Category Archives: Film

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty. Some of the latest:

  • Alumna and painter Theresa Paden is on a mission to save horses: Ventura County Star

    Theresa Paden

  • Visual effects supervisor and Art Center alum Eric Barba talks about the upcoming sci-fi extravaganza Tron: Legacy: Cnet
  • Francis Pollara is producer, founder and chief executive of Ladeson Productions—and also still a student at Art Center. La Canada Valley Sun
  • Broadcast Cinema alum Hilton Carter talks about his new short, Moth, and music video for Baltimore musicians including Blaqstarr:  Baltimore Sun
  • Pasadena Federal Credit Union unveils new 90-square-foot mural, “Building Pasadena,” painted by alumnus Jerry Ortega: Pasadena Star-News
  • Art Center alumna Denise Assad has done it all: industrial design, transportation design, public relations, advertising and now, baking: Brand X
  • An electric concept car created by Clemson University students and dubbed “Deep Orange” will be making an appearance at Art Center’s Car Classic (Art Center students collaborated on the design and styling): Fast Company
  • And speaking of Car Classic, it’s coming up Oct. 17: Car Classic ’10

Save the Date: Art Center’s 80th Anniversary Weekend

We’re celebrating 80 years of excellence in art and design education at Art Center. Following the inauguration of our fifth president in April, and a community-wide Day of Service in June, the College continues its celebration with a special 80th Anniversary Weekend.

On Saturday, October 16, Art Center will honor four prominent alumni—industrial designer Yves Béhar, car designer Frank Stephenson, contemporary artist Pae White and blockbuster filmmaker Zack Snyder—with the Creative Spirit award at a gala to raise scholarships for students in Art Center’s undergraduate, graduate and public programs. The following day, Sunday, October 17, is Art Center’s beloved Car Classic. This year’s theme, Freedom of Motion, celebrates the powerful combination of technology and passion that allows humans to move well beyond their own physical abilities.

For more information about the gala, call 626.396.2338. Tickets and details about Car Classic are available at artcenter.edu/carclassic.

Acclaimed Cinematographer to Speak Thursday

Art Center is honored to welcome to campus world-renowned Australian cinematographer Peter James this afternoon to discuss his craft and more. Film Department instructor Allen Daviau will host the discussion with the highly acclaimed cinematographer and director of photography.

James’ credits include Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe, Alive, This Thing Called Love, Silent Fall, Diabolique, Paradise Road, The Newton Boys, Double Jeopardy, Meet the Parents, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, 27 Dresses and many more.

The event starts at 2 pm at the Ahmanson Auditorium and is open to all Art Center students, faculty, alumni and staff.

Peter James
Thursday, August 5, 2 pm
Hillside Campus, Ahmanson Auditorium

Alum Sebastian Leda Wins Prestigious Gold Lion Award

Film alum Sebastian Leda won a Gold Lion award at the 57th Annual Cannes International Advertising Festival over the weekend for a television spot he directed for the agency Conill Saatchi & Saatchi. Created for the Consulate General of Argentina in Los Angeles, the gold-winning 30-second commercial focuses on Argentina’s football team, which at the time, had not been performing well (the World Cup has certainly changed that!)

“Crying” was among the most acclaimed of the festival, receiving thunderous applause during its screening. Check it out for yourself:

A warm congrats for this prestigious award, Sebastian!

Meet Steven Butler

Film student Steven Butler is a professional dancer and choreographer in addition to being a full-time Art Center student.

Recently, he worked on a project for a cinematography class where the assignment was to reveal objects in a frame using just one shot. Steven decided to capture a dance performance.

“The idea was to choreograph the camera movements of 10 to 15 dancers to match three minutes of pre-edited music. This meant I had to shoot a three-minute take with no mistakes,” he remembers. “I ran into obstacles with lighting and shadows and most of all, blocking the dancers’ movements off-camera. After about eight takes we got it right.”

Read more about Steven and his experiences at Art Center in this great interview.

Film Students Bring Home College Television Emmy

Film student Francis Pollara, along with fellow students Saman Keshavarz, Y-C Tom Lee and Romson Niega, recently won a College Television Emmy Award for a commercial they produced. “Trigger Happy” is a spot about friends playing freeze tag with cameras, filmed at Hillside Campus.

Pollara also won best music video award at South by Southwest last month for his work producing the band Cinnamon Chaser’s “Luv Deluxe” music video. The video wasn’t even submitted for South by Southwest; instead festival organizers asked for it to be submitted after seeing it online.

Read more about Pollara in the La Cañada Valley Sun: Prodigal son takes home two awards, and watch the commercial below. Congrats on a job well done!

Cinematographer John Toll on Campus Today

Film Department instructor Allen Daviau will host a screening of The Thin Red Line, followed by a Q&A with cinematographer John Toll. Toll’s credits include Almost Famous, Gone Baby Gone, The Last Samurai, Tropic Thunder, It’s Complicated and many others. Toll one of just three cinematographers to win consecutive Oscars for Best Cinematography, for Legends of the Fall (1994) and Braveheart (1995).

The event starts promptly at 1 pm and is open to all Art Center students, faculty, alumni and staff.

John Toll
Thursday, April 8, 1 pm
Ahmanson Auditorium

Philip Rose to Speak Today

This afternoon, Film Department instructor David Kellogg will host a Q&A with producer Philip Rose. Rose is a veteran producer of music videos, commercials and feature films. He
currently heads Julia Roberts’ production company, Red Om Films. His discussion will center on the director-producer relationship, and how to get a film project off the ground. The event is open to Art Center students, staff and faculty.

Q&A with Philip Rose
Tuesday, March 30, 2 pm
L.A. Times Media Center, Hillside Campus

And the Winner for Best Film About Design Is…

Can great design films educate as they entertain? Writer Alissa Walker highlights five films from the last year that she thinks told the best design story in 2009.

Walker writes: “The last few years have seen the issues of winning documentaries tie directly into the issues of the day: When An Inconvenient Truth won in 2006 or The Fog of War won in 2003, it almost seemed like the Academy was voting against climate change or yet another Middle Eastern military engagement. This year, it seems that our gastronomical zeitgeist is behind Food, Inc., which is nominated for best documentary. It’s a pretty compelling and well-executed film that I think should probably win. But it makes me think about what an issues-oriented design film would look like—how could a documentary help convey the value and meaning of great design (designing!) to a wider audience?”

Read more, and see clips, at GOOD.