Cinematic Arts Major
The cinema and broadcast arts major prepares students to integrate a Christian worldview into their study of the history, theory, and philosophy of narrative and communicative media (film, television, radio), guiding and assisting them as they develop, write, produce, and evaluate critical and creative efforts that prepare them for involvement in the entertainment and communication industries, and other ministries.
Benefits and Distinctives
- Explore the relationship between a vibrant Christian faith and the creative process.
- Learn the technical skills of media production including writing, producing, filming, editing, and on-air production.
- Examine the social and ethical issues endemic in the entertainment and communication industry.
- Become an informed and critical consumer of the media.
Career Opportunities
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What About Internship and Graduate School Opportunities?
Students seeking internships rely on departmental announcements, Internet postings, and networking via faculty-to-industry contacts. Through these means, students gain hands-on experience with real-world relevance in various fields related to their interests. In addition to transitioning into one of APU’s 26 master’s degree programs or 7 doctorates, many students continue graduate-level study at other prestigious Southern California universities such as University of Southern California (USC), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Loyola Marymount University, and Pepperdine University.
Objectives
A student majoring in cinema and broadcast arts will be able to:
- Articulate and demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic and fruitful tension between a vibrant and foundational Christian faith and the challenges to be faced in the creation and development of creative and analytical work.
- Define, defend, discuss, and analyze the complex ethical, social, philosophical, and moral issues endemic to the entertainment and communication industries, with insight, intelligence, humility, and spiritual discernment.
- Demonstrate in writing and discussion a familiarity and understanding of the history, theory, aesthetic philosophy, and cultural impact of cinema and broadcast arts, as well as insight into the events, issues, and perspectives that are the working knowledge of academics and professionals in the field.
- Give evidence of a depth of knowledge and a breadth of familiarity with the literature of the field, as well as the ability to examine, evaluate and discuss, clearly and cogently, ideas and concepts contained in that literature.
- Explore, articulate, document, and demonstrate an understanding of the creative process.
- Initiate and participate in all the steps of the creative process from conception to script development to pre-production to production to post-production to distribution.
“Being a CA major at APU gives you an advantage in the industry because you are actually able to learn by doing instead of just by being told. The hands-on experience is priceless, and the integration of faith is encouraging, because you learn that you don’t have to separate the two.”
Sara Strawhun ’08
Cinematic Arts
Student Resources
Current APU cinematic arts students can find information about the field and useful production resources at http://web.mac.com/apucinema/Production/Welcome.html.
| Cinematic Arts Major | 31 units |
All cinematic arts majors must complete the core requirements as well as the requirements for one of the tracks (Cinema/Television Production, Critical Studies, or Screenwriting).
| Core Requirements | ||
| TFT 101 | Christianity and the Creative Process* | 3 |
| TFT 260 | Cinema-TV Production I | 4 |
| TFT 274 | Story and Character | 3 |
| TFT 275 | History Broadcasting and Electronic Media | 3 |
| TFT 285 | History of Film** | 3 |
| TFT 295 | Film and Television Business | 3 |
| TFT 341 | Media Criticism and Theory | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| TFT 113 | Acting Fundamentals | 3 |
| TFT 263 | Broadcast Performance | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| TFT 375 | Screenwriting*** | 3 |
| TFT 387 | Nonfiction Writing for Visual Media | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| TFT 475 | Media Ministries^^^ | 3 |
| TFT 490 | Internship^ | 3 |
| TFT 499 | Capstone Project in Theater, Film, and Television | 3 |
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*Meets a General Studies
core (or elective) requirement. **Meets a General Studies elective requirement. ***Meets the Upper-Division Writing Intensive requirement. ^TFT 490 is a variable unit class (1-3 units). 3 units must be taken to fulfill this requirement. ^^^May be repeated up to a maximum of 6 units. Only 3 units count toward the major. |
