Students enrolled in Full Sail University’s Creative Writing BFA and Media Communications bachelor’s programs are learning far more than just writing skills. A shared class is exposing them to the process of developing a short film from concept to final cut, helping them become versatile content creators.

In Digital Video and Audio Production, students develop a script, handle preproduction, create a one-minute fictional film, and do all of the editing for post-production.

In terms of hardware and software, they can use a smartphone or digital video camera to capture the content. They then use Adobe Premiere Pro – an industry-standard video production software –for all of the post-production required for a final film.

“From the creative writing standpoint, I wanted my students to develop more technical skills to capture the narrative and have the technical acumen to create something like this,” says Noelani Cornell, Program Director for Creative Writing. “Once they graduate, they will have a broader array of skills, a deeper toolkit than being just writers, so that they're more marketable.”

The projects have explored a variety of storylines. One student created "The Message I Never Sent" about a man who wishes he had sent an apologetic voicemail to someone in his life. Another film, “Still Creatively Me,” shows a woman who reflects on the evolution of her creative passions, including singing, playing instruments, and writing.

Noelani emphasizes to her students that a short film can turn into something much bigger. One example of this is Whiplash about an abusive jazz instructor who, through manipulative and abusive tactics, gets his students to produce exceptional work. Originally an 18-minute film, it later became a feature-length movie that achieved box office success.

In her view, the program crossover for this class has benefits beyond learning multimedia skills.

“Creative Writing students get to know the Media Communications students. And it just exposes them to different elements of story creation… I like them to have exposure to these students and see the kind of projects that they're working on just to help them broaden their horizons.”

Plus, she says employers are more apt to hire content creators with a variety of experience.

“If you own your own creative agency, do you want to hire one writer? Do you want to hire one person who can shoot video? And do you want another person who can do marketing? Or would you like to hire one person who has the skill sets of all three?”

Grads from these programs have the opportunity to find roles in lots of fields, including film, television, gaming, education, marketing, publishing, hospitality, healthcare, and government.

“In all of these industries, they're looking for communicators,” she explains. “They all have a story to tell. You have the narrative, but then you also have the technical skills that are going to be required to help convey that message or that short film or that video game storyline.”