Campus Overview
Windward Community College offers innovative programs in the arts and sciences and opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding of Hawai‘i and its unique heritage. With a special commitment to support the access and educational needs of Native Hawaiians, we provide O‘ahu’s Ko‘olau region and beyond with liberal arts, career and lifelong learning in a supportive and challenging environment — inspiring students to excellence.
Windward Community College is accredited by the Association of Community Colleges and Junior Colleges, which is part of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Students in the Academic Subject Certificate in Creative Media focus on video game design or filmmaking, learn the foundational skills of their craft, and produce a final project with professional equipment which conforms to professional standards. Upon completion of this 24-credit certificate, students will be prepared to launch their own entrepreneurial careers, to seek industry jobs or to pursue advanced academic study of their craft.
Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:
- Understand and properly use the vocabulary of their industry (filmmaking or video game design)
- Apply the technical skills of their industry and creative problem solving to produce a creative media product (a documentary short film, a fictional short film, or a video game)
- Develop a plan to take their creative media product to market
This certificate consists of a minimum 24 total credits with three different tracks of emphasis: Video Game Design, Documentary Filmmaking, and Creative Filmmaking.
Click here to learn more about the various media programs across the UH System supported by the Academy for Creative Media System
Academic PathwaysTo learn more about the Windward Community College ACM campus click here
Windward Community College ACMCreative Media
Prerequisites
The following required courses for our Academic Subject Certificate in Creative Media have pre-requisites that are outside of the certificate program.
Track A: Video Game Design
ART/CM 126 – 3D Computer Graphics I – Pre-requisite is ART 112: Introduction to Digital Art with a grade of C or better.
CM 271 – Introduction to Games and Gaming – When being taught as a Writing Intensive (WI), pre-requisite is ENG 100: Composition I with a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor. There is no pre-requisite when the course is not being taught as a WI.
Track C: Creative Filmmaking
CM/ENG 204C – Introduction to Creative Writing (Screenwriting) – Pre-requisite is ENG 100: Composition I with a grade of C or better, or consent of instructor.
CM/THEA 223 – Introduction to Acting for Camera – Pre-requisite is THEA 221: Acting I with a grade of C or better.
Core Requirements
To complete the Academic Subject Certificate in Creative Media at Windward Community College, students need a total of 24 credits from the following courses :
Track A: Video Game Design
Base course:
JOUR 150 – Media and Society (DS)
Required courses:
ART/CM 126 – 3D Computer Graphics I (DA)
CM 142 – Introduction to Video Game Design
CM 242 – Video Game Design II (DA) (for 6 credits)
CM 271 – Games and Gaming in Society
CM 272 – Concepts in Game Design
Capstone course:
CM 295A – Careers in Video Game Design (DA)
Track B: Documentary (Non-Fiction) Filmmaking
Base course:
JOUR 150 – Media and Society (DS)
Required courses:
CM 120 – Introduction to Digital Video (DA)
CM 220 – Intermediate Digital Video (DA) (for 6 credits)
CM 255 – Introduction to Cinema and Digital Media (DH)
CM/JOUR 286 – Multimedia News Production (DA)
JOUR 200 – Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (DA)
Capstone course:
CM 295B – Careers in Filmmaking (DA)
Track C: Creative (Narrative) Filmmaking
Base course:
JOUR 150 – Media and Society (DS)
Required courses:
CM 120 -Introduction to Digital Video (DA)
CM/ENG 204C – Introduction to Creative Writing (Screenwriting) (DA)
CM 220 – Intermediate Digital Video (DA) (for 6 credits)
CM 255 – Introduction to Cinema and Digital Media (DH)
CM/THEA 223 – Introduction to Acting for Camera (DA)
Capstone courses:
CM 295B – Careers in Filmmaking (DA)
Electives
In addition to the required courses for the certificate, the following courses are encouraged as they provide foundational skills that will strengthen and diversify any content creator’s skill set.
ACC 201 – Introduction to Financial Accounting
ART 101 – Introduction to the Visual Arts
ART 107 – Introduction to Photography
ART 112 – Introduction to Digital Art
ART 113 – Introduction to Drawing
ART 114 – Introduction to Color
ART 115 – Introduction to 2D Design
ART 214 – Introduction to Life Drawing
CM/MUS 240 – Digital Music Production
CM/ENG 280 – Book Production: Pueo
ENG 100 – Composition I
ICS 101 – Digital Tools for the Information World
ICS 107 – Website Development
ICS 119 – Introduction to Social Media
ICS 123 – Introduction to Digital Audio/Video Production
ICS 203 – Digital Image Editing
ICS 207 – Building Web Applications
ICS 215 – Introduction to Scripting
JOUR 250 – Media Writing
JOUR 287V – Newspaper Production
THEA 101 – Introduction to Drama and Theatre
THEA 221 – Acting I
THEA 222 – Acting II
Program Overview
Windward Community College’s Academic Subject Certificate in Creative Media is aimed at students wanting to focus on video game design or filmmaking and teaches them the foundational skills of their craft so that they can produce a final project with professional equipment and conforming to professional standards. Upon completion of the 24-credit program, students will be prepared to launch their own entrepreneurial careers, to seek industry jobs or to pursue advanced academic study of their craft.
Currently, no campus in the UH System offers a focused program in video game design despite the fact that video games are a $11.7 billion industry in the United States. In addition, while there are campuses with digital video/cinema programs, there is no campus offering a focused program on documentary (non-fiction) filmmaking.
WCC’s academic subject certificate in filmmaking targets the aspiring independent filmmaker. Students in both the documentary and creative filmmaking tracks get an all-around education in producing, directing, cinematography, sound recording, editing as well as a grounding in the business, ethical and legal aspects of the industry to tell their own stories for a variety of platforms. In addition, given WCC’s unique location in the culturally rich Ko‘olau region, its large population of Native Hawaiian students and its mission to “support the access and educational needs of Native Hawaiians,” our filmmaking students have increased access, opportunities and resources to create films steeped in Native Hawaiian culture.
Students in the Academic Subject Certificate in Creative Media focus on video game design or filmmaking, learn the foundational skills of their craft, and produce a final project with professional equipment which conforms to professional standards. Upon completion of this 24-credit certificate, students will be prepared to launch their own entrepreneurial careers, to seek industry jobs or to pursue advanced academic study of their craft.
Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:
- Understand and properly use the vocabulary of their industry (filmmaking or video game design)
- Apply the technical skills of their industry and creative problem solving to produce a creative media product (a documentary short film, a fictional short film, or a video game)
- Develop a plan to take their creative media product to market
This certificate consists of a minimum 24 total credits with three different tracks of emphasis: Video Game Design, Documentary Filmmaking, and Creative Filmmaking.
For more info about Windward Community College’s program, please visit their site.
Contact an Advisor
Contact WCC Creative Media Committee Chair
Kimberlee Bassford
kbassfor@hawaii.edu.
