Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema

The Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, more commonly referred to as the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, is a film school and one of the graduate schools of Brooklyn College, a senior college within the City University of New York. It is located on the Steiner Studios film lot in Brooklyn, New York. Feirstein is the first public graduate film school in New York City and is the only public graduate film school in the United States located on a working film lot. The school is named after Barry Feirstein, a donor and Brooklyn College alumnus.

Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema
TypePublic graduate film school
EstablishedOctober 2015 (2015-10)
Parent institution
Brooklyn College
AffiliationCity University of New York
DirectorRichard N. Gladstein
Location
Brooklyn, New York City
,
New York

Development was officially announced in January 2011, and funding was provided by private donations and by investments from New York City and New York State. Though Feirstein initially aimed to open for the fall 2013 semester, the school accepted its inaugural class for the 2015-2016 academic year.

History

The Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema was developed between Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and Steiner Studios. Douglas Steiner and founding director Jonathan Wacks wished to promote diversification of the film industry.[1][2][3] Development was first referenced by Michael Bloomberg in his January 2011 State of the City address[4] and was officially announced the same month.[1] The school initially aimed to open for the fall 2013 semester.[1] New York City invested over $8 million into the development of the school.[5][3] Funding was provided through the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, the New York City Council, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the City University of New York, and the Made in NY program.[3][6] New York State also invested $5 million.[7] Brooklyn College alumnus Barry Feirstein donated $5 million to development, and the school is named in his honor.[3][7] The school is the first public graduate film school in New York City.[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]

The school accepted its first cohort for the 2015-2016 academic year and was officially opened by Mayor Bill de Blasio in October 2015.[8]

Awards

The Feirstein website, designed by Brooklyn United, won a 2015 Webby Award for best School/University website.[15] Feirstein was awarded a 2016 Building Brooklyn Award for Education by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce;[16] the award is given to "recently completed construction and renovation projects that enrich Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and economy".[17]

Building and facilities

Feirstein occupies two floors of Building 1 on the Steiner Studios film lot in Brooklyn, New York.[9][18] It is the only public graduate school in the United States located on a working film lot.[lower-alpha 3] Steiner and Wacks felt that integration into a film lot better facilitated entry into professional filmmaking.[1][2][3] The facilities designed by Dattner Architects include a foley studio, an ADR studio, a sound mixing studio, and a sound stage.[3] The school's systems and post-production courses use Avid Technology's editing software.[19]

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is on the advisory council to the school and described it to Worth magazine as "by any standard one of the best facilities I have ever walked in to. I certainly never set foot in anything like that until I started working for studios."[20]

Academics and admissions

Feirstein has two degree programs, Master of Arts in Cinema Studies and Master of Fine Arts. The Master of Fine Arts degree program is further divided into multiple academic tracks. Upon the school's opening, these tracks were: cinematography, directing, post-production, producing, screenwriting.[5][3] Digital animation and visual effects, media scoring, and sonic arts tracks were offered beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year.[21] However, the media scoring and sonic arts programs are also part of Brooklyn College's conservatory of music.[22]

Applications are accepted on a rolling admission policy and are not accepted for the spring semester.[22] Each Master of Fine Arts track accepts fourteen students,[23] except for cinema studies[23] and screenwriting.[24]

Feirstein began accepting applications in November 2014[25] and accepted 69 students for the fall 2015 semester.[5][8] The inaugural class was about 50% women,[3][26] 43-46% persons of color,[3][26] and 70% students from New York.[3]

Notable faculty and staff

Jonathan Wacks serves as academic director.[11][7] Feirstein's advisory board includes Darren Aronofsky,[11] Celia Costas,[11] Ethan Hawke,[11][8] Steven Soderbergh,[11][8] and Fisher Stevens.[11]

Notes
  1. City College of New York, another college within the public City University of New York, also has a graduate film program. However, the film school was not established as a graduate program.[8]
  2. Feirstein has been variously described as the first public film school in New York City,[9][10] the first public graduate film school in New York City,[8][11] the first public graduate film school in New York,[12][13] and the first graduate-only public film school in New York.[14]
  3. Feirstein has been variously described as the only film school in the United States located on a working film lot,[12][10] the only graduate film school in the United States located on a working film lot,[1] and the only public graduate film school in the United States located on a working film lot.[8][5]

References
  1. Thielman, Sam (January 20, 2011). "Brooklyn College, Steiner plan film school". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  2. Kiesch, Zachary (February 25, 2016). "Brooklyn College's innovative film school". Fox 5. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  3. O'Falt, Chris (January 6, 2016). "What Does a 21st Century Film School Look Like?". IndieWire. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  4. "Mayor Bloomberg Delivers 2011 State of the City Address - Progress at Work" (Press release). New York City. January 19, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2016. And they’ll [Steiner Studios] be partnering, I’m happy to say, with Brooklyn College to create the first graduate level film school of its kind in the region.
  5. "City of New York Opens Doors to NYC's First Public Graduate Film School - the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema" (Press release). New York City. October 6, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  6. "Neil Patrick Harris, Rosie Perez Among Winners of 2014 MADE IN NY Awards". BroadwayWorld.com. November 11, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  7. Agovino, Teresa (June 24, 2013). "NYC film school taps 21 Jump Street director". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  8. Sharf, Zack (October 6, 2015). "New York City Opens First Public Graduate Film School". IndieWire. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  9. Wachs, Audrey (July 12, 2016). "Take a look inside New York's only public film school, designed by Dattner Architects". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  10. Scotto, Michael (July 15, 2016). "Hollywood on the Hudson: Officials Set Up Programs to Help Low-Income Residents Break Into the Business". NY1. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  11. Frost, Mary (November 28, 2015). "Brooklyn College opening new graduate school of cinema at Steiner Studios". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  12. Banjo, Shelley (January 21, 2011). "A Film School for Brooklyn College". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2016. (Subscription required.)
  13. Shusman, Bernard (November 5, 2015). "TV Production Booming in New York". Voice of America. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  14. Linton, Caroline (May 1, 2015). "Secrets of the Brooklyn Navy Yard". AM New York. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  15. "Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema". International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  16. "Building Brooklyn Awards 2016". Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  17. "Building Brooklyn Awards". Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. "Final Scope of Work for an Environmental Impact Statement for the Steiner Studios Media Campus" (PDF). Empire State Development. November 14, 2014. p. 10. Retrieved August 30, 2016. Academic uses at 25 Washington Avenue (Building 1) – This project involves sublease of space in Building 1 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to two academic tenants: the Brooklyn College Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema....
  19. "Brooklyn College Adopts Avid Everywhere(TM) to Power Its New Graduate Film School" (Press release). Avid Technology. March 9, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2016. (Full text via GlobeNewswire.)
  20. https://www.worth.com/destinations-2017-new-york/
  21. "Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema to Offer M.F.A. In Digital Animation & VFA, Media Scoring, and Sonic Arts". City University of New York. May 17, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  22. "Admission Requirements for Brooklyn College Graduate Programs". Brooklyn College. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  23. Rodriguez, Briana (March 15, 2016). "1 Way to Get Your Film Education—on a Working Lot". Backstage. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  24. "Admissions". Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. Brooklyn College. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  25. "The Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema Accepting Applications for Fall 2015-16 Academic Year". Brooklyn College. November 14, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  26. Morfoot, Addie (June 13, 2016). "City's media czar encourages more filming in outer boroughs". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
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