Curriculum in the digital age has to prepare students for the media/entertainment world as it is, and as it is becoming, not as it was.

Much as we tend to cling to nostalgic conventions of the past, like film and film cameras, as educators we have to recognize that the media creation workflow has changed.

Production now relies on the digital pipeline, and the concept of interdependent software and hardware technologies. The pipeline concept, indeed, transcends media production and is now a cornerstone of most other creative production disciplines, from music to architecture to product design and fashion design.  This compatibility reflects a larger ecology where media production students are able to develop creative fellowship with students in other disciplines, with the creative dialogue and crossover benefiting all parties.

In a platforms and screens world, the term “film school” is obsolete.

We must seek to integrate and coordinate cinematic disciplines into unified programs that train students to produce content across all technological and distribution outlets. Students must be familiar with all formats, from 15 second promotional spots, to 2-hour narratives, to  multi-hour, multi-part scripted and unscripted series.

USC calls their program the School of Cinematic Arts, a more apt description of a curriculum that spans all opportunities for moving image content creation.

Everyone is a storyteller, not necessarily a director.

In a specialized, hierarchical, auteur-driven 20th century, film schools mimicked the production paradigms of the business at large.  These paradigms have changed.  Professionals are no longer as defined by their union or guild job description.  In fact, traditional lines between traditional jobs are blurring as technology, creativity and ambition have allowed creatives to learn more creative skills and gain experience that would have been impossible 20 years ago.   There are plenty of new opportunities to be a creative leader in media content creation that go beyond the once glamorous notion of being a film director.

What do YouTube and Amazon Studios mean for content creation programs?

With media creation outlets more available than ever, and a limitless network of peers and professionals interconnected and communicating through social media, media creation programs have to “level up” by providing better quality feedback and training to stay relevant.  Otherwise:  why go to school to do this?

In the more competitive global environment, students must also develop entrepreneurial skills that go beyond  hard technical and creative skills.  They must understand how to define and refine their identity, develop their portfolio, communicate, pitch and present.

For your consideration:

• Down-scale your equipment. Cameras are cheap, every student has a laptop. Focus your equipment purchase on lighting, expendables and grip equipment – inventory that doesn’t become obsolete
• Film is not cool. Students think that working with celluloid puts them ‘above’ students working in video.  This begs the issue. Film and video are capture media.  We’re teaching them to be story tellers.
• Integrate story telling. Everyone is a story teller.  Writers, directors, editors, cinematographers, art directors.  Remind them that they are all working together to further the story.
• Abolish silos. Crafts and disciplines must all integrate.  Interdisciplinary and cooperative programs must cross traditional barriers: art & technology,
• Promote critical thinking. Knowledge is great, but application is where the rubber hits the road. Students’ success will be measured by how well they work together, how they problem solve, and how they innovate.