Communication, Media & Theatre Arts

Biography

Brooke Dagnan is a filmmaker, editor, and experimental media artist. Her creative work focuses on documentary film production, experimental film, and interactive new media. She has worked as a publications photographer, video designer and film editor in both the creative and corporate worlds. Brooke's most recent project, Sale Barn, is a captivating glimpse into one of the longest-running auction houses in the country, a hometown-auction held weekly at the Hillsdale County Fairgrounds in Hillsdale, Michigan.

Past projects include, serving as editor of Turning Point, a documentary chronicling the lives of students at Waite High School in East Toledo, and The PIX Film Project, an interactive, experimental film kiosk programmed entirely in Max/MSP and Jitter. The PIX was invited to show at two international conferences—Re:New 2008, a digital arts forum, in Copenhagen, Denmark and at the International Computer Music Conference in Belfast, Ireland.

While at EMU, Brooke has developed an international cinema course to be offered within the general education curriculum and created a documentary production class with integrated Academic Service-Learning and Learning Beyond the Classroom components. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Electronic Media and Film Studies Program at Eastern Michigan University and continues to work as a freelance film and video editor. From 2009 to 2010, Brooke served on the Final Programming Committee for the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Currently, she serves on the Screening Committee for the Ann Arbor Film Festival and is the Film Camp Director at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.

Education

• MFA, Ohio University, School of Film, 2007
• BS, Eastern Michigan University, Summa Cum Laude, 2002
• BA, Oberlin College, 2001

Courses

Courses Taught

• CTAT 145 Introduction to Film Appreciation
• CTAT 235 International Cinema
• CTAT 335 Studies in Film: Documentary Film
• CTAT 335 Studies in Film: Experimental and Avant-Garde Film
• CTAT 345 American Film Genres
• CTAT 443 Documentary Film Production
• CTAT 445 Film Theory and Criticism
• CTAT 379 Film and Italian Culture (study abroad)
• CTAT 141 Audio/Video Production for Non-Majors
• Film Studies and Film Production

Courses Developed

• CTAT 235 International Cinema
• CTAT 335 Studies in Film: Documentary Film
• CTAT 335 Studies in Film: Experimental and Avant-Garde Film
• CTAT 443 Documentary Film Production (Academic Service-Learning component)

Advising

• Brooke received a Faculty Research Fellowship for her current project, a documentary film on the complexity of animal abuse in the state of Michigan, and the organizations and legislators working to stop it.

Professional Affiliations

• University Film and Video Association
• Popular Culture Association