MFA Film, First Year Students, Chair Update 10-16-2020
Dear First Year MFA Film Students.
I’m glad we could connect with many of you in meetings last week. A few updates:
Communication: We hear you on needing more time and interface and are in discussion on it. Please keep in
mind that in response to COVID Faculty and Staff have already increased our workloads with regard to
curriculum & operational planning, and programming as well as to our time spent in governance and
communication. We can’t de-prioritize any of this going forward, but are looking for more efficiencies and ways
and times to connect. We will report back as we advance our thinking on this as a Faculty.
1st Year Homerooms. Working on this for Fall B!
Dodge Hall Film Hallway Hangouts. Hopefully this can happen for FALL B for students of all years to stop by
before/after classes. It can’t be 24/7 due to the need that the space be monitored.
Chair Updates to come weekly. Some weeks I’ll have more to share than others, but I’ll update what I can
each week. I tend to keep these updates short and sweet as you have a lot to read already.
Phase 2 Seminars upcoming. This is our first priority in terms of making time for more in depth
communication with you. We think the discussion and thinking connected to PHASE 2 will be foundational to
conversations and planning to come this year.
International Time Zones - Concerns about the times for meetings and supplemental events. A doodle
poll re FALL B is coming soon from Sara Mason) We're working on this for supplemental activities. NOTE:
Many Programming events (screenings and masterclasses) have to be set up around the guests' availability.
Students who have questions about classes/time zones with regard to Fall B should reach directly out to
Sara Mason or Hanna Seifu. If you are looking ahead to classes beginning Spring A, you will be surveyed in
coming weeks. Please be sure to respond to the survey as it will be used to schedule classes at optimal
times.
Need for asychronous resources & other issues re: recording. We are in discussion about this as a
Faculty. If you have a concern for a particular class, please reach out to your instructor and, if need be to the
Concentration Head.
Directing 1. You will be receiving some asynchronous training from Peter soon for SMASHCUT, a platform we
will run for Directing Classes. We believe it will better support the work of these classes than zoom.
Mini Tech Seminars to support Directing exercises planned for early Fall B.
DIRECTING THE ACTOR 1 (from June):The first half of the semester will be devoted to an exploration of
ACTING. All students will take on the role of actor with scene partners, lines memorized and presentation of
scenes in class, no cameras. There will also be a comprehensive Casting Workshop on Dec. 8th consisting of
a seminar in which all aspects of navigating available casting opportunities including our own Casting Website
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will be imparted, followed by about 40 actors coming in to audition for you to use in the scene work you will be
doing following the Winter Break. After Break, the curriculum will be devoted to you assuming the role of
DIRECTOR, directing published scenes with actors you have cast and rehearsed with. ***
***NOTE TO ALL STUDENTS: We have an exceptional team of DA 1 & DA 3 Adjunct Professors who are
highly accomplished teachers and experienced Zoom enthusiasts. Actors and directors have been rehearsing
& auditioning online for years. We very much want to make the experience of Directing Actors a creative &
collaborative force in your work. There are many wonderful actors eager to work with you! All Best, June
Stein. Head, Directing Actors
Wishing you a restful weekend.
Yours Truly,
Hilary Brougher
Chair, Film Division
& Associate Professor of Practice, MFA Film
School of the Arts, Columbia University