Cinematic Arts

The cinematic arts concentration provides students with the conceptual framework, historical context and technical skills necessary for the production of narrative, documentary or experimental projects in a fine-arts environment. In this emphasis, Cinema is treated as an artistic media — ideas are considered as important as technique. As an integrated production-based curriculum, the concentration provides study of film/video history, criticism & theory and the scriptwriting-proposal process, in tandem with a range of digital production and post-production tools that form the foundation for personal creative student work.

The Production Center

The Production Center (The Cage) provides production and post-production equipment, supplies, maintenance and support for currently enrolled Visual Arts students, graduate students, faculty and staff. The student staff members track over 600 checkout items, serve approximately 200 people, and perform over 2000 checkouts per year. The center provides 24-hour access to post-production facilities and 30 hours a week it is open for purchasing supplies and for checking-in/out equipment. This facility is an integral part of the Department of Visual Arts and the Imaging and Digital Arts graduate program. As developing artists expressing their personal vision and ideas, students are encouraged to explore the mediums of time-based digital media.

Facility & Equipment Highlights:

    • 24 hour access to editing suites
    • (2) Blackmagic Design 4K Production Packages
    • (3) Panasonic GH4 Production Packages
    • (3) Panasonic HVX 200 HD Production Packages
    • (16) Canon 80D DSLR HD Production Packages
    • (12) Canon T2i DSLR HD Production Packages
    • (2) Éclair NPR Super 16mm Sync Sound Camera Packages.
    • Manfrotto Fluid Head tripods, Stabilizers and Jib arms
    • Omni, Tota, Soft Box, DP Light Kit, and LED portable kits.
    • Private Sound 5.1 Recording and Mixing Suite
    • (2) Sound Devices 722 Hard Disk recorders
    • (8) Zoom H6 Sound Recorders
    • (16) Zoom H4N Sound Recorders
    • (6) Fostex FR-2LE Sound Recorders
    • Multi-Pattern High-End Microphones
    • Portable Video & Data Projectors
    • (11) Portable Light boxes

Other extra-curricular activities include a student-run Cinematic Arts club, FILMMAKERS ANONYMOUS; student films are screened for the public annually, LIGHTSTRUCK; guest speakers visit the department regularly.

What can I do with a Concentration in Cinematic Arts?

Career prospects for graduates of UMBC’s Cinematic Arts concentration with skills in digital video production have never been brighter. The media landscape in the Baltimore/Washington D. C. region is evolving at an explosive rate, and digital video content is at the heart of that growth. In addition to the traditional entertainment and TV news industries, the Internet, cable, video gaming and satellite industries all require a steady flow of engaging digital video content. The Internet is buzzing with small startup companies developing new business models for both the production and distribution of original digital video. Coincidentally, cell phones technologies have opened up new possibilities for creators of short-form video programming. The result is that all major Internet providers have increased their use of digital video to drive their future growth plans. Even the most unlikely private sector businesses are increasingly turning to digital video for a myriad of innovative applications.

To succeed in this rapidly evolving landscape, job seekers will need more than technical proficiency with tools and technologies. They will need the creative skills that have always counted: the ability to engage an audience with effective content, the ability to tell a story, the ability to see opportunities that no one else sees. A combination of creative problem-solving skills and technical proficiency forms the backbone of a UMBC Cinematic Arts concentration education. Many of the most exciting and important industries of the last twenty-five years have been started by young people who had a love of new technologies and found a way to turn them into transformative companies. Google, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo are just some examples.

Cinematic Arts Courses

Visual Arts, Cinematic Arts Concentration, B.F.A.
Visual Arts, Cinematic Arts Concentration Minor

 

Cinematic Arts Faculty

Cathy Cook   Associate Professor
Jules Rosskam    Associate Professor