Category Archives: Film

Hollywood Greats Stopping By Campus

It’s shaping up to be an incredible week in the Film Department, as they welcome some amazing guests to campus this week as part of their Distinguished Filmmakers Series.

Tomorrow, March 8, Film Department instructor David Kellogg will host a Q&A with writer/director John Lee Hancock at 1:30 p.m. in the L.A. Times Media Center. Hancock’s credits include The Blind Side, The Alamo and The Rookie. He also wrote the screenplays for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and A Perfect World.

On Wednesday, March 9, Film Department instructor Lee Rosenbaum will host a Q&A with Oscar-nominated producer Lawrence Turman, whose credits include The Graduate, American History X, Pretty Poison, The Great White Hope, The Thing, Mass Appeal, Short Circuit, The River Wild and many others. Turman is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors, and is a member of the Producers Guild Hall of Fame. The talk will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the L.A. Times Media Center.

And on Thursday, March 10, Film Department instructor Allen Daviau will hosting five-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Owen Roizman, whose credits include The French Connection, The Exorcist, The Stepford Wives, Three Dys of the Condor, Network, Absence of Malice, Tootsie, Grand Canyon, Wyatt Earp and many others. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Govenors, Roizman has directed and photographed hundreds of television commercials. In 1997, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. The talk will be at 1 p.m. at Ahmanson Auditorium.

All three events are open to all Art Center students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Always Carry Your Reel: The Journey from Poland to an Oscar-Winning Career

The path to becoming an Academy Award-winning cinematographer sounds so easy when he talks about it before a packed auditorium of Art Center students, faculty and staff.

Kamiński

Yesterday, award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński was on campus to speak as part of the Film Department’s Distinguished Filmmakers Series. Faculty member Allen Daviau hosted the Q&A with the two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer and director. Some of the most fascinating people in film come to campus as part of the series, and Kamiński was no exception.

Kamiński grew up in Poland, with his love of movies beginning as a boy. After immigrating to Chicago, Kaminski had a choice: becoming a laborer, or pursue an education. He chose film school.

After attending Columbia College (not associated with Columbia University) he moved to Los Angeles and completed his MFA at the American Film Institute. Kamiński had a friend who worked as an assistant to Diane Keaton, and after the actress viewed his reel, she hired Kamiński to film Wildflower, a made-for-TV movie.

Famed director Steven Spielberg saw Wildflower, and was interested in how quickly it was shot. He went on to hire Kaminski to film the award-winning Schindler’s List, and Kamiński has filmed every Spielberg movie since. And a few others, too.

The talk began with a viewing of the first and last ten minutes of Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The beginning of the film is shot entirely from the viewpoint of Bauby, waking from a three-week coma. The end of the film again retreats into his world, depicting his reality as his brain begins misfiring and starts to shut down. The scenes used selective focus, skewed framing and hand cranking to portray the world as seen through Bauby’s one eye.

Kamiński noted that the film was much more linear between the opening and closing scenes. While the images were powerful and the story allowed for such unconventional techniques, he advised against going in this direction for too long or you lose the audience: “I was not interested in making an art film.”

Kamiński said he was grateful to work with Schnabel, who was not interested in conventional story telling and who had a sophisticated visual sense. “Most directors would have made a soppy, sentimental movie, Kamiński said. “I know I would have. I love sentimentality.”

Kamiński’s advice to students:

  • “You have to be very proactive with how you get jobs. I always had my demo reel with me. I didn’t always have a car but I had my reel.”
  • “Don’t be careful; just do it now. Be careful later.”
  • “Watch the world around you. Notice how the light changes during the day. How are you going to create that world on a screen?”

And on working with Spielberg:

  • “I have spent more time with him than with my previous two wives.”

Distinguished Filmmaker Series: Janusz Kamińiski

Film Department instructor Allen Daviau will host a Q&A today with famed cinematographer Janusz Kamińiski.

Kamińiski

Among Kamińiski’s many credits are the films Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, War of the Worlds, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Amistad, Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Jerry Maguire, How Do You Know, Funny People, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and the upcoming film War Horse directed by Steven Spielberg.

Kamińiski has won Academy Awards for his cinematography work for both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

The event will be held today at 1 p.m. at Ahmanson Auditorium. It’s open to all Art Center students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Art Center Film Department Distinguished Filmmaker Series Presents:
Janusz Kamińiski
Thursday, March 3, 1 p.m.
Ahmanson Auditorium

Changing the World, One Project at a Time

A Designmatters transdisciplinary studio with a San Diego-based international health and humanitarian aid organization has resulted in a beautiful promotional film created by Art Center students.

The studio, held last summer, focused on rebranding Project Concern International (PCI) for their 50th anniversary.

In August, three Photography and Film students traveled to Zambia with PCI to observe and document their work in the field.

“My goal for the film from the start was to document the people in Zambia, and to show the world what their lives are like,” said Film student John X. Carey, director of the piece.

“It was a difficult first film for me to make, but such an incredible experience.”

In other PCI news, this week the organization launched a new identity stemming from the student work in last summer’s studio.

“There is a different level of engagement when you are working with design students—their enthusiasm and energy are palpable,” PCI’s Shawn Ruggeiro said about the studio. “Their perspective on this project, as well as our organization, was refreshing and inspiring.”

View the piece below, and read more about the Designmatters/PCI 50th Anniversary Project.


Distinguished Filmmakers Series: David Gale

Film Department instructor Lee Rosenbaum will host a discussion with MTV Films founder David Gale about current trends in new media today at 12:30.

Under Gale’s visionary leadership, MTV Networks became a leader in the creation and distribution of new media content. He is currently executive vice president of MTV New Media.

Gale’s producing credits include Beavis and Butthead Do America, Varsity Blues, Election, The Original Kings of Comedy, Orange County, Jackass: The Movie, Couch Carter, The Longest Yard, Aeon Flux and many more. The event is open to all Art Center students, faculty and staff.

Distinguished Filmmakers Series: David Gale
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 12:30 p.m.
L.A. Times Media Center

Distinguished Filmmakers Series: Richard Rush

Film Department instructor Dan Perri will host director, producer and writer Richard Rush today for a lively Q&A session as part of the Distinguished Filmmakers Series.

Rush’s credits include Thunder Alley, Hell’s Angels on Wheels, Psych-Out, Freebie & The Bean, Color of Night, and one of the greatest movies ever made about making movies: The Stunt Man starring Peter O’Toole.

The event begins promptly at 1 p.m. and is open to all Art Center students, faculty and staff.

Distinguished Filmmakers Series:
Richard Rush
Tuesday, November 30, 1 p.m.
L.A. Times Media Center

Shooting from the Flip

Each term, we spotlight a student who has achieved something noteworthy with their education from Art Center at Night, the College’s continuing studies program. We recently sat down with Laura Evans, a legal assistant for Girardi|Keese, whose documentary film No Such Thing as Color has been making the festival rounds.

Dotted Line: Tell us a little about yourself.
Laura Evans: During the day, I work for a law firm in downtown Los Angeles. At night, my husband and I play in a rock band called the Origami Llamas. I play drums and keyboards, sing, shoot our music videos and share website duties.

Dotted Line: You were initially interested in Art Center at Night for a course in Flash animation?
Evans: Yes, but while looking through the catalog, I saw a listing for Introductory to Documentary Filmmaking with Gabor Kalman. I had long wanted to make a documentary about my husband’s color blindness, and how it influenced him as a musician, and the class seemed like a great opportunity to actually get it made, so I signed up.

Dotted Line: You decided to shoot the film in a pretty unconventional way.
Evans: Right, on the first day of class, everybody shared their project concepts. My classmates liked my idea, but they were a bit nervous when I announced I was going to shoot it entirely on a Flip camera. But I stuck to my decision, and it ended up being the right one. The footage from the Flip not only looked great, but the camera’s small size meant I could take it anywhere.

Continue reading →

This Week at Art Center

It’s another busy week here at Art Center. Just some of this week’s events:

Photo © Steven A. Heller/Art Center College of Design

  • It’s International Education Week, and there are a ton of fun events planned. Dotted Line Blog
  • Director of Photography Paul Goldsmith, whose credits include Academy Award-winning documentary When We Were Kings, will be on campus for the Distinguished Filmmakers Series Tuesday at 2 p.m. More info.
  • East or Beast: What does Jaws have in common with Slumdog Millionaire? Sarha Moore, soprano saxophonist in the Bollywood Brass Band and Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at the University of Sheffield will discuss the topic and air clips of great movies and music. Tuesday, Nov. 16, 1-2 p.m., Room 208, Hillside Campus.
  • Blurred Boundaries: Interactive Design and the digital agency Schematic invite a host of industry professionals to explore how the shrinking space between brand communication and product design is changing the way we design. Thursday, Nov. 18, 7-9 p.m., L.A. Times Media Center. More info.
  • Art Center Student Government elections will be held this Wednesday and Thursday.
  • Save the date: registration is now open for Imaging DNA 2011, held on March 26 at Art Center. Imaging DNA

Get Ready to Shake, Rattle and Roll

Today at 10:21 a.m., millions of people across California will drop, cover and hold on as part of the 2010 California ShakeOut.

ShakeOut—formerly the Great Southern California ShakeOut—was launched in 2008. The Designmatters project, The Los Angeles Earthquake: Get Ready, was launched in conjunction with the event. An integral part of the acclaimed project was a PSA directed by Art Center alumnus Theo Alexopoulos.

The short film, Preparedness Now, was commissioned by the USGS Multi-Hazard Demonstration Project to depict the physical, social and economic consequences of a massive earthquake. In 2010, Preparedness Now was one of three components of project recognized for groundbreaking design by inclusion in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum-Smithsonian National Design Triennial exhibition, Why Design Now?

In honor of today’s ShakeOut, enjoy the film below:

Acclaimed Production Designer to Speak Today

Art Center is honored to welcome to campus production designer Scott Chambliss to discuss his craft and more as part of the Art Center Film Department Distinguished Filmmakers Series. Film Department student Matthew Epstein will host a Q&A discussion with Chambliss, who has done production design on hit films including Salt; Mission Impossible III; the TV series Alias, Gideon’s Crossing, Felicity and the upcoming feature Cowboys and Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Steven Spielberg.

The event starts at 10 a.m. at the L.A. Times Media Center and is open to Art Center students, faculty, alumni and staff.

Scott Chambliss
Wednesday, October 6, 10 am
Hillside Campus, L.A. Times Media Center