Cinematic Arts joins EchoLight Studios

The new partnership will provide state-of-the-art equipment for potential Liberty filmmakers

Studio — A Cinematic Arts student works with a professional camera in one of the school’s production studios. Photo credit: Lauren Adriance

The Cinematic Arts department at Liberty University recently formed an agreement with EchoLight Studios, a major force in the Christian film-making industry, which will allow students to gain real world experience in the world of cinema.

“When I came to Liberty, I quickly immersed myself within the Christian community of filmmakers,” Executive Director of the Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center (ZGCAC) Stephan Schultze said.

According to Schultze, the relationship between EchoLight and himself has been growing over time and that made it an easy fit to connect their mission of developing marketable films for the Christian audience to Liberty’s Cinematic Arts program.

Schultze was originally referred to the studio through Assistant Professor of the Cinematic Arts Scotty Curlee, who is known for his full-length feature film “The Potential Inside.” The film was produced by EchoLight and has been distributed in the U.S. and 13 other countries.

“I’ve seen EchoLight at festivals,” Schultze said. “I talked to them, and we started developing a friendship and getting to know each other better. They approached me about making movies for them, and I said, ‘I’m pretty happy in my job at Liberty University, but we’ve got a great student body if you’d like to be a part of allowing students to work on feature films.’”

According to Schultze, this relationship satisfies the Cinematic Arts curriculum’s design to get students credit and experience on a feature film prior to graduating.

“EchoLight Studios welcomed that idea and they’re very excited about the opportunity to work around Liberty and with the students here,” Schultze said.

According to Schultze, when he set up and designed a curriculum to do feature films, he did not have a partner. He just went in with his faith, believing that something would happen, and now a door had been opened.

A multi-million-dollar contract was drawn to include a five-year plan to finance, produce and distribute five full-length feature films alongside Liberty Motion Pictures.

Christopher Morrow, EchoLight’s chief global strategist and co-founder, said that the firm was formed “to do it all — to finance, produce and distribute — to reach people in all the ways they watch movies wherever they are in the world.

“(EchoLight) is, I think, the only Christian film distribution company in the world that actually is willing to fund the movies they distribute, as opposed to just picking them up after the filmmakers finish them. That is why this is such a unique relationship,” Schultze said. “They want to be a part of supporting the educational process here and are willing to take the risk with us.”

Students in the Cinematic Arts department will receive substantial credit for their resumes, and will be well-advanced in experience in the field of filmmaking compared to students graduating from other film schools.

“At the scale that students are going to get this experience, they usually won’t get this for about five years into their career,” Schultze said.

For more information on the Cinematic Arts department, visit them at liberty.edu or contact them at cinema@liberty.edu. For information on EchoLight Studios, visit echolight.com.

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