Cutting edge technology and innovation is the name of the game
in the Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film
division of St. John’s University College of Professional Studies.
And if Professor Frank Brady has his way, another component --
creation of a computer animation lab -- could be introduced by the
Fall of 2005.
In past years, St. John’s students were introduced to the
technology of television and radio in the hands-on broadcast
studios on the Queens campus. While today’s students continue to
have those opportunities, they also need access to the latest
technology if they are to succeed in the world of high tech
communications.
Professor Brady cited the two most financially successful movies
of 2004 – Shrek II and Spiderman II -- as
examples of how new technology is being used in filmmaking today
and also points out that the success of the three Lord of the
Rings films underlines the fact that computer graphics and
animation are here to stay. In the Fall 2005, students will be able
to take the course, “Introduction to Animation,” where they will
learn animation techniques that can be applied in making digital
feature films and commercials emphasizing computer graphic imagery.
A new computer animation lab would enable graduates to enter this
burgeoning field.
Other innovative course work continues to be developed and made
available to students enrolled in courses offered by Professor
Brady’s division, which has the largest undergraduate enrollment
(888 students) of any at the University. Only recently, an
Advertising Communication major was added to the existing tracks of
Mass Communications, Journalism, and Television and Film Studies.
Professor Brady plans to bring in adjunct professors from Madison
Avenue to parlay their on-the-job advertising experience into
classroom curriculum. Already 115 students have applied for
entrance into the new major. Still under discussion for the future
is a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations.
Study abroad has long been an option for many St. John’s
students and now in the planning stages for 2006 is a study abroad
program in India in which film students would become familiarized
with “Bollywood,” a name coined for the Indian film industry.
Little known to most Americans is the fact that India is number one
in the world in number of films produced and number of motion
picture admissions per year. A summer study abroad program in
England at the London College of Communications is also a
possibility for 2006.
Since evolving communications technology has brought us all
closer together and to some extent has erased international
boundaries, courses in European and Asian communications were not
only added to the undergraduate curriculum but are now required for
graduation. A master’s program in International Communications,
which would augment and supplement the undergraduate program, is
now being discussed. According to Dr. Brady, no comparable program
is offered in the New York metropolitan area at this time.
One of the oldest programs in the College of Professional
Studies, the Communications program has and continues to produce
many of the communications professionals working in the New York
metropolitan area. According to Professor Brady, “There’s not a
media outlet in this city where you won’t find a St. John’s
graduate excelling at what he or she does every day.” And he smiles
when he says it.
Learn more about the
Mass Communications, Journalism, Television and Film
division.