For many Media Communications students, the class “Producing for Film and TV” is a common choice to fill up their schedule. This year, the class has a new professor, James Krieg.
After working in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, Krieg is brand new to campus. He originally heard about Asbury from his friend, Andrea Nasfell, one of the professors in the Media Communications department. Interested in finding a university to teach at, he soon visited and was blown away by the opportunities offered. Krieg said, “It showed a real love of cinema that even in Los Angeles is hard to find. In some ways, there is more history of Hollywood in the Miller building than you can find here.”
Working as an online professor has its challenges. Krieg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Working mostly in animation and family content, he’s always been interested in teaching due to his extroverted personality. Krieg said being a teacher often “feels a little like an FM DJ. You have to get into the habit of encouraging the students to ask questions and get their opinion.” A lot of work is comedic and he appreciates the opportunity to interact with students and make them laugh.
After the first few weeks of teaching the class, Krieg feels right at home teaching the Producing class. He said, “That’s been really fun because each of them are producing a short film in conjunction with a team of film and directors. In some ways, it’s like what my job has been for years. I have been both a writer and a producer. As a producer, I have been brainstorming ideas with writers and giving them feedback. In a lot of ways, it is similar.”
The other class Krieg teaches at Asbury is Media Law and Ethics, a graduate level class. He said, “It’s about taking ethical paradigms and breaking down what they are very simply and then talking about film criticism and applying those ethical structures to the film clips we watch. Sometimes, films and television are acting on you in a cultural way that you are unaware of.” The class dives into the importance of storytelling and how it affects peoples’ worldviews and ideas.
When asked about his advice for those wanting to grow and study more in communications, Krieg said, “Wisely consume as much media as you can. Watch all of the films on the 100 best lists. Make an effort to know film history. Read some behind the scenes and learn about what the director’s intentions were at the time of making it.” He recognizes the importance of creativity and self expression in forming something that can impact society culturally.
Krieg said, “We are not artificial intelligence that just scrub the universe and then regurgitate it. But to a certain extent, there’s an element to that that we do do. That you have the ability to take in great scenes and acting and camera movement and music and use them to apply to your own work.” Training the next generation of filmmakers is something that he takes very seriously and sees a long term benefit for the future.
Despite some of the many trials and struggles, Krieg has high hopes for the year and what is to come. “I am hopeful that my students look past all of the glitches and mistakes that I’m making now and at least see the heart behind it.”
Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
