Insights on Digital Media and Higher Education

Recently, we took a look at the rankings for top film schools in the U.S. Yet, just because students go to a great film school doesn’t mean they’ll always end up with the best professors. We’ve used these students’ own reviews on RateMyProfessor.com to find out the five best and worst traits in film schools instructors.

At VideoBlocks, we know a thing or two about entrepreneurship in filmmaking. Almost ten years ago we were an army of one; Joel Holland, our founder and CEO, sold his stock video footage in VHS bundles through eBay. This eventually became the inspiration behind our company as Joel looked to provide easily accessible and affordable stock footage. Today we’re more than 60 strong with an expansive digital download library. Though Joel’s vision was specific to his goal of building a stock video company, his enterprising attitude is something that he holds in common with the rest of the filmmaking community, taking part in a much larger entrepreneurial tradition in the industry.

New technologies have made it easier than ever for anyone with an idea to create a movie and distribute it. This has left many professors and industry insiders wondering what film schools should offer their students. While some experts believe that digital filmmaking, YouTube, and Vimeo have fundamentally changed the way film should be taught and studied, others contend the opposite: classic techniques and approaches might become more important than ever. Here are five predictions from both points of view on what film schools could and should be including in curriculum for the future of film education.

The decision is in from our guest judge, cinematographer and director of photography Arthur Albert, and VideoBlocks for Education is excited to announce the winner of our 2015 Student Film Contest. Applauding the film’s “sophisticated cinematography and real storytelling ability,” Arthur Albert extends his congratulations to Adonis Lugo and his cast and crew on their winning short, “Sally’s Playtime.”

From dazzling animations never before possible to traditional shorts made with the finesse of a much more experienced director, festivals around the world have seen a steady increase in the quality of work produced by film students. We saw some of these high quality works firsthand during our recent student film competition. Advances in digital media, 3D printing, and even tablets have allowed these fifteen student filmmakers to make engaging projects that show off their technical savvy and give us a glimpse into the future of filmmaking.

We’re excited to announce the six finalists in our Student Film Competition, which was open to all undergraduate and graduate level student filmmakers. We received submissions from talented and dedicated filmmakers all over the globe, and we were thrilled by the many, many creative ways they found to incorporate our VideoBlocks and AudioBlocks content into their projects while pursuing their unique creative visions. Thank you to everyone who submitted for helping to make the competition a success!