Privacy Policy
Last Updated: October 26, 2023
This Privacy Policy describes how the Academy of Cinematic Arts ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares personal information of users of our website, located at [website address, but since unavailable, referencing contact page], and our services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled in a safe and responsible manner. This policy applies to all information collected through our website, courses, and other interactions with the Academy of Cinematic Arts.
1. Data Collection
We collect several types of information from and about users, including:
- Information you provide directly: This includes information you provide when you register for courses, subscribe to our newsletter, fill out forms on our website, or contact us directly. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, postal address, date of birth, educational background, professional experience, and payment information. For instance, when applying for the "Advanced Directing Certificate," we require detailed information about your previous film projects and aspirations.
- Information collected automatically: When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing activity. This information may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, and the dates/times of your visits. We use tools like Google Analytics to help us analyze this data.
- Cookies and similar technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activity on our website. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that allow us to recognize you when you return to our website. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website. Please see our Cookies Policy for more details.
- Information from third parties: We may receive information about you from third-party sources, such as social media platforms (if you choose to connect your social media account to our website) or marketing partners. For instance, if you apply through a partnered film organization like the Los Angeles Film Society, we may receive your application information from them.
2. Data Usage
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To provide and improve our services: We use your information to process your course registrations, provide you with access to course materials, communicate with you about your courses, and improve our website and services. For example, your feedback on the "Cinematography Workshop" helps us refine the curriculum for future sessions.
- To personalize your experience: We use your information to personalize your experience on our website and tailor our communications to your interests. This includes recommending courses that may be of interest to you based on your previous course selections or browsing activity.
- To communicate with you: We use your information to send you newsletters, marketing communications, and other information about our services. You can opt out of receiving these communications at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the email.
- To process payments: We use your payment information to process your course registrations and other transactions. We use secure payment gateways to protect your payment information.
- To comply with legal obligations: We may use your information to comply with legal obligations, such as responding to subpoenas or court orders.
- For research and development: We may use your information for research and development purposes, such as analyzing trends in film education or developing new courses and services. This data is anonymized whenever possible.
3. Data Sharing
We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:
- Service providers: We share your information with third-party service providers who help us provide our services, such as payment processors, email marketing providers, and web hosting providers. These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and only use it for the purposes for which we disclose it to them. For example, we use "CineSend" for secure video streaming of course materials, and they have access to student email addresses to manage access.
- Instructors: Your name and email address may be shared with the instructors of the courses you are enrolled in to facilitate communication and collaboration.
- Business partners: We may share your information with business partners who offer products or services that may be of interest to you. For instance, we might partner with "ProLens Rentals" to offer discounted equipment rentals to our students, and share student contact information with them (with explicit consent).
- Legal authorities: We may disclose your information to legal authorities if required by law or legal process, or if we believe that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or the rights of others.
- Affiliates: We may share your information with our affiliates, such as other film schools or educational institutions.
- In connection with a merger or acquisition: If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.
4. Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These measures include:
- Encryption: We use encryption to protect your payment information and other sensitive data transmitted over the internet.
- Firewalls: We use firewalls to protect our servers from unauthorized access.
- Access controls: We restrict access to your personal information to authorized personnel only.
- Regular security assessments: We conduct regular security assessments to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
- Employee training: Our employees receive regular training on data security and privacy best practices.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information.
5. Cookies
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.
You agree to our cookies if you continue to use our website. For detailed information, please review our Cookies Policy.
6. User Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access: You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction: You have the right to correct any inaccuracies in your personal information.
- Deletion: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information.
- Restriction of processing: You have the right to restrict the processing of your personal information.
- Data portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
- Objection: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information.
- Withdrawal of consent: If we are processing your personal information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
To exercise these rights, please contact us at the information provided below.
7. Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Academy of Cinematic Arts
Attn: Data Protection Officer
6300 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (323) 469-2334
We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.
This Privacy Policy is subject to change. We will post any changes to this Privacy Policy on our website and update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any updates.