It takes a team of creative specialists to craft a great film. Whether your interest is in the visual, the writing, or the sound, you'll get the skills you need here.
The Film and Video Studies program at George Mason University is the first interdisciplinary film program in Virginia, and one of the few film schools to offer undergraduate coursework in producing. Film majors take courses that give them the broad base of knowledge they need to craft works of depth, maturity, and sophistication.
Find Your Focus
The Film and Video Studies program is comparable to top-ranked film programs nationwide in our approach to learning technical, specialized skills. Students build a strong foundation in filmmaking, by completing our major core requirements and choosing 5-8 courses in Film and Video Studies electives. Film and Video Studies offers a collaborative and interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree, allowing students to choose 1-4 courses in related disciplines, such as: Theater, Art, Computer Game Design, Music, and Communication.
Students may choose to complete an optional elective Pathway in a specialized area of filmmaking, such as Cinematography, Editing, Directing, Producing, Screenwriting, or Sound.
Our specializations prepare students for roles on industry sets and in independent productions, and jobs as visual storytellers in the public and private sector. Collaboration matters in our industry. While focusing on an area of our craft in detail, students simultaneously learn how to support the work of others while receiving support themselves.
Courses are taught by award-winning filmmakers dedicated to their craft and to preparing you for the work ahead.
Our students begin taking film classes and work on short films their very first semester in the program. FAVS 255 Video Production for Film is an introduction to filmmaking course, a requirement for the Film major and a prerequisite for our other production courses.
Students who take our Sound Editing and Recording class, learn techniques and technology pertaining to audio both on location and in the studio.
In addition, you'll learn in a creative environment in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and build their broad base of knowledge by taking classes in such areas as:
- Film and Media Studies
- English
- Communication
- Theater
- Game Design
- Art
Film at Mason students can also leverage the extraordinary connections, alumni network, and arts partnerships to both complete the required internship and gain real-world experience.
What Will I Create?
- Short films
- Documentaries with community partners
- Feature-length screenplays
- TV scripts
- Music videos and web series pilots
- Interactive media
- Commercials and PSAs
- Senior thesis films
- Professional reels
Film at Mason students have access to a variety of equipment and software. In FAVS 331 Cinematography, students learn about dolly techniques including how the camera moves forward, backward, and alongside a subject.