The creation process moves thought into form. As a professor, my job is to guide students through this process. I do this by challenging them intellectually, technically and aesthetically. These opportunities are embedded in class assignments and to a greater degree our interactions.

 

In the classroom, students are introduced to diverse examples of the cinematic arts, from the experimental to mainstream Hollywood narratives, from obscure animation to socially relevant documentary work, and from historically significant cinema to what was just posted yesterday online. This wide spectrum showcases an array of ideas and beliefs and provides students with a foundation from where their ideas may develop.

 

Students who embrace their projects as more than just a class assignment become richly engaged in the act of creation and find a powerful voice with which to speak. I encourage students to create work that can live beyond the classroom in gallery shows, film festivals and professional demo reels.

 

I want my students to take risks, dig deeper, take ownership of their education, and challenge themselves, each other and me. When students are ambitious and vigorously challenging themselves, they earn the freedom to spectacularly fail with the knowledge that the greatest learning often comes from the greatest failure, and when a student is able to pass on their experiences and knowledge, then learning has taken place and will continue.

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