A target of 30-60 students would commence studies for the MSc Film Production in October 2019 as the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University sets to produce industry-ready graduates for the “new Nollywood of global standards”.
The course starts amid renewed global interest in the study of Nollywood sparked by its mention as one of three market-creating innovations in an essay in the January-February 2019 issue of Harvard Business Review. Harvard scholars Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon (2019) in “Cracking Frontier Markets”, analysed Nollywood from the perspective of market-leading innovation.
Dr Ikechukwu Obiaya, the dean, announced the commencement of admissions for the new programme at a media briefing Tuesday, May 14. He said the SMC MSc in Film Production will cover four key knowledge areas of Scripting and Directing for the Screen; Cinematography; Editing for the Screen and Sound Design for the Screen.
He added, “The course offers specialisation options in seven major film production areas of a short film; documentary; interview and feature film. Others are serial drama, commercial filmlet and the music video”.
Obiaya said SMC would run the programme on the back of its deep interest in the industry including its Nollywood Studies Centre with a stock of over 10, 000 films, and its ongoing collaboration with the industry serving as a curriculum guide for the DSTV Multichoice Talent Factory Academy.
The Dean said SMC has first-rate facilities for the study of the film including four studios for audio-visual, sound and audio engineering, four editing suites and 50 units each of Apple and Windows workstations graphics and animation suite.
Players in Nollywood lent their support, including Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, Paulo in the trailblazing Living in Bondage and Femi Odugbemi, anchor of the DSTV MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy for West Africa. There was also Mr Kene Mkparu, founder of the FilmHouse Cinemas and Dapo Adeniyi, who is inviting the world to the new Lekki Film Festival starting in July.
Students have the option of full or part-time study. The course would cover five semesters or seven depending on the stream the student enters. The school targets Nigeria and Africa.
The programme will begin in October 2019. It comprises of five semesters, which is about two and a half years. There are different access options depending on degrees of participants;
- Bachelor’s Degree in Film/Television/Motion Picture Production. Holders of this qualification shall be admitted directly to the third semester of the programme.
- HND in Film/Television/Motion Picture Production. Holders of any of this qualification shall be admitted directly to the second semester of the programme.
- Bachelor’s Degree/HND in any cognate discipline (Mass Communication/Communication Arts, Theatre Arts/Dramatic Arts, etc.). Holders of this qualification shall be eligible for some discretionary waivers, depending on the nature and strength of their previous work, as evidenced in their transcript/portfolio
- Also, a Bachelor’s Degree/HND in any other discipline will be considered.
Course structure: Specialisation will be Scripting & Directing for the screen, as well as Cinematography.
Breakdown of specialisation includes;
- The short film
- The TV/film documentary
- The feature film
- Adaptation to screen
- The TV serial drama
- The commercial filmlet/TV commercial
- The music video
- The TV interview programme