Information about SCAD Atlanta: scad.edu.
Atlanta’s film and television industry is booming. From the new Pinewood Studios in Fayetteville to the giant trailers parked curbside in Buckhead, signs of the movie business are sprouting up across the metro area. So having a film and television degree program based here made sense to Tina O’Hailey, dean of digital media at the Savannah College of Art and Design campus in Atlanta.
“SCAD has always stayed abreast of the industry changes,” said O’Hailey. “In 2008, we created a B.A. in television producing that requires four internships. Two years ago, we brought in a Master of Arts in Film and Television. And last year, we brought in the bachelors of film and television to meet the growing industry needs. It’s a mirror image of what we’ve been doing for 15 years in Savannah.”
This fall, the school will launch SCAD FILM, a new film and TV professional certification course offering workshops and professional training in advanced cinema production tools and techniques. Having the city as a base allows students to learn from experts in the industry and earn hands-on experience. They also have access to state-of-the-art, 60,000-square-foot production facilities at the school’s digital media center in Midtown that was recently expanded with a motion picture studio with two green screens, a 75-seat theater, two high-definition TV studios, a motion-captures stage, video editing suites, post-production labs and a gaming research lab.
“And it has own parking deck,” said O’Hailey with a laugh. “There’s also space for students to work together collaboratively and do some hands-on film making so they can be filmmakers when they come out.”
“We are always film making!” said Jasmine Jewet, a master’s student who moved from Washington D.C. to Atlanta to be part of the SCAD program. “From the moment the school year starts, it’s constant. In one quarter alone I had to make a commercial, a music video, a short film and four episodes of a web series I created – all in a 10-week period. Now, I have a lot of work in my portfolio, and I’m working on a feature film.”
Last fall, Jewet interned at the Cartoon Network. “It was great to be a part of what I see on TV,” she said, “but I think now I’m pulled toward directing. But with this program, I’m involved in all parts of production.”
In its first year, the bachelor’s program attracted about 45 students. Class sizes are limited to 20 to ensure access to equipment and instructors.
“When we hire faculty, they have to have a minimum of 10 years’ industry experience,” said O’Hailey, whose own resume includes stints with DreamWorks and Disney animation. “We have professors who are screenwriters and visual effects winners who are still amazingly curious and passionate. Their focus is to get students ready for a career in the art that’s usable. And we’re doing that: Today there are 12,000 SCAD alums from film and television working, and we’re pushing into other areas of delivery.”
