This study examined the educational process of instructors teaching film and video production in higher education. Little research has been dedicated to this field of study. As technology advances and the cost of equipment recedes, educational programs in film and video production will experience growth, transformation, and population. Educational leadership and faculty responsible for these programs experience pressure to stay current with trends and technology while building and maintaining these types of programs; thus, the examination of these programs’ structures and practices are worthwhile endeavors. In addition, expanded markets for educated professionals in film and video production are being sought not only by the motion picture industry, but also by locally and globally focused businesses that are also searching for film and video production specialists capable of projecting brands and telling the story of such organizations.

Film and video production is a balance of creative collaboration and technical competencies. It has also been suggested that film and video production is built upon complex processes that incorporate higher order thinking skills. An avenue for the attainment and refinement of these types of skills is found in a liberal arts education. Thus, it is important to explore how moving image content producers are educated regarding liberal arts outcomes.

This qualitative study focused on how instructors teaching film and video production are embedding the goals of a liberal arts education in their programs. The assessment process was examined by employing a collective case study of participants with experience instructing film and video production while assessing liberal arts outcomes. The unique perspectives that were offered by the participants in this study produced findings that suggest a variety of methods are required to assess the complexities of both the filmmaking process and the projected liberal arts learning outcomes.

Three categories of specific inquiry framed the data collection process: foundational information of assessment, assessment of liberal arts domains and assessment of the “4C’s” (Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking). Themes and categories emerged from the data offered by the participants. Bloom’s Taxonomy Revised (2001) was applied as a theoretical framework to further examine the data. This lens produced discussion and analysis that led to grouping individual liberal arts outcomes with processes, actions and key indicators used to measure these outcomes.

The findings highlighted the challenges and successes that participants had with the assessment process. Implications for practice addressed the following themes. First is administrative leadership, which focuses on institutional leadership and the challenges that instructors have with assessment in film and video production education. Strategies are highlighted which suggest specific administrative support is needed to yield more effective and efficient results with assessment in this field. Second is the need to address the formal educational process of instructors teaching in film and video production programs in higher education. Third is classroom instruction, which includes tips, techniques and methods that are used in the assessment process of film and video production. Several recommendations were offered for future studies. One, in particular, addresses the previous concern of the lack of formal research in this field. Foundational evidence and guidance is also provided regarding continued examination of instruction, assessment and student learning in the field of film and video production education.