<p>I'm a perspective transfer student and have some interest in taking some film classes, but Grinnell doesn't have a real program/dept for this, right? Does the school offer any courses? I checked the English dept, as sometimes that department might offer something, but so far....nothing. Beyond the student film festival, are there any opportunities for studying film?</p>
<p>Art – ceramics studio, sculpture studio, painting studio, photo-documentary studio, printmaking studio, drawing studio, seminar rooms, digital art technology lab, Kistle Slide Library, print and drawing study room</p>
<p>Not sure if this helps or not.</p>
<p>no, I’m thinking more film theory/production…anyone?</p>
<p>Grinnell hirted their first film professor two years ago. Students from her class were recently the only undergraduates to present at a prestigious film conference at San Francisco State. My guess is as the economy allows they will hire at least another.</p>
<p>But where some of the real action is may be the Theater department where they are doing some really, really interesting mutl-media stuff, really cutting edge, that I think anybody interested in film would be fascinated by.</p>
<p>And there is a student film festival each each at the end of the year. You can look it up on Youtube where the films are posted. The winner last year was extraordinary.</p>
<p>Well, since you have so much perspective (prospective student?), you might be disappointed with Grinnell’s resources. Sorry for picking on that. I am a current Grinnell student, and in all seriousness, Grinnell isn’t the right place if you are currently thinking about taking film classes, or might even want to major in it. If you have other viable options, I would consider those first. </p>
<p>Last year I had two internships within the NYC film industry over the courses of four months. It changed the way I thought about things, and changed the way I thought about my education. At Grinnell, there is virtually no community of people interested in making films (besides those interested in making joke films for titular head), and the AV center equipment is 5-10 years outdated. I don’t know how excited any film student is to use a Mac G5 and a Canon XL-1 in the year 2010. (if you come here, my secret tip is that the theatre dept. does have some nicer equipment). I’m transferring, if I can, for precisely this reason, that this opportunity isnt available at Grinnell. Grinnell has a lot of other opportunities available, but this isn’t one of them, so think about whats most important to you, and prioritize a bit. </p>
<p>The one film professor here has the hopes of starting a whole department, but there is no way that any significant progress will be made in the next four years. Maybe a few more classes? But I dont think that the administration is seriously considering any wide expansion of the program. Additionally, she specializes in film theory and feminist theory, so you won’t receive any of the introductory, production, or history classes before jumping into the highly-academic stuff. From my experience in class with her, she isn’t the type of professor that will appeal to most students.</p>
<p>Good luck, let me know if you have more specific questions. You might be able to find some opportunity to make your own films, especially if you have your own camera or dont mind using an older one, but forget about other serious film equipment, or any decent selection of courses. Look at your other options if you want to major in film, but if you think you might want to major in something else, then you should consider Grinnell.</p>
<p>Oops, didn’t realize that word misuse. :* And thanks for the responses, CenterUSdad and Whateverittakes!</p>
<p>Well, I’m looking to major in English or History, but I’d still like to take some film theory classes (possibly minor in the subject if it existed at a school). I found the course schedule and only saw about three classes relating to film; if there really isn’t much of a community interested in seriously studying movies, then I’m not so sure if I’d like to go to Grinnell (as I’m currently at a school with a lot of options for studying film).</p>
<p>How does off-campus study work? Could I possibly study film at a different school for the summers or something? I think I could deal with majoring in something unrelated while at Grinnell, but also having the opportunity to stretch out academically on breaks when not I’m in Iowa. Is financial aid decent with stuff like that? Is it encouraged at all?</p>
<p>Whateverittakes, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you thinking of transferring to?</p>
<p>Hey birdhouse,</p>
<p>It sounds like you might have already found this, but if you havent, check out the course scheduler (this will tell you whats offered next fall).
[Term</a> Select](<a href=“http://grinnell.collegescheduler.com/TermSelect.aspx]Term”>http://grinnell.collegescheduler.com/TermSelect.aspx)</p>
<p>I feel like I misguided you a little bit. There are film theory courses here, just not very many, and as of right now, just one professor. There does seem to be a community of students interested in film theory (especially avant-garde and other specialty topics), just not film production. There arent really any general film history classes either. </p>
<p>This is an article from the college website about the film theory students here.
[The</a> Trained Eye: New Film Studies Scholars - News | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/trained-eye]The”>http://www.grinnell.edu/news/features/trained-eye)</p>
<p>As for off-campus study, the Career Development office has grants you can apply for to help pay living expenses for unpaid internships. As for studying film elsewhere over the summer, of course you can do that, but financially that would be your responsibility. I’m not sure if you could receive credit or not, but its a question worth asking. Especially if your interests lie in other places besides film, I think there are ways to work around the limitations of Grinnell. I don’t get the sense that you are interested in making films yourself? Because thats where Grinnell really has no help to offer.</p>
<p>Obviously Grinnell isn’t the best place if studying film is the most important thing for you, but depending on your goals, you might make it work. Hope this helps, because its good to plan ahead. The transfer process is difficult and competitive and something to avoid. The schools I’ve applied to are varied, but I think that the Claremont Schools (i.e. Pomona) offer one of the best and most diverse programs, especially in theory and history.</p>
<p>I have a few more questions (sorry!)…does Grinnell have a decent film collection? (like a media resources center? DVDs out to check?) Did you get help in finding production internships?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help. I’ve already applied to several places for transfer, but then was looking at Grinnell and wondering exactly why I didn’t apply last year (the lack of a real film program was one, but I might be able to overlook that.) Good luck with transferring! The Claremonts aren’t easy to transfer into, especially Pomona.</p>
<p>I guess I didn’t notice in your original post that you weren’t applying as a first-year and that you were transferring. There is a decent collection of films, etc in the library. You can search the library website or read this. </p>
<p>[Grinnell</a> College Libraries - Listening Room](<a href=“http://www.lib.grin.edu/collections/ListeningRoom.html]Grinnell”>http://www.lib.grin.edu/collections/ListeningRoom.html)</p>
<p>There is the CDO (career office), and they will give you websites to check out, etc, but I don’t think that they are well connected with people in the film industry to help you get something on their own. It seems like your pretty serious about film, so I would really think about why you want to go to Grinnell. Good luck with your other transfer applications as well. I guess I didn’t need to tell you how frustrating the transfer process is, you already know.</p>