Georgia State students have another opportunity to gain professional experience while gaining the valuable credits necessary for graduation. Georgia State announced that Tom Luse, a film veteran, will teach a course and work with students on a feature project that students produce.
Luse is an alumnus who has produced and was the executive producer of the AMC hit show, “The Walking Dead,” from 2010 to 2019. Luse also has many producer credits that span four decades on many notable works.
Georgia State also said in 2019, Luse became an artist-in-residence at the university’s CMII. The institute allows students to learn from professionals in their desired fields. Some of the professionals that students have been mentored by in the past include Dallas Austin and Ludacris.
The university said that the program taught by Luse will begin in Spring 2023. The program will focus on students working on-camera and off as part of the cast and crew of a film he co-wrote with Georgia State screenwriting students Malik Jones and Sydney Norman. The experience will be under the supervision of Professor Susan-Sojourna Collier.
Students will have the opportunity to earn 15-credit hours and have the professional experience to put on their resumes.
Brennan S. Dicker, executive director of CMII, told Georgia State, “We’ve created a curriculum that allows students who are involved in the feature film to have all their classes focused around the feature for that one semester,” Dicker said. “We’re trying to bring 25 to 30 students together and create a project that immerses them and gives them the real-world experience of shooting a feature film.”
Luse will use his professional experience and knowledge to guide students in creating a feature film. Luse told Georgia State that the course would be full of new and emerging technology and new content creation methods. He states that the system will cover film preparation, filming, and post-production all in one semester.
According to Luse, the staff expects students to participate in internships or workshops before the class. Throughout the course, students will have mentors from the industry.
People interested in this class have many opportunities to gain more insight and an overview of this new course.
Susan G. Reid, professor of practice in acting and directing, told Georgia State that students chosen for on-screen parts will be able to enroll in a Fall 2022 course focused on the feature film.
Reid said, “It’s like an internship, but it goes even deeper. These students will not be assisting, and they’ll be doing the work. They will be creating the film.”
