Academy of Film
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| Dr. John WOO offered a workshop to MFA students in 2004 |
The Academy of Film offers the first and most comprehensive undergraduate cinema and television programme in Hong Kong. Since the early seventies, it has been providing Hong Kong with competent graduates to work in the film, television and digital media production industry. The Academy has committed itself to research in the area of Chinese language cinema and Hong Kong television as well as to produc tion of works of artistic creativity. The Academy is always devoted to new ideas, new forms and new technology of media education and scholarship.
The Academy launched its Master of Fine Arts in Film, Television and Digital Media in January 2004. |
 Staff and Facilities |
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The Academy has 11 full-time faculty members with expertise in creative writing, photography, cinematography, film and video directing and editing, audio production, sound design, film theory, criticism and history, television studies and drama. The Academy is equipped with 2 screening theaters, 2 TV studios , 1 digital photography studio, 1 digital photography laboratory and 3 sound-recording studios. Other equipment includes 13 sets of 16mm film camera and 22 sets of video cameras, 8 individual photography darkrooms for students to work on black and white or color photography, 6 sets of steenbecks for film editing, 20 sets of digital video editing equipment, 2 sets of Avid, 1 Quantel special effect workstation, 1 digital animation laboratory with 5 sets of Maya. The Academy is also served by fully qualified administrative and technical staff, and by a library with extensive holdings of 813,000 volumes of books, 99,000 audiovisual items, 5,200 serial subscriptions, and 180 data bases. |
| The Programme |
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The curriculum in the Academy of Film offers a theoretical and production- intensive education for talented men and women with serious commitment to work in the field of cinema and television. The course combines professional training with studies in communication and other liberal arts subjects. A variety of theoretical and applied subjects make up the professional curriculum components . Students are provided with a variety of creative experiences, from basic to advanced, in both the conceptual and production phases of film, video, radio, cinematography, sound, and animation. The curriculum has just been reviewed, incorporating subjects on new conception of image capturing and processing, and strengthening component on television studies and interactive media.
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| The MFA Programme is well-equiped with state-of-the-art facilities |
Intensive subject work is available in areas including directing, producing, and writing as well as in the craft and technical skills of film editing, video post-production, and sound recording and re-recording. Classes in cinema studies provide students with a critical and historical perspective from which to analyze their artistic endeavors.
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| Student Life |
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Students Project |
Each year the Academy admits 25 students to engage in both theoretical studies and production. The Academy's teaching and learning process is more unconventional. Interactions with students go beyond the classroom. Students are regarded as young creators in practice-oriented subjects. Students learn to formulate ideas for their own productions putting theory into practice. The Young Director (TYD) is a non-credit-bearing practicum in the Academy of Film. It is an integrated moving image production, circulation and promotion organization operated by first and second year students. Supervised by faculty, students in TYD organize activities such as the annual event Cross-Strait, Hong Kong and Macau Student Film and Video Festival and a series of academic and professional seminars on various cinema and television topics. |
| Highlights and Achievements |
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The Academy of Film has organized since 1996 three international conferences on Chinese language cinema. The conference on "Shaw Brothers on the International Movie Stage - Interdisciplinary Studies Cross-regional Comparison in 2002" was the first such conference being organized in Hong Kong. In the summer of 2004, the Academy co-organized with the University's Humanities programme a conference on Hong Kong Films in 1970s.
The Academy is very active in its collaborations with universities in the mainland. Exchange is conducted at both faculty and student level. One major collaborative activity is the University Student Film and Television Award in the Greater China Region. It has already held twice. The Academy maintains a strong link with the industry.
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Faculty are well known cultural workers who participate in various professional societies and cultural bodies. For example, the Academy has cooperated with the Hong Kong Film Archive in many projects. The Academy is the most important promoter of cultural activities in the Baptist University. Our faculty members supervise Art and Cultural Education Programme and Cultural Literacy Program (joint-venture with Humanities Program), two major projects that have enriched the cultural atmosphere of the University.
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| Film director Mr. LAU Wai Keung spoke to students |
Both alumni and students win awards in contests in Hong Kong and the mainland, e.g., the Best Documentary Award in the Second Inter-Chinese University Film and Television Festival, Distinguished Award at the 9th Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards (Open Category) and Best Film Editing of Hong Kong's Top-grossing film of 2002 at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Moreover, an alumnus of early 1980s was hired as the first overseas director by China Central Television (CCTV), the largest television network in China with over 350 stations, to direct 22 one- hour episodes. |
| Career Prospects |
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Graduates become film script writers, production assistants, assistant directors, producers of television programs, cultural workers and arts administrators. |
| Future Development |
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Students Project |
The Academy will build up on her existing connection to the film, television, and new media industry , and extend the program to the local community. New programs including summer workshops , postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and incubation program for professionals in film, television and new media industry will be offered. |
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