Throughout the year, Fresh Films, a film company on Augustana’s campus, has been working with the school to get an approval on the certificate program they plan to introduce to campus this coming fall. 
The certificate program, which will be approved within the next month, is designed to allow students from all majors to see how they can apply their studies to the film industry.  “Having the entertainment and media certificate launch…is really going to be about letting students see how huge this industry is” stated Kelli Feigley one of the heads of Fresh Films.
According to Feigley, the certificate program should be starting up fall term 2017 with the class Media Production 201 as a gateway into the program.  In the class, students will produce music videos for actual bands, with no experience needed.  “[Media Production 201] will be a really good experience,” Feigley said. “[The students] will be working with a real client.”
Other classes that the program will include are a scriptwriting class, Marketing 320, an accounting class and a directing class. A 3D animation class will also be added in 2018.  
During their time on campus so far, Fresh Films has already exposed some students to the breadth of the film industry, as they have hosted a number of interns from a variety of different majors including accounting, marketing, communication, and business.  
“I know nothing about film” began current accounting intern William Fabyan. “But then, having the chance to work in film but at the same time applying my accounting skills will…naturally allow me to learn…how [film] works.”
Fabyan explained that this certificate program will give students across all fields a chance to apply what they are already doing to something new, and gain more knowledge for the future. Allowing students to experience new ways to use the skills they already have will help them expand their own personal range of talents.  
“This program…would be like testing the waters for you, like ‘Oh let me just try to see if I would like to learn something [about the film industry],’” Fabyan stated.
Fresh Films and Augustana will continue to work together in approving and setting up classes for the certificate program.  In fact, both the film company and the college are working to put a global industry class through approval next spring to allow students to experience another facet of the film industry.
As for the near future, along with the continuation of the certificate program, Fresh Films will be working on several projects including TV pilots during their summer program this year.  But for the most part, Kelli Feigley explained, “[we want to] continue surprising people.”