Cinematographer/Filmmaker with Experience in Digital Cinema Production and Lighting

The Program in Film and Video at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) seeks a full-time faculty member with an emphasis in cinematography, digital cinema production and lighting.

Faculty in the Program in Film and Video are expected to be versatile, with an ability to encourage and inspire moving image work that is not restricted to conventional genres and may include documentary, observational, narrative and experimental filmmaking. Students in the Program in Film and Video create works individually and collectively, from small to large scale. We are looking for a colleague who can guide and develop the cinematography curriculum, and we welcome applications from candidates who have significant knowledge of current cinematographic practices and who embrace a thoughtful engagement with aesthetics and critical analysis of the moving image and questions of representation. The position will require teaching courses in cinematography and lighting at introductory through advanced levels as well as courses related to the artist’s field of interest.

In particular, we seek applicants with a love of teaching, who are engaged with international cinema forms or practice and/or whose work foregrounds the diasporic experience of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or Disabled communities.

CalArts seeks to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking. We welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.

Program in Film and Video:

The BFA and MFA tracks in this program are designed for students who use film and video as media for personal expression and exploration—those artists for whom independent film and video is a calling and not simply a mode of production.

In the workshop environment, each student develops and refines his or her practice as a respected member of a community of artists. Individually and collectively, the program’s faculty is broad in its sympathies and interests. The program supports an unparalleled breadth of work—from personal essays and political documentaries to experiments in narrative, from lyrical and abstract films to installation and expanded cinema. Students acquire a full range of technical and practical skills, learn to think critically about their chosen media, and work to develop a precise language and aesthetic for personal articulation.

The faculty maintains that, as filmmaker Fernando Solanas once put it, “The possibility of making a new cinema completely outside the system depends on whether or not filmmakers can transform themselves from ‘directors’ into total filmmakers. And no one can become a total filmmaker without being a film technician, without being capable of handling the production.” To enable students to understand the fundamental processes of film and video production, the first years of both the undergraduate and graduate curricula are devoted to rigorous technical training, including core workshops in film and video production, editing workflows, sound production and design. These workshops also help students to acquire a valuable set of vocational skills—abilities that can serve as a future means of financial support as graduates of the program pursue their own personal work.

Responsibilities include
  • Class preparation, classroom instruction and grading
  • Student mentoring, providing mentor reports at the end of each year
  • Participation in curriculum development with program faculty
  • Attending faculty meetings
  • Committee service
  • Maintaining a professional practice
  • Maintaining up to date knowledge of technical advances in the field of Cinematography
  • Various other duties, as assigned by the Program Director and the Dean


Requirements

We seek a colleague with an MFA or relevant experience in the field, a demonstrated record of professional cinematography, and a minimum of one year of teaching experience.

How to Apply

This position has a starting date on or after July 1, 2022, and in time for the start of the Fall semester. Review of applications will begin on 12/30/21. For full consideration please apply by that date. Please go to this link to apply: https://apply.interfolio.com/99044 . All submissions are confidential.

Please provide:
  • A cover letter that describes your interest in the position, relevant qualifications, and approach to teaching,
  • A statement on your past and potential contributions to anti-racist teaching and/or diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
  • A syllabus for a course that reflects your interests as a cinematographer and teacher.
  • A statement that details your technical experience with digital cameras and lighting.
  • A current CV.
  • Links to three or four work samples.
  • Names and contact information for three references.


Salary Range

Reflecting its experimental mission and commitment to non-hierarchical pedagogy, CalArts does not have a conventional tenure-rank system but offers renewable multi-year contracts, a step-based faculty salary advancement plan (FSAP, 2021-22*) and a merit program. Starting salary for this position is in the range of $67,650 - $82,000, depending on experience. Compensation also includes full benefits and a paid creative leave semester every 7 years.

For more information about FSAP and merit policy at CalArts: https://calarts.edu/academics/office-of-the-provost/faculty-affairs/faculty-recruitment