San Juan College Film and Media Day spotlights local creative careers

A student-made short film, a live drone demonstration and a lineup of career paths in film, music production and digital media turned San Juan College’s Film and Media Day into a workforce showcase in Farmington.

The free event ran from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. in the college’s 7103 Conference Room and was designed to bring together students, aspiring filmmakers, faculty, alumni, community members and industry professionals. San Juan College framed the day as more than a celebration of movies, using it to show how creative work can translate into jobs, technical training and real production experience in San Juan County.

The strongest local example came from the San Juan College Film Club, which won first place in the Community Track at the Film Four Corners competition. The winning team, Rouge 5, created a short film under a limited deadline, a format that mirrors the speed and pressure of professional production. One of the club’s award-winning films by Robert Martinez was screened as part of the day’s program, while upcoming Film Club projects were also discussed.

The college also used the event to connect media work with technology training. A live drone demonstration from Zia Drones added a hands-on piece to the schedule and tied film production to aerial imaging, one of the fastest-growing technical skills in modern video work. That connection matters in a county where visual storytelling, marketing and content production are increasingly overlapping with drone operations, editing and sound.

San Juan College has built that pipeline into its degree programs. Its Small Unmanned Aerial Systems associate degree can be completed in two years and prepares students for FAA Remote Pilot certification. The program page says it also partners with the Film and Digital Media Arts program so students can use drones in film shoots and other media. The Digital Media Arts and Design associate degree can also be completed in as little as two years and prepares students for work in film, web and graphic design, social media and video production. The program includes a green screen studio and a photography studio.

The college’s own history adds to the workforce picture. Zia Drone Operations, LLC was formed in early 2021 by three San Juan College students after they met in an unmanned aerial systems class, showing how campus training has already spun off local business activity. San Juan College and Four Corners Economic Development have also highlighted student-made film showcase projects tied to San Juan County, including work by Kamea Cooper with drone footage by Zia Drones.

Together, the screenings, drone demo and degree programs showed how San Juan College is trying to keep creative careers rooted in the Four Corners region, with training that starts in the classroom and reaches into the local industry.