Flyer designed by Comm371 student D. Wayne Nichols.

It’s that time of year again —

Students are scrambling to make their final cuts and faculty and staff is frantically working to pull off the finishing touches.

I’m talking about the UMDCP Communication Film Festival!

The first inaugural USG film festival was hosted in Spring 2014 and has proven successful as it has now reached its third year.

The film festival features student films from various film classes in the Communication program such as Advocacy Film, Documentary Film, Genre Film, and more.

The Communication program at USG is different because it has a focus on digital media and visual communication. That means that our program offers classes like Communication and Digital Imaging, Communication and Digital Media, Documentary Theory and Practice and more. Through these classes, students familiarize themselves with Adobe Creative Suite and through continuous practice gain experience in professional editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver to name a few.

The film fest is the ideal opportunity for our department to show off the unique skills and talents students have learned through these hands on digital media courses.

Currently, the film classes at USG are taught by professor Adam Nixon who is also a working professional in the media and production world and is the lead producer for a TV show at Alhurra News.

I wanted to understand the media industry from a professional’s perspective, someone who knows the business and who also knows the communication program here at USG, so Professor Nixon gave me the inside scoop:

1. Today’s new media industry has a high demand for a versatile skill set and experience in the kinds of software that the communication program offers, his exact words — graduates will find that they can leave here with this set of tools and be immediately an expert in some aspect of media production.
2. The key to a successful career in media production is learning how to do it all. That means learning how to write, how to use the equipment and technology, learn how to use the software, and then pulling it all together.
3. The most important goal that professor Nixon aims to achieve in his teaching is being able to replicate his film school academia while also grounding his lessons in real world experience. This is critical since filmmaking is a very broad yet specific field which is why it’s important to understand the process from both an academic and professional standing.

Now that you know a bit about the media industry and about the UMDCP communication program its time to show your support for our hard working students! Tomorrow at the film festival you will be able to vote on your favorite  photos, screenplays, and films. Enjoy popcorn and refreshments, good company, and a good cause – supporting your local artists!