Requirements for the Producing Concentration:

1. Producing concentrates must fulfill all general requirements for the first year, including writing, directing and producing “8-12” projects, and participating in “Crit Week.” They are not required to take any screenwriting or directing courses after the first year.

2. Producing concentrates must complete Role of the Producer (R6027), Producing the Short Film, Business of Film (R6004), Development (R6005), Pre-Production (R6034), Film Producing (R6035), No-Budget Filmmaking (R6143) and History of the Producer (W4220, counts toward HTC requirement). Upon completion of two years of course work, producing concentrates must complete two non-thesis projects on film or video, and a thesis (see thesis and non-thesis guidelines).

3. To be eligible for the Producing concentration, a student must submit two completed non-thesis projects (with necessary paperwork) to the Producing supervisor by December 1^st of the fourth (4^th) year of study. (See guidelines for non-thesis projects).

4. At any time in the third (3^rd), or fourth (4^th) year of study, Producing concentrates must participate in an industry internship of at least one semester. Weekly written reports must be submitted to a faculty advisor, who will evaluate the internship at the end of the semester.

5. Upon completion of sixty (60) credits of course work, the internship requirement and approval of the non-thesis projects, a student concentrating in Directing will file a thesis intent form with the program coordinator. This form will declare the nature and format of the thesis. The thesis intent form must be filed no later than April 15 of the fourth (4^th) year of study. The thesis must be completed and submitted no later than April 15^th of the fifth (5^th) year of study.

6. The Producing supervisor will act as thesis advisor for all Producing concentrates.  Any other Producing Professor (including adjuncts) can act as 2^nd reader. At the time of filing the thesis intent form, the student should submit the name of a second reader who has agreed to act in that role.

7. A schedule of advisement meetings will be set up and adhered to by the student and the thesis advisor. The schedule will vary depending on the nature of the thesis.

8. If the thesis is a film or video project, the project must be in a state where it can be screened for an audience. After submission of the project to the thesis advisor and 2^nd reader, a thesis “defense” will be scheduled and advertised to the faculty and students of the division. (see thesis guidelines)

Non-Thesis Guidelines for Producing Concentrates:

In order to graduate, Producing Concentrates need to have produced at least 2 “non-thesis” films. The student producer can also be the writer on the films, but cannot also be the director. These films must pass through the PAB (Production Advisory Board) at least once before commencing. In order to include a film that is not directed by a Columbia student, the concentrate needs to make the case to the PAB as to why the film cannot be directed by a Columbia student—for instance, if the film was developed by the director before the producer became attached—and that this particular film is valuable to the producer’s education. In order for such films to qualify for graduation requirements, and for designation as a Columbia Film (for festival purposes), there must be an on-screen credit that says “Produced in partial fulfillment of the MFA Degree in the Columbia University Graduate Film Division.”

Upon completion of each “non-thesis” film, the student must submit a VHS tape or DVD of the completed film, along with the student producer’s evaluation of their role on the film. These should be submitted to the student’s adviser.

Thesis Guidelines for Producing Concentrates:

Before commencing on a thesis, Producing Concentrates must get approval on a thesis proposal, which must be signed by the thesis adviser (must be a full-time faculty member), and a second reader. Approval cannot be given until all of the course requirements and other requirements have been fulfilled. The student must submit VHS tapes or DVD’s of their non-thesis films, and documentation of the completion of all course work with their thesis proposal.

There are two types of thesis for Producing Concentrates:

Thesis Film: 

The student can produce a thesis film. The student producer can also be the writer on the film, but cannot also be the director. There cannot be more than one credited producer on the film. This film must also be the thesis film of a Columbia Director, or if not, the film has to satisfy the following qualifications:

The film must have been substantially developed by the Producing Concentrate and he/she must have been involved with it from its inception.

The student has to get approval from the thesis adviser, who will be evaluating whether he/she has exhausted all possibilities of having the film be the thesis project for a Columbia Director and/or a non-thesis project for a Columbia director.

In no case can the student producer be a “producer for hire” for a non-Columbia director. The film has to pass through the PAB at least once before commencing production.

In all cases, in order for a thesis film to qualify for graduation requirements, and for designation as a Columbia Film (for festival purposes), there must be an on-screen credit that says “Produced in partial fulfillment of the MFA Degree in the Columbia University Graduate Film Division.”

Upon completion of the film, the student must submit a VHS tape or DVD of the thesis film, and a complete production notebook that clearly shows the student’s involvement in the process of producing the film. These should be submitted to the student’s adviser.

In addition, each producing student will be required to present his or her thesis to interested students and faculty, at which time the producer will screen the finished film, describe the process of producing it, and answer questions from the audience.

Written Thesis:

Instead of producing a thesis film, the student can provide a written thesis. This can only be done in the case where the student cannot produce the actual film for reasons that are approved in advance by the thesis advisor.

In order to qualify, the film contemplated in the thesis has to be in a category that sets it apart from typical student films in a way that makes it impractical to produce while still a student, such as if the film is a feature.

The thesis takes the form of a written proposal in which the student must convince the reader of his or her seriousness in planning to make the film, and must present a practical and well-documented plan to get the film made. The plan must include a detailed budget, final shooting script, script breakdown, shooting schedule and all such documentation (story boards, location stills, etc.) as necessary to make the case.