Why Study Film?

Students understandably are concerned with the practicality of a major. "Will I be able to get a job if I follow this program of study?" is a sensible question. For an answer to this question, do some simple research and look around you. Notice how Americans spend their leisure time.

The television industry has embraced digital broadband communication. Where once a television station could broadcast only one analog, mono channel, now many stations offer either HDTV and in 5.1 surround-sound to boot--a format that requires considerable bandwidth to convey enhanced audio-visual information to your television set--or, alternately, upward of five distinct channels in a traditional format. Many television stations opt to maximize their advertising revenue with multiple-channel offerings. Where once there was one channel, now there may be upward of five. Count the number of channels your television receives. 

Consider the explosive growth of the Internet and how rapidly it has embraced full motion video. The advertising on many Web sites is laced with complex, digitally animated video content. Web-animation has become an art form unto itself, and some films are now produced specifically for Internet release. As more and more people adopt broadband Internet connections, these trends will continue to expand.

Consider the incredible proliferation of video gaming. Games are made into major Hollywood releases and films now become video games. Indeed, many films are simultaneously released with video games narratively linked to motion pictures.

Remember that the American motion picture industry remains internationally dominant. When the world eagerly anticipates the release of a film, the chances are good that the "next big thing" is the product of Hollywood.

The same aesthetic concepts explain each of these types of media and indeed in some cases the same technology produces them. Whether you are describing Memento, Morrowind, or Mitsubishi's latest commercial, each is basically a different vehicle for the presentation of moving images.   

The entertainment industry of today employs skilled professionals who combine technical expertise with visual artistry to meet the visual demands of the Internet, the video game industry, the various television stations and cable networks, as well as the conventional American film industry and the exciting new opportunities of independent cinema. 

The twenty-first century is beginning with an increased demand for directors, cinematographers, sound technicians, editors, screenwriters and actors, not to mention video game developers who can both write code and create imaginative and cinematically inspired landscapes for the game consoles of tomorrow. And American colleges need academics who understand and can assimilate the many and varied forms of moving visual images.

Enrolling in the Film Study Option or the Letter of Recognition in Film Analysis at Anne Arundel Community College is your first step into this future. 

The Film Study Option:

• experienced 400% growth between 2000 and 2003 according to an AACC study of Programmatic Credit Enrollment (PRIA, volume 5, Number 5, October of 2003),
• offers a balanced program of study that emphasizes both digital video production and aesthetics. 

The Letter of Recognition in Film Analysis:

• is a sequence of courses in the narrative and aesthetic analysis of film designed as a minor concentration to complement another major. 

Since their inception, both tracks have consistently produced one result: our students are regularly accepted for transfer by a host of top-flight schools. Some of them are acknowledged as premier film schools in the country, if not the world: USC, NYU, NCSA, SCAD, MICA, UMCP, FSU, The University of Miami, American University, Towson University and many others. 

For more information, contact Dr. Gonder by e-mail at dwgonder@aacc.edu or by phone at 410-777-2551.