The Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts (colloquially known as The Film School) is the
film school
A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ...
of the
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
. About 215 students are enrolled in classes, including
undergraduates
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and
graduate students
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
The organization and str ...
, including
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases.
Background
The Bachelor ...
and
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
students.
In 2017, Reb Braddock was named dean of the college. He succeeded Frank Patterson, who left the film school that year to become president of Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
In 2019, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' ranked the college #13 in its annual list of the top 25 American film schools.
In 2022, Th
''FSU News''announced that Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts shot up be #14 in the Top 25 American Film Schools. As stated from Reb Braddock (the schools Dean), “We are so proud of our film school family,” Braddock said. “Especially our great alums who are out there working in every aspect of the movie business.” It was written i
''The Hollywood Reporter''that the school can give a lot of credit towards its tight knit group of schools alums.
In September of 2022, FSU alumni and Director from the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts (MPA), Oualid Mouaness screened his latest film 1982 at the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. The film is based on the directors memories of his childhood and of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Notable alumni
*
Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...
– writer and director, ''
Moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
'', ''
If Beale Street Could Talk
''If Beale Street Could Talk'' is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. His fifth novel (and 13th book overall), it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale S ...
''
*
T.S. Nowlin
Thomas Scott Nowlin is an American screenwriter. He is known for writing the screenplays such as ''Maze Runner'' film series, '' Pacific Rim: Uprising'' and ''The Adam Project''.
Early life and career
Nowlin went to Florida State University.
...
– screenwriter, ''
The Maze Runner
''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Dashner and the first book released in ''The Maze Runner'' series. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an ...
'' series
*
Sam Beam
Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several extended play, EPs and Single (music), singles, as well as a few music downloa ...
– composer, ''
Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...
''
*
Wes Ball – director, ''
The Maze Runner
''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Dashner and the first book released in ''The Maze Runner'' series. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an ...
'' series
*
Josh Tickell
Josh Tickell (born August 7, 1975) is an American film director who specializes in movies with a social message. His first feature movie, '' Fuel'' won the Sundance Audience Award for Best Documentary, was released theatrically in the United S ...
– writer and director, ''
Fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
''
*
David Robert Mitchell
David Robert Mitchell (born October 19, 1974) is an American film director and writer. He received significant recognition as a director after completing his second feature, the critically acclaimed horror film '' It Follows'' (2014).
Early life ...
– writer and director, ''
The Myth of the American Sleepover
''The Myth of the American Sleepover'' is a 2010 American coming-of-age film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2010, and was released in the United States on July 22, 2011, ...
'', ''
It Follows
''It Follows'' is a 2014 American supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It stars Maika Monroe as a young woman who is pursued by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter and must have sex with ...
''
*
Ron J. Friedman – writer, ''
Brother Bear
''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 44th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert ...
'', ''
Chicken Little
"Henny Penny", more commonly known in the United States as "Chicken Little" and sometimes as "Chicken Licken", is a European folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes that the world is coming to an end ...
'', ''
Open Season''
*
Greg Marcks
Greg Marcks (born August 12, 1976) is an American director and screenwriter of motion pictures.
Early life
Marcks grew up in the town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts and attended Chelmsford High School. He studied creative writing at Carnegie Me ...
– writer and director, ''
11:14'', ''
Echelon Conspiracy
''Echelon Conspiracy'' is a 2009 American action thriller film directed by Greg Marcks, from a screenplay by Michael Nitsberg and Kevin Alyn Elders. It stars Shane West, Edward Burns, Ving Rhames, Jonathan Pryce, Tamara Feldman, and Martin She ...
''
*
Matt Chapman
Matthew James Chapman (born April 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics.
Chapman made his MLB debut with Oakland in ...
– co-creator (as one of
The Brothers Chaps
Matthew "Matt" Alan Chapman (born November 1, 1976) and Michael "Mike" Raymond Chapman (born September 20, 1973), known collectively as The Brothers Chaps, are American writers, voice actors, directors, animators, producers and composers. They ar ...
), ''
Homestar Runner
''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...
''
*
Joi McMillon
Joi McMillon is an American film editor, known for her work on the Academy Award-winning film '' Moonlight'' (2016), for which she won several accolades.
Career
McMillon initially planned to be a journalist, but a high school field trip to Univ ...
– editor, ''
Moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
'', ''
If Beale Street Could Talk
''If Beale Street Could Talk'' is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. His fifth novel (and 13th book overall), it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale S ...
''
*
Lauren Miller
Lauren Anne Miller Rogen (née Miller; born July 24, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and director. She has appeared in the films '' Superbad'' (2007), ''Zack and Miri Make a Porno'' (2008), and '' 50/50'' (2011).
In 2012, ...
– actress and screenwriter
*
Nat Sanders
Nathaniel "Nat" Sanders (born August 9, 1980) is an American film editor. He is best known for his collaborations with Destin Daniel Cretton and Barry Jenkins. He won Independent Spirit Awards for both '' Short Term 12'' (2013) and '' Moonlight' ...
– editor, ''
Short Term 12
''Short Term 12'' is a 2013 American Independent film, independent drama film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. It is adapted from Cretton's short film of the same name, produced in 2009. The film stars Brie Larson as Grace Howard, a ...
'', ''
Moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
'', ''
If Beale Street Could Talk
''If Beale Street Could Talk'' is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. His fifth novel (and 13th book overall), it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale S ...
''
*
Dan Murrell – editor and writer for
Screen Junkies
Screen Junkies is an online movie magazine and YouTube channel, owned and operated by Fandom, that focuses primarily on movies and television. Screen Junkies produce numerous shows now spread across two YouTube channels, including ''The Screen J ...
*Oualid Mouaness - director, 1982
Notable faculty
*
Chip Chalmers – television director, ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'', ''
7th Heaven'', ''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...
'', ''
Melrose Place
''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...
''
*
Victor Nuñez
Victor Nunez (born 1945) is a film director, professor at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts, and a founding member of the Independent Feature Project. He is best known for directing ''Ulee' ...
– writer and director, ''
Ruby in Paradise
''Ruby in Paradise'' is a 1993 film written and directed by Victor Nunez, starring Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, and Dorothy Lyman. An homage to ''Northanger Abbey'' by Jane Austen, the film is a character study about a ...
'', ''
Coastlines
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
'', ''
Ulee's Gold
''Ulee's Gold'' is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Victor Nuñez and starring Peter Fonda in the title role. Co-stars include Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell and Vanessa Zima. ...
''
*
Donald Ungurait – founding dean, director of more than 50 plays, musicals and operas
*Mark Vargo, ASC – cinematographer, ''
Deep Impact'', ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...
'', ''
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film franchise, which is based on the 1963 nov ...
''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florida State University College Of Motion Picture, Television And Recording Arts
Film schools in Florida
Educational institutions established in 1989
University subdivisions in Florida
1989 establishments in Florida