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A New Generation of Socially Engaged Filmmakers

What does it cost?

Most students in the Filmmaking concentration receive full tuition waivers and monthly stipends as part of their assistantships.

Check out our cost calculator or visit student financial services for information on estimated costs.

How long will it take?

The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking is a 3-year (72 credit) program.

Where will I take classes?
Atlanta Campus

Application Deadlines View Admissions Requirements

Admission for Fall:

Application Deadline for Priority Assistantship Consideration: December 1
Final Application Deadline: March 15

College of the Arts

Digital Filmmaking, Filmmaking Concentration, M.F.A.

School of Film, Media & Theatre

Ly Bolia
[email protected]
404-413-5881

Launching in fall 2022, the new Georgia State University Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Digital Filmmaking program and its Filmmaking concentration leverage the rich curriculum of the School of Film, Media & Theatre to create an ethically sustainable and socially engaged future for film and media production. The program cultivates diverse perspectives in an active and demanding learning environment within Atlanta's vibrant cultural and historical traditions.

The Filmmaking concentration prepares candidates to produce documentary, fiction, experimental, community-based and advocacy media, and 16mm and 35mm filmmaking through a combination of rigorous practice, collaboration and study. The program shapes candidates into well-rounded and skilled individuals with a thorough knowledge of film and media production and may contribute to the ongoing social justice work while developing distinctive styles of visual expression attractive to industry, artistic and activist communities.

Georgia State has been teaching film production at the graduate level for over 25 years, making it the longest-running graduate film school in Georgia.

Students in the Filmmaking concentration will:

Gain a thorough grounding in the strategies, complexities and varieties of contemporary filmmaking and creative mediamaking.
Be exposed to new storytelling perspectives to challenge traditional filmmaking structures and realize alternative possibilities to represent the human experience and condition.
Engage in mentorship with award-winning and internationally recognized faculty filmmakers.
Become adept in a diverse and expressive range of approaches to do work that synergizes arts-based and industrial practices.
Partner with critical studies and scholarship in the School of Film, Media & Theatre, including the internationally renowned research group liquid blackness
Leverage creative opportunities with other arts disciplines across the College of the Arts, including theatre, music, visual arts and design.
Discover and hone an artistic voice through courses in directing, producing, screenwriting, cinematography, editing, sound design, documentary and experimental media in preparation for each candidate's thesis project.
Explore filmmaking in multicultural Atlanta, the third-largest media capital in America in the heart of Georgia's booming film and television industries. This unique environment provides filmmakers with access and experience to navigate the demands of a fast-changing and competitive film industry.
Engage in rigorous, hands-on learning and professional training and develop a rich understanding of cinema and media history, theory and aesthetics while anticipating and developing future media practices.
Gain practical teaching experience through funded teaching assistantships that prepare candidates for a career in education. The M.F.A. degree is a terminal degree required for most college/university teaching positions in film/media production.
Acquire industry experience through Georgia Film Academy and Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Studios) for specialized technologies and crafts such as post-production, lighting and art direction, etc.

The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking offers two concentrations. The Filmmaking concentration is administered through the School of Film, Media & Theatre. The Visual Effects & Virtual Production concentration is offered through the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). Applicants applying for the Visual Effects & Virtual Production concentration should visit CMII.

Program Details

Students must meet the following requirements:

Hold a bachelor’s degree (equal to 120 semester credit hours) from an accredited institution.
Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their undergraduate studies.
Submit a portfolio of creative work and a resume/CV.
Submit a personal statement.
Submit an academic writing sample.
Submit two letters of recommendation.

Our MFA in Digital Filmmaking is a 72-credit hour degree that typically takes 3 years to complete. Students are required to take classes in Cinematography, Sound Design, Pedagogy, Theory, History, Writing and various methods of filmmaking including Documentary and Experimental approaches. Electives may include classes in Directing, Editing, Visual Effects, and Professionalization that are offered by the School of Film, Media & Theatre, the Creative Media Industries Institute, and the Georgia Film Academy. The MFA adopts a cohort model, in which students are expected to take prescribed classes with their cohort. Deviations are possible with approval of the graduate committee and for the good of the thesis project. For a list of the courses that are scheduled to be available for your cohort please contact the Graduate Director. Students are afforded the opportunity to teach introductory classes. The degree culminates in the completion and defense of a thesis film which graduates can use as a calling card to launch the rest of their careers.

VIEW CATALOG INFORMATION

Most students in the Filmmaking concentration of the M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking receive full tuition waivers and monthly stipends as part of assistantships.
Check out our cost calculator or visit student financial services for information on estimated costs.

The program will change the future of filmmaking by educating a new generation of filmmakers to be ethically aware and to create inclusive filmmaking environments. The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking, Filmmaking Concentration will provide students with:

A clear understanding of the principles and foundations of film and media production.
Exposure to best practices of film and media production, taking into account artistic, aesthetic and technological variables.
Opportunity to meet, network and collaborate with professionals in the field of film/media production.
Exposure and practice in the creation of various forms of scriptwriting and storytelling including fiction, non-fiction, experimental, animation, short film and series television.
Build proficiencies in all aspects of media production (film, video, animation and virtual reality, etc.) in order to compete in the artistic and technical environment locally and internationally.
Pursue areas of individual interest in film/media production by offering a wide range of courses taught by professionals from the field
Personal and career development to equip graduates for 21st-century employment
Provide a collaborative and positive environment essential in any creative environment.
Provide opportunities for successful networking with the artistic or industrial communities that our students plan to engage within their careers.

Outcomes:

Students will develop and demonstrate:

A. Competence in multiple aspects of film/television/media production: directing, producing, cinematography, sound design and/or editing.

B. Fluency in various forms of media expression such as documentary, experimental, television and fiction film.

C. A professional level of technical prowess in at least one production area.

D. Competence in writing professional-quality scripts in their various forms.

E. A distinctive artistic voice recognized by the field.

Program Partnerships

CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRY INSTITUTE (CMII)

Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII) at Georgia State teaches students the most advanced technical skills needed in contemporary film, media and game production. The Institute prepares students with these 21st century skills and knowledge, as well as access to its accomplished faculty and state-of-the-art facility.

CMII has three core missions. First, the institute organizes advanced technology media and arts training, so Georgia State students are prepared to start careers in the entertainment and information industries. Second, CMII is building a model to nurture media entrepreneurs. Third, the focus is on industry collaboration – especially concentrated on the film and TV production, music industries and game design sectors – to generate research and economic development.

CMII has approximately 23,000 usable square feet for state-of the-art media and arts production, entrepreneurship incubation and research collaboration.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CMII

GEORGIA FILM ACADEMY (GFA)

The Georgia Film Academy facilities at Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Atlanta Studios) offer $9.5 million in production resources, including a 16,000-square-foot sound stage, post-production suites and a full range of state-of-the-art production equipment.

Multi-disciplinary training by professionals in the film, TV and new media industries.
In-classroom course work coupled with on-set, hands-on training.
Opportunity to work on “real world” projects in order to develop recognized film credits through partnerships with professional productions.
Hands-on instruction and training working with professional equipment (cameras, sound gear, lights, and more) as well as production trucks, generators and sound studio space.

Located in South Metro Atlanta, Trilith Studios is one of the largest purpose-built movie studios in North America. Set across 700 acres, Trilith Studios has more than one million square feet of production facilities, including 18 premium sound stages, construction workshops, costume shops, virtual production technologies and an extensive 400-acre backlot.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GFA

Georgia’s Booming Film Industry

Georgia’s film industry has undergone remarkable growth, generating $4 billion in direct spending in the fiscal year 2021. This included 366 film and television productions such as WandaVision, Lovecraft Country, The Underground Railroad, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Recent feature films included Jumanji: The Next Level, Bad Boys for Life, Jungle Cruise, Superintelligence, Dear Evan Hansen, Coming 2 America and Suicide Squad 2.
1 million square feet of purpose-built studio stage space and 3.2 million in retrofitted stage and dedicated warehouse space.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the industry is responsible for more than 92,100 jobs in Georgia including indirect employment. There are nearly 2,790 motion picture and television industry businesses in the state including 1,962 production-related companies.

View of filming from camera screen

The M.F.A. Filmmaking Experience

The diverse range of approaches within the Filmmaking concentration of the M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking immerses graduate students in a variety of filmmaking traditions, artistry, and craft, building skills in directing, writing, cinematography, editing, sound design, and producing.
During the first year, students build a foundation through the study of technical crafts, aesthetics, theory, and creative conceptualization — enabling them to express themselves in the semiotic language of images and sounds.
In the second year, students take advanced courses that lead to the production of creative work demonstrating original thinking, conceptual clarity, technical skill, and the refinement of a personal aesthetic.
In the third year, students complete a creative project that is a culmination of previous work and a reflection of the development of the student’s creative voice. Students will have the option of shooting their thesis film at state-of-the-art facilities through the Georgia Film Academy. M.F.A. students will teach introductory undergraduate classes in film production.

Modern Digital Camera and Filmmaking Industry Operator in Misty Room Illuminated Using Professional Film Stage Lighting. Caucasian Camera Man in His 40s.

Careers

The Filmmaking concentration prepares graduate students to step into jobs whose focus is on fiction filmmaking and new voices in documentary production that will broaden the range of perspectives seen throughout the nation.

Teaching assistantships prepares candidates for a possible career in teaching at all levels. The M.F.A. degree is a terminal degree required for most college/university teaching positions in film/media production.

Shooting studio for photographer and creative art director with production crew team setting up lighting flash and LED headlight on tripod and professional equipment for portrait model photo shoot and video online filming

Meet Your Faculty

Georgia State has a long history of teaching directing, cinematography, screenwriting and editing in both fiction and documentary forms.

The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking, Filmmaking concentration program highlights faculty strengths in directing writing and producing. The faculty is committed to challenging the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction production and to re-envision how the labor of filmmaking is organized.

Alessandra Bautze Headshot