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Undergraduate Certificate Programs
Pursue an Online Filmmaking and Digital Media Certificate
This is a 24 credit Sessions College Undergraduate Certificate developed in collaboration with Smashcut. Credit can be applied towards earning an Associate Degree.
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About this Program
Develop Storytelling Skills For Today’s Digital Media Industry
Do you dream of becoming a filmmaker or a stand-out cinematic content creator?
At Sessions College, our 24-credit Undergraduate Certificate in Filmmaking and Digital Media program offers a deep-dive in the art of filmmaking. Whether your goal is entering the film industry or to up-level your digital content creation, this program takes you from written concept to finished film product over two semesters.
This program is for content producers of all kinds, from filmmakers to digital and social marketers, digital influencers, and media producers. Take this program to uplevel your content quality and grab more attention in the digital world.
“Learning the facets of media production by producing portfolio driven projects gives you knowledge you can translate into an array of marketable skills.”
Program Outcomes
By completing the program, Undergraduate Certificate in Filmmaking and Digital Media students develop the following competencies:
Storytelling
Effectively communicate a story in writing by developing a plot, characters, treatments, and dialogue, and translate that story into visual media.
Directing
Collaborate with others to successfully develop and execute a production plan, directing a cast and team members to realize a shared vision for a project.
Art/Design Principles
Employ design and art principles such composition, lighting, camera angles, lens usage, color, texture, and continuity to support a story and concept being developed and conveyed.
Technology
Utilize cameras, lighting, and audio equipment, Adobe Premiere, and other software as needed, to produce and edit compelling content for viewing and distribution.
Critical Analysis
Employ analytical skills to develop and refine creative work including screenplays, written film criticism, and visual media.
Program Curriculum
The Undergraduate Certificate in Filmmaking and Digital Media is a 24-credit online program completed in two semesters. Part-time schedules are available.
First Semester
FLM 101: Cinematography - 3 Credits
What makes the cinematography of the great filmmakers so compelling? In this course, you will develop an understanding of foundational cinematic principles, including shot types, composition, and lighting, and explore how to apply them in a series of creative projects. The course culminates in a final project demonstrating your ability to plan and execute a visually compelling scene in which actions speak louder than words.
FLM 102: Editing - 3 Credits
As a film or video editor you are storyteller with the power to affect your viewer in ways you may not even imagine. In this course, you’ll study the tools and techniques used by professional editors, learning the basics of how to manage projects in Premiere as you explore how editing affects the pacing and mood of a scene. Lectures on montage, coverage, and B-roll explore how creative editors make the connections between each shot that pull a scene together. In final project, students demonstrate the ability to edit a set of footage in two distinct moods.
FLM 103: Screenwriting I - 3 Credits
Do you have what it takes to write for the screen? In this class, you will analyze and write screenplays, developing your ability to work with dialogue, character development, and plot structure. During the class you will learn how to interpret and correctly format a script. By the end of the class, you will have created a compelling short dialogue scene between two or more characters.
FLM 104: Directing - 3 Credits
What does it mean to direct a movie? Directing has been compared to many things, ranging from leading an army into battle to managing a corporation. In this course, you’ll gain hands-on experience of many aspects of directing including interpreting a script, using camera movement, sound design, and working with actors. Throughout the course, there is a focus on what makes a director’s work distinctive, and how do you begin to develop those qualities in your work? In the final project, you will test your ability to creatively interpret a script for the screen in your own unique style.
Second Semester
FLM 201: Filmmaking for Digital Media - 3 Credits
This multi-faceted course will enhance your filmmaking and digital media skills with an emphasis on planning, producing, and distributing creative work through web-based applications and venues such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch (livestreaming). You will research, conceive, plan (using storyboards and other planning aids), and produce a variety of creative pieces by applying filmmaking principles such as storytelling, cinematography, directing, and editing to short-form digital media projects to distribute and stream through multiple web-based venues and channels.
FLM 202: Screenwriting II - 3 Credits
Utilizing a collaborative workshop strategy you will develop a concept for a 3-act narrative short script. You will write a concept and an outline, then transform it scene by scene into a script. As a screenwriter, you will workshop ideas at multiple stages in the creative process, and gaining critical feedback to improve your script from the instructor and your peers. Throughout the course, you will gain inspiration from the exploration and analysis of outstanding examples of professional screenwriting.
FLM 203: Film Criticism - 3 Credits
To make great films, you need to understand what makes them tick—how they are put together. And the best, most transformational way to do that is to closely study some of the greatest movies ever made. In this class, you will learn and apply concepts and principles for the critical analysis of films. You will explore six classic and contemporary films in great depth, engaging in focused discussions of specific scenes, and writing critical analyses that demonstrate your understanding and appreciation of the elements of filmmaking. Through critical analysis you will learn how to look and write about films, gaining insights that will enrich your future filmmaking.
FLM 204: Final Project - 3 Credits
Produce a complete short narrative or documentary film from concept to screening. Guided by your instructor, students will script, shoot, and edit a short narrative or documentary film. In the first half of the course, students will complete all aspects of pre-production: scripting, planning, recruiting, and more. In the second half, students will shoot and edit their film, refining their project into a polished production. having gained insights from multiples rounds of feedback, informed by course content, inspiration and your lived experience.
Course Development Partner
This program has been developed in partnership with Smashcut, a leader in filmmaking education and educational technology. The curriculum features an extensive library of high-quality videos rich in expert interviews, cinematic examples, and concept visualization. Smashcut produced videos are delivered in this program in a state-of-the-art video player with interactive commentary.
Introduction to Filmmaking
Introduction to Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Formatting
Shot Sizes and Their Functions
Why Choose Sessions College?
Sessions College has been inspiring creative professionals for 25 years. Accredited since 2001, we have a unique and proven approach to online education.
Accredited by Distance Education Accrediting Commission since 2001
Recognized as top design school by GDUSA
Winner of four USDLA awards for distance education
A Better Way to Learn
- Fully Online and Asynchronous. Our programs are fully online and asynchronous, allowing you to fit learning into your life. We provide weekly deadlines to keep you on track, but there are no mandatory login times and our learning platform is available 24 hours a day.
- Project-Based Learning. Our curriculum is designed to be highly interactive and project-based from the ground up to improve learning outcomes and keep you engaged.
- Feedback from Creative Pros. Our program is taught by industry experts who provide 1:1 feedback on all of your work.
Designed for Career Success
This program will help you prepare and advance your career as a filmmaker or digital media professional.
Learn from experienced professionals
Complete a final project for your portfolio
Develop skills for an exciting career
Graduates could be employed in the movie industry as Camera Operators, Film and Video Editors, Producers, Directors, Writers or in digital media as Digital and Social Marketers, Influencers, and Media Producers.
Median annual salaries for related careers
| Camera operators, television, video, and film | $61,800* |
| Firm and video editors | $66,600* |
| Producers and directors | $85,510* |
| Writers and authors | $73,690* |
| Advertising and promotions managers | $131,870* |
| Marketing managers | $157,620* |
*As of May 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Truly Accessible Education
Our Undergraduate Certificate admissions process only requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) and a conversation with an admissions advisor to ensure you are set up for success in our program.
And Truly Affordable
Our truly affordable fall tuition is:
$7,200 per academic year (24 credits) – $3,600 per semester*.
Significantly more affordable than other online design or digital media colleges.
An attainable path to gain an education without incurring excessive loan debt.
*Scholarships available for eligible students.
What Students Gained from Our Digital Media Courses
I appreciate the professional instructors teaching real-world content. I love working with texture, whether tactile or digital. I have my own design studio, so I’ve added my new multimedia skills to my box of tricks.
This was a fantastic alternative to traditional school. I feel like the instructors made it easy for me to learn with written and video instructions. I’m looking forward to applying my knowledge that I have now in video production.
I feel the quality of the instructors is the best thing about Sessions College. They all have passions and expertise in multiple disciplines that shows in their interactions and critiques with students. By growing my video and editing abilities, as well as my storytelling skills, I can better assist my clients, and myself, to tell stories that need to be told.
Advance your career with our 100% online design and digital media programs today!
Sessions College
Main Office
404 S. Mill Avenue, Suite 201
Tempe, AZ 85281
Contact Us
800-258-4115 (US)
480-212-1704
admissions@sessions.edu