Clayton State Senior Lecturer in Film Production Dr. Shawn Bulloch Introduces Students to a Professional Film Production that Wins Awards

(July 21, 2026) - Dr. Shawn Bulloch, a Senior Lecturer in Film Production in the Department of Film, Communication, and Performing Arts at Clayton State University, has taught cinematography and lighting for motion pictures for the past eight years. Prior to that, he worked at Tyler Perry Studios, Light and Movies on movies and television shows.

Dr. Bulloch says students are very interested in taking his classes because of his industry experience.  He said, “It’s a major selling point in my classroom. The fact that I can pull from real world scenarios. I've had my share of adversities on set with movies and television shows. So being able to share how we problem-solved in tech and troubleshot is a valuable tool, just the experience alone. It helps a lot in conjunction with what's in the textbook.”

Recently, Dr. Bulloch had the opportunity to involve current Clayton State students and alumni in a professional short film production called An American Embassy. It was a great example of the importance of networking and having friends in the film industry.  Dr. Bulloch said, “A friend of mine, she knows the director, and she just reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to DP the project, direct the photography, and if I had a crew. And for the budget that they had, because they couldn't really pay me, I did it as a favor, but I said, my students can work, but they have to get paid.” The film production agreed to that arrangement.

Based on the knowledge he shared with his students in the classroom and other project work, Dr. Bullock was confident in their abilities. He said, “I've worked with them on projects, so I knew they would be able to pull this off. They're very respectful of me and they went in and wowed the production team. Everyone was just really amazed at their professionalism, their work ethic, and what they knew in terms of the business, being so young.”

For the production of An American Embassy, Dr. Bulloch said, “There was one location in Smyrna, and the office had to be dressed (the process of furnishing and decorating a physical set with items like furniture, curtains, and props to make it look realistic, lived-in, and camera-ready). They had a really good art director that came in and made that one location look like a variety of different locations.  Because it's a short film format, it's 17 minutes long, so we did one week of work on set.”

Dr. Bulloch sums up the plot and inspiration for the film An American Embassy by saying, “The director, this was her very first time directing anything theatrical. Basically, it's comedy, but it also has a dramatic synthesis within the genre. And it's just about everyday life in the American Embassy. The director actually works for the embassy now. So, she wanted to do a story that really reflected what she saw, or she sees on a daily basis.”

Working on this professional project was unique and rewarding for the Clayton State students according to Dr. Bulloch. He said, “They really enjoyed the experience because although I have worked with them on some things, I think each experience is unique for them, and they get to see that each film set is going to be different. I don't know if they had ever worked on a production where the art direction was as heavy as this one, and they really enjoyed just every facet of it, especially the art direction part.”

The current Clayton State students who worked with Dr. Bulloch on An American Embassy included: Evan Beljour, Julian Beljour, and Khalil Shipman. The team also included BA in Film Production alumni: Nancy Carmona-Lopez ‘25, Thomas Krouse ‘23, and Victor Slade ’25.

The BeeLine Media LLC short film, An American Embassy, written and directed by Ebony Rosemond, received two Telly Awards, one in the category of General Comedy and the other for Craft-Writing.

Dr. Bulloch is also nominated for two awards for his work on An American Embassy in the Toronto Nollywood International Film Festival, for Best US Photography and Best International Cinematography.