The BFA in Film & Television provides students with the ability to specialize in a specific area of film and television production by choosing one of 11 concentrations: cinematography, comedy filmmaking, creative producing, directing, documentary, editing, production design, screenwriting, showrunner, sound design, and visual effects.
Concentrations
Cinematography Concentration
The cinematography concentration will provide a strong technical foundation for cinematographers enabling students to focus on lighting, color correction, or special effects while facilitating the creation of more portfolio pieces.
Comedy Filmmaking Concentration
This robust four-year comedy filmmaking concentration will enable students to have sufficient time to develop a methodology for creating, developing and showcasing their comedic writing and directing, from the script to the screen. Additionally, these students will have access to Second City’s Master Seminar classes.
Creative Producing Concentration
The creative producing concentration allows students to achieve competency in multimedia streaming, creative financing structures, international distribution, intellectual property and original content acquisition. This concentration will enable students to oversee more portfolio pieces.
Directing Concentration
The directing concentration lays a strong foundation for students who wish to direct coupled with a strong technical and storytelling foundation.
Documentary Concentration
The documentary concentration provides students with the opportunity to experience different documentary modes of production, dig deeper into issues that interest them, and experiment with the styles of documentary creation that are best suited to their personal vision.
Editing Concentration
The editing concentration will provide a solid foundation in managing media during production to editing and finishing a project. This includes picture, sound, titles, color correction, and mastering workflows. The concentration will allow students to specialize in both the technical and creative aspects of editing.
Production Design Concentration
The production design concentration was developed in conjunction with DePaul’s Theater School and provides students with a strong foundation in production design across several media. Students can specialize in various crafts including art direction, scene design, costume design, property, hair and makeup.
Screenwriting Concentration
The screenwriting concentration enables students to enhance their creative voice and spec portfolio which will prepare them to become professional screenwriters.
Showrunner Concentration
The showrunner concentration will allow students to hone and showcase their voice within the web series format. Showrunners have become the most sought-after producers in an ever-changing television landscape, as studios and networks. Emphasis will be placed on branding and marketing in addition to cultivating innovative storytelling techniques.
Sound Design Concentration
The sound design concentration provides a solid foundation in sound design for the visual image. The concentration will provide deep exploration of all elements of sound design including audio engineering, field recording, dialogue recording, dialogue and sound effects editing, sound mixing, re-recording mixing, deliverables, and film scoring.
Visual Effects Concentration
In the visual effects concentration students learn digital composition, motion capture, match moving techniques, and other ways to acquire and combine various elements into fully realized VFX sequences.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies Requirements | 52 |
| Concentration Requirements | 116-124 |
| Open Electives | 15-24 |
| Total Hours Required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Write a short screenplay in proper format employing standard narrative conventions.
- Direct a crew and talent/subject in a fiction or non-fiction film.
- Employ the principles of invisible/continuity cutting and montage in picture editing.
- Perform basic tasks of the post-production sound process including sound editing and mixing.
- Use compositional rules, lighting/exposure techniques, and visual design elements in the filming of shots and scenes.
- Apply basic functions of the pre-production process, including scheduling and budgeting.
- Identify major genres, figures, and works in contemporary and historical film and television.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| Not Required | ||
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| MAT 120 | QUANTITATIVE REASONING 2 | 4 |
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Required | 4 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone | ||
| Required in major 1 | 4 | |
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
- 2
Readiness for MAT 120 is determined by the math placement test taken online after admission. Students may need to take developmental coursework prior to MAT 120. Students who complete MAT 120 and both a Computational Reasoning course and a Statistical Reasoning course in the Math and Computing Learning Domain take one less Learning Domain course. Students may not apply the course reduction to any Domain where only one course is required, and cannot be applied to the Scientific Inquiry Learning Domain. The MAT 120 requirement may be waived by passing a dedicated proficiency exam or it may be fulfilled by credit for advanced math coursework earned in-residence at DePaul (MAT 135, MAT 136, MAT 147, MAT 148, MAT 149, MAT 150, MAT 151, MAT 152 MAT 155, MAT 156, MAT 160, MAT 161, MAT 162 MAT 170, MAT 171, MAT 172, or equivalent) or earned externally either as transfer credit from another college/university or as test credit through AP, CLEP, IB, or International A and A/S Level exams. Calculus course(s) may be used to fulfill any of the three QR/MCD requirements.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
- 2 Courses Required
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 1 Course Required
Math and Computing (MC)
-
Not Required
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
- 1 Course Required
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 1 Course Required
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 1 Lab Course Required
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 1 Course Required
Note
Specified required courses within Liberal Studies may have grade minimums (e.g. C- or better). Please consult your advisor or your college and major requirements.
Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.
In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.
Concentration Requirement
Students in the BFA Film & Television major must declare a concentration and complete the requirements from the declared concentration. Concentrations include: Cinematography, Comedy Filmmaking, Creative Producing, Directing, Documentary, Editing, Production Design, Screenwriting, Showrunner, Sound Design, and Visual Effects. See the concentration page for a full list of required courses.
Degree Requirements
Students in this degree must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 192 credit hours.
- Earn a grade of C- or higher in WRD 103, WRD 104, and all Major and Minor courses.
- Earn a grade of D or higher in all other Liberal Studies and Open Elective courses.
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Program Combination Restrictions
Students pursuing the BFA in Film and Television are forbidden from pursuing the Minor in Film Production.
Concentrations, tracks and specializations provide focus to the degree. In addition to any degree requirements, students are required to choose one of the following:
- Cinematography Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Comedy Filmmaking Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Creative Producing Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Directing Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Documentary Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Editing Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Production Design, Film & Television (BFA)
- Screenwriting Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Showrunner Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Sound Design Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)
- Visual Effects Concentration, Film & Television (BFA)