Faculty
Outstanding Faculty Award Winner - Ryan Corrigan
Ryan Corrigan graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
with a BA in Communications and a focus on Film Studies. He has
worked in Los Angeles in all corners of the film industry, notably
serving as a staff writer on the Yahoo! web series Ghost Ghirls and
working as an editor for Adam McKay’s Yellow Dot Studios.
Do you currently work in the industry?
I currently
work in the film industry on a freelance basis, most recently serving
as a video editor for Adam McKay's Yellow Dot Studios, a non-profit
production house that seeks to spread awareness of the existential
dangers of climate change through satire. Right up my alley! And when
the WGA isn't striking, I'm usually trying to find work as a
screenwriter or peddle my scripts around town. Both of these avenues
provide me with plenty of experiences that I apply to teaching. As an
editor, I'm constantly in touch with the same editing programs that
my students use, and as a writer, I'm obsessively focused on the
importance of story in crafting quality content, no matter the
platform. Movies, novels, TikTok — the format is inconsequential. A
good story captivates the viewer every time.
Do you have a particular style or philosophy about teaching?
My
personal teaching philosophy is to keep it fun. I find that students
are most thoroughly engaged when the class is entertaining, so we
watch a lot of movie clips to illustrate the filmmaking principles
we're discussing. My students also get to make a lot of videos of
their own throughout the quarter, because when it comes down to it,
nothing is as fun as getting your hands on your equipment and making
something brand new with your friends.
