At SFAI, students study filmmaking in the broader context of contemporary art practice.
Our film program investigates the full range of moving-image genres, including experimental, narrative, documentary, animation, and hybrid forms. Students learn the craft of filmmaking in courses that teach skills of production and postproduction, enabling them to realize their ideas.
Our program is flexible, keeping current with the ever-changing digital arena from multi-platform to alternative distribution. Students are encouraged to push the boundaries of the medium by integrating film with gallery-based objects, performance, and sound-based works. Students leave the program having explored a variety of methods of display—from traditional theatrical screening, to single- and multi-channel installation, to alternative contexts such as emerging small screen and interactive formats.
Past Courses
Virtual Tour of Film Studios
Facilities
Our Film program is equipped to support work in 16mm, Super 8, DV, and high-definition video. Equipment for off-campus use includes a variety of 16mm, Super 8, mini-DV, and HD cameras, DAT and SD audio recorders, HD editing hardware, including Creative Cloud and Final Cut Pro on Macintosh platform, digital editing suites, and 5.1 mix studio.
Private suites with 24-hour access are available for both analog and digital editing. Other facilities include a production studio, sound recording suite, digital editing suites, 5.1 mix studio, and the SFAI Lecture Hall, which is available for professional presentations to large audiences. See Digital Technology Resources for more information.
Analog and Wet Lab Resources
Curriculum
See a sample four-year academic plan in the BFA in Film program to help you decide what courses to take when.
| Title | Units |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts Requirements (Examples: Global Social Movements, Un/Natural Ideologies, Concepts of Creativity, Mathematics: A Visual History, Extinction) | 33 |
| Studio & General Elective Requirements | 72 |
| Art History Requirements | 15 |
| Title | Units |
|---|---|
| Contemporary Practice | 3 |
| Introduction to Film | 3 |
| Film Production / Post Production I | 3 |
| Film Production / Post Production II | 3 |
| The Art of Screenwriting | 3 |
| Personal Film | 6 |
| Film Electives (Ex: Stop-Motion, Filmmaker/Rebel, Soundscape 5.1) | 15 |
| Senior Review Seminar | 3 |
| Electives in any Studio Discipline (Ex: Three-Dimensional Collage, Expressionistic Drawing) | 24 |
| General Electives (Ex: Sacred and Profane Photo, Bookmaking, Nomadic Structures) | 9 |
| BFA Graduate Exhibition | 0 |
| Title | Units |
|---|---|
| Topics and Foundations in Global Visual Culture | 3 |
| Topics and Foundations in Contemporary Art | 3 |
| History of the Major | 3 |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
Faculty
See the full list of current faculty.
Program Learning Outcomes
Hop Studios
