Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema

Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
Offices at the corner of Guy and Ste. Catherine
Location
1250, rue Guy, FB 319 Montreal, Quebec
Information
Type	Public
Established	1997
President	Mel Hoppenheim
Faculty	approx. 40
Enrollment	animation: 45; film production: 60; film studies: 75; MA film studies: 15; MFA studio arts: 8
Campus	Urban
Information	514-848-2424 (ext. 4666)
Website	Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema

The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, a division of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University, is a film school located in Montreal, Quebec.^[1] It is informally identified as MHSoC, and accepts 200 students a year, for study in the fields of animation, film production and film studies. It is the largest, university-based centre for the study of film animation, film production and film studies in Canada.^[2]

History

Mel Hoppenheim founded Panavision (Canada) in 1965. Providing cameras and other shooting equipment, Mel was soon traveling all over the world to equip ever more elaborate productions. After six years of success in his hometown of Montreal, Mel decided to open a second technical installation in Toronto in 1972. A Vancouver facility followed in 1977. Still committed to what he saw as Montreal’s vast and largely untapped potential and possibility for the production industry, Mel acquired the historic Theatre Expo de la Cité du Havre in 1988. Building five state-of-the-art studios, he soon had created the most modern of facilities available to the Canadian film and television industry. Mel’s Cité du Cinéma was born.^[3]

In 1997, Mel donated $1 million to Montreal’s Concordia University, which was subsequently used to open the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. Mel and his partners have also helped in the development of Montreal’s Institut National de l’Image et du Son (INIS), a well-known and respected private school for the development of world-class writers, directors and producers for film and television.^[4]

Facilities

The MHSoC constitutes facilities featuring interactive teaching environments, shooting studios, professional screening rooms, Avid editing, Pro Tools sound editing, sound recording and mixing studios, sound archives, digital animation labs, and a full complement of digital and analog equipment.

Departments

The Cinema School offers three areas of study: Film Animation, Film Production and Film Studies. The School's programmes are distinguished from many others in cinema by the fact that we are a part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and each programme approaches the subject matter primarily as a means of artistic expression. Consequently, a central aim of these programmes is to prepare students to become filmmakers, film animators or film historians/critics/theorists who have a two fold awareness: on the one hand, of the artistic and cultural potential of their medium and, on the other, of its history and traditions. A B.F.A. in Art History and Film Studies is also offered jointly with the Art History Department.

References

1. ^ http://cinema.concordia.ca/index.php/about/#25
2. ^ http://cinema.concordia.ca/index.php/about/#21
3. ^ http://www.micheltrudel.tv/bio_mels_full.html
4. ^ http://www.micheltrudel.tv/bio_mels_full.html

External links

• Official website
• Concordia University Website