BREMERTON —Want to learn from an actor who has worked with the likes of Gene Hackman and Barbara Streisand? How about a screenwriter whose first script was optioned for $1 million, or a producer known for such films as “Olalla” (2015), “Le Marquis de la Croix” (2012) and “Bluebeard” (2012)?
There’s still time to enroll in the OC Film School at Olympic College. Students can work toward a bachelor of applied science in digital filmmaking, a new undergraduate degree program offered at OC. Email thagan@olympic.edu or call 360-475-7315.
In addition to experienced faculty, the OC Film School’s new home in the new College Instruction Center will feature a professional production studio with a sound stage, media production studio, editing suites, screening theater, production equipment, Mac computers with industry standard software, and prop and costume shops, according to the school.
Best of all, the OC Film School program is less expensive than other film schools, according to program founder Timothy Hagan.
Making a living
According to Hagan, the media market in the early 21st century is the equivalent of the regional theatre movement in the 1960s.
“It’s where the money is at,” he said in a previous Kitsap News Group story. “In the ’60s, it was all the corporations [movie studios]. The entry level is lower now thanks to the digital revolution.”
Without the corporate middlemen, it’s now possible for knowledgeable film makers to produce micro-budget films and then deal directly with audiences for their product.
A visionary and driving force behind the new program, Hagan said, “It’s a program whose time has come … Those who are talented can move ahead very quickly … Our program is designed with today’s film market in mind, where new media distribution platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and YouTube Red are seeing exponential growth.”
To help prepare students to make a living at their craft, Hagan said the program includes an emphasis on producing: “the business of show business: agreements, costs, contracts.”
Developing craftsmanship as a group art
The program emphasizes a holistic approach; students participate in all of the roles involved in film-making: producing, directing, designing, cinematography, editing and acting.
“The first day, we started a project,” student Nick Zacovic said. “You’re learning film language and theory with a camera in your hand,” unlike some film schools where students may spend the first two years learning theory before they can get behind a camera.
Jennifer O’Brien added, “The professors are trying to create a creative collective.”
Part of that creative collective is exposing students to the full range of responsibilities before they settle on a specialty. According to OC, students at other colleges and universities are required to pick an area of specialization, which limits their exposure to the other skill areas.
Teachers who can, do
The courses are taught by film professionals who have “been there and done that.”
Hagan has an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He is a member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and guest starred in TV shows in the 1970s and ’80s. He has directed theater in New York and Los Angeles, worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter, and taught and built film programs at several public colleges and private conservatories before coming to OC in 2006.
Screenwriting and production professor Aaron Drane has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA. His latest film, “The Charnel House,” premiered in theaters in October 2016 and is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Born and raised in Bremerton, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in filmmaking. He sold three feature-length screenplays in different genres to 20th Century Fox, and wrote and produced the FEARnet web series “Fear Clinic.” Drane is a member of the Writers Guild and Producers Guild of America.
Professor of digital filmmaking Amy Hesketh has written, produced, directed, and acted in more than nine feature-length films. Her honors include the Reconocimiento Award for revitalizing the Bolivian cinema industry, according to her resumé.
It’s affordable
According to Hagan, the OC Film School is the most affordable program of its kind in the country. According to program materials, at $3,056 per year, the OC Film School is a bargain compared to other schools that can charge up to $35,000 a year. The OC film school features a “2+2 model,” where students first complete their associate degree then go on to enroll in the bachelor’s program.
— Terryl Asla is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at tasla@sound[publishing.com.
