Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinema and Photography Shorelight Group - Robert Morris University, USA

Be a visual storyteller. Produce stories for the camera to entertain, inform, challenge, and change the world with your work.  
Cinema and photography students practice and gain skills in photographic and cinematographic production such as screenwriting, shooting, directing, sound design, motion graphics, editing, as well as in specific fields of production such as commercial, editorial, documentary, and photojournalism production. The program provides students with professional competency and critical analysis skills in preparation for today’s merged media environment. From reflected lights to the red carpet, from darkrooms to drone videography, exciting careers in cinema, television, and photography await this program’s graduates.

The B.F.A. in Cinema and Photography degree program provides students with practical experience and professional fluency in visual storytelling, composition, and project development, as well as in new platforms for lens-based expressions that are transforming the industry and culture. The program structure is hands-on and production-intensive, preparing students for professional careers or for pursuing graduate study.

The B.A. in Cinema and Photography degree offers a multi-faceted approach to studying cinema and photography in practice and theory. Students study lens-based media as an academic discipline while gaining complementary professional skills in photographic and cinematographic production.  Through hands-on assignments, screenings, and by critically analyzing the industry’s past, present, and future, students gain a comprehensive approach to lens-based media for a professional career or for furthering their education with a graduate degree.

Both programs offer:

Professional Focus: Starting the first semester, and throughout the whole program, students do hands-on cinematic and photographic production work. Each student is encouraged, and in the B.F.A. program required, to complete a professional internship as well as a professional portfolio, the latter highlighting the student’s competency and skills through selected examples of the student’s work. The Academic Media Center and independent student media on campus offer additional opportunities for gaining professional experiences.
Interdisciplinary Curriculum: The program’s interdisciplinary curriculum provides students with practical skills, knowledge, and competency in cinema, television, and photography, as well as a comprehensive understanding of how these industries operate.
Professional Facilities with 24-Hour Access to Labs and Studios: Instructional resources include the award-winning Academic Media Center, which hosts production studios and equipment, sound, animation and VR/AR labs. The Wheatley Center facilities include a lighting studio, camera equipment, analog darkroom, large format digital printing lab, a variety of digital tools for still and moving image making, and an exhibiting gallery. Students have 24-hour access to a variety of equipment, studios and labs.
Internationally Recognized Faculty: Cinema and photography professors are practicing media professionals, artists and academics with diverse global experiences. Their work has been exhibited and recognized internationally. They have authored films, television content, works of photography, books, and many other media and art works. Students learn the very latest industry trends from them. Each year students also have an opportunity to engage with the year’s Visiting Documentary Filmmaker-in-Residence as well as with other visiting professionals, artists and scholars.