Screenwriting and Animation (SWAN), B.A. or B.F.A.

Morgan State University offers the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Screenwriting and Animation (SWAN). SWAN is Morgan’s cinematic arts and sciences major with concentrations in (1) Computer Animation, (2) Film and Television Writing, (3) Integrated Media Writing and Animation. The degree combines theory and practice and integrates production and hands-on field experience in filmmaking and content creation, including AI video generation. In this program, you’ll build a foundation in all aspects of filmmaking and visual storytelling including animation,  interactive media, and game design.  As an MHEC (Maryland Higher Education Commission)  approved interdisciplinary major integrating computer science, SWAN from its inception embraced STEM combined with the art and  inventiveness of filmmaking that forms the foundation of cinematic arts and sciences. SWAN faculty are practicing professionals who have established careers in the field as filmmakers, authors, animators, game developers and producer/writer/directors in entertainment, non-broadcast, and documentary genres. The SWAN Research Initiative brings faculty, students, and staff together as collaborators on professional work  that varies from client-driven projects to PBS limited series formats. 

Goals:

The B.A. and B.F.A. in Screenwriting and Animation encourages and stimulates students to value film as a distinct art form and collaborative discipline that is the dominant foundation of storytelling in the 21st Century. SWAN is designed to provide students the framework of the liberal arts and humanities to engage the discourse that is possible when film or cinema is examined across disciplines. Coursework is designed for students as filmakers to demonstrate a working knowledge of visual storytelling, story structure, and story analysis.  Students are trained to understand the essential functions and roles on a film set - and have the ability to work collaboratively in that structure.  Students are taught technical proficiency in applied practice  ranign from screenwriting and animation to editing and cinemetography and game design and digital illustration for graphic novels and comics.

Majors follow a course of study that is designed to:

1. deliver quality instruction in the craft of film and TV content production and post-production from fundamental to specialized competencies;

2. familiarize students with a hierarchy of equipment, techniques, and processes for filmmaking from introductory, to intermediate, to advanced 

3. introduce students to cinema as an art form from a perspective of world cinema and social movements  that marked eras and formed film genres

4. survey cinematic masterworks and theory and practice with respect to the historical and cultural aspects of its global evolution through innovations in technology;

5. refine the ability of students to perform research and to critique and analyze film narrative form, and to write for film and TV from concept through revisions;

6. integrate computer science, business, and STEM into the applied practice of filmmaking and content production;

7. consider animation as cinematic expression extending to interactive media including computer games and immersive storytelling

8. link literature, theater and adaptation to the impact of Graphic Comics and Novels on Film and TV

9. provide immersive field experiences from location sets and sound stages to writers rooms and internships, service projects, and collaborations with notable filmmakers and producers through our SWAN Visiting Artists Program;

10. prepare students for versatility in the Motion Picture/Television entertainment business, and for sustainable careers and entrepreneurship across diverse economic segments of industry as writers, artists, and content creators in an AI era;

11. cultivate filmmakers with portfolios including sample scripts, show reels, short films, animatics, and work that can be shown to gain jobs, internships and  apprenticeships

12. inspire students to enter their creative work into competitive film contests and film festivals for regional and national awards and exhibitions

13. build portfolios and cultivate scholarship for future graduate studies including MFA and doctoral research degrees;

14. integrate technology and emphasize storytelling and content production with respect to techniques and processes best described as the cinematic arts and sciences;

15. foster and engage a community of artists and filmmakers through partnerships and collaborations extending from campus to industry

16. explore and exhume the pioneering work of Black female and male filmmakers from the silent era to talkies and race films, to studio and independent production, to integrationist periods, the film school generation, to Black Action Films, and contemporary cinema..

The degree requires that students complete 68 credits in the major and in supporting courses. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree requires students to complete six credits in the same foreign language at the 200-level as a part of their degree requirements. The Department of World Languages and International Studies determines students’ competency to take courses at the specified level. The Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) Degree requires students to complete six credits of approved SWAN elective practical studio courses as a substitution for the foreign language requirement.

SWAN courses are sequenced to develop students as filmmakers and storytellers who write, produce, direct, shoot, and edit their work. The increasingly complex work that students create over their time as majors is essential for spearheading their careers and building their portfolios.

As seniors, SWAN majors must complete a year-long studio workshop beginning in the Fall and ending in Spring. This two-course sequence culminates with a capstone film or other original work overseen at all stages by SWAN faculty.  Everything you learn will be used to create a thesis project in your senior year.  This project will be a major component of your professional portfolio and serve as demonstrated skill sets for future work in the creative industry.

Each concentration for the major shares gateway and core requirements required for the study of film as an expressive and collaborative art form and practice. All concentrations emphasize visual storytelling, moving image content production, and film and TV writing for diverse segments of industry including entertainment, education, and business. All tracks emphasize critical thinking and collaborative problem solving that is central to filmmaking.

Where concentrations differ has to do with professional craft and practitioner techniques required for specialization, including the electives that augment skills such as cinematography, editing, and directing.

1. The Computer Animation Concentration requires courses in computer science, 2D and 3D animation, motion design, storyboarding, web design, and game design and development.
2. The Film and Television Writing Concentration requires greater immersion in applied theory and practice in writing and content production (shooting, editing, directing and producing) for film/TV and multimedia.
3. The Integrated Media Writing and Animation Concentration requires courses in drawing and 2D and 3D animation, comics, and fiction and creative non-fiction, for an approach to storytelling that factors in popular culture, transmedia, and mobile screens in a marketplace where stories exist in multiple formats.

Screenwriting and Animation (SWAN) majors are expected to work closely with their advisors to choose their electives in order to design a program that best serves their career goals. The interdisciplinary major requires courses in different departments of the Gilliam College of Liberal Arts, and also in the School of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (SCMS). With the approval of an advisor, electives for the major can also be taken in other schools, including the School of Business and Management,, home to the Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Center (EDAC).

 

Requirements for the B.A. and B.F.A Degrees in Screenwriting and Animation

A minimum of 120 credit hours are required to graduate with a B. A. or a B.F.A in Screenwriting and Animation.  These credit hours are distributed as follows:

General Education and University Requirements    44 

Liberal Arts Core Requirements    6

Supporting/Gateway Course Requirements    10

Required Courses for the Screenwriting and Animation Major    45

Required Concentration Courses    15

Total Credits    120