CENTER FOR COMPUTATION & TECHNOLOGY

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana State University received a $200,000 grant for its film and television program.

“Because we’re learning it now instead of just being thrown into it when we start our careers, it kind of gives us a little leg up, knowing the latest tech and what’s coming next to you as well,” said Ashely Elliott, a digital media grad student at LSU.

The program recently received another grant from the Louisiana Economic Development Agency for a new film and digital studio with state-of-the-art technology.

“People just aren’t seeing all the behind-the-scenes in the studios that work in-house, rather than out on the street filming because you don’t have to be out on the street filming anymore, you can just be here,” added Elliott.

And now a new $200,000 grant will help employ additional faculty in the film department, providing more resources for students.

“It represents a wonderful expansion of a number of classes that we can hold, how we can get specific with what we’re teaching, so we’re teaching film production and adding cinematography, we’re adding another level of film production,” said Jason Jamerson, Assistant Professor of Digital Art at LSU.

While the film industry in Louisiana has taken a hit in recent years, Jamerson says there is much more to the industry than what you see in traditional film and TV. He adds that social media is driving massive digital production which students can learn too.

“Even though the traditional film industry may be changing and evolving, there’s more opportunity for students to succeed in careers in new media than ever before,” added Jamerson.

Industry experts are hopeful that traditional film and TV will be back and booming come next year. Jamerson says this is more of a reason to keep producing film degrees.

“Here in Louisiana there’s a huge history of producing wonderful television and film, and there’s already a great film industry in Louisiana that has led to a very high demand for degrees, training programs, and workforce programs, so having extra faculty can allow us to teach a lot more classes and more students,” explained Jamerson.