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High School Preparation
High school students who plan to major in film and digital media need no special preparation other than the courses required for UC admission.
Transfer Preparation
All transfer students must complete course 20A (The Film Experience), and either 20B (Introduction to Television Culture and Society) or 20C (Introduction to Digital Media), with a grade of B- or better (at least one must be taken at UC Santa Cruz). Courses 20A, 20B, and 20C must be taken for a letter grade by students intending to major in film and digital media. Students who have met the B- grade minimum for declaration of the major may choose to take course 20P (Introduction to Production Technique) as the third lower-division requirement. Appeal procedures are the same as for non-transfer students.
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 that course. 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.)
UC Santa Cruz lower-division requirements for the film and digital media major are:
• Film and Digital Media 20A, The Film Experience; and two of the following three courses:
• Film and Digital Media 20B, Introduction to Television Culture and Society
• Film and Digital Media 20C, Introduction to Digital Media
• Film and Digital Media 20P, Introduction to Production Technique
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.
Alum Focus
2006 alum Chris Vargas’s film Road Rash was selected for screening at Fusion 2005 in L.A., Madrid’s International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and the London Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. 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.
2001 graduate Lindsay Marsak is a marketing manager for the successful new queer cable channel, here! TV. From the class of 1998, Sarah Schechter is a development executive with Warner Brothers with three films set for release in 2007; and James Mockoski is a film archivist with Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Studio.
Recognition
Film and 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 and Chair of Film and Digital Media, 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. The full story is available at www.ucsc.edu/currents/03-04/12-08/academy.html.
Professor Chip Lord was honored with a retrospective exhibition of work he made with the collective Ant Farm. The exhibition, “Ant Farm 1968–1978,” was originated by the Berkeley Art Museum and is traveling worldwide.
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: www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=1273 View “Public Secrets”: vectors.usc.edu/issues/04_issue/publicsecrets.
Careers
Graduates of the film and 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 and 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
The critical studies concentration provides a more rigorous pathway through the film and digital media major and offers classes specifically reserved for seniors with exceptional abilities. Students are eligible to apply for the critical studies concentration in the last quarter of their junior year provided they have completed Film and Digital Media 120 (Introduction to Film Theory and Criticism) and at least three other upper-division critical studies classes. Applicants must already be declared film and digital media majors in good standing.
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 and Digital Media pre-major. Pre-majors will be eligible for priority enrollment in certain upper-division classes (FILM 120, 130, 132, 134, and 136), provided they have satisfied the necessary pre-requisites. 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 and 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 and 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 (see the list in the Transfer Preparation section). 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 either the critical studies or production concentration.
Critical Studies Concentration
The critical studies concentration provides a more rigorous pathway through the film and digital media major and offers classes specifically reserved for seniors with exceptional abilities. Students are eligible to apply for the critical studies concentration in the last quarter of their junior year provided they have completed Film and Digital Media 120 (Introduction to Film Theory and Criticism) and at least three other upper-division critical studies classes. Applicants must already be declared film and digital media majors in good standing.
The critical studies concentration provides a more rigorous pathway through the film and digital media major and offers classes specifically reserved for seniors with exceptional abilities. Students are eligible to apply for the critical studies concentration in the last quarter of their junior year provided they have completed Film and Digital Media 120 (Introduction to Film Theory and Criticism) and at least three other upper-division critical studies classes. Applicants must already be declared film and 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 and digital media production faculty. Application materials and instructions are available at the Film and Digital Media Department Office. 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. Students may reapply a second time if not accepted.
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 and 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 and digital media production faculty.
Seniors in the critical studies concentration must complete the following to satisfy the campus exit requirement: Film and Digital Media 190, Advanced Critical Studies Seminar.
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The film and digital media major at UC Santa Cruz offers an integrated curriculum involving theory, criticism, and cultural analysis, as well as a production program in the aesthetics and techniques of film and digital media. Graduates of the UC Santa Cruz film and digital media program have enjoyed considerable success both in the professional world and in gaining admission to top graduate schools in the field.
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