We have a lot of people that ask us, what does DMA mean?
That's a really good question.
More than just, you know, the study of film or animation.
DMA is digital media arts.
It's a relatively new term.
I mean, it's been a program here at Huntington for probably eight years.
It is a look into a whole new culture.
We are the fastest growing major on campus, and I think that has to do with the times.
The famous quote by Plato that the storytellers change the culture.
This is a time in the history of our people when we really want to tell stories.
The stories won't matter so much.
It's expanded in such a way that we're just discovering what these tools can do.
Just now finding out what it means to be a digital filmmaker, or a digital animator, or a digital broadcaster.
I thought I knew what it meant. I thought it meant vegital videos.
Meets gaming. Meets Hollywood film.
And then we hired a couple guys from VeggieTales, Steve and Brian.
When I was first asked to come and help start the program in digital media, I thought,
I'm an animator. What do I know about digital media?
Well, it turns out that animation is digital media.
We started the program in 2005.
They were a handful of students that were chomping at the bit.
I just knew that there was something happening in the world of web and animation and film and television.
And how do we make this all come together?
And that really was the birth of digital media arts.
We start with a conversation about what that means.
What are the responsibilities of being a media maker in this culture?
We offer not only technical training, but we offer all kinds of theory about why you do what you do.
We're trying to help students put on their lens as an artist and go,
how can I kind of make the connection between my faith and my art, and what does that look like?
But from there we start to go in very separate ways.
The animators tend to have much more of an interest in the graphic arts and drawing and creating their own images.
When we launched the animation side of things, we wanted to make a clear footprint in this arena of play.
Sort of like kindergarteners for college students.
My grandpa, he really, really likes dynamite.
So that's where the traditional media, the clay, the sand, those kind of things came in.
It's a great introduction and it's a way to sort of capture the enthusiasm that the students were bringing to this medium.
I had a lot of interest in illustration, animation, fine arts, and the thing about this program is it ties a lot of those elements together.
So that back and forth between the analog and the digital world in so many different ways.
It's really, really exciting right now.
The technology is making it very doable and it's making for work that the animation we've never really seen before is kind of cool.
This is tremendously important to think about.
We put it off.
Death is swept under the carpet in our culture, in the hospital.
They try to keep you alive as long as possible without a desperation.
They won't tell you that you're going to die.
I think film has a very unique place in the prism of digital media arts.
It gives our students a lot of opportunities to do hands-on learning, so it's very kinetic.
I think that comes from one reason, because of the accessibility towards, you know, career equipment.
With the time that you're here, you're able to take on so many different positions.
I love it when I'm hearing students just talk about the fact that, yeah, I'm directed photography on this film,
but I'm doing production design on this other film, and I'm helping this student with their story, and it's just so multifaceted.
All the positions are open to you. There's not a specific route you have to take,
and that will help you understand what you like and what you don't like.
I remember when the school asked me what my favorite movie was.
I said Transformers. I kind of regret saying that now.
I just thought, like, you know, the main purpose of filmmaking is visual effects.
Through my time over here, I learned that, you know, storytelling is so much more than that.
The most recent adaptation is our broadcast fusion media major.
So we've taken the last 18 months and completely rebranded our broadcasting major into a broadcast fusion media.
We're not interested in teaching you how the business will look now.
We're interested in teaching you how the business will look in 10 years.
And it is fusing together photography meets cinematography meets podcasting and web video.
Fusion media is the next thing for students that want to work in advertising agencies, church media,
and definitely be a part of a creative class.
I am really excited about the future of digital media arts.
I'm not just saying that because I'm on camera. I'm saying that because it's true.
We are entering in what could be a golden age, not only for just cinema in general,
but for Christian filmmakers.
When we invite students to come and study with us here at Huntington,
we're looking for a passion for storytelling, a commitment to the journey, which is long and lifelong,
because being a filmmaker is a lifestyle choice.
I really feel that it's not just the stories we tell.
It's how we move through the industry. It's how we treat other people that we work shoulder to shoulder with.
Right now, we can't even begin to imagine the changes that are coming.
We only know that they are coming.
So, empowering our students to be lifelong learners is what we're all about.
We are living in one of the most fascinating times in the history of men.
People really need stories right now to help us understand the confusion,
the zeitgeist of confusion of our times, and what better way to tell stories than with picture and sound.
I know I get excited about it. I get too excited about our program, but I am excited about our program.
It's unique. It's compelling. It's different. It's hands-on.
It's a program that you can come in and find your voice.
And use those authentic voices to be able to communicate everything that we need to be more human,
to be more fully alive in the world.
That's pretty much it. I mean, that really.
