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Media and Film Studies Major

 

We live in a media-saturated world. Print media, television, cinema, the Internet, and radio are central to the ways in which we now communicate, educate, and create art. Studying film and media allows us to understand better how media connects us to the world and how we interact with each other. After graduation, an MFS student is well prepared to join this evolving media-based world we live in.

Media and Film Studies at Birmingham-Southern College is an innovative, interdisciplinary program grounded in narrative storytelling while being informed by other disciplines in the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. The program also stresses the ways in which academic study and artistic practices are mutually informative. Students in the MFS program develop and apply their skills in critical thinking, oral communication, and persuasive writing, in the true liberal arts tradition.

Interested? Fill out the form to the right and an admissions representative will follow up with you to start your Hilltop journey.

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    Core Requirements

    Media and Film Studies majors take a set of core courses designed to provide a foundation in the historical, theoretical, critical, and practical study of various media. The core consists of seven courses:

    MFS 100 Introduction to Media Studies
    MFS 210 Film Analysis
    MFS 220 Film Production
    MFS 222 Screenwriting
    MFS 310 Film and Media Theory
    or MFS 322 Advanced Screenwriting
    MFS 470 Senior Conference and Seminar
    MFS 490 Independent Project or Internship
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    Areas of Concentration

    In addition to the core requirements, students will individualize their major by selecting electives in two MFS tracks: Media History, Theory, Criticism, or Media Production. Students take three units from one track and an additional unit from the other track:

    Media History, Theory, Criticism

    AR 131 Printmaking: The Revolution of Media and the Matrix
    AR 324 Photography as Witness: Photojournalism and the Art of Visual Narrative
    ARB 165 Arabs and Muslims in American Film and Television
    ARH 216 Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to the Present
    EH 204 Writing for the Media
    EH 240 Technology, Literature, and New Media
    EH 248 Game(s) of Thrones: Medieval Literature and Popular Culture
    EH 349 Literature and the Arts
    EH 384 Literature and the American India
    EH 420 Studies in the Drama
    HI 201 History of American Media
    HON 215 Discovering Photography
    HON 284 Psychology of Mass Media
    IDS 115 History and Film
    MFS 250 History of Documentary Film
    MFS 260 African American Cinema
    MFS 277/377 Special Topics in Media and Film Studies
    MFS 310* Film and Media Theory
    MFS 360 Auteur Study
    MU 322 Music in Film
    PL 263 Philosophies of Film: Cinematic Wisdom West to East
    PS 111 Humor and the Cynical Political Mind
    PS 195 Talk, Talk, Spin, Spin: Politics, Media, and Political Culture
    PS 300 Media and Society
    PS 345 American Political Behavior
    RE 230 Christian Scriptures in Literature, Art, and Film

    Media Production

    AR 222 Camera Mechanics and Composition
    AR 324 Photography as Witness: Photojournalism and the Art of Visual Narrative
    BA 352 Digital Marketing
    CAC 170 Computer Science Principles
    CAC 230 Introduction to Web Design
    CAC 330 Advanced Web Design
    CAC 340 Digital Media
    EH 204 Writing for the Media
    EH 305 Journalism Workshop
    HON 215 Discovering Photography
    HON 216 Printmaking: History and Process
    MFS 245 Producing Motion Pictures and Television
    MFS 320 Advanced Film Production
    MFS 322* Advanced Screenwriting
    MFS 340 Sound Recording and Design
    MFS 341 Acting and Directing for the Camera
    MFS 477 Special Topics in Media and Film Studies
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    Media & Film Studies Scholarships

    Each year, the MFS program participates in  Visual and Performing Arts Scholarship Day to allow prospective students the opportunity to compete for the various financial awards offered by the division. Media and Film Studies Scholarships are awarded on the basis of a portfolio and an interview with each participant. This year's event will be on February 8, 2020. 

    A portfolio includes two items:

    1. A film/media sample (i.e., film, documentary, video essay, digital art, music video, podcast, webisode, edited photography collection, radio broadcast, virtual reality)  or a written creative short story/screenplay sample.
    2. A written statement following  one of these 2 prompts (200-400 words):
      • What is a major project you would like to achieve and how would you do it? or
      • What would you do with a completely free day?

    Writing samples, the written statement, and links to video files should be emailed to Dr. Champion in advance of VPA Scholarship Day. Students should upload portfolio video files to Vimeo, YouTube, Google Drive, DropBox, or some other common online site. There is no time limit on the media samples submitted, but we will likely only review the first 10 minutes of content.

    Students should also bring hard copies/flash drives of portfolio items for VPA Scholarship Day.

    During VPA Scholarship Day, students will get a tour of the BSC campus and MFS facilities. MFS faculty will conduct short interviews with prospective students, and each student will have an opportunity to give a 5-minute pitch for a creative project.

    If you have any questions about the requirements, please contact Dr. Teddy Champion at [email protected].

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    Career Preparation


    Media and Film Studies graduates have been accepted into the most prestigious graduate schools in the country, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Chicago, UCLA, and USC. MFS students at BSC have gained wonderful film and media experience in and around Birmingham. Take a look at what some of our students have been up to while completing their studies at BSC:

    Internships and Job Placements

    Film and Entertainment:

    • Flight 33 Productions in Los Angeles
    • The Sidewalk Film Festival
    • Red Mountain Entertainment
    • Freelance Film Production for Vulcan Materials Company
    • Twitch TV
    • Lewis Communications
    • Whole Lotta Music

     

    Broadcasting and Journalism:

    • WBRC Fox 6
    • Game Day Bunker
    • WHNT Huntsville
    • Weld

    Independent Projects

    Film and Media Production:

    • Future Perfect: Birmingham Museum of Art 60th Anniversary (accepted into the Sidewalk Film Festival)
    • Welcome to Golden Flake (accepted into the Sidewalk Film Festival)
    • Relative (accepted into Sidewalk Film Festival)
    • The Golden Girls of Magic City: An Examination of Women in Television Broadcasting
    • A Disoriented Experience: Viewing Sports in Restricted Narration
    • Robin and Finch
    • Visual Media Assets and Theory: Iron Tribe Fitness Denver, Colorado

    Research Papers:

    • Independent Cinema and the Sundance Film Festival
    • Multiple Friends Did Not Lead to an Arrested Development: How Comedies Shifted Back into Single Camera Work
    • Film Adaptations of Snow White: The Influences of Screenwriting Manuals
    • The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: A Transmedia Love Story
    • Science Fiction Film in Astronomy Education: A New Approach
    • The Food Advocacy Documentary: An Engaged Aesthetic in the Digital Age

    Screenwriting:

    • “Seinfeld: The Kebab Truck”
    • “A Modest Exodus” *Finalist at Sidewalk Film Festival
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    Faculty & Staff

    Faculty

    Dr. Teddy Champion
    Program Director, Media and Film Studies
    Email: [email protected]
    Office phone: (205) 226-7841

    Nora Stone
    Visiting Assistant Lecturer of Media and Film Studies
    Email: [email protected]
    Office phone: (205) 226-4802

    Staff

    Ms. Judy E. Pandelis
    BSC Arts Alliance Coordinator / Manager of the College Theatre Box Office / Administrative Assistant for the Departments of Art & Art History, Media & Film Studies, Music, & Theatre and the Dance Program
    Email: [email protected]
    Office phone: (205) 226-4928

     

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