OKLAHOMA CITY — Twenty-two years ago, Oklahoma City Community College – with the help of Hollywood legend Gray Frederickson – launched the school’s digital cinema production program which was designed to give students practical ‘how to’ knowledge to make and work on movies.
Frederickson, who produced movies ranging from “The Godfather II” to Weird Al Yankovic’s “UHF,” became the school’s artist in residence and according to fellow professor Greg Mellott became “the Johnny Appleseed of the film industry in Oklahoma.”
Two decades later in November of this year, the state lost Fredrickson to prostate cancer. He was 85.
Yet Fredrickson’s legacy lives on.
In July, OCCC’s digital cinema production program was named one of the country’s 40 best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada by Movie Maker magazine.
The college’s new chief, Mautra Stanley Jones, praised the work done by Frederickson and his faculty.
“OCCC has a longstanding history of over two decades of providing this outstanding program which was the brainchild of Academy Award winning producer and OCCC’s artist in residence Gray Frederickson,” Jones said in a media statement. “We applaud our faculty and staff for their ingenuity, innovation and tremendous efforts in producing the best and the brightest within the film industry.”
That program, school officials said, boasts a state-of-the-art production facility and equipment. Sean Lynch, a professor in the program, said the film industry has created more than 11,000 jobs and generated more than $170 million in revenue.
“We are extremely excited to be named a Top 40 film school,” Lynch said. “Our students are trained by highly skilled professionals in a hands-on, simulated film set environment.”
The program has sparked collaborative efforts between its faculty and those of Rose State College, it’s neighbor to the East.