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High School Preparation
High school students who plan to major in film & digital media need no special preparation other than the courses
required for UC admission.
Transfer Preparation
Three lower-division and 10 upper-division courses are required for completion of the general major. With some lower-division preparation, transfer students should be able to complete the upper-division course work and the major within two years. As preparation, prospective transfer students are encouraged to fulfill at least one lower-division film and digital media major requirement (course 20 series) through UC Santa Cruz Summer Session prior to transfer.
Transfer students must petition the department to have equivalent lower-division courses taken at their current institution count toward their lower-division UC Santa Cruz major requirements provided they have earned a B- or higher in each course being submitted for substitution. At least one of the 20-level courses taken to meet the minimum grade requirement must be taken at UCSC. Students who have completed none of the lower-division major requirements prior to transfer to UC Santa Cruz, students who are interested in graduating with a double major, and students who must finish general education requirements may need additional time to complete their studies. Transfer students are strongly encouraged to speak with an academic adviser at the department office prior to enrolling in classes in order to determine their status and to begin the declaration of major process as soon as possible. (See also Declaring the Film and Digital Media Pre-Major.)
While it is not a condition of admission, students from California community colleges may complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.
Transfer course agreements and articulation between the University of California and California community colleges can be accessed on the ASSIST web site.
Further transfer preparation information can be located at: uctransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu
Alum Focus
Former film & digital media program students include Academy-Award winning editor Stephen Mirrione (Traffic, Babel, The Informant!), cinematographer Amy Vincent (Hustle and Flow), television writer and producer Marti Noxon (Mad Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Akiva Schaffer, who directs and co-writes the Digital Shorts for Saturday Night Live.
From the class of 1998, Sarah Schechter is Vice President of Production at Warner Brothers; Dylan Wilcox is Director of Worldwide Acquisitions for the Universal Pictures Group; and James Mockoski is Film Archivist for Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. 2003 graduates Cam Archer and Aaron Platt had short films selected by the Sundance Film Festival, and Archer’s film was nominated for a student academy award. Archer recently completed his first feature-length film, Wild Tigers I Have Known, executive produced by Gus Van Sant. Cinematographer Aaron Platt received a 2007 Independent Spirit Award nomination for his work on the film.
Recognition
Film & Digital Media faculty include renowned filmmakers, digital media artists, installation artists, and award-winning authors. Their works have been screened at international film festivals and on PBS television, and they have had their art works exhibited at such venues as the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, the Walker Arts Center, ISEA digital arts festival, and others.
Professor Shelley Stamp was named one of two 2003 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her book on silent film legend Lois Weber. Read the full story.
Professor Chip Lord is one of 20 artists who have been commissioned to create video art works for an innovative installation at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Titled “To and From LAX,” Lord’s piece will offer a portrait of the global infrastructure of air travel through the use of photos and videos that have been shot in public spaces at more than 25 airports, as well as inflight. Read the full story.
Professor Sharon Daniel’s online art project, “Public Secrets,” was honored with a 2007 Webby Award in the Activism category. The Webbys are the “Academy Awards of the Internet,” according to the New York Times. Read the full story. View "Public Secrets."
Professor Caetlin Benson-Allot’s article, “Grindhouse: An Experiment in the Death of Cinema,” recently won Film Quarterly’s 50th Anniversary Review Essay Competition. Her article looks at the history and format of double-feature films.
Professor Gustavo Vazquez recently published Documentary Filmmaking: A Contemporary Field Guide, a book designed to provide practical, step-by-step information for aspiring filmmakers. Read the full story.
Careers
Graduates of the film & digital media program have established careers as professionals in the fields of film, video, television, and digital media, working as filmmakers, editors, digital media artists, film archivists, media educators, film festival curators, script analysts, cinematographers, television producers, computer programmers, and studio executives. Recent graduates have screened work at the Sundance Film Festival, on HBO, at Cinequest, the Milan Film Festival, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, and the Santa Cruz Film Festival. Graduates of the film & digital media program also have a strong track record of gaining admission to the top graduate programs for M.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D. degrees, including USC, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, the American Film Institute, Cal Arts, the University of Iowa, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Declaring the Film and Digital Media Pre-Major
Students who have completed one lower-division requirement (FILM 20A, 20B, or 20C) with a grade of B- or better may declare the film & digital media pre-major. Pre-majors will be eligible for priority enrollment in certain upper-division classes (FILM 120, and 152, e.g.), provided they have satisfied the necessary prerequisites. Pre-majors are expected to complete the requirements to declare the major by the end of their second year.
Declaring the Film and Digital Media Major
Prior to declaring the film & digital media major, students must complete course 20A, and either 20B or 20C, with a grade of B- or better. Courses 20A, 20B, and 20C must be taken for a letter grade by students intending to major in film & digital media. Students who have met the B- grade minimum for declaration of the major may choose to take course 20P as the third lower-division requirement. Students are encouraged to complete the lower-division courses early in their studies so that the petition to major status is accomplished no later than the first quarter of the junior year. Acceptance into the film and digital media major does not constitute acceptance into the critical studies, production, or integrated critical practice concentration.
UC Santa Cruz lower-division offerings for the film & digital media major are:
• FILM 20A, The Film Experience; and two of the following three courses:
• FILM 20B, Introduction to Television Culture and Society
• FILM 20C, Introduction to Digital Media
• FILM 20P, Introduction to Production Technique
Critical Studies Concentration
The critical studies concentration provides a more rigorous pathway through the film & digital media major and offers classes specifically reserved for seniors with exceptional abilities who wish to focus on the critical, historical, and theoretical study of film, television video, and digital media. Students are eligible to apply for the critical studies concentration in the last quarter of their junior year provided they have completed FILM 120 (Introduction to Film Theory and Criticism) and at least three other upper-division critical studies classes. Applicants must already be declared film & digital media majors in good standing.
Production Concentration
Admission to the production concentration is highly selective, based on promise and accomplishment shown in the student’s work, and generally restricted to third- and fourth-year students. After completing course 170B (Fundamentals of Film and Video Production) students may apply to the production concentration by submitting works to a portfolio review conducted at the end of each quarter. These student works are reviewed by a committee of film & digital media production faculty. Students should note that production courses are in high demand and that faculty/student ratios and equipment resources require a limitation on the number of applicants accepted into the production concentration.
Integrated Critical Practice Concentration
The integrated critical practice concentration provides a more rigorous pathway through the film & digital media major and offers classes specifically reserved for seniors with exceptional abilities in both critical studies and production who seek to combine creative and scholarly work. Students are eligible to apply for this concentration in the last quarter of their junior year, provided they have completed FILM 120 and at least three other upper-division critical studies classes. Acceptance into the production concentration is a necessary pre-condition for acceptance into the integrated critical practice concentration. Admission is granted to declared film & digital media majors in good standing with overwhelmingly excellent evaluations, an outstanding writing sample, an excellent sample of creative work, and a clear statement of purpose outlining a senior project that integrates critical studies and production work.
The Film and Digital Media Minor
See the UC Santa Cruz General Catalog for more details.
Comprehensive Requirement
All seniors in the general film and digital media major or the production concentration may select one of three options to satisfy the campus exit requirement:
• Senior seminar: The senior seminars (courses in the 194 series) are restricted to majors in their senior year and are writing intensive. Students in the general major are required to complete one senior seminar. Students in the production concentration may complete the senior seminar to satisfy the senior exit requirement or as an elective.
• Senior thesis: With prior faculty approval, a student may elect to do a senior thesis (course 195, Senior Thesis/Project). The student must contact a faculty member at least one quarter in advance to submit a proposal and obtain faculty approval for a senior thesis. The proposal may involve writing a screenplay, expanding on a paper from a previously completed upper-division critical studies course in film & digital media, or writing an original paper in a particular area resulting in a work of substantial research.
• Senior project: A limited number of students in the production concentration are able to participate in the senior project (course 196A, Senior Project in Film and Video Production, or course 196B, Senior Project in Screenwriting, or course 197, Senior Digital Media Workshop). Admission is by application, with review of previous works and evaluation of the proposed final project by film & digital media production faculty.
Seniors in the critical studies concentration must complete the following to satisfy the campus exit requirement: FILM 190, Advanced Critical Studies Seminar.
Seniors in the integrated critical practice concentration will propose a project that integrates critical studies and production work, combining either FILM 192, 195, 196A, 196B or 197, with an independent study taken either consecutively or simultaneously (FILM 199).
Graduate Program in Film & Digital Media
A Ph.D. program focused on the integrated critical practice of film & digital media will admit its first cohort of students in fall 2010. Please see the Film & Digital Media web site link below for more information.
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