The Associate of Applied Arts Degree in Motion Picture Production is an intense 15-month program designed to train students for the professional world of filmmaking. Upon successful completion of the 68.0 credit hour program, the graduate may expect to possess skills in screenwriting, directing, producing, and post production (editing, mixing, music, and delivery).
Bob Coonrod is a native Texan who has left his make in the entertainment industry through acting, directing, and improv. His focus today is sharing his over 40 years’ experience with the up and coming in our industry.
Thousands of hours and hundreds of production sets, both in front of and behind the camera and in live productions have allowed Bob to act, direct, and produce many types of projects. With his own production company, Bob provided content, as well as producing and directing a variety of live and filmmaking projects for Fortune 500 companies, as well as many other businesses and not-for profit organizations.
Always ready for something new, Bob participated in the award-winning International collab feature “Train Station”, involving 40 filmmakers from 25 countries, with each scene filmed with a different director and a different cast – all edited together into a single collaborative film.
KD Conservatory has been Bob’s home for the past 28 years, mentoring students to understand and appreciate the relationship between the actors, director and the camera – and that it’s not as easy as it looks. Working with the local entertainment community, Bob has assembled mock auditions and created student production projects that include both the Acting and Motion Picture Production classes to provide real life opportunities for the students within their chosen concentrations.
Believing that creativity is the basis of the creative process for all actors, writers, and directors, Bob uses every opportunity to bring Improv into the mix to help his students trust themselves and have fun. Bob was a founding member of several premier Improv groups in the southwest and continues to perform Improv on the live stage every chance he gets.
Bob has been represented by the Mary Collins Agency in the DFW Market for over 30 years and continues to actively work as talent in TB and film projects. Bob and his family reside in North Texas, near his alma mater University of North Texas, where he obtained his BA in Directing and Business, and studied film and lighting production with Victor Duncan (ASC).
Program Overview
Students gain proficiency in the skills and crafts of filmmaking in a hands-on environment focusing on screenwriting, directing, producing, cinematography, and post production (editing, dialogue, sound effects and music mixing, musical score and delivery). In the first three semesters, each student produces, writes, directs and crews on several short films. In the fourth semester, students form a production team and set up a production office to produce the Motion Picture Production Final Project for their professional portfolio, film festival entry, and/or Internet distribution. Students are introduced to the many different formats currently available in film and digital. At KD Conservatory, all film projects are produced in the digital format as the digital camera’s ease of use allows students to delve deeper into filmmaking without the burden and complexities of shooting on film. Preparing for the realities of the marketplace and the business of filmmaking, students are introduced to the industry of independent films, the major studios, over the air and cable TV networks, as well as TV commercials, corporate videos, web-based productions and other media. An emphasis is placed on students attaining proficiency in the basic skills and crafts of filmmaking needed for entry into the film industry.
Program Objectives
To teach students a proficiency in the basic skills and crafts of filmmaking, providing them potential opportunities for entering the film industry, equipping students with the procedural processes and skills to make quality short films culminating with a Motion Picture Production Final Project in the fourth semester. An additional goal is to prepare students for the reality of the marketplace for dream projects as well as films made to fit a specific genre by teaching the business of filmmaking and how the industry works for independent films, the major studios and networks, as well as TV commercials, corporate videos, web-based productions and other media.
Instructors
Our instructors are selected on the basis of their professional experience and educational achievement. In order to ensure the highest standards of professionalism, we seek instructors from those sectors of the entertainment industry which closely relate to the subject area being taught.
