About the Department
Cinema majors dedicate their undergraduate experience to the study of narrative filmmaking. From technical crafts such as camerawork and editing to creative leadership roles in writing, producing, and directing, VCUarts Cinema students learn skills in pre-production, production, and post-production as well as studying the history of cinema. If you dream of working on professional movie productions, completing this major will help you to prepare for a variety of real-world positions.
Your gift to the VCUarts Department of Cinema helps provide scholarships for our talented students, promote faculty research and host world-class artists.
Department Faculty
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Yossera Bouchtia
Assistant Professor -
Shawn Brixey
Professor -
Anne Chapman
Professor -
Sheree Chen
Assistant Professor -
Prashanth Kamalakanthan
Assistant Professor -
Filipe Leitão
Assistant Professor -
Rob Tregenza
Professor -
J.M. Tyree
Professor -
Danny Caporaletti
Instructor/Adjunct Faculty -
Taylor Roesch
Instructor/Adjunct Faculty
Cinema News
View allDegree Program
VCUarts Cinema is a three-year and eight-week undergraduate film program that matches film theory with filmmaking practice to best prepare students to work in the industry immediately upon graduating. Students create narrative films in a collaborative environment using professional equipment while preparing for employment in the professional movie-making industry.
Bachelor of Arts in Cinema
The Cinema major covers the entire scope of narrative filmmaking, from theory and screenwriting all the way through post-production and distribution.
Students shoot on location with auditioned actors, following industry practices and using professional equipment.
Curriculum Map
The Bachelor of Arts in Cinema is focused on narrative movie production. Consequently, the program is designed to advance conceptual understanding of visual storytelling and to teach and practice the technical methodologies foundational to movie-making.
Featured Productions
Graduates have been accepted into MFA programs at NYU, FSU, Columbia, and The New School, and have worked on numerous productions around the region and beyond, including films such as Harriet, Boy Erased and Loving, and television shows such as Insecure, Homeland, The Walking Dead, and High Maintenance.
Student Experience
We seek to replicate the environment of a professional film set in terms of both staffing and protocol. Students work on crews from 25-75 people, while the faculty act as executive producers, working alongside students from pre-production to post. We also employ a casting director as an adjunct professor and hold real casting sessions for every film. Unlike other top film schools, your tuition also covers all of your filmmaking expenses, from equipment rental to film development.
Meet our Faculty
Faculty act as executive producers, working alongside students from pre-production to post. We also employ a casting director as an adjunct professor and hold real casting sessions for every film.
Facilities
- Cinema Studio at VCUarts Depot: a 4000 sq. ft. multi-use interactive motion picture teaching space with Optoma UHD60 4k and 16mm Projection, Dolby Surround Digital Denon AVR 988P audio amplifier, 16mm flatbed film editing, and 35mm optical printer.
- Digital Cinema Lab: twenty (20) 27-inch Apple iMac desktop computers with Adobe editing suite, and digital projector.
- Smart Screenwriting/Production Conference Room
- Sound Mixing Room
- Cyclorama and motion capture studio
Equipment
We are conscious of our students’ financial need and do not require any student to purchase their own filmmaking materials.
No additional tuition is charged for filmmaking expenses, and student films use professional equipment and auditioned actors.
Work with Us
Student Crew
If you are interested in hiring VCUarts Cinema students as crew members for a project, please fill out the form with all pertinent information. We will share your listing with students and they will reach out to you if they are interested or available. Filling out the form does not guarantee student participation!
Actors
Casting for all VCUarts Cinema films is done through Anne Chapman Casting.
Contact Us
814 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23284-3048