Minor in Filmmaking
At Stony Brook, make the films only you can make.
Every one of us is already fluent in moving images. From the stories in our pocket to the films you've loved in theaters, our filmmaking program starts where you are and invites you to engage in the power of the cinematic image.
Why study filmmaking?
Our program starts with what you already know, and builds it into craft: screenwriting, cinematography, editing, and production, taught by working filmmakers.
Students who want to tell stories on film need a firm understanding of the power of images and sounds, a solid grasp on how to develop a compelling storyline and the technical know-how to manipulate and transform these images in a way that can inform, educate and persuade modern audiences. The Minor in Filmmaking offers all this and more in a collaborative, creative environment among working filmmakers.
The filmmaking program was built in the spirit of Stony Brook's MFA in Film, powered by the award-winning Killer Films production company. We, along with the MFA, are defined by our "roll up your sleeves and dive in" ethos. Study how films get made, and then make your film.
What you’ll walk away with
- Storytelling instinct. Command of narrative craft: how to build a story that holds an audience and won't let go.
- Technical range. Fluency in cinematography, editing, and production workflows used on real sets and in real edit suites.
- A trained eye. The critical eye to read a frame the way a filmmaker reads it and the visual literacy that matters far beyond the arts.
- Visual storytelling across disciplines. The ability to apply visual storytelling to any discipline using the moving image to communicate ideas in science, history, journalism, or any field.
- A finished body of work. A capstone film, screenplay, or industry internship that proves what you can do.
Our alums enter a variety of fields, such as: public relations, digital content firms, film, television, art, nonprofits, market research agencies, event companies, medicine, law.
THE MINOR IN FILMMAKING: 21 CREDITS
A minor built to complement any major.
Courses rotate around real-world topics (podcasting, writing for television, the social documentary, and more) so the syllabus stays as current as the medium it teaches. Two foundational courses open the door to everyone: FLM 101 (Introduction to Filmmaking) and FLM 102 (Introduction to Film Composition). From there, the program choices are yours:
- Advanced Seminars. Choose three advanced seminars from FLM 215, 220, 221, 301, 302, or 303 — go deep in one lane (documentary, fiction, screenwriting) or range across all of them.
- Study Like a Filmmaker. One upper-level course that trains you to study film the way a filmmaker does — FLM 310, FLM 320, or an approved equivalent.
- Capstone. Finish with a capstone: an independent film or feature-length screenplay, an advanced workshop, or a hands-on industry internship.
LEARN MORE ABOUT COURSES & DECLARING >>
Come to a CREATE Event!
Join us at a CREATE Event! We have mixers, workshops, watch parties, and more. We
welcome all students to hang out with us and learn more about our department.
MEET THE DIRECTOR
Karen Offitzer directs the Minor in Filmmaking & TV Writing. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona and a Master's from NYU, and is the founder and former Program Director of the MFA in Creative Writing at National University. Her short documentary work has earned grants and awards, most notably for I Am Not Who You Think I Am, which follows the lives changed by a year of free humanities education for people who were homeless and working poor. Her short fiction and nonfiction appear in Alaska Quarterly Review, Phoebe, Sonora Review, and Sweet Lit, and her book Diners is a pictorial chronicle of America's roadside eateries.
Get in Touch
Karen Offitzer, Director
Filmmaking & TV Writing
Melville Library N3022
karen.offitzer@stonybrook.edu
Chryso Tsoumpelis, Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Creative Writing, Filmmaking, & Television
Melville Library N3019
chrysovalantou.tsoumpelis@stonybrook.edu
General questions or advising appointments: flm_undergrad@stonybrook.edu