MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment has launched a new Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television program designed to prepare students for advanced creative roles.

In the June episode of “Out of the Blue,” MTSU’s television program, host and Vice President of Marketing and Communications Andrew Oppmann, sits down with program director Allie Sultan to discuss the impact of this new program, which is the only one of its kind among Tennessee public universities.

Sultan said this new program has been years in the making before it officially launches this fall. “Ever since I came here in 2014, we’ve been talking about this program, and dreaming about it, and it’s finally come into reality,” Sultan said.

The new program is an intensive 15-student cohort that will be making film and television productions in a workshop-oriented environment.

“They will learn some theory, history and aesthetics to ground themselves as thoughtful filmmakers who are making impactful work,” explained Sultan. “But really, a lot of what they’re doing is creating; they’re writing their own shows; they’re developing and producing them and working together. Each student will have a different interest.”

Watch the full segment below:

One of the program’s main focuses is helping students learn to work as a team to achieve their creative goals.

“We have created this MFA as a workforce development initiative. We worked with the state of Tennessee, we’ve worked with an industry advisory board made up of professionals in film and television from across the state,” Sultan said. “Our goal is to work with the industry to train the high-level creatives who are going to create these series produced in Tennessee. We want to build the industry, and that’s what our plan and vision are for our students.”

Sultan said Middle Tennessee is becoming a hub for television and film production.

“We found in an impact study that there is a great need for producers, directors and editors in Middle Tennessee. There’s a lot of growth in our local entertainment. …During the process, I found Tennessee is fifth in the nation for film and television employment. I think a lot of that has to do with being an entertainment hub, and Middle Tennessee is growing and projected to grow over the next decade.”

Students in the MFA program will have access to tools such as a state-of-the-art XR Stage, among other professional-grade equipment.

“The XR Stage is the same technology they used to film ‘The Mandalorian and Dune.’ We have it for our students to use, and we’ve started teaching courses with it.”

For more information about the new film and television MFA program offered in MTSU’s Department of Media Arts, visit mediaarts.mtsu.edu. Applications are being accepted until Aug. 1.  

Ways to watch, listen

• “Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

• It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; WKRN+ at 7 p.m. Thursdays and noon Sundays; via streaming on MTSU’s Jazz Network on WMOT HD2 and through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.

• Episodes are also available as a podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, iHeart and as individual interview segments on primary host Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.

— DeAnn Hays ([email protected])