Digital Filmmaking Major to Debut

Lights. Camera. Action. Bachelor’s degree.

Starting in the fall 2008 semester, Champlain College will offer a Digital Filmmaking degree. According to Professor Karen Klove, the program director and a filmmaker and digital media artist, the emphasis on digital media distinguishes the College’s program from those at other institutions. With a hands-on method of learning and a focus on what Klove maintains will soon become the industry standard, students will handle digital equipment, learn film theory, and get their feet wet in the business of being filmmakers. The concept of the program is “equal parts theory, creative expression, and technical awareness,” she says.

The new program emerged, in large part, because of student interest. In recent semesters, Klove had been hearing from a growing number of students interested in film courses that didn’t fit into the existing curriculum. Already about 35 students have transferred into the major. To keep the degree personal and intimate, each semester only 30 students will be admitted to the program.

In the first year, students learn the basics of digital filmmaking and writing their own scripts in such classes as Electronic Media Writing and Digital Image. In their final year, students create portfolios and gain work experience through internships. After graduation, Klove hopes that students with a Digital Filmmaking degree will enter the workforce equipped to become filmmakers, screenwriters, and even producers.

—Meredith Rowan ’08