GCC boasts a solid film, TV, and media program. The program consists of hands-on experience, opportunities such as film scholarships and field trips. El Vaquero spoke to the program to better understand their goals.
Program Mission
The Film, TV, and Media department is a series of courses and workshops that are meant for students who want to major in film or have an interest in it. They learn a series of skills on and off the screen, as well as learning the history and makings of a film or televised show. Department director and professor Geri Ulrey, has taught at GCC for over 6 years and teaching film for around 18 years. She explained the two sides of what the department is about. “It’s where someone who is looking to work or learn to work in the [film and television] industry, as well as someone who is interested in learning the art and craft and techniques of storytelling via the moving image,” she said. “That includes narrative, fiction films, but also narrative, as in documentary. Also, it’s for those who are interested in creating an image for themselves – you know they have their own channels, businesses, social media pages, and want to learn to make that image, or communicate through moving image, film, television, or video. It’s not always to be part of working in the industry per se, but wanting to learn to create video content in a more professional way.” The mission of this department is to inspire students to create impactful stories that reflect their diverse perspectives and communicate meaningfully through film, taking the knowledge learned from this field, and launching their careers in the industry, or for themselves.
The Department’s Courses
The department offers various courses that work for many kinds of film majors: script writers, cinematographers, editors, lighting designers, etc. Not all film majors are interested in taking classes that focus on fiction films or documentaries–students can be interested in commercials or behind the scenes. There are basic classes that give you experience working as a production team, setting. There are writing classes for scriptwriters or screenwriters interested in learning how to create stories or help their ideas evolve and capstone classes, which Professor Ulrey refers to as “the last class you take.” In a capstone class, you take all the skills you’ve learned from your previous courses and make a film with a group. You work on it yourself, not as a class. A new program has opened up, a field studies documentary class, where you get to go to Baja California and learn about all the basic techniques in order to shoot a documentary yourself or with a team. Alex Hall, a GCC student of two years and a film major who specializes in cinematography, Talks about their experience with the professors.“What I really like about the courses is the professors. This is my second school that I’ve ever gone to and studying films here, I feel more in tune with the professors versus any other school. If I struggle, they’ll work with me. I have questions, they’ll answer it. It’s more like the professors are mentors more than they are professors. Yes, I still learn a lot. But at the end of the day, it’s how you deliver the message to your students that really helps. And honestly, if I didn’t have these professors, I would struggle.” The students here at GCC have friendly and supportive professors around them in these courses that help guide them to their futures and career paths. From editing and cinematography classes, to aesthetics of film and script writing classes, there are many opportunities and courses for those interested in film-related subjects. You can find more information on the classes in depth here.
Opportunities, Scholarships, and Experiences
The department, knowing how broad and diverse their programs are, have offered a number of opportunities for students to be able to grasp. One particular one is their Golden Globes Partnership. “ The Golden Globes has been a supportive grantee of the Golden Globes foundation. We get some scholarship money, every year that we put towards our scholarships, and we give direct scholarships, but also production grants. So teams are able to then shoot their films and have a production budget, which is a big deal because making films is expensive.” Professor Ulreysaid. Alex Hall, was one of those students receiving that scholarship. “The Golden Globe scholarship – sponsored by the Golden Globe, is a scholarship opportunity, opened for film major students, which they can apply to. They’re given a prompt to write on–my prompt was to write on the sound aesthetics of a film that you enjoy. and I chose Us (directed by Jordan Peele). It’s definitely a resume booster,” she explained. Aside from that, the department also offers individual scholarships for students to use, helping them afford laptops for editing or cameras to film. Another offer is their “GEI (Group Effort Initiative)” partnership that gives students the opportunity to get set internships. Malena Wilson, a two-year film major student, received the Sundance scholarship. “I got the Sundance scholarship where they took, I believe, it was six film students to The Sundance Film Festival, which honestly was an amazing experience, really changed my perspective on a lot of things.” Such opportunities not only help student’s resumes, but also help gain media experience, as well as strengthen their knowledge and perspectives on the industry.
Guiding Career Paths and Graduation Preparation
In the department, professors are always there to help guide their students towards their career paths and process for graduation or for transferring. There are many cases where (depending on the course), real industry workers will come to a class and offer advice for aspiring film students, which helps them create a form of networking.There are also certain degrees you can get, such as their Associates of Arts Degree (AAs), stand-alone degrees that the department designed for solid base level skills in film and video production. Like certifications, they can help raise pay if you are already working in a field. They are not designed to maximize transfer classes, but many classes will transfer to 4-year institutions, including UCs and private institutions. There is also the Associates of Science Degree for Transfer (AS-T), an agreement with California State Universities that if students take all the classes in a AS-T major, plus fulfill the General Education requirements, they are guaranteed entry into certain Cal State Universities with a grade point average. These are the main degrees offered here. But other than that, many professors here take their time to help students plan out career paths,including what they’d like to work in, how to get there, what classes to take, and the requirements. Additionally, the coursesadd the feel of job experience for the students,helping determine where they’d like to take their skills after graduating or transferring from the program.
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The Film Club
Malena Wilson, the current GCC film club president, shares the details of the club: “The film club is for people who love film, whether that’s filmmakers or somebody who just likes watching movies and talking about them. It’s open for everybody. There’s this misconception that it’s just for film majors and people wanna make films, it’s not. It’s for everybody that loves films. We do discussions, we do short screenings, we do some activities, games and trivia. We’ve done special events. Last semester we held a mixer for film makers because we had a lot of filmmakers in our club. The year before that, we actually took a field trip to the Academy Museum for free for our members. So we try to do as much as we can to just let everybody have fun and have fun with film and TV and things like that.” The club is held on Tuesdays, from 12:30 p.m to 1:30 p.m, in the San Gabriel building, room 334.
What To Expect
Aside from film academics and off campus opportunities, there is much more aspiring film majors can expect here. It’s not only about the knowledge you gain, but about the skills you take from here, and the connections you create. There are many students who have been able to network, make friends, and colleagues for future work. The department professors care about their students, help and guide them towards their career goals. The GCC Film, TV, and Media Department is filled with promising opportunities and experiences, determined students, and great courses. “No matter if you’re doing a film course because it sparks an interest or because you need to fill in for a class, put 110% effort into it. There’s a big difference between just taking the class because you need it or just taking the class and showing up and being there, versus actually putting yourself in these projects, setting up lighting, volunteering to do things, because you learn so much on the practical side. And it’s a lot more fun to actually dive in and ask questions. If the professor’s showing you something, take the time to look at it yourself, take it home, check out the equipment that we have here, look into the settings, look into all the different cool things that you can do with the camera, all the software that we have! Don’t shy away, don’t stay in the back of the class, engage,” Alex Hall said as his advice to any future film students or students who are interested in joining this department.
GCC is filled with talented and determined students finding their passions and career paths. The Film, TV and Media Department is an area people who are interested in film should check out and consider joining. From creating connections to exciting courses such as the Baja California course, there is a lot to gain from what they offer.
Additional information can be found here.
Sirey Rivas can be reached at [email protected]