Asbury Becomes First School in U.S. to Receive ARRI Certification

July 11, 2024

In July, Asbury University received recognition as the nation’s only ARRI Certified Film School, joining the ranks of a select few other institutions around the world. According to ARRI’s website, “The ARRI Certified Film School Program is an opportunity for film schools to benefit from ARRI Academy’s education resources for a full year and to pass those benefits on to their students.”

Approximately 80% of top grossing films are shot on ARRI cameras, and close to 65% of all award-winning films at the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival are shot on ARRI cameras.

“Since ARRI is a film industry leader, it has been exciting to partner with them on certification,” said Dean of the School of Communication Arts Dr. Jim Owens ’79. “It is exciting that our faculty will be able to provide certification training to others in Kentucky to help build the film crew base in the state. Asbury students can have the ability to graduate with an ARRI certification on their resumé, which should make them more marketable in the film industry.”

Upon joining the program, film school teachers participated in a “train the trainer” class, designed to enhance their knowledge of ARRI camera and lighting techniques. Asbury professors Sarah Leckie ’03 Hogencamp and David Whitaker ’10 received ARRI training in Germany with access to ARRI Academy’s vast array of educational materials, allowing them to follow predesigned training courses or create their own. Enrolled film schools become officially certified by ARRI and are licensed to issue ARRI Academy certificates to students and professional film crew members in Kentucky.

“As the first school in the U.S. to achieve ARRI certification, we are empowering our students to become industry leaders with comprehensive expertise in premier technology,” Hogencamp said.

Owens shares the value of getting an education at Asbury.

“I believe Asbury’s film program is unique in that we offer an incredible breadth of classes that are taught by academically qualified faculty who also bring years of professional film experience to the classroom,” he said. “We prepare our students with the highest-level cameras and related film gear in the industry within an incredible facility that includes backlots, sound stages, Atmos audio, and virtual production. Adding professional experience opportunities to this combination provides Asbury media students who are well-prepared to enter the film industry.”

Last year, Asbury students worked on “Mr. Manhattan,” a feature film shot (on two ARRI cameras) in Kentucky and New York. Produced by Brady Nasfell ’93 and written by Andrea Gyertson ’95 Nasfell, the film premiered in May at the Kentucky Theatre and is available through Great American Pure Flix.

ARRI remains dedicated to connecting creativity and future technologies for moving images, providing the global entertainment industry with state-of-the-art camera systems, lenses, lighting, rental services, as well as virtual production and broadcast solutions. Learn more.

The Asbury University Media, Journalism, and Digital Storytelling department offers majors in Media Communication and Multimedia Journalism. Online majors include Digital Content Creation and Instructional Design & Media. Graduate programs include the M.A. in Digital Storytelling; the M.A. in Instructional Design, Innovation & Leadership; the MFA in Film & Television Production; and the MFA in Screenwriting.