Amy Adrion

Assistant Professor

School of Film and Animation

College of Art and Design

aaapph@rit.edu

Office Hours

By Appointment

Office Location

GAN-2270

Amy Adrion

Assistant Professor

School of Film and Animation

College of Art and Design

Education

BA, Georgetown University; MFA, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Bio

Amy Adrion is a director and writer whose work has screened at the Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca Film Festivals, been broadcast on STARZ, PBS and MTV, and won numerous awards.

HALF THE PICTURE, Amy’s debut feature, celebrates the groundbreaking work of women film directors and had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. HALF THE PICTURE was released theatrically by Gravitas Ventures and has been sold to broadcast networks around the world.

HALF THE PICTURE won the #WhatNext Award at Sundance: London, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Lighthouse Film Festival and the Impact Award at the Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival. Amy won a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Student Film Award for her narrative short SHOEGAZER, which was Executive Produced by Miranda July.

Amy is currently writing a coming-of-age script about a high school girls basketball team, is in early production on a documentary about modern day cowgirls in Colorado, and is attached to direct PICANTE, a wild, feminist Western about a motley crew of rebellious prostitutes in the Old West.

Amy is a graduate of the MFA Film Directing program at UCLA, with an undergraduate degree in Literature and Theology from Georgetown University.

aaapph@rit.edu

Personal Links

Personal Website

Areas of Expertise

Film Production

Select Scholarship

Shows/Exhibits/Installations

Adrion, Amy. I'M NOT SCARED, YOU'RE SCARED! Director: Amy Adrion. 18 Apr. 2022. Online, New York, NY. Exhibit.

Adrion, Amy. Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo. 6 Dec. 2021. online, Storyline Online, All. Performance.

Adrion, Amy. TROMBONE SHORTY, Storyline Online. Director. Amy Adrion. 20 May 2020. https://www.storylineonline.net, Online. Performance.

Currently Teaching

SOFA-101

Production

3 Credits

A fundamental course in non-synchronous film production and an introduction to digital video editing. Filmmaking is presented as a means of interpretation and expression. This course combines technical information in motion picture exposure and editing with a theoretical and practical approach to motion picture continuity. Production is in non-sync format and post-production is digital software. Students furnish film, tape and processing. **Fee: There is a lab free required for this course. **

SOFA-105

Documentary Field Practices

4 Credits

This foundation level course introduces students to documentary film as a creative and socially engaging form of storytelling. In addition to aesthetic and conceptual skills, production techniques focus on the ability to develop filming strategies, gathering clean sound, filming to edit, and interviewing skills. In addition, the relationship between filmmaker and subject, will be examined, including the ethical challenges of representing real life subjects. Critical thinking skills will be employed as we analyze the different styles of documentary film. Students will work in small documentary crews out in the field learning the use of microphones, field lighting, handheld and other non-traditional camerawork, selecting/interviewing documentary subjects and capturing material with proper coverage in order to build scenes in the edit room.

SOFA-211

Documentary Workshop

4 Credits

Students will make a short documentary film on a subject they choose. Students plan for pre-production including research, contacting possible subjects, and writing a project proposal. During the production phase of the film, students will learn interviewing skills, how to direct a documentary crew, and how to work with their subjects. During post production, students will learn how to organize their material into a short film. Students will complete projects for screening at the end of the semester.

SOFA-212

Fiction Workshop

4 Credits

Students will direct short fiction projects using either film or digital media and also serve on the production crew for other projects. Students specializing in a cinematic craft will work in important creative capacities (cinematography, editing, and sound) on two or more projects. Students are encouraged to explore individual styles and concepts. Intensive pre-production protocol and documentation are followed. Students will devise how to best translate a screenplay into a fleshed-out motion-media dramatic experience. Acumen in areas such as shot selection, performance motivation, and resource management will be necessary. Editing and sound design will be completed as well. Students will complete projects for screening at the end of the semester.

SOFA-306

Senior Capstone Seminar

2 Credits

Students are guided through the process of composing a successful Senior Capstone proposal. Students conceive and develop projects through idea to script. Craft students develop collaborative plans and mood boards. A draft of a written proposal with script will be presented in the fall to faculty for signatures and approval. This course is a pre-requisite for Production Capstone (SOFA-416 Production Capstone I and SOFA-417 Production Capstone II).

SOFA-416

Production Capstone I

4 Credits

The first of two classes designed to advance students toward the completion of a capstone. It will advance students from capstone proposal toward the completion of a project. Students will also take part in weekly critiques to present their work and discuss the work of their classmates. At the completion of this course, students should be at the halfway point of their set project.

SOFA-417

Production Capstone II

4 Credits

This course will lead students toward the completion of their capstone. Students will take part in weekly critiques, present their work, and discuss the work of their classmates. At the end of this course, students will complete their capstone and take part in a public screening of their finished work or craft experience.

SOFA-506

Production In-Progress Screening

1 Credits

This course will allow students the opportunity to receive additional feedback on their capstone project. The course content will take place over a one-week or one-weekend experience during the semester.

SOFA-526

Writing the Short

3 Credits

This course will explore the short screenplay as its own genre and as a stepping-stone to writing longer forms. Students will improve their ability to develop goals and obstacles and, thereby, create a complete narrative journey. Students will write approximately fifteen-minute film or animation scripts. Film scripts may be used in production courses.

SOFA-562

Film History

3 Credits

This course examines selected, varying film topics in a wider socio-historical context. Seminar themes change each year and may include topics such as post-war German film, films of the Holocaust, Japanese film, surrealist and magic realist film, Soviet film, Native Americans on film, etc. Students are expected to participate actively in the course discussions.

SOFA-599

SOFA Independent Study

1 - 6 Credits

SOFA Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.

SOFA-662

Film History

3 Credits

This course examines selected, varying film topics in a wider socio-historical context. Seminar themes change each year and may include topics such as post-war German film, films of the Holocaust, Japanese film, Surrealist and Magic Realist film, Soviet film, Native Americans on film, etc. Students are expected to participate actively in the course discussions.

SOFA-799

Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study

1 - 4 Credits

Film and Animation Graduate Independent Study will provide students with the ability to study in a specialized area with an individual faculty member. Students, with the assistance of a faculty adviser, should propose a course of study or project with clearly defined deliverables. Students must obtain permission of an instructor and complete the Independent Study Permission Form to enroll. Student must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA to apply.

In the News

August 7, 2023

Discussing the new film, "Barbie"

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Amy Adrion, assistant professor in the School of Film and Animation.
June 21, 2023

2023 summer movie preview

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Amy Adrion, assistant professor in the School of Film and Animation.
April 19, 2023

Rochester’s past, present and potential future involvement with the film industry

WXXI’s “Connections” program features Amy Adrion, assistant professor in the School of Film and Animation, and Amanda Hughes, technology and studio manager in RIT's MAGIC Center.

More News

Featured Work

HALF THE PICTURE

Amy Adrion

HALF THE PICTURE celebrates the groundbreaking work of female film directors and investigates the systemic discrimination that has denied opportunities to far too many talented women in Hollywood. ...

NEVER PLAY MUSIC RIGHT NEXT TO THE ZOO

Amy Adrion

Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo is written and read by John Lithgow and illustrated by Leeza Hernandez. Directed & Produced by Amy Adrion Storyline Online, Executive Produced by the SAG...

TROMBONE SHORTY

Amy Adrion

Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age...