Would-be filmmakers in New England have good education choices, lots of them! This region is richly endowed with varying types of institutions that focus on the art, craft, science, history and theory of the moving image. Each year Imagine chooses several schools and school alternatives to include in this compilation. This year, we thought it would be great fun to invite students, alumni, and others (in one instance our contributor plans to enter a graduate school this fall) to tell us about their choices. Their insights have proven to be fascinating reading, both quite informative and most entertaining. As always, Imagine is delighted to bring them to you.

The individual contributions appearing here are not listed in any particular order and in no way is this compilation considered a complete guide to learning about filmmaking in New England, or is it a rating or ranking effort. Please note that we have presented an important part of the subject matter treated here, separately as a feature. Please read Erika Hahn's article in this issue about her week at The International Film & Television Workshops, which of course, belongs on the list below. For more information please search Imagine Archives online at www.imaginenews.com and visit the web addresses listed here. PUB

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Scene from feature film production, "Dance by Design" directed by Valerie Weiss, which was made in conjunction with the Dudley Film and Drama Program. Cinematography by Rafi Landau.

Valerie Weiss writes: Film training at Harvard University is offered through the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES). The principal educational goal of the VES Department is to provide students in a liberal arts college with an understanding of visual quality and expression through both study and practice. Courses include both studios and workshops in both film and video. The general focus of introductory studies is on non-fiction work, with narrative filmmaking treated as a more advanced pursuit. More information about the curriculum can be found at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ves-www/.

A large benefit of studying film at Harvard is the presence of the Harvard Film Archives in the Carpenter Center, which is also the home to VES Department. The Harvard Film Archives shows a wide range of classic and experimental cinema from a variety of international filmmakers.

A recent addition to the filmmaking scene at Harvard is the Dudley Film and Drama Program. The Program was founded by former graduate student Valerie Weiss as a way for graduate students to learn filmmaking outside of the VES Department whose small class sizes often prevent graduate
student enrollment. The extracurricular Dudley Film and Drama Program offer workshops on screenwriting, directing, acting, editing and many other film related topics and includes a digital video production component. Each year, students' works are presented in the Dudley Digital Film Festival.

For more information please visit http://go.to/dudleyfilm.

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

Alumni: Directors Gus Van Sant, Martha Coolidge, Seth MacFarlane (Creator of Family Guy), and Cinematographer Robert Richardson.

Ben Powell

Ben Powell writes: At the foundation of the Film/Animation/Video program at Rhode Island School of Design is the belief that a generalized education in the craft of filmmaking is intrinsic to the foundation of a personal voice. Students are taught every aspect of filmmaking, from script writing and directing to photography and sound editing. This enables each student to have control over every nuance of his or her work. Once the tools have been mastered it is then possible for each student to use the tools intuitively in the discovery of their personal voice. In the time that I spent in the Film/Animation/Video program I saw this happen in myself and the students around me.

In the F/A/V department there's an emphasis placed on personal expression. The department doesn't have any preconceived ideas about the type of projects that students should be producing. This results in a body of work that covers a broad spectrum of possibilities. The RISD F/A/V department is a place that wants to push the boundaries of film, animation and video and not just perpetuate the status quo. When I first entered the department I assumed that I would make films in the same narrative tradition that I grew up watching. I had not been exposed to anything other than the form that we take for granted.

At RISD I was immediately exposed to a broad range of narrative and documentary films that challenged what I previously thought film was capable of. I was then able to learn from this broad range of material and discover a form that came from my own personal experience, instead of using someone else's form that I had seen at a multiplex. Too often form is a question that isn't given enough attention in filmmaking. One of the intangible assets at RISD is the people.

The teachers are filmmakers who are invested in fostering individual creativity. The lessons that I learned are things that go beyond technical proficiency. They're skills that I can apply to any creative endeavor. I've also learned just as much from my fellow students. The Film/Animation/Video department is a place that allowed me the freedom to discover my own work and provided an environment in which to push that work as far as possible.

More information can be found at www.risd.edu.

Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA

April Gymiski

April Gymiski writes: Yes, there is a Film & Video Department at MassArt. Last year, I was quite miffed not seeing MassArt represented in Imagine's review of film programs, feeling a separation between the general film world and the niche of film art. Hopefully, there will now be a greater knowledge of the film universe in the Northeast.

Massachusetts College of Art is a unique school, not only for being the only state funded art college in the country but for the individuals it attracts and energy it exudes. As a working class college, MassArt is unpretentious and welcoming to those that don't mind getting a little dirty and being resourceful. The school seems to always be developing, changing, moving things around- from putting buildings together to creating new departments as technology advances. MassArt is a masterpiece forever unfinished.

The Film & Video Department is no exception to the altering winds of MassArt. "Video" was just recently added into the department title, though video classes have been offered for decades, the arrival of digital technology was needed to connect the two mediums. Yet, the underlying philosophy of the department remains the same. Film/Video as Art.

Students are required to attend weekly viewings of films they probably would not see anywhere else. Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Joseph Cornell, Su Friedrich, Fernand Leger, Man Ray, Oscar Michaux, Yvonne Rainer, Carolee Schneeman, and of course, Andy Warhol are all part of the department's film library which is supplemented with rentals. There is also the MassArt Film Society every Wednesday at 8pm and open to the public, which often presents film with filmmaker present.

Studio film and video classes are technical and exploratory. Super8, 16MM production, studio lighting, optical printing, animation, collage and hand-painted film, Sound Design, Protocols, Final Cut Pro, Avid, retro video, video & installation, video, scriptwriting and more are part of the curriculum. These classes teach the basics with a push toward the experimental.
The combination of studio work and screenings, along with the art history classes required for a BFA, encourages students to examine their own placement in the lineage of artmaking while creating works of self-expression.

I initially l chose MassArt because it's affordable. The equipment access alone makes tuition worth it. The department has given me the tools to make independent films. That's basically what I wanted from the program going into it. What I wasn't expecting was to view and discuss so many art films with a diverse group of peers. I learned dialogue is a huge part of not only the program, but of the film world and what my films are about. Unwittingly I had written a three-sentence essay in my application to attend MassArt that is still the foundation for my artmaking.
I was taking the ferry to Martha's Vineyard when I was given sacred information on the backside of a ticket stub. It said, Void if detached. I want to connect myself to the world around me. I am indebted to MassArt for giving me a place and the tools to create that connection through film.
For more information visit www.massart.edu.

Yale University, New Haven, CT

Alumni: Jodie Foster, Oliver Stone, D.A. Pennebaker, and Edward Norton,

Tucker Capps

Tucker Capps writes: Down a side street, past a student bar that stands empty during the day, the Film Studies Department is almost unnoticeable among the towering elms and immense, Gothic-style edifices that proclaim Yale's three centuries in New Haven. Film is young at Yale. Only recently has the fifteen-year-old department begun to call attention to it amid the dozens of prestigious disciplines.

As any student will tell you, Yale is not NYU or USC. You will not find courses on lighting, sound, and cinematography there. Nor will you find rooms full of dollies, lights, and 16-millimeter cameras. Why then would any aspiring filmmaker want to attend Yale?

The reason that most film students will give is rather vague: "because it's Yale." But there are some more specific reasons, reasons that draw more students into the film department every year. A list of Yale alumni has been enough to convince some students that it is safe to leave the pre-med and pre-law paths that they started on as freshmen. Reassuring names include: Jack Lechner of Miramax, Lloyd Kaufman of Troma, Walter Parkes of DreamWorks, Oliver Stone, Jodie Foster, Edward Norton and D.A. Pennebaker.

The final name on this list is especially significant to students, not just for the documentaries it brings to mind-DON'T LOOK BACK (1964), THE WAR ROOM (1993) and the recently released STARTUP.COM-but also because it is the name of one of their instructors. Small, intimate seminars provide students with the opportunity to discuss their own projects face-to-face with Pennebaker.

Three of Yale's film faculty members. Clockwise from top left: Department Chair Charles Musser, Co-Chair and film scholar Dudley Andrew and director Michael Roemer.

Directors Michael Roemer (NOTHING BUT A MAN, 1964) and Sandra Luckow (BELLY TALKERS, 1996) teach the other production courses, always stressing content over technical and financial concerns. Whether a short comes from an Arriflex and a crew of twenty or from a handheld VHS camcorder matters little to Roemer and Luckow. They care about stories and how they can be told through pictures and sound.

This intellectual approach, which proudly sets the film industry far on the horizon, is what unifies the department. Except in the candid screenwriting courses taught by Marc Lapadula and John Crowley, the how-tos of commercial success are politely omitted from seminar discussions. In fact, most courses offered by the department are not production oriented at all: they teach theory, history and analysis-ways to understand cinema as an art.

Charles Musser, affectionately called "Charlie" by many, heads the department from a paper-strewn office where students are welcome to seek advice about anything academic or filmic. Having written and edited a number of scholarly books on early cinema as well as having worked on films with Milo Forman and Woody Allen, Musser has no trouble acting as a liaison between the sometimes-distant worlds of theory and practice.

For those whose ambitions exceed the decidedly academic goals of their coursework, there is a large community of students who make films outside of class. University Pictures (UPIX), a student society at the core of this community, acts as a campus production company, bringing together crews, funding, equipment and ideas. The Digital Media Center for the Arts aids such projects with editing facilities and DV cameras, and at the end of the semester UPIX holds a festival to present the finished work to other students and the rest of New Haven.

It is unquestionable that Yale provides fertile ground for student filmmaking. In the last few years Yale students have made many spectacular films, two of which placed in the Student Academy Awards.
Ultimately, there are a couple of questions that high school students should ask themselves if they are considering Yale as a place to begin their careers in film. First: do my intellectual pursuits extend beyond learning to write and direct movies? And second, the more obvious question: can I get in? Yale admission more competitive than ever, and although talented filmmaking is embraced, stunning sample reels must still be accompanied by equally radiant transcripts and SAT's.

Emerson College, Boston, MA

Alumni: John Ritter, Kevin Bright,

Emerson College's Evvy Award Dancers 2001. Photo by Erika Hahn.

Erika Hahn writes: If you want to go to school where the pros go, then Emerson College in downtown Boston should be on your shortlist. It's not the cheapest or shortest route, but it has an excellent reputation in the film, television, and radio industry for a great education, wonderful internships, and stellar networking opportunities with alumni around the globe (especially in Los Angeles, where some production companies have cadres of Emerson graduates as employees). An internship program, with 1500 positions in Boston, Los Angeles, and other locations across the country and in Europe, is integrated with the academic course work, which enables students to gain professional experience and develop skills in a hands-on environment. Emerson has been educating media professionals for over 100 years. With three separate schools, it is the only private institution for higher learning focused solely on communication. Financial aid is available.

Each Spring Emerson College holds its annual Evvy awards to give students a chance to put on a televised awards show and spotlight student talent in undergraduate/graduate degree programs. Held at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Boston, students tended to the industry presenters and alumni at a pre-show party, while television students bent over monitors and adjusted knobs downstairs, and in the dressing rooms below dancers rehearsed one last time. The Anonymous Richard band (some members go to Emerson) entertained the sold out show before curtain time. The energy is contagious and upbeat. Win or lose, everyone there celebrated their classmate's success for best writing, directing, film, television news, vocal performance, media arts, and more. The Best Comedy award was a highlight with JJ Shebesta coming onstage with Lizard Man (think man with lizard head) to accept. Many Emerson graduates have gone on to do great things. Actor John Ritter is an alumnus. And this year the Friends TV show Producer Kevin Bright was on hand to receive the Evvy Alumni of Distinction award. He was overheard saying how refreshing it was to attend an awards ceremony in which no one thanked his or her agent, his or her accountant, or his or her manager.

For more information visit www.emerson.edu

Burlington College, Burlington, VT

Film students in Film Production II practice directing, shooting, lighting and sound on location in Burlington. Film students working together to perfect a scene student film.

Imagine learned that learning Filmmaking in Vermont means learning from the areas successful independent filmmakers themselves as most of them are on the teaching staff at Burlington College. The list is very impressive: John O'Brien, Jay Craven, Nora Jacobson, David Giancola and Vermont Film Office Executive Director, Lorane Turgeon. The Chair of Cinema Studies, Barry Snyder and Technical Director Joe Bookchin keep the school as real world as possible providing lots of production hours for the students. It's a small school with big opportunities for the students to have access to lots of equipment and to work on productions of the above named staff filmmakers.
Founded in 1972 as the Vermont Institute of Community Involvement, Burlington College continues its 28-year tradition of emphasizing individualized education and community action. Their progressive liberal arts curriculum appeals to the broad interests of a highly diverse student body while the intimate campus environment provides a level of support unparalleled on most of today's college scene.
Above all, Burlington College treats students as individuals- individual with important contributions to make to the intellectual spirit of the college community. These contributions become the center of college life. Working in discussion-centered classes of between eight and fifteen members, students come to know each other and themselves - well. In a classroom atmosphere that balances academic rigor and mutual support, students are challenged to discover what truly matters to them. In this stimulating environment, classes can take on lives of their own as students direct the discussions and instructors, at times, become equal observers-learners in the process.
For more information visit www.burlcol.edu.

Boston University, Boston, MA

Alumni: Lauren Shuler-Donner (MR. MOM, PRETTY IN PINK), Ted Harbert (Dreamworks SKG executive producer), Richard Gladstein (CIDER HOUSE RULES)

Robert Patton-Spruill

Robert Patton-Spruill writes: Film School, grand times indeed. For me it was a most valuable time of growth and learning, as both an artist and as a person. Film School is not for everyone. Some find it better and more fruitful to join the industry directly, working their way up. But for me, I needed the discipline of a structured program. Besides at film school you work on your own movies, not the insulting commercial art that our industry is dedicated to. For me BU was the logical choice for film school, because it was the only school that would let me in. My first appointment at the school was with Mel Howard, later to become a mentor and co-collaborator, who at the time was the head of the film school. I can remember vividly his scowl as he reviewed my grade point average and less than stunning test scores. Luckily, I got in and was able to join the class of 1994.

BU is set up with the same model as NYU and AFI, which is exactly the type of program I wanted to attend. From technical excellence and great teachers I was able to learn the basics of the skills that I would later use in my professional life. The program is balanced between film studies, screenwriting, and production. This gives students an opportunity to find their voice. Some people make better critics than they do directors and this allows all students to learn a little bit from everyone. My production professors, Sam Kaufman and Bill Lawson, were probably so happy to give me my degree and get me out of there, they taught me lessons and ways of thinking about the process that I rely on in professional career on a
daily basis. My film studies teachers, Ray Carney and Gerry Peary, opened my eyes to films that a kid from Roxbury would have never seen, teaching me about film as an art form and not just a means to make money.

Most importantly film school, like all advanced study, is one of those things that you get out only as much as you put in. For me, I put my all in and have since been able to say I have never had to look back. I learned
more about the process of making movies at film school than I even thought I could learn. The people I met there I work with today, including my wife, and I was able to find my voice as an artist by working exclusively on my own projects. It formed in me a sense of creative responsibility that I have built my entire career on since. See Imagine cover story this issue and March 2000.

For more information visit www.bu.edu.

Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

Emily Singer writes: Of the ten student composers from across the United States who were selected to be finalists in the 2nd annual 2001 Young Film Composers Competition (presented by Turner Classic Movies, Film Music magazine and MP3, and sponsored by The Guitar Center), FOUR were Berklee alumni. They were chosen from 260 entries.

The winners were announced in June. Berklee alumnus Peter Vantine '91 was awarded the grand prize - a paid scoring assignment to create a new score for a classic silent film. The prize includes a trip to Los Angeles in fall, 2001 to record the score with live orchestra.

The first runner-up was Berklee alumnus Matt Koskenmaki '98, who will receive a JBL 5.1 Surround Sound Powered Monitor System. Berklee alumni Louise Gonzalez '99 and Brian Satterwhite '98 were also finalists.

Alumnus Atli Örvarsson, who graduated from the Film Scoring program in '96, has most recently been working with Mike Post as a composer/orchestrator on "Law & Order", "Special Victims Unit", "NYPD" and other shows. He has also worked as second orchestrator on a couple of movies Graeme Revell scored, TITAN AE and RED PLANET.

Roque Banos '95 a Berklee Film Scoring alumnus from Spain, scored several feature films in Spain since graduating, and recently scored the new Ben Kingsley film, SEXY BEAST

Peter Bufano '96 was Score Coordinator on "Josie and The Pussycats." Other recent credits include music preparation on "James Dean; An Invented Life" and a couple of episodes of "King Of The Hill."

Composer Lawrence Shragge '77 just got an Emmy nomination for "Haven". His full time music assistant is Berklee alumna Sonia Wisgo '98.

David Schwartz '74 composed music for the film YOU STUPID MAN, and the TV series "Ellen Again" (the new Ellen Degeneres Show). David's Assistant/music editor is Erica Weis '00 who graduated from Berklee in Film Scoring last year. Her credits also include music editing for Michael Kamen.

Karen Bennett '00 has Assistant Music Editor credits on the films CATS & DOGS and PLANET OF THE APES.

Daniel Davis '00 is scoring the documentary THE BIG O.

Alf Clausen '66 received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore) for the "Simpson's Safari" episode of "The Simpson's". This is his 21st nomination, and his 14th nomination for "Simpson's" music.

I guess it's important to add that Berklee is the only school in the world that awards a degree in film scoring. PUB

For more information visit www.berklee.edu

The New Filmmakers Prep School, Sugarbush, VT; Stratford, CT; Pavilion, WY

Garrett Maynard

Garrett Maynard writes: If you have "production fever" and need cool'en, you have found your spot.

The New Filmmakers Prep School is designed for the "production enthusiasts"; i.e., someone who is serious about production but not interested in total immersion courses. Remember, this business is supposed to be fun.

We have a professional staff that absolutely loves to teach. They keep if fun by offering very small classes, four in our Avid workshops and eight in our film production workshops. Also, our locations offer resort type settings so you'll feel like you are on vacation, for example. Our Vermont location is situated within the Sugarbush Mountain Resort. Aside from the production workshops held there, it's where you want to be if you like to mountain bike in the summer and ski in the winter. Our Stratford, Connecticut location offers the same as our Vermont location but it's a commuters' school. New Yorkers and folks from up state find this convenient. Also, it's where we teach our sports cinematography workshops. Water skiing and other aesthetic sports are the focus there. For those more adventurous, there is our Pavilion, Wyoming location. A workshop that offers production education and "dude ranching", how crazy fun it that!

A component of the school's mission is to offer those who normally cannot afford the cost for production workshops scholarships or internships so they will have a chance at catching production fever.

For more information visit www.thegarypaulagency.com. Click on The New Filmmakers Prep School.

Boston Film & Video Foundation, Boston, MA

Daniel Kammer

Daniel Kammer (BF/VF Education Director) writes: Boston Film and Video Foundation (BF/VF) begins its 26th year with a bang. Northeastern University has entered into an agreement with BF/VF to allow students to take film and video classes for college credit. This new partnership is based on the success of some very popular experimental classes, which were offered this past winter/spring semester. Students are now able to take some existing classes for college credit. There is also the opportunity to participate in basic video production classes designed especially for college students. For more information about this program please contact BF/VF at 617-536-1540, or NU at 617-373-2416.

This fall, BF/VF continues its old traditions while supporting the new visions of the future. BF/VF is offering various paths for perspective filmmakers, students and storytellers. The Foundation will be offering more classes that will emphasize pure 16 mm film production. Hands on classes will also be offered which incorporate the "run and gun" documentary style. These classes will be encouraged to shoot at various locations in and outside of the metro-Boston area.

BF/VF is also developing classes that utilize the best tools and aesthetics from both video and film. The commitment to platform "New Media" is being produced which will be seen is a series of classes and panel discussions highlighting visionaries, teachers, designers, and end users of products and equipment for virtual, DVD, and digital filmmakers. BF/VF will also continue to provide classes in directing, producing, camera, acting, sound, lighting and post-production editing. Among the post-production options BF/VF offers are; Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, and Media 100.

What sets BF/FV apart from other schools is its continued commitment to teach visual media at all levels while encouraging students to develop and share their own meaningful stories.

For more information see website at www.bfvf.org.

City Scape Motion Picture Education, Boston, MA

Laura Wilson writes: Cityscape Motion Picture Education (apprenticeship filmmaking) has completed principal photography on The Strangler's Wife, the locally shot 35mm feature executive produced by Roger Corman! During the last week of May, Cityscape wrapped principal and began the editing process on this innovative project, with its cast and crew all locally based. Moreover, the crew also just organized and completed a week's of reshooting. A rough-cut of the film has screened informally at the Coolidge Corner video screening room for cast and crew.

As this goes to press, Cityscape sends Roger Corman and his head of development, Frances Doel a second cut of the movie for feedback. In the meantime, the local band Cul de Sac is composing the score. Cityscape plans to online and do the sound mix on the final picture in September/October.

At Cityscape, we train new and emerging filmmakers by directly engaging them in real-life projects, using professional production methods. Cityscape's training programs provide convenient and affordable learning options to people with diverse career goals, work schedules, levels of experience, and financial resources. And as part of our commitment to quality training, most of our classes have size limits.

Now that Cityscape is well on the way to finishing its first feature, staff are in the midst of securing more low-budget picture deals, using the same apprenticeship training model. The innovative film school is moving toward more production-based training opportunities for emerging filmmakers. We're in development for our next feature now!

For more information visit www.cityscapefilm.com