Laine Nelson is a graduate student studying acting at UF's College of Theatre and Dance who says he's been waiting for a chance to study film more intensively.
"A greater focus on it would be so appreciated," he says.
He may soon get a chance. A decision by the UF Board of Trustees approved a partnership between UF and Full Sail University in Orlando, where the entertainment arts are the main focus. The reason behind the merger is, quite simply, making the students more marketable.
UF News Bureau Director Steve Orlando says "because the market is changing so quickly now and there's so much talk about job creation and being responsive to the market, we thought well why not go ahead and look at what they have...rather than trying to create these programs ourselves...why not just go into a collaboration with somebody who already has them."
If the program does go through as planned, acting students like Laine Nelson would also get insight into the business side of the industry in addition to its artistry.
"To be familiarized with business would probably help a lot in understanding as an actor what these people who are going to be asking you to work with them are going to be looking for."
Also studying at UF is film actress Michelle Bellaver.
"You have the art of film making," she says. "You have the art and science of acting. There's an art to acting, there's also a science to it. There's technique and as actors you learn all of that. And being able to bring those two fields together, bringing a filmmaker together with an actor, you're really getting the best of both worlds."
Two worlds that bring the magic of film making to life.