitary activities, production is not. Great films are collaborations and students will be expected to work in teams. Group discussions and critiques are balanced with individual meetings with faculty and visits with guest filmmakers. Class meetings often include a screening in conjunction with the MD Film Festival. Special emphasis will be placed on ways that filmmakers can build and reach an audience. Students explore the diverse ways filmmakers are sustaining careers while creating high impact films. Second year students produce a thesis film. Students define their thesis work at the close of the first year.

A collaborative space in which students pitch and workshop required MFA degree films, including a Baltimore-Focused Documentary Short screened publicly at the end of the first (fall) semester and a First Year Film screened publicly at the end of the second (spring) semester. Students schedule production and post-production on these films to ensure they meet screening deadlines, participate in script and non-fiction treatment reads, and attend guest filmmaker screenings and mixers. They discuss such principles as ethical filming and editing; accessibility; broad and niche audiences; what we bring to the stories we create; relevance to contemporary humanity; strategizing for impact; safety and accountability; and sustainable filmmaking practices.

Explores non-extractive filmmaking from a place of conscious positionality. Students collaborate with a community partner–such as a small-business owner, a school, or an artist/creative–to create a Baltimore-Focused Documentary Short. Along the way, group critiques focus on evaluating raw materials, audio capture, visual capture, Rough-Cut editing, and audience identification. Fine-Cuts of these projects are screened publicly at the end of the semester.

Walks students through each step in the pre-production process, including: proper screenplay formatting & exporting, scene breakdowns, storyboarding & pre-viz, shot lists, budgeting, grant writing/fundraising, cast/crew recruitment, writing contractual agreements, location scouting, and creating a shooting schedule. Students learn the basics of such industry-standard applications as Final Draft, Movie Magic Scheduling & Budgeting, Celtx, Blender, and Studio Binder. In the process, they discover the advantages of entering each project with a well-thought-out game plan, and learn to anticipate and overcome common production issues.

Uses industry standard software Davinci Resolve to provide students with a comprehensive, hands-on understanding of color-correction, color grading and basic VFX. They also learn best practices for round trip workflows, including transferring edit information between Resolve and other non-linear editing (NLE) software. Students will have dedicated class time to apply post color principles to short films for theatrical and online screenings.

Provides hand-on experience with Film Branding marketing and deliverables. During dedicated class time, students explore illustrative, graphic, and photographic treatments both individually and in teams. Working as branders for a short film made by a MICA student, they develop a logo, a vertical ‘One-Sheet’ poster design, and a companion horizontal web-based banner and thumbnail for film festivals, distributors, and other professional purposes. Students also learn to write, design, and assemble a professional Electronic Press Kit (EPK).

Students in this course learn to build and safely fly a custom Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or ‘drone’ for cinematic purposes. They gain experience with the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC), Flight Controller (FC), motors, propellers, camera, analog Video Transmitter VTX), antenna, Express Long Range System (ELRS) receiver, and the program Betaflight. The course teaches and utilizes legal and honed safety practices for cinematic drone operation in the United States.

The Director of Photography has instrumental role in crafting the final look of a film. In the course, the four creative roles of the cinematography department – Camera Operator, Gaffer, Key Grip, and Dolly Grip are examined in-depth. Through a series of screenings, discussions and workshops, the students learn many of the dynamics between these roles. In class, students will mount detailed and intricately lighted shots. Students will work with the Arri Amira, a professional motion picture camera. Camera topics include camera settings & trouble shooting, on-set data management, ALEXA color science, working with LogC, look management, and dailies creation.

The course covers working with actors and understanding the filmmaking process from the actor's point of view. Students will learn to analyze a script with the goal of planning shots and directing actors. The analysis will help students determine the needs of each scene and discover the characters' actions. They will learn blocking and staging, with emphasis on communicating the director's vision with each scene. This is a participatory workshop where students will direct their classmates and be directed by them.

This two-semester course is the centerpiece of the graduate experience. The studio meets for four hours weekly and is co-taught with the MICA MFA Program. This hands-on studio is where good, smart and compelling movies are born. While writing and editing are often solitary activities, production is not. Students work on their own project, teaming up with fellow students and other filmmakers. Group discussions and critiques are balanced with individual meetings with faculty and visits with guest filmmakers. Class meetings often include a screening in conjunction with the Maryland Film Festival. Special emphasis will be placed on ways that filmmakers can build and reach an audience. Students also explore the diverse ways filmmakers are sustaining careers while creating high impact films.

This course is designed for MFA Filmmaking students and for all graduate students interested in film analysis. The course is an introduction to Post-World War II film history, film studies and film theory & criticism. The course will survey cognitive, formal and ideology-focused theories of film in order to better comprehend the medium. Students will study the major industrial, technological, aesthetic and cultural developments in motion picture history with a special emphasis on increasing representation in front of and behind the camera and de-colonizing cinematic storytelling.

This hands-on studio is where good, smart and cool movies are born. Students work in groups, particularly during their first year. While writing and editing are often solitary activities, production is not. Great films are collaborations and students are expected to work in teams. Group discussions and critiques are balanced with individual meetings with faculty and visits with guest filmmakers. Class meetings often include a screening in conjunction with the MD Film Festival. Special emphasis placed on ways that filmmakers can build and reach an audience. Students also explore the diverse ways filmmakers are sustaining careers while creating high impact films. Second year students produce a thesis film. Students define their thesis work at the close of the first year.

Teaches best practices for organizing and editing raw material into an early Rough-Cut. In group critiques, and in individual meetings with faculty and the filmmaker-in-residence, students receive feedback on early iterations of their projects (Dailies, Selects, Assembly, and the Early Rough-Cut). They will explore strategies for telling their stories via J and L cuts, Match-cuts, Smash-cuts, Cutaways, Cross-cuts, Montage, Action-cutting and beyond. Dedicated class time supports work on the semester’s deliverables.

A collaborative space in which students pitch and workshop the Thesis Film as it is translated from script/non-fiction treatment into production. Students complete the Thesis Film Rough-Cut and its required Thesis Trailer by early December. They attend guest filmmaker screenings and mixers, and participate in individual meetings and editing labs with faculty, the filmmaker-in-residence, and guest filmmakers. By doing so, they hone their spoken and written thesis logline, synopsis, and film lineage statement, clarifying their vision and attracting intended audiences. Finally, all students utilize this course to appropriately schedule post-production to commence in the fourth (spring) semester, in preparation for a successful Thesis screening mid-April.

A collaborative space in which to advance iterative Rough-Cuts into the Fine-Cut and Locked-Cut stages, thereby preparing for Post Sound and Post Color. Students receive feedback through group discussions and critiques, as well as in individual meetings with faculty and the Filmmaker-in-Residence. Dedicated class time supports student work on course deliverables, which also include a teaser trailer for marketing purposes.

This hands-on studio is where good, smart and cool movies are born. Students work in groups, particularly during their first year. While writing and editing are often solitary activities, production is not. Great films are collaborations and students are expected to work in teams. Group discussions and critiques are balanced with individual meetings with faculty and visits with guest filmmakers. Class meetings often include a screening in conjunction with the MD Film Festival. Special emphasis will be placed on ways that filmmakers can build and reach an audience. Students also explore the diverse ways filmmakers are sustaining careers while creating high impact films. Second year students produce a thesis film. Students define their thesis work at the close of the first year.

A collaborative space in which students complete their Thesis Films through iterative editing and industry practices such as color grading, color correction, and sound design. In group critiques, and in individual meetings with faculty and the Filmmaker-in-Residence, students receive feedback on the Fine Cut, Sound Design, Picture Lock, Color-graded and Final Deliverable stages of their Thesis Films and Thesis Film Trailers. They workshop branding, social media, and grass roots screening strategies to get the film to its intended audiences. Students in the course also co-create a trailer and press release for the graduating cohort screening, and mount that screening - including a live Q&A session open to the public.