Getting Started in Film

Reel Talent Studio
Located in the South Tulsa area, Reel Talent Studio is a training facility and hub for actors, whether well-established in the film community, or just starting out. Reel Talent Studio is your connection to the many film opportunities in Oklahoma. With on-going classes throughout the year plus summer camps for students, RTS will help equip you for your next audition or booking.

The Actor Factory
Located in Norman, Oklahoma, The Actor Factory trains adults and young performers in the disciplines of Acting Technique, Improv, On-Camera Acting and Auditioning. Weekly classes are taught by working professionals; actors, casting directors and casting assistants. Weekend workshops are offered by other industry leaders from across the country; talent agents, talent managers, casting directors, screenwriters, film makers and more from Los Angeles to New York City.

Oklahoma City Community College Digital Cinema Production
Love films, filmmaking, video production, sound editing, screenwriting or the many other skills required in the movie industry? Oklahoma City Community College offers hands-on filmmaking classes in the best-equipped filmmaking facility in the region, complete with a 6,000-square-foot sound stage and cutting-edge cameras, equipment and filmmakers. Every OCCC Digital Cinema Production student completes several short film projects, including a 15-30 minute feature or documentary – as a capstone project.

You can choose from three Digital Cinema Production degrees available:

• Associate in arts degree – Digital Cinema Production technician: The best place to start if you aspire to earn a four-year film degree or attend a graduate program in film
• Associate in applied science degree – Digital Cinema Production technician: The best choice if you want to earn your associate degree and enter the job market right away
• Certificate of mastery – Digital Cinema Production technician: The best community college program if you want to focus only on film and video.

Rose State College
Rose State will begin offering a new degree in film studies and digital media in the spring 2023 semester. Within the Liberal Arts and Sciences Division, Rose State will offer an associate in applied science with two track options in film studies and digital media.

Oklahoma Film & TV Academy
Founded in 2020, the Oklahoma Film & TV Academy (OFTA) offers a number of short courses for both those that are new to the film & TV industry and those wanting to take the next step in their career. Courses are run over evenings and weekends to give students the ability to work course around their busy work life. Each program is specifically designed to teach the practical skills and knowledge by a faculty made up of Hollywood industry veterans who have worked on some of the biggest movies and won some of the most coveted awards. Classes will take place at Green Pastures Studio in East Oklahoma City. The facility provides students the opportunity to work alongside industry professionals, form relationships that can lead to employment, and work with professional equipment during their training. OFTA students must be over the age of 18 on the first day of class.

The Film Education Institute of Oklahoma
The Film Education Institute of Oklahoma (FEIO) aims to educate future filmmakers and connect them to the film industry by providing networking opportunities, educational workshops and supplemental educational resources, such as videos, curriculum and printed information. FEIO offers workshops throughout the year offering hands-on experience in many departments: script supervisor, assistant director, camera, electric, grip, hair & makeup, props, set decoration, costumes and sound.

Canadian Valley Technology Center – Digital Media Technology
Visualize, direct and produce professional video and audio content for commercial broadcast, create interactive web pages and digital media using a variety of professional software on Mac computers, and build a business portfolio showcasing creative digital video, print media and web design projects.

First Capital Film Crew Institute at Meridian Technology Center
Currently offering courses at Meridian Tech’s South Campus in Guthrie, the First Capital Film Crew Institute was developed to meet the state’s demand for growing the local film workforce and help provide individuals with the training and resources needed to begin or further advance their careers in Oklahoma’s production industry. Training through Meridian Tech’s First Capital Film Crew Institute provides affordable, practical and transferable film crew training allowing individuals to gain skills for a new industry while maintaining their current employment. The curriculum will be taught by industry experts and will include traditional instruction as well as hands-on work in scenarios that mirror the industry.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center – Film Industry Training
Take your knowledge to the set and screen with classes designed for the booming film industry. Receive instruction from industry professionals who know how your skills can be honed for work on the sets of movies and television shows. And once you’ve completed the training, the same instructors serve as connections to get you hired quickly. Classes are created with input from Prairie Surf Studios, Oklahoma’s source of movie magic. They cover a wide range of film industry-specific topics, such as the Art Department, Production Accounting, Food Styling and more.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center – Interactive Media
Offered on the new Danforth Campus, the Interactive Media program gives students experience in multiple digital media platforms that are popular or growing in popularity in the professional world. Experience projects designed to emphasize your creativity through rigorous preparation, teamwork, and the ability to solve problems. By virtue of its location on the Danforth Campus, Interactive Media students get access to the tools and resources that exist in a real-world professional setting. This includes Design Thinking Studios; a Product Realization Lab with 3D printers, laser cutters and a coding area; and collaborative spaces where students can interact, develop ideas and innovate. In the classroom, Interactive Media students have access to a Motion Capture Studio and a Virtual Reality Lab. In both majors, Digital Media Designer and Digital Media Specialist, students can choose from multiple electives to ensure they gain experience for the exact career they seek, whether in 3D Modeling, Motion Media Design, Video Game Design, Immersive Reality and more.

Metro Technology Centers – Digital Cinema
The Digital Cinema major at Metro Technology Centers prepares students for emerging careers using digital video, web development and film studies. Students learn storytelling, video, audio, film production and editing, and finalizing content for various digital distribution. Students experience video production both in studio and in the field and develop digital portfolios to demonstrate their creative and technical skills. The program has worked with Miltel, Lego, Disney, and Feature Films and is expanding to virtual production with unreal engine, maya 3D, and motion tracking.

Moore-Norman Technology Center Digital Cinema & TV Production
Open to adults and high school juniors and seniors, students of the Moore-Norman Technology Center’s Digital Cinema & TV Production program will receive hands-on training with 4K cinema and HD television equipment to learn all aspects of script-to-screen production including: direction, cinematography, field audio, lighting, Avid Media Composer editing, color grading, graphics, post-production sound and multi-cam studio. Two-year class participation includes numerous production crew shoots as well as the completion of narrative short films. Graduates of Digital Cinema & Television Production are employed by a variety of companies and organizations that create motion and sound media.

Oklahoma Christian University
Oklahoma Christian University (OC) offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Film & Media Production as well as a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Motion Media Design. Video production and motion media are hands-on and on trend. They move and change quickly. You will learn to nimbly write, produce, shoot, edit and design with hands-on experience in Eagle Angle newscasts, Eagle Sports, Eagle Film, Eagle Radio, student podcasts and live streaming. Gain critical experience creating and managing productions.

Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University (OKCU) offers a BFA in Film Production as well as a Minor in Digital Film & Media for non-film majors. From your first semester through your final year, you’ll use state-of-the-art equipment and learn about the latest workflow practices within the context of the aesthetics, ethics, and traditions of filmmaking. Your work will set a foundation for your success in further graduate study or in the rapidly expanding local, regional, and national entertainment industries. While many OKCU graduates have gone on to work as production personnel in film and TV, others have started careers as independent filmmakers and visual artists. All have benefited from the collaborative atmosphere at OKCU where creative work is nurtured and new voices are discovered. Located in downtown Oklahoma City, the film program was started by Fritz Kiersch (“Children of the Corn”) with the support of Harbour Winn and others.

Oklahoma State University Screen Studies Program
As one of six programs within the Oklahoma State University (OSU) English Department, the Screen Studies program incorporates film studies, television studies, and studies in new media. The interdisciplinary nature of the program emphasizes scholarship and coursework across disciplines, and encourages diverse research approaches to film and media, whether avant-garde or genre, American or international, classical or contemporary. Housed in historic Morrill Hall, Screen Studies offers courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Undergraduate students may elect the Screen Option as part of their Bachelor’s degree in English, while graduate students may pursue both the Master’s degree and the Ph.D. in English with emphasis in Screen Studies. Courses cover a wide array of moving image productions and contexts—both American and international, fiction and non-fiction, narrative and avant-garde—and focus on the history, theory and aesthetics of screen-based representations, as well as their cultural and political impact.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University Digital Cinema Program
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s (OKWU) Bachelor of Arts in Digital Cinema equips students to compete and thrive in the modern, media-saturated world. Students develop expertise in the areas of film production, shooting, and editing while participating with other students in production labs, internship experiences, and in a culminating senior capstone project. OKWU graduates emerge from the program equipped with the skills necessary to engage a marketplace where visual media plays a central role in nearly all communication. Career opportunities for this degree plan include film and video production, film editing, screenwriting, project management, public relations, and more.

Oral Roberts University Cinema, Television and Digital Media Program
Oral Roberts University’s (ORU) Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Cinema, Television and Digital Media (CTD) is a residential program that can equip students to become a Holy Spirit-empowered professional in the ever-changing world of media production. Blend theory, technology and creativity in extensive hands-on practical experiences through working on projects such as multi-camera broadcasting of ORU Chapel Services, theatre productions and other activities unique to each semester. ORU allows students to be immersed in the Multi Media Institute (MMI) during junior year after focusing on foundational courses in media, communication theory and liberal arts the first two years. As a student of MMI, students will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend the National Association of Broadcasters expo (NAB show). The next stop will be Hollywood, California, where students will meet with Christian industry professionals, hold prayer walks at different studios and Hollywood sites, attend live recordings, take backstage studios tours and visit production companies. A program by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities enables select students the opportunity to study for one semester and to intern with the Los Angeles Film Studies Center. Core experiences of this program include Professional Lighting, Grip Work, Audio Recording, Remixing, Sound Effects, Multi Media Institute, Advanced Camera Skills, Film or TV Production and Direction, Motion Graphics, Web Creation and more! At the end of each year, students are encouraged to enter their work at the ORU Film Gala.

Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) provides a Minor in Film Production through the Art, Communication & Theatre Department. Students will train in a variety of film and entertainment disciplines doing hands-on work in addition to classroom study. Course options include Cinematography, Production Design, Screenwriting, Stage Management, Acting, Directing, Film and Culture, Costume Design, Motion Graphics, Voice Acting & Production and more. Working in conjunction with the SWOSU Theatre and SWOSU Broadcast programs, students will undertake a variety of projects and build a portfolio of work. Students will work in a variety of environments, including our own on-campus soundstage in the beautiful Hilltop Theatre.

University of Central Oklahoma College of Arts, Media and Design
The University of Central Oklahoma’s (UCO) College of Arts, Media and Design is comprised of the Department of Art, Department of Design, School of Music, Department of Theatre Arts, Department of Dance and the Oklahoma Center for Arts Education. Now known as the College of Fine Arts and Design, the program strives to be a cultural resource for its students and the community.

University of Oklahoma Creative Media Production Program
Creative Media Production (CMP) students at the University of Oklahoma learn to be professional storytellers using digital media through hands-on learning and real-world experiences. At one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the nation, OU CMP students can focus their study with one or more of seven tracks: Audio Production, Corporate and Commercial Production, Documentary, Electronic Filmmaking, Video Production, Writing, or Interactive Multimedia. Students produce their work in one of Gaylord’s four studios, 14 editing suites, nearly 150 editing stations, two control rooms, two radio stations, or the multi-track audio station. Students are equipped to go on location with more than two-dozen cameras to create their own work. Screenings of student films are held in the new 185-seat Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation auditorium. CMP students have the opportunity to work for the student-produced television station, TV4OU, producing shows such as the OU Nightly newscast, sports and magazine shows and major music productions. In addition, students work on major independent projects such as films, documentaries with Gaylord Hall Productions and commercial productions or on special projects like ESPNU’s Campus Connection.

University of Oklahoma Film and Media Studies Program
The Film and Media Studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU) takes as its central mission to educate students to become both critical consumers and creative producers of cinema, television, and other screen images and narratives, be they fact or fiction. With eight core faculty of wide-ranging expertise and over 20 affiliate faculty spanning multiple departments (African and African American Studies; English; History; Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; Women’s and Gender Studies) and colleges (Journalism and Mass Communication; Fine Arts), OU offers a comprehensive, dual-focused curriculum that combines the study of film and media history, theory and criticism as well as the practices of film and digital media production.

University of Tulsa Department of Film Studies
The University of Tulsa’s (TU) Film Studies program empowers students to acquire the analytical skills to understand and interpret film and film texts, and to make films that tell a story powerfully and effectively. From writing the script to final edits, students develop a thorough knowledge of film production. Our students are prepared to pursue a career in film production or further graduate studies. Students have access to state-of-the-art cameras and equipment and to many opportunities for film internships. They are encouraged and mentored to produce their own films for acceptance into regional and national festivals and for our three annual TU film festivals. TU students’ films regularly win awards, including a recent Student Emmy Award; and our alumni are working in major centers such as Los Angeles, New York, Austin and in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Arts Institute – Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute
The Oklahoma Arts Institute hosts the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute (OSAI), an intensive two-week residential school at Quartz Mountain State Park and Lodge that provides professional training to artistically talented OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, including graduating seniors, in the visual, literary and performing arts. OSAI offers training in the disciplines of acting, chorus, creative writing, dance, drawing and painting, film and video, orchestra and photography. You’ll join over 250 students from across the state as you study your chosen field and attend or participate in performances, gallery openings, film screenings, poetry readings, and more. Auditions run in the winter.

Moore-Norman Technology Center Digital Cinema & TV Production
Open to adults and high school juniors and seniors, students of the Moore-Norman Technology Center’s Digital Cinema & TV Production program will receive hands-on training with 4K cinema and HD television equipment to learn all aspects of script-to-screen production including: direction, cinematography, field audio, lighting, Avid Media Composer editing, color grading, graphics, post-production sound and multi-cam studio. Two-year class participation includes numerous production crew shoots as well as the completion of narrative short films. Graduates of Digital Cinema & Television Production are employed by a variety of companies and organizations that create motion and sound media.

University of Tulsa – Screenwriting and Filmmaking Camps for High School Students
The Department of Film Studies at The University of Tulsa offers a residential filmmaking camp for high school students. Students will have the opportunity to plunge into every aspect of creating films, as well as exciting evening group activities and film screenings. The camp will culminate in a festival of student work to display for friends and family. Days are spent in a workshop setting, with planned evening activities arranged for recreation and further exploration of film. Participants must stay on campus in a supervised residence hall during the camp; rooms are shared (males and females are housed on separate floors). Each camp has a full-time, qualified student assistant staying with the students in the residence.

Webster’s Television, Film and Digital Media Program for Career Tech Education Certifications – 8th-12th grade
Webster Middle and High School in Tulsa is home to the district’s only television studio within a school! Students in Webster’s Television, Film and Digital Media program learn career-ready skills to create captivating content from start to finish. Students can join the program starting in 8th grade. Inside TWHTV Studios, students learn leadership and technical skills through hands-on projects such as the student-produced daily news broadcast TWHTV Live, as well as other individual and group projects. Students can earn three media production certifications: producer, editor and production assistant.