We not only PLAY games, we MAKE games!

This past weekend, our students who are taking courses with Professor Kim Gregson on video game design and programming held a 24 hour 'jam'.

Paradoxical Irony is a platforming puzzle game governed by 4 rules - You can't walk through walls, you can't touch fire, you can't breathe in water, and you die if you are shot. You have the ability to disable any one of these four rules at a time.

This game is one team's end result of this Game Jam. Except for the character sprite, which is courtesy of yoyogames.com's resources, everything you see in this game was created within the 24 hour period.

Have a peek!

vote for the Rozatones

Chris Wilson, an'08 Parkie, is working on promoting The Rozatones, who happen to be former IC alums as well. Revi Roza, the band's lead singer was featured live on Good Morning America with her band after winning a contest last year, and now the band is up for another big contest. The Magic Hat Brewing Company is sponsoring a band on tour, and The Rozatones were announced today as one of 10 remaining finalists from over 200. The voting form can be found here, http://www.magichat.net/ontour/vote , and more of their music can be found here, http://www.myspace.com/therozatones .

Please help give some IC alums an edge in this competition, and we'll hope that they book Ithaca as part of their winning tour!

Park Profs active in documentary productions

Three of our Park School professors have upcoming screenings of their documentary work:

FILM: THE JUNGLE’S EDGE

Thursday, November 12^th, 2009

at The History Center

film screening: 5-6pm Panel discussion: 6-7pm

401 E. State Street, Suite 100

Ithaca, NY 14850

www.TheHistoryCenter.net

The Jungle’s Edge is a documentary about daily life in the Jungle, the wooded area near Ithaca's Inlet that for decades has served as a home for the homeless. The film was produced by Gossa Tsegaye, Assistant Professor of Television-Radio at Ithaca College.

Notes On Liberty, a new short documentary directed by Professor John Scott and produced by adjunct professor Karen Rodriguez will screen as a part of Ad Hoc: Inconvenient Films 2009. This human rights festival travels to three cities in Lithuania in late October and early November. It will also screen at the Cucalorus Annual Festival of Independent Film in Wilmington, NC 2009 in mid-November. And Blackbird, an online journal of literature and the arts has selected it for its inaugural video essay feature slated for its spring edition.

TV-R Chair named Fellow at TV Program Executives Foundation

Nancy Cornwell, Professor and Chair, Department of Television-Radio has been selected as a 2010 Faculty Fellow by the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) Educational Foundation. NATPE is a global non-profit organization dedicated to the creation, development and distribution of televised programming in all forms, across all mature and emerging media platforms. As part of the fellowship, Dr. Cornwell will attend the 2010 NATPE Market and Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. During that time, she will participate in a range of faculty sessions focused on television programming, distribution, advertising, audience measurement as well as emerging issues facing the television industry.

ICTV wins big in Austin!

ICTV was honored as a national winner 
for Best Newscast and Best Sportscast at the annual National Student 
Production Competition at the Collegiate Broadcasters Inc. conference 
held on October 30th in Austin TX.

In addition, ICTV was named a national finalist for Best Special 
Broadcast for ICTV's 50th Anniversary Celebration; Best Website for 
CITV.org; Best Promo for ICTV.org; Best Live Sports Production (2 
nominations, 1 for football, 1 for basketball); and Best 
Entertainment Show for Entertainment 16.

ICTV's 8 nominations led the entrants. The next closest school 
received 4 nominations. That makes ICTV the best student run television station in 
the country.

Makes me proud!

recent alum achievements

Chris Baxter (Journalism '08) had his first professional investigative story run front and center in last Sunday's newspaper, The Morning Call , published in Allentown, PA. It's also featured on the right-hand side of the Investigative Reporters and Editors Web site. Check it out - and congratulations to Chris who's hoping for positive change to come from this.

And .... Charles Woodard's (CPMA '09) senior thesis film "Patriot" was selected for screening at the Big Apple Film Society Festival. It was entered in to the experimental section of the festival, and will be showing on Friday, November 6th, at 6PM. Nice job, Charles.

less than a week left to vote for WICB!

We want another Woodie -- so get out the vote!

We have less than a week left (voting ends on October 26th) and the Top 25 are about to be narrowed down to the Top 5. The clock is ticking and help from the whole school could mean another huge victory for WICB, the Park School, and Ithaca College.

Don't forget...Voting is unrestricted and unlimited so keep on clicking!
http://radiowoodie.ratemyprofessors.com/?s=wicb

Quacking the case: The Park School ducks

(photo, courtesy Dr. Corey Young)

For those of us who usually access Park Hall through the parking lot entrance in the morning, it's been a bit lonely this last week. We had gotten used to some enthusiastic quacking and fast waddling of little webbed feet to welcome us when were arrived... and occasionally our greeters even made it into the lobby.

Alas, our two Park ducks are no longer with us. They made a "splash" with their own story in the Ithacan about a month ago, and since then, they've been at the center of quite a drama.

As the weather was getting colder this September, many Park students, faculty, and staff who had been feeding them during the mornings came to me with concerns about their inability to fly south (one of them seemed to have a malformed wing). I was willing to build a shelter, and Associate Dean Virginia Mansfield-Richardson was even willing to donate one of her unused dog houses. But we needed to get more expert advice on how to best ensure their safety.

Thus ensued quite a research project -- ably led by Dr. Mansfield-Richardson who happens to have a Ph.D. in journalism and work experience in an animal hospital. Finding a home wouldn't be easy -- since they were not technically domestic animals, many shelters would not take them in. We finally got the Cayuga Nature Center to agree to accept them -- but not until Friday October 9.


Fearing that the weather or coyotes would bring harm to the ducks, Dean Mansfield-Richardson implored her friends at Colonial Veterinary Hospital to take them in for two nights until the Nature Center could accept them. Devan Johnson, a sophomore Documentary Studies and Production major and Kit Straley, a Biology major, consulted with faculty in Environmental Studies on how to handle the situation. It's not as easy a task as one may think: a person must be a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in order to legally transport ducks, and as much as many of us would have made them house pets, that's not legal either. Luckily, Devan is licensed to transport wildlife, so one piece of the puzzle fell into place.

Sadly, just as we lined up Devan and Kit to chauffeur the ducks, they noticed that only one could be found near the pond where they normally spent their days. After a number of calls to Safety, we found out that tragically one of them had been killed by a run-in with a car in the parking lot earlier that day. Devan, Kit, and Dean Mansfield-Richardson easily got the remaining duck into a cardboard box and took it to the vet hospital where it was fed fresh grapes and tomatoes and visited by several faculty and staff. On Friday Oct 9, the duck traveled to its new home, the Cayuga Nature Center, where Tom Trencansky, the Director, is really smitten especially since he had a pet duck as a child- - and he has named her "Parker".


The Park Sustainability Club is taking on the task of raising funds to build an appropriate habitat for Parker as a donation to the Cayuga Nature Center. We are also in the process of looking for another duck that can't fly to give Parker a friend again.



It's just one more story about the big hearts and endless energy in the Park School -- even for our feathered visitors. Maybe we should set up a Duck-cam at the Nature Center?

a day on the set with Matt Damon!

This just sent by alum and film director Bill Carraro (left) - on the set with Matt Damon and Park student Greg Dunbar (right).

Park and the international documentary scene

This just in from Mexico:
Professor Patty Zimmermann presented the keynote: "The Open Space Project: Towards a Collaborative and Relational Theory of International Documentary" with Helen De Michiel, from the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture at the Quinto Congreso International de Teoria y Analisis Cinematografico, convened by Sepancine in collaboration with the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia. The Morelia International Film Festival is one of the premiere film festivals in Latin America. You can follow Professor Zimmermann's travels and presentations during her sabbatical year at
http://www.ithaca.edu/fleff10/blogs/open_spaces/

And while you're at it, check out this documentary piece, "A Schoolgirl's Odyssey," by our own Park alum Adam Ellick ’99, featured front-and-center on Sunday's New York Times homepage. It's Part 2 of his package on the life of a young Pakistani girl and her family caught up in their country's politics. The first part, "Class Dismissed in Swat Valley," appeared earlier this year. Adam followed the family for six months to produce the package.

Wait-- there's more:
On Sunday November 1 at 10:30pm, Syracuse PBS station WCNY will  
screen an hour-long program of Ithaca College student documentaries.  
The documentaries will screen in the following order:

“Dealing With Deer” by Matthew Lesko

“Downhill Climb” by Silvia Briga, Lucien Delabruere, Brent Ross

“J.R.” by Kassandra Kittle, Peter Sachs, Neth Weidemann

“Ghostly Encounters” Sarah Bello, Kevin Duckett, Vesna Illievska

The work was produced in Professor John Scott’s Nonfiction Production  
class (TVR 29900) and from two Video Workshop classes (TVR 49100)  
taught by Professor Scott and Professor Tom Nicholson.

The alumni connection

When I talk with prospective students and families, I tell them that the Park School offers them the "Three C's" that will prepare them for a great future: concepts, confidence, and connections.

An incredibly important part of the connections is our very loyal group of alumni -- now over 5,000 strong. Last week, our Park School National Alumni Board was with us on Thursday and Friday, visiting classes, talking with students and professors, and providing their perspectives on trends in the communications industry. Board members in attendance were:

• Dominic Cottone - M.S. 2000 - HR/ Training specialist at Razorfish in Chicago, a leading new media advertising firm
• Andy Orgel - TV-Radio 1974 - Chairman & CEO of Global Media Group
  
• Kelli Grant - Journalism 2004 - Consumer Reporter for SmartMoney.com
• Carole Irgang - TV-Radio 1986 - Owner of her own marketing firm
• Bill Carraro - Cinema and Photography 1981 - Independent film producer, currently producing "The Adjustment Bureau" starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
  
• Michael Kaplan - Comm. Management 2985 - Sr. Vice President, G2 Direct and Digital advertising agency
  
• David Lebow - Comm Management 1983 - President and CEO of Internet Broadcasting Systems
• Cole Louison - Journalism 2000 - Writer for GQ / Conde Nast
• Rodd Perry - Comm Management 1990 - Co-president, The Ant Farm (producers of movie trailers)
• David Spiegelman - TV-Radio 1981 - President, Domestic TV Distribution, Weinstein Company

This past weekend was also alumni and homecoming weekend - and a highlight was the screening of our Golden Doorknob film contest winners. This is revival of a tradition from the 1970s when now-retired film professor Skip Landen required all of his Intro to Film students to produce a film that had the plot of a person meeting his or her demise by a doorknob. The best film received a "Golden Doorknob" award at the end of the year -- and many famous producers proudly display them next to their Emmys! This tradition was revived a few years ago in the form of a content for students, sponsored by alum Bill Carraro.

Our alumni are not only successful, but they are passionate about wanting to help the next generation of IC Communications students succeed. We have their emails, phone numbers, and a promise that they'll happily talk with students and help with internship placements, job hunting advice, and general mentoring.

So-- the next move is YOURS.

and the lucky French trip winners are...

Félicitations!

The students chosen to go on the study trip to France in May are:

Emily Britz
Caylena Cahill
Zaneta Clarke
Rebecca Coffman
Alexander Dean
Deanna Deano
Jacqueline Dong
Alyssa Hume
Charlotte Hyman
Niko Mason
Kevin McCall
Kevin Metz
Sarah Paolantonio
Matthew Rakow
Sarah Reichle
Alana Sawyer
Jacquelyn Simone
T.J. Slipko
Mary Wilusz
Stephanie Wisniewski

The Five Alternates (in case any of the above cannot go are:

1.  Nathan Loucks
2.  Kayla McCormack
3.  Chloe Scutt
4.  Taylor Long
5.  Catherine Hanu

Professor Janice Levy, who will be conducting the trip abroad,
will be in touch with you soon
to arrange times for your required
mini-course during the spring to prepare you for this
great opportunity.

Turn what you learn into television that matters

Ithaca College's major strategic initiative for this year is to promote integrated learning across disciplines. You may have heard of this as the IC2 (I.C. squared) project -- Ithaca College - Integrated Curriculum. Six projects proposed by faculty and students were chosen for funding by the president this year, and one of them is IC Studio.

The project is open to all students regardless of major -- who will work together to create television and web content on a topic that they choose.

Informational meeting: Wednesday October 7 6PM Park Auditorium. Be there.

New Doc Studies & Production degree - only one on the East Coast!

Over the years, we've had many students interested in documentaries -- and many alums involved in this area. Now the Park School is the only undergraduate program in the East to offer this degree.

It's also our first undergraduate degree that's not based in any one department -- it includes courses from TV-R, CPMA, and Journalism -- and it prepares students for the many emerging roles in this area including

• producers and directors
• cinematographers and film and video editors
• news reporters and writers
• researchers and grant writers
• digital designers and programmers
• curators, advocates, and activists

Many thanks to Professors Loop, Zimmermann, Crane, and Scott for their visionary work in bringing this curriculum to life.

ICTV and WICB-FM collaborate in landmark event

For those of you who have been following this blog, you'll know that one of my themes for this year -- and for the Park School -- is INNOVATION. ICTV and WICB-FM recently created a 'first'. ICTV videotaped a performance of the band Hubcap while it went out live on radio.

As Kelsy Franklin, Assistant Producer of the TV show Panorama said:

"This is why Park is the best school of communications--
students have the opportunity to
break new ground for the college."

Enter by Oct 2 to win cultural exchange trip to France

Another great Park School perk: Twenty students will be selected to receive free tuition, housing, and food for two weeks of museum tours, media visits and lectures, and cultural events in Dijon and Paris this May.





Here's the scoop: The Park School has a partnership with the Burgundy Business School in Dijon, France. Under the terms of the agreement, a Burgundy student receives tuition assistance to study in the Park School's Masters Program in Communications; in exchange, a group of 20 Park students is invited to visit Dijon and Paris for two weeks at the end of May – all expenses paid -- except for airfare and whatever you want to spend on extra food and travel.

If you're selected to go, you'll be required to enroll in a one-credit mini-course this spring taught by Professor Janice Levy. The course will help you prepare so the you can make this most out of this opportunity, and will be held at a time that won't conflict with your other classes.

The trip leaves New York the Monday following graduation. The length of the trip is approximately 2 weeks and is supervised by Professor Janice Levy. Final dates and details TBA. Everybody is required to fly together from New York City to Paris. You will be responsible for paying your own round-trip airfare and for getting yourself to the New York airport. We work with a travel agent to get a good deal on the airfare. Typically, most people also fly back together -- but it's possible for you to stay on in Europe on your own afterward, at your own expense.

The Burgundy Business School will be responsible for all other expenses They will pick you up at the airport in Paris, and take care of you for two whole weeks -- including lodging, food, transportation, and a full itinerary of events and activities. The schedule will include museum tours, day trips to Paris and surrounding towns, media visits, lectures and social events with international students studying at Burgundy. The schedule also will include free time to explore Dijon, and surrounding areas OR travel to other European cities. Your expenses on that kind of wider European excursion would be your responsibility, but your expenses if you stay in Dijon will be covered by the school.

The trip will be offered as a learning experience that DOES NOT require you to enroll for academic credit. We are doing everything we can to keep the costs as low as possible, and we are sensitive to the fact that many students cannot afford to buy a summer-school credit.

You MUST be a full-time Park MAJOR during the Spring 2010 semester to be eligible. There will be forms in the rack OUTSIDE the Dean's office on the third floor of Park on September 22. Stop by, fill out the form, sign it, and hand it in to the Dean's Office receptionist. One submission per student ONLY. Students who submit multiple forms will be disqualified We'll be accepting forms until noon Friday October 2. No exceptions.

If you're studying abroad or in LA, you can email Gwen Benners in the Dean's Office, (gbenners@ithaca.edu) expressing your interest and providing her your name, address in Ithaca, telephone number, and class. That will "count" as your submission (we'll transfer the info to the form and put it in the box with the rest of the applications). ALL students currently on campus in Ithaca must submit the paper form to the dean's office. If you're sick, you live downtown and can't make it to campus, you're working an internship and can't get to the dean's office, ask a friend to fill out the form for you.

On Friday, October 2, we'll review the forms, make sure we have all the information we need on each form, put them all in a box, and select 20 forms – lottery-style. Five slots are reserved for our Dean's Hosts as a special thank-you for their extraordinary service.

By applying, you're committing to the trip, so please don't apply unless you're sure you can go. We'll announce the winners by email on Monday October 5. As they say in French: "Bonne chance!"

Vote for WICB and VIC

Both our radio stations are in the running for the mtv-U Woodie Award  
for Best College Radio Station.

Thanks to amazing support last year, WICB won the first-ever Woodie  
Award. The award—a big chunk of wood with a wedge & sledgehammer—is  
on display in the window outside the radio newsroom. The win was a  
huge morale boost for the entire radio operation, and naturally, we'd  
like to repeat.

Please visit the link below, and vote early and often.
http://radiowoodie.ratemyprofessors.com/state/new-york/

Free film tickets - THE COVE Friday Sept 25

Bring your current student ID (college, graduate and high school), be one of the first 50 students to show up at Cinemapolis no later than 6:30 on Friday September 25, and score a FREE ticket to the Ithaca premiere of THE COVE, the 2009 Sundance Audience Award winning film about dolphins, slaughter and suspense. Screening starts at 7 p.m. at Cinemapolis downtown on Green Street.

Afterwards, be sure to join us for a special post-screening discussion with Todd Schack, assistant professor of journalism at Ithaca College and Christopher Clark, IP Johnson Director of Cornell University Bioacoustic Research Program.

This premiere screening of THE COVE is cosponsored by the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Cinemapolis, and the Finger Lakes Bioneers.

The free ticket giveaway for students is cosponsored by the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies.

Offer expires after 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 25. Get there early--and get in free! Offer limited to the first 50 students in line.

About The Cove
http://www.thecovethemovie.com

Gold medal for the Ithacan -- once again

Can we fit any more awards in the Ithacan display case?

Way to go, Ithacan staff ! The Ithacan has been named a Gold Medalist for both Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's annual college newspaper critique.

Each year the CSPA evaluates member papers on overall content, news, depth reporting, features, opinion/editorial, sports, arts/entertainment, editing/headline writing, and design/graphics on the bases of more than 150 specific criteria. This year the newspaper's scores on the critique's 1,000-point scale were 977 for fall and 945 for spring. The CSPA consistently ranks the Ithacan as a gold medalist, its highest category.

Among the judges' comments: "You have an amazing publication.... I've seldom seen a better all-around newspaper. Often you'll find a nice section, good writing or solid design. But you have it all ... Hats off to the staff and adviser of The Ithacan. You are a top college newspaper. The paper is very strong in reporting, news, clear writing and solid graphics.... Keep up the great work."

Love the Twilight Zone? Take a one-credit class

Explore the life and work of one of the most honored writers in television. Rod Serling was a key player in the “Golden Age of Television” (1950’s), creator of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, and author of many screenplays (Planet of the Apes, and Seven Days in May). Serling had a profound influence on American television, and you'll get a chance to learn about his struggles over censorship and sponsor control. Winner of six Emmy awards and numerous other accolades, he taught creative writing here in the School of Communications in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.

Students enrolled in this course will get free admission to be expected to attend 4 1/2 hours of THE 2009 ROD SERLING CONFERENCE right here in the Park School on Oct 2-3.