Brooks Institute, officially known as Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara & Ventura in California, is a fine option for all those aspiring photographers, photojournalists, film makers, and graphic designers who want to shine in a career out of dull and monotonous professions. Those who don not intend to mere earn for a living and want to contribute to the world by their visual arts form, Brooks Institute is the perfect destination to start from for shaping the career and polishing the talent.
The institute has two hubs, one in Santa Barbara and another in Ventura. Brooks offer 8 courses in total, 4 major courses, 2 certificate courses, and 2 graduate courses. Master of fine arts in photography course and professional photography course is offered at Santa Barbara branch, which is the older branch of the institute, and film & video production, visual journalism, master of fine arts in screenwriting, graphic designing, digital cinema, and wedding photography course are offered at the Ventura branch.
Earnest H. Brooks Senior found the Brooks Institute of Photography post World War II, in 1945, in Santa Barbara, California. The initial location of the Brooks was above a bakery in State Street, Santa Barbara.
Post Earnest H. Brook senior, his son Earnest H. Brook junior became the president of the institute. Brook junior was passionate about under water still and video photography. He introduced the program in the institute. In 1980’s a team of the aspiring photographers of Brooks Institute photographed the Shroud of Turin under for study and documentation, under the supervisory of Prof. Vernon Miller.
In 1999, Brooks junior sold the institute to Career Education Corporation. CEC expanded the institute and purchased an older production studio to house the institute’s motion picture courses.
Location
Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, is 100miles towards north from Los Angeles Airport. Brooks Institute, Ventura, is at 30miles towards south of Santa Barbara and 70miles towards north of Los Angeles.
Program Detail
Brooks Institute California facilitates 8 different academic courses. The students should be pursuing some of the basic general academic courses available on the campus, besides the visual courses. The basic academic courses are customized to prepare the students for a more efficient and successful professional life. Career counseling, seminars, and excellent faculty prepare the students of the Brooks. Credits are given according to the global educational standards.
The offered visual courses at the Brooks in Santa Barbara are :
Professional Photography
This program is tailored to specialize the students in commercial photography, portraiture photography, advertising photography, industrial/scientific photography, digital media, and digital imaging.
Master of Fine Arts in Photography
This program is a 2year duration course, specializing the students in practical, aesthetic, and higher and better technical knowledge in the field of photography. This program has 61 credits for the 2year duration.
The offered visual courses at the Brooks in Ventura are :
Visual Journalism
This program focuses on training the best of Photojournalism. Students of this program are taken abroad for excursion and shoot for their documentaries, then they come back to California and edit for the presentation.
Design
This program trains the students in the best technicalities of web designing.
Wedding Photography Certificate Program
This 8months’ course specializes the students in the skill of wedding photography art, training them in the marketing tools and strategy.
Film and Video Production
This course prepares the students with complete film making knowledge. Production technicalities, budgeting, directing, editing, script writing, and other techniques included in the process. Majoring in the program facilitates learning commercial film making, feature film making, animation, and creating visual effects.
Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting
This course program was introduced in 2009, keeping pace to cop up with changing time and trend and endowing the students training them in screenwriting of Hollywood standards.
Digital Cinema Certificate Program
This 8months’ program trains the students to specialize in the growing trend of digital film making, and 16mm film making.
Campus
Brooks Institute has 2 campuses, the older one is in Santa Barbara and the newer one is in Ventura, California. Both campuses feature great facilities for the students. Both Santa Barbara and Ventura campuses have libraries endowed with a grand collection of books, journals, and magazines from all over the world on all topics related to the programs on the campus and even more. The Brooks has 2 public galleries where works by students, guest photographers, alumni, and faculty of the Brooks are displayed. One of the galleries is in Santa Barbara, called Brooks Institute’s Gallery 27, situated at the Cota Street of Santa Barbara campus. The other is in Marriott Ventura Beach of Ventura campus, called the Visions Gallery.
Previous to the institute’s establishment on the plot, the place was used for Hollywood movies’ sets. Even today the Brooks, Ventura, has 3 Hollywood styled stages with all the facilities of lights and sound.
Notable Names From The Brooks
Since the very beginning of The Brooks, the institute has given noteworthy names in world of visual art. The names include Isidore Mankofsky, the eyes behind Somewhere In Time and The Muppet Movie. Robert Lageto, the master eyes behind Titanic, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone, The Aviator, and many more is also a graduate from the Brooks. Many more noteworthy names could be found on the alumni and faculty list of the Brooks.
For further details about Brooks Institute please log into the official website of the Brooks school of photography.
