Columbia College
colum.edu
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The gleaming new Media Production Center at 1600 S. State is the jewel in the crown for Columbia College, by some measures the largest film school in the U.S., with 4,200 students in its School of Media Arts, which also includes TV and interactive media. Jeanne Gang (creator of the Aqua Tower on Columbus Drive) designed the $21 million, 35,500-square-foot center to facilitate collaboration across media disciplines, with two shooting stages, a motion-capture studio, animation suites, and shops for building props and costumes. Once almost strictly a commuter school, Columbia now shares downtown dorm space with Roosevelt and DePaul, offering a residential experience for students from Chicago and elsewhere. Alumni include Oscar-winning cinematographers Janusz Kaminski (Schindler’s List) and Mauro Fiore (Avatar), director George Tillman and producer Bob Teitel (Notorious), comedians Bob Odenkirk and Andy Richter, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, HBO Films president Len Amato, and rapper/actor Common.
