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California Institute of the Arts

BFA: Film and Video

School of Film/Video

A college student adjusts a cinematic light, which shines on her face and creates an orange glow around her

Shape the future of the moving image

For students in the BFA program in Film and Video, independent filmmaking is more than a mode of production—it’s a calling. In CalArts’ intensive workshop environment, you’ll develop the technical and critical-thinking skills you’ll need to execute your ideas across all aspects of production. With encouragement from your faculty mentor and other members of our renowned faculty, you’ll critically engage with your chosen media as you develop a precise language and aesthetic to articulate your personal vision. The BFA curriculum emphasizes creating the complete filmmaker, preparing you to join the ranks of our world-class alumni who have redefined cinema and the moving image.

A student points a camera toward a tree as two others look on outdoors on a sunny day in front of a blue wall

A program designed for “total filmmakers”

BFA Film and Video

The filmmaker Fernando Solanas once said, “The possibility of making a new cinema completely outside the system depends on whether or not filmmakers can transform themselves from ‘directors’ into total filmmakers. And no one can become a total filmmaker without being a film technician, without being capable of handling the production.” 

Let’s connect

CalArts’ faculty embodies this idea of the total filmmaker in the curriculum of the four-year BFA in Film and Video program. Both individually and collectively, the faculty represents a broad range of sympathies and interests. In the workshop environment, you will develop and refine your practice as a respected member of a community of artists, faculty and students together. The program supports an unparalleled breadth of work—from personal essays and political documentaries to experiments in narrative; from lyrical and abstract films to installation and expanded cinema. Students acquire a full range of technical and practical skills, learn to think critically about their chosen media, and work to develop a precise language and aesthetic for personal articulation. 

To enable understanding of the fundamental processes of film and video production, the first year of the curriculum is devoted to rigorous technical training, including core workshops in film and video production, editing workflows, sound production, and design. These workshops also help students to acquire a valuable set of vocational skills—abilities that can serve as a future means of financial support as you pursue your own personal work after graduation. 

Importantly, the BFA Film and Video program embraces the rapid technological changes that are broadening and democratizing access to the means of making films and videos, while continuing to teach and support the use of technologies such as 16mm film. You’ll be encouraged to develop and utilize this wide array of potentials in order to better control the means of production, and thus assert yourself as a truly independent artist. 

The program is designed to provide a full range of technical and practical skills, teach students to think critically about their chosen media, and guide their artistic growth as they experiment with different forms of cinematic expression. To this end, undergraduate students must successfully complete a series of required classes during each year of the program. Academic and artistic progress is assessed at a mid-residency review during the third semester. 

All BFA Film and Video students are required to pass a graduation review in order to complete the program.

Admission requirements

To be considered for the BFA Film and Video program, you must complete an application and all program-specific requirements, including an artist statement, a portfolio of representative work, and two letters of recommendation. Before applying, please familiarize yourself with the detailed application requirements and resources available to assist you in this important process. 

Application requirements

Degree requirements

BFA Film and Video academic requirements

In addition to work in your specific program, all undergraduate students must complete requirements in general education, which we call Critical Studies. This liberal arts curriculum is designed to enable students to consider aesthetic questions within larger socio-cultural, ethical, and political contexts.  

Critical Studies requirements

Minors and interdisciplinary opportunities

CalArts offers students the chance to pursue additional interests alongside your chosen discipline, such as a minor in Digital Arts, Critical Studies, or Arts Education.

Learn more about minors and interdisciplinary opportunities 

Courses you might take

What courses would you take as a Film and Video student? Browse the courses offered in the School of Film/Video, one of the world’s foremost places for the study and practice of the art of the moving image as a personal, evolving, and innovative artform.

Explore our course catalog

Meet the faculty

At CalArts, faculty and students are collaborators, teaching, learning, and working together as members of our community of artists. 

What will you make?

Film/Video Showcase 2024

Each spring, the School of Film/Video presents a juried selection of films by BFA and MFA students in its programs—a diverse collection of innovative cinematic works and a culmination of hard work and dedication throughout the year.

2024 Film Video Showcase graphic

Some of our alumni

More School of Film/Video alumni

Sounds right

Alumni Story

While he has more than 120 feature films to his credit—The Matrix trilogy among them—Academy Award-winning sound designer Dane A. Davis (BFA 81) also makes time to mix and contribute sound design for “experimental” filmmakers. “I had no idea you could do this for a living,” he recalled in an interview about his work on The Matrix.

Still shot of a character from the movie, "The Matrix". A visual of a man moving so fast he dodges bullets. The frame shows bullet time, displaying the man is fast enough to dodge the bullet. The frame shows the man's upper body in 5 different positions, while his legs remain still.

Still from The Matrix / Warner Bros. 

Related news

News from the CalArts Film/Video community 

More Film/Video news

Gallery

Want to learn more?

We got you. Our Admissions team is all about providing the information you need to decide if CalArts is right for you. We’re excited to connect with you for a tour of our legendary campus, a virtual info session, or at one of our admissions events across the country or around the world. Take the next step—we’re here to help.