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California Institute of the Arts

Film/Video Facilities

Theaters, Labs, Studios, and Production Spaces

A small theater with every seat filled with a panel of speakers on stage

Students in our Film/Video programs utilize a range of campus spaces to cultivate their personal vision and collaborative projects. 

Outdoor areas and lounges provide a calm setting for inspiration, study, and creative discussions, while screening rooms and production spaces across campus are used for showcasing films, workshopping projects with peers, and connecting with other artistic disciplines through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Animation A-Block

Designed for the new vanguard of the animation industry

Student animators enjoy a comprehensive array of animation production facilities to support student’s various needs, designed to foster both traditional and avant-garde animation techniques. CalArts provides specialized computer labs and advanced technical equipment for digital animation and motion capture, ensuring students have access to cutting-edge resources for their creative endeavors. Additionally, dedicated stop motion stages cater to physical animation projects. 

Bijou Theater

The 125-seat Bijou Theater is CalArts’ main screening facility, featuring a digital cinema projector, both 16mm and 35mm Xenon projectors, and a calibrated 5.1 audio system. Modern and legacy formats such as film, videotape, optical media, digital video files, and Digital Cinema Packages can be screened for exhibition and study. Exhibitions, discussions, and Q&A sessions can be supported with laptop inputs for projection and live microphones.

Permanent Set

The Louis B. Mayer Permanent Set, donated by one of the commercial studios in Los Angeles, is a 35x39-foot interior set with simulated backdrops for backyard and patio. Used primarily for classes and workshops in staging, lighting, cinematography, and other aspects of production, this facility is also available to students outside of classes.

Two people working on a studio set adjusting the drapery

Film Directing Studio

The Film Directing Studio, measuring 39x36 feet, is used for teaching students how to shoot and direct actors for filmmaking. The studio is part of the Steven Spielberg Sound Stage, a building that also includes a classroom with multiformat video screening capability, a seminar room, an editing workstation, a control room, and a shooting studio. Studio equipment includes two digital camera packages with full sound and lighting support, a camera dolly, and a 24-channel lighting board.

A large empty workspace with theater lighting and equipment

Black & White Studio

A 39x47-foot space, the Black & White Studio is outfitted with a permanent hard cyclorama. It is used by undergraduate and graduate students for productions, as well as for multimedia installations.

Learn more about the Black & White Studio

Installation Space

A white cube space with network ports, this space is designed for the exhibition of installation, performance, and other media work that is best suited for a gallery-like setting. Projectors, monitors, and other sculptural elements can be combined for exhibition supported by a hanging grid.

Learn more about the Installation Space

16mm Production and Post-Production Facilities

CalArts’ 16mm Production and Post-Production Facilities offer comprehensive resources for film students, including a well-equipped production studio and dedicated postproduction spaces. The facilities feature professional-grade equipment for shooting, editing, and processing 16mm film, ensuring students gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools. Specialized rooms and labs are available for sound editing, color correction, and film transfer, supporting the entire filmmaking process from conception to final output.       

See all 16mm facilities

Digital Editing and Post-Production Facilities

The Digital Editing and Post-Production (DEP) areas help students thoroughly understand and navigate the post-production process in order to best support their artistic practice. DEP provides access to students on a professional level, including contemporary hardware and software with faculty, staff, and trained student assistance to help with digital and film workflow and technical issues. Digital Editing and Post-Production provides post-production facilities consisting of iMac Pro based systems.       

See all DEP facilities

Sound Facilities

The school offers state-of-the-art sound equipment and facilities to meet all recording, editing, and mixing needs. All rooms are Pro Tools-based, and mixing rooms have a large complement of advanced signal processing tools. All systems have access to students’ server accounts and online storage, as well as the school’s online sound effects library, which contains about 45,000 digital sound files, and more than 60 hours of production music.

The Pro Tools systems allow acquisition, editing, and pre-mixing of film and video projects. Systems can be found in various facilities within the School of Film/Video, including the sound area, digital editing labs, and some animation labs. After sound editing, projects normally are opened in one of the mixing rooms for a final mix.

See all Film/Video sound facilities

Equipment

The School of Film/Video’s equipment cage offers a comprehensive range of film and video equipment for student use, encompassing technologies from the cutting-edge to the obscure, from underwater camera systems to portable digital stop-motion kits. This gear allows students to shoot on the school’s production stages, in front of a green screen, at home, or anywhere on location, providing them with a versatile set of tools with which to pursue any number of traditional and experimental approaches. The Cage features a wide assortment of video and film cameras, lighting kits, microphones, digital sound recorders, stereoscopic systems, and a host of video installation equipment.

See all Film/Video equipment available