Film and Media Arts

Warren Bass, Chair

120 Annenberg Hall
2020 N. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
215-204-1666
wbass@temple.edu

www.temple.edu/fma/

The Film and Media Arts Program focuses on the development of creative and technical skills in film, video, audio, digital media, and new technologies, and the theoretical understanding of media and culture. The program recognizes and explores the creative tension between individual expression and the social, political, and economic forces that shape culture at large through the creation and study of film, video, and new media.

Students will be trained in developing content as well as craft, theory, and practice. In learning independent and commercial approaches to production and theory, graduates will be prepared to develop their own independent productions and to assume a creative role in the motion picture and television industries.

The department brings in guest media makers and visiting professors from diverse backgrounds for special lectures and workshops. Students may also select elective courses from other departments in the School of Communications and Theater in such areas as telecommunications, journalism, and theater. A highly-recognized graduate program offers undergraduates numerous opportunities to work on advanced productions and participate in advanced research in the field.

Faculty Mentoring

FMA faculty strongly believe in the importance of close mentoring. This is particularly important in a department that focuses on individual and collaborative expression. Upon entering the department, each student will be assigned a faculty mentor who will guide the student through his/her four years at Temple. The entire Film and Media Arts faculty will participate in the review of each student’s work in the Basic Core production/studies courses.

Special Programs and Internships

The Film and Media Arts Department offers special programs for study and research in London, Rome, and Tokyo. Additionally, many organizations in the Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas cooperate in providing opportunities for student professional internships. The department also offers a summer internship program in Los Angeles.

Summary of Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Arts

The Bachelor of Arts degree may be conferred upon a student majoring in Film and Media Arts by recommendation of the faculty and upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 126 credit hours. Students must complete:

1. University Core requirements
2. School of Communications and Theater requirements
3. At least 42 credits and a maximum of 54 credits earned in one of the Film and Media Arts sequences.

The number of credits taken in the School of Communications and Theater is limited to 71 credits. A student must earn a grade of C or better in all Film and Media Arts courses that count towards the degree.

Maintaining Program Performance

Prerequisites to entrance and graduation from the Production and Media Culture Thesis sequences require students to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 calculated in all courses taken in the University. Students who have earned at least a 2.0 GPA may enter and graduate in the General sequence. Students with an average under 2.0 may not begin the FMA program. Students may take up to 4 of the 42 FMA credits as an internship.

FMA Foundation Courses

At the completion of these courses, students will choose to enter the Production Thesis (leading to a Senior Project), the Media Culture Thesis, or the General sequence (no thesis required).

Production Thesis Sequence

Sequence Directors:

Eran Preis
215-204-6991
epreis@temple.edu

Michelle Parkerson

215-204-9598

mparkers@temple.edu

This sequence educates prospective media makers, writers, and new technology practitioners to take creative control of their own work. It emphasizes students’ initiative in creating individual or collaborative projects that serve as an expression of their personal vision and voice. Students can enter this sequence to work on their own project or as a collaborator with equal creative responsibility on a colleague’s project.

The Production Thesis sequence builds to a two-semester senior capstone course in which each student, working with close faculty guidance, finishes a project and production book. Media work must be presented publicly at the end of the year program screenings.

Students may enter this sequence if they earn a 3.0 or higher in the FMA foundation courses and in all of their other FMA classes. Completion of this sequence requires Senior Projects I and II and is based on the grade requirements listed above, along with faculty acceptance of Senior Project application portfolio (which includes a proposal or script, and a work sample) submitted in March of the student’s junior year.

Production Thesis Sequence

Media Culture Thesis Sequence

Paul Swann, Sequence Director
215-204-1735
pswann@temple.edu

This sequence explores the role of media in American culture. The critical exploration of technology, economic and legal factors, social history, and institutions highlights the processes through which media culture affects identity construction and social change. Students who choose this sequence develop critical, analytical, and organizational skills in linking media culture to such arenas as community-based organizations and museums, schools, media resource centers, and the multicultural community of independent film and video producers.

The Media Culture Thesis sequence builds to a two-semester capstone course in which each student completes a written research-based thesis on media culture criticism and/or history or a producible script for reality-based media programming. Students may enter this sequence if they earn at least a 3.0 GPA in the FMA foundation courses.

Students who do not meet the above requirement may petition to enter this sequence based on a review of their written work. The petition must be received by the Media Culture sequence director no later than the third week of the semester prior to the semester when the student would be taking the senior thesis course.

Media Culture Thesis Sequence

General Sequence

Michael Kuetemeyer, Sequence Director
215-204-3922
mku@temple.edu

This sequence is designed for students who wish to have a more general approach to the major. After completing the FMA core, students must take one production or writing course in Filmmaking, Videography, Experimental Video or Media Writing, along with one 2000-level or higher studies course.  Students then design their own program with approval of their advisors, choosing a range of middle and upper level courses that complete a balanced, liberal arts approach to media study and production.  The program requires at least one advanced writing intensive course, one advanced studies course and one advanced course in studies or production.  Students may progress through the General sequence if they have a 2.0 cumulative average and grades of C or better in the FMA foundation courses.

General Sequence