MFA in Film program brochure

Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Film

As filmmaking evolves and expands, today’s filmmakers need a new approach to film education

At VCFA, a new generation of filmmakers is changing the landscape of independent film production.

Seismic shifts in film technology, funding, and consumption of media have created a wide range of opportunities for filmmakers from all backgrounds.

Our faculty and students are constantly trying out novel approaches to storytelling, pushing the boundaries of genre, and exploring the ever-changing language of film.

in F I L M

Our curriculum is project-based.

Students come to VCFA to make films.

They come to challenge and refine their art, to be at the center of a supportive community of filmmakers. Our students come to VCFA to be part of a crucial moment in film history, to transform themselves and the world of film simultaneously.

This is a pivotal time in filmmaking, and the MFA in Film at VCFA is designed to embrace this period of transformation in a world of visual storytelling.

allison

I have returned home from otto VCFA’s inaugural ’15 MFA in Film residency feeling so energized and creatively inspired by my fellow students and the faculty. This has been one of the best choices I have made for my career, and I know it will help take my work to the next level.

Vermont College of Fine Arts, a national center for education in the arts, advances emerging and established in F I L M filmmakers, artists, writers, musicians, and designers as they deepen and expand their creative endeavors while contributing to the larger culture as a whole. Our low-residency, mentorship model offers six distinctive Master of Fine Arts degrees, each designed to develop artistic and literary excellence. Our programs are nationally recognized in their fields, and we are exclusively devoted to fine arts education at the graduate level.

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the program Today’s filmmakers require a more affordable, more convenient film education— one that fits into busy creative lives.

Vermont College of Fine Arts has long been a pioneer in advanced education for the creative arts, and our new MFA in Film brings the low-residency, mentorship model to independent filmmaking for the first time. The MFA in Film at VCFA is designed to align with students’ professional and personal lives, allowing students to obtain a terminal degree without leaving families, jobs, and ongoing artistic commitments.

emilie

Everyone presented with the highest upczak level of expertise, ’15 imbuing us with a sense of confidence and vision that at some point we could be successful filmmakers in our own right. Interacting with the faculty and guest presenters was an identity building exercise for me, during which my understanding of the craft of filmmaking and the role it plays in my life suddenly became more concrete.

Over the course of four six-month semesters, students immerse themselves in self-designed film projects that may include narrative, documentary, animation, transmedia, screenwriting, and hybrid forms. Both on campus and off, students are supported and guided by an award-winning team of faculty filmmakers. There is no requirement to declare a specialization, and students are encouraged to try new approaches to storytelling as they refine their creative voices and deepen their understanding of film language and the power of story.

on campus the residency Each semester begins with a one-week residency on campus in historic Montpelier, Vermont. The workshops, lectures, screenings, and discussions during residency are designed to introduce new trends and technologies, to help students critically examine their work, and to encourage students to explore their own creative boundaries.

As the residency week progresses, the focus shifts to planning the next semester’s projects, when students work one-on-one with faculty on a regular schedule.

The residency weeks offer students a community of learning that is the hallmark of graduate education at VCFA. We believe that creative professionals need supportive learning environments, individualized focus, and the freedom to explore. Our students need moments of intense engagement as well as room for extended reflection.

the faculty

Our faculty are all leading independent filmmakers and screenwriters at the forefront of the shifting landscape of film. They represent diverse areas of expertise but share a fluency with creative innovation, an openness to emerging film form, and a strong grounding in storytelling.

laura

We strive to guide students colella through projects faculty chair that feel necessary and fresh, that come from a distinctive creative voice, and that involve experimentation and rigorous development. The faculty want to encourage work that is well-crafted and functions on a deeper level than the mass of audiovisual media we’re bombarded with daily.

off campus the semester After the intensity of residency, students return home for a period of productive time that every artist needs. During the semester at home, students execute their self-designed film projects, all the while supported and guided by faculty.

Our students bring substantial professional experience with them to the program and have clearly defined study goals. During the semester’s film projects, students might explore new forms and media, focus on a project already begun, or enhance completed work.

FILM N A R RAT I V E D O C U M E N TA RY A N I M AT I O N T RA N S M E D I A SCREENWRITING HYBRID FORMS

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the work independent

New digital filmmaking technologies now make film an easilyaccessible, inclusive, genre-toppling medium for sharing the drama of the human experience.

Independent filmmaking is evolving swiftly, and the MFA in Film program embraces every exciting transformation. For one thing, today’s methods for creating and sharing content now make film more accessible for every filmmaker with a story to tell. And storytelling itself is changing as filmmakers move away from clichÊd tropes, strict linear progression, and formulaic constructions, and toward innovative definitions of traditional genre and new hybrid and transmedia forms. Our program takes full advantage of new digital platforms for production and distribution, and encourages brave and playful modes of narrative.

NON-DISCRIMINATION Vermont College of Fine Arts does not discriminate in its admissions, employment, or policy procedures on the basis of age, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, political party affiliation, or physical impairment.

admission

Admission to the MFA in Film at Vermont College of Fine Arts is highly selective. We seek candidates with distinctive voices and abilities, applicants who believe that a model of student-centered art education is one in which they can thrive.

Candidate Requirements: Applicants must have completed a B.F.A., B.A., or B.S. degree from an accredited college or university, or hold a diploma from a recognized professional art school, and must have substantial experience in making films.

An applicant’s portfolio must indicate an appropriate quality of work and a level of commitment to his or her creative practice to demonstrate that the applicant is ready to do graduate work in a MFA in Film program.

The narrative statement gives the admissions committee an opportunity to hear directly from the applicant and to assess the applicant’s ability to bring substantive projects and styles to the learning environment at VCFA—and to bring those projects to successful conclusion.

The narrative statement should specifically address current practice, methods, and skills, areas for prospective improvement, projects anticipated during the MFA candidacy, ability and interest in making a contribution to the learning environment, reasons for choosing VCFA, and perspectives on current trends in filmmaking that affect the applicant’s decision to begin graduate study.

Priority application deadline August 15th for the October semester February 15th for the April semester Contact the admissions office or visit vcfa.edu for more information, including forms, application deadlines, and current tuition and fees.

MFA in Film Vermont College of Fine Arts 36 College Street Montpelier, VT 05602 802.828.8535 | www.vcfa.edu

36 College Street Montpelier, v t 05602 802.828.8535 www.vcfa.edu