I am so amazed....

...by you.

And by your work.

I have spent about 20 hours since Thursday watching student work -- film, video, documentary, animation, photographs.

I couldn't make it to every event -- I wish I could clone myself, but only for this week -- and I am sorry to those of you whose extraordinary work I missed (though I collect DVDs and promise to watch over break if you have an extra one....or a research paper you're proud of, or an ad or PR campaign...)

This is my ninth "end of semester" media season in the Park School, and I don't think I've ever been as consistently and completely impressed by the quality of the work. I laughed, I cried (and for all the right reasons), I closed my eyes in horror or fright....and I was and am prouder than ever to be a part of this learning community.

Congratulations to all of you who have devoted so much time, energy, effort and talent to these projects.

And to the faculty who have inspired, directed, guided and encouraged you to get there.

What a lovely way to end the semester.

My thanks.

The Wrath of Khan (Mustapha Khan, that is....)

It's Saturday, you've got a list of projects to finish, exams to study for, papers to write....and you need a break. Not a BIG break, but a sit-in-the-dark-entertain-me break.

No problem. Your amazing fellow Parkies will be screening their work in the Auditorium pretty much all day today and tomorrow. The students in Mustapha Khan's ACP Fiction class screenings have asked me to remind you, specifically, to stop in to the Aud between 4 and 7:30 today for some great fiction film.

See you there!

We are so grateful....

We owe a debt of gratitude to two people who have made a real difference in our LA Center in the past few months.
The first is Joel Reitman, an alum who remembers with great fondness his years in the school, and whose family has graciously and generously provided us with the resources to make the LA Pendleton Center even better than it already is.
And the second is Jon Basinger-Flores, one of our extraordinary staff at the Pendleton Center, who has over the past few months taken it upon himself to become the general-contractor-and-designer-extraordinaire, and to work with the contractors and the builders and the tech folks to create a new screening room -- a state-of-the-art space that will enhance students' learning experiences and provide the facilities to screen the films and videos that are such a critical "text" in our programs.
Next time you see Jon, shake his hand and tell him how much you appreciate his work and his contributions.
And I'll tell Joel for you when I see him.....

Park. We are such a community of exceptional people.

Student/faculty research on fantasy sports gets national attention....

Journalism professor Mead Loop and his student, Maura Gladys, worked together over the past several months on a research project focused on fantasy sports.

For those of you who don't live in that fantasy world, it has something to do with people who spend hours and hours every week creating fantasy teams that play fantasy games, allowing them to win fantasy points that somehow or other can be transformed into real dollars.

Or something like that (OK, so I'm no fantasy sports player: you can talk to Mead. He is.)

Mead and Maura's research focused on the credibility and practices of the reporters who cover fantasy sports - the first such research of its kind in the country.

It was featured in this month's Quill magazine, the national publication of the Society of Professional Journalists....and it's one more example of why Park is increasingly recognized as a school that really 'gets' digital culture.

From Second Life to fantasy sports....we're there!

Summer internships....with housing!

This just in from our wonderful internship coordinator, Eloise Greene (if any of them sound interesting, stop by her office up on the third floor of Park and she'll give you more info!)



Just for fun! Here are some Summer internship sites that either provide housing or a housing subsidy. You’ll find more information on them through the Park internship database at http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/internships

United States Olympic Committee – Lake Placid NY, Colorado Springs CO, Chula Vista CA

National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum – Cooperstown NY

American Junior Golf Association – Braselton GA

PGA Tour – Ponte Vedra Beach FL

NASCAR Diversity Internship – Daytona Beach FL

ESPN – Bristol CT

Cox Media Washington Bureau – Washington DC

Heritage Foundation Center for Media and Public Policy – Washington DC

Scripps Howard Foundation – Washington DC

IRTS Summer Fellowship – NYC

Time Inc. Editorial Program – NYC

Yes! Magazine – Bainbridge Island WA (a Park Independent Media Internship site)

Tri-City Herald – Tri-Cities WA

High Country News (six month internship) – Paonia CO

WEIU-TV – Charleston IL

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival – Beckett MA

Longwood Gardens – Kennett Square PA

Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment – Bozeman MT

Xerox Summer Internships – Rochester NY

Land’s End – Dodgeville WI

Hallmark Creative Recruiting – Kansas City MO

Target – Minneapolis MN



Best wishes on your exams,

Eloise Greene

The LONGEST post in the history of the blog....but what could I POSSIBLY have cut out?

(Thanks to John Anthony for posting all of these images and this info to Facebook...)
OK, so blog posts are supposed to be relatively short, but when I went looking for some info about this semester's Thesis screenings, I discovered this set of film posters produced by the filmmakers. How could I NOT post them....they're as extraordinary as the works they represent.

Here's the announcement (once again, courtesy of John Anthony):

Come enjoy, experience, and revel in the marvel of the films of students in Cathy Crane's Thesis Cinema Production class. A two-night event!

Join us outside Park auditorium for drinks and refreshments at 7:00p.m. on Saturday, December 13. Films will begin screening at 7:30p.m., ending around 11:00p.m. This will be followed on Sunday, December 14 with another screening starting again at 6:00p.m. Upon the conclusion of the screening of the short films around 9:00p.m., Naomi Stockwell's feature film "BAD FAITH" will show.

The program is as follows:

SATURDAY - DECEMBER 13

THE LAST TREE IN LOS ANGELES
By Corey Trench
It is summertime in LA. You make your way through the crowds on Hollywood Boulevard and become overwhelmed by a cacophony of music, automobiles, and humanity. You look toward the hills for escape. What could be up there? 8 minutes Standard Definition

OUT
Directed by Michelle McCullar
Two high school girls question their sexuality. The film delves into the reaction they encounter when the school, their friends, and family find out.
12 minutes
Standard Definition

MARKET STREET SQUARE
Directed by Jake Alinikof
An engagement, an affair, lunacy, and crime. See what can happen in Market Street Square.
9 minutes
Standard Definition

SELF-CONSCIOUS
By John Anthony
A student filmmaker takes up the interesting challenge of making a student film about the making of a student film. As filming intensifies, his world begins to spin out of control.
20 minutes
Standard Definition

DON'T STOP DANCING!
Directed by Zach Lapidus
Strictly Ballroom meets Night of the Living Dead.
23 minutes
Standard Definition

15-MINUTE INTERMISSION

INDIANNESS
By Kristin Sabbi
What does it mean in the 21st century to be American Indian? How do you know if someone is Indian or not? Who decides what constitutes an Indian? What about mixed-bloods? This film attempts to answer and expand upon those questions as well as a few others.
12 minutes
High Definition

THE EVE OF BATTLE
Directed by Scott Leverett
A medieval fantasy in which a chief lord seeks to unite the surrounding kingdoms against a common enemy on the Eve of a decisive battle.
22 minutes
Standard Definition

GUNPOINT
Directed by James Chapman, Produced by Christina O'Rourke, sound by John Lyga
Bang.
5 minutes
DV cam

HAMMER OF THE GODS
Directed by Matt Merenda, Makeup and Matte Paintings by Liz McLelland
Intrepid lumberjack Sullivan West squares off against Pagans and Nazis in search of the Hammer of Thor.
32 minutes
35mm w/ selected scenes in IMAX


SUNDAY - DECEMBER 14

THE PHONE MACHINE
Directed by Sean Elligers
A mother and her two sons struggle to maintain a family tradition.
16 minutes
16mm

SON OF RICHARD
By Edward Bursch
James, who is humiliated and frustrated with his upper-class lifestyle, pursues the pride and satisfaction of labor by preparing for a job offered by his working-class friend, Paul.
14 minutes
High Definition

THE HOTEL
Directed by Kevin Kirner
I can't quite remember what it was all about.
15 minutes
Standard Definition

FINISHED
Directed by Michael Vasios
A mundane evening for two men suddenly becomes part of a murderous trap for a mysterious acquaintance. Based on Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers."
10 minutes
High definition

THE SCENIC ROUTE
Directed by Christi Betz, Produced by Danielle Harrison
A cross-country road trip puts a long-standing friendship to the test when things go wrong and tempers rise.
10 minutes
Standard Definition

ABOUT TIME
Directed by Brock Cerny
When it comes to women, Max isn't exactly a Don Juan. That is, until he encounters a mysterious watch...
13 minutes
Standard Definition

15-MINUTE INTERMISSION

MY HISTORY OF DISBELIEF
By Michael Kmet
A personal documentary that explores a secular upbringing, atheist beliefs, and other things through home video footage, interviews with friends and family, and new digital video.
15 minutes (estimate)
Standard Definition/Mini-DV

NO COUNTRY FOR MERRY MEN
Directed by Andrew Pinkerton, edited by Joe Duffy
1200 A.D. Hammered by Prince John's taxes to the point of desperation, the people of England turn to a strange man they don't fully understand. Now, Nottingham's hosting the greatest showdown of the 13th century, and the world's most legendary outlaw will stop at nothing to save his country.
35 minutes
Standard Definition

AN EVENT IN YEAR SIX
Directed by Jack Joshi-Powell
Control. Write. Watch.
11 minutes
High Definition

RETAILERS OF DECEIT
Directed by Jeremiah Peck
A group running an illegal pyramid scheme is forced to take drastic measures when a whistleblower threatens to expose them all.
12 minutes
High Definition

15 MINUTE INTERMISSION

BAD FAITH
Approx. 100 min

GOOGLE internships? Paid? (And application deadline is FRIDAY)

You all got this list in your inboxes from Eloise, our fearless internship coordinator. But I know how much email you get (me, too), and how easy it is to open a message, read it, and think "I'll worry about that later..." (me, too), so here's yet another reminder of what you should do on your winter vacation....

Apply for your summer internship!

A few ideas:

Interested in media law? Can't think of a better internship than this one at Google:
Google Policy Fellowships (summer) – students & May ‘09 grads
Fellows “work at public interest organizations at the forefront of debates on broadband and access policy, content regulation, copyright and trademark reform, consumer privacy, open government, and more.” Organizations are in either Washington DC, San Francisco, Ottawa or Toronto. See the FAQ. Stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks (June-August)
Deadline December 12.

Want to work in college sports? This is a fabulous program for May '09 grads:
NCAA postgrad one year – Indianapolis
June 2009 – June 2010, fulltime, Stipend: $24,000. Deadline December 5
Intern positions include branding and communications: brand strategies and events, public and media relations, publishing/new media; championships; corporate and broadcast alliances; Division I men's and women's basketball; diversity and inclusion; education services.

This one, too:
Institute for Humane Studies – Broadcast and print journalism internships.
Varied placements for students & recent grads. Stipend & housing allowance.
Deadline Jan. 31 for summer internship


Metropolitan Museum of Art – NYC
The Met offers undergraduate summer internships at the Museum (10 wk. $3250 stipend) and at the Cloisters (9 wk. $2750) with January 9 application deadline.
-- Met Postgrad: Web Development/Video Internship in Educational Media
A twelve-month internship for recent graduates in video, web development, design, or related fields to participate in the production of online and/or video resources. Multidisciplinary internship focuses on web development and/or video skills.
June 8, 2009–May 28, 2010, Full time. Stipend: $25,000 Deadline January 9.


And another sports-lovers' opportunity, this time in PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL:
NBA Summer Internships (NYC or NJ) are “a hands-on opportunity for enrolled college students to build their work experience and learn the behind-the-scenes operations of the NBA. Over the 10-week program, summer interns participate in a series of events and activities exposing them to the many facets of the NBA’s business.” Job ID 1309. Deadline Jan. 31
Starcom MediaVest Group (Chicago) 10 week summer, paid.
Communications/branding strategy and activation across all major media, including online.
Deadline Jan. 9.

Jan. 1 deadlines for summer internships at online Christian Science Monitor (Boston) and Los Angeles Times.

Short term (noncredit) opportunity for undergrads Jan 5 – 16 with Sandbox Strategies -
a small, PR firm specializing in videogames and consumer electronics. Midtown location, flexible schedule. Link gathering, updating press contacts, assembling clip books, editing press releases, visiting videogame sites and finding relevant articles, playing unreleased games and offering feedback. Applicant must be knowledgeable about videogames, tech, and pop culture.
Rob Fleischer - Sandbox Strategies
494 8th Avenue, Suite 1503, New York, NY 10001
rob @ sandboxstrat.com




Career & Internship Connection (CIC) fairs sponsored by Career Services:
Boston – Monday, January 5
Los Angeles – Tuesday, January 6
Washington, DC – Wednesday, January 7
Chicago – Thursday, January 8
New York City – Friday, January 9
The fairs take place in the morning, and interviews are scheduled for the afternoon. Students should apply for pre-scheduled interviews by Monday, December 1. Additional information (including the student login token) at http://www.ithaca.edu/sacl/careers/blogs/opportunity_knocks/

IC’s annual Network Nights events will also take place in January, with the NYC event scheduled for the evening of January 8. Registration for Network Nights will be open in early December – check back with Career Services.

THANKS to all the freshmen who showed up at today's meeting!

As you may recall, I invited all of the Park freshmen to a meeting at noon today to talk about their first semester in the school.

And as usual, they had some great suggestions for how we can improve what we do around here. They talked about internships, and their experiences with the student media, and course registration, and new ways to be sure everybody around here knows what everybody else is doing (that collaboration/cooperation/communication thing).

It was inspiring to see so many dedicated, enthusiastic, excited and happy Parkies all in one place.

That's what I call a great way to spend my lunch hour.

When I posted the announcement about the meeting, I heard from a couple of sophomores and a couple of juniors, who asked whether THEY could have this kind of open meeting with me (the dean).

And we have been trying really hard to find a time that the Park Aud is free this week. Unfortunately (well, not exactly UNfortunately), the Aud is completely booked with all of our amazing student screenings.

So we're going to schedule those meetings as SOON as you get back to campus in January. The first week: we've already booked the Aud on Thursday, January 22 at noon for sophomores and on Tuesday, January 27 at noon for juniors.

And don't worry: we'll remind you.

In the meantime, if you have questions that need answers sooner than that, or concerns that can't wait, just come on up to the third floor and talk to Gwen; she'll find a time when we can meet before you head home for the holidays.....

So....what ELSE should you be doing this week?

(The Boston Aquarium)


I know, I know: You're kind of busy this week. And next.

But once you've made it home, and you've ho-ho-ho'ed (or some reasonable equivalent, whatever your traditions may be) for a couple of days, you're going to wake up one morning and think: Huh (or some reasonable equivalent). Wonder what I should be doing with my time that would help move me into the next phase of my career, that would make a big difference in my efforts to become the creative, intelligent and successful professional I know I can be? (That sounds like you, right?)

Here are some answers to that very good question (but PLEASE NOTE that some of them require you to register NOW in order to participate in January).

For example:

Registration is underway (it ends December 12) for

ROAD TRIPS TO THE REAL WORLD
January 5-13, 2009
http://www.eace.org/committees/roadtrips.html

Join Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers for these employer site visits, where you can LEARN ABOUT CAREERS, make contacts for INTERNSHIPS and JOBS, improve your NETWORKING skills.

ALL MAJORS & CLASS YEARS WELCOME to explore careers in:
PR and Advertising
Museums and Non-Profits
Broadcast Media
Government & Law Enforcement
Retail - Fashion
Finance
,,,and more

THIS YEAR'S SITES INCLUDE:

▪ City Year (Boston, MA)
▪ Hoffman Homes, Inc. (Littlestown, PA)
▪ Makovsky & Co (New York, NY)
▪ McCann Erickson (New York, NY)
▪ Medical Information Technology “MEDITECH” (Framingham, MA)
▪ Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY)
▪ Museum of Science (Boston, MA)
▪ New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)
▪ Partnership for a Drug Free America (New York, NY)
▪ Prime Access (New York, NY)
▪ Philadelphia Eagles/Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
▪ Philadelphia Zoo (Philadelphia, PA)
▪ Random House (New York, NY)
▪ Shawmut Design and Construction (Boston, MA)
▪ The TJX Companies, Inc. (Framingham, MA)
▪ University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), (Pittsburgh, PA)
▪ WB Mason (New York, NY)
▪ WHYY, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA)
▪ WQED Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA)
▪ WXPN (Philadelphia, PA)
▪ Young & Rubicam (New York, NY)

http://www.eace.org/committees/roadtrips.html

The program is free! You are responsible for your own transportation.

Brought to you by the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers, Road Trips to the Real World Committee.

Network Days: Your chance to make connections in NYC (how could you NOT do this?!?)

It's that time of year: eggnog, candles, music...and Network Days!

As you look ahead to your graduation in May (pick a May, any May....or a December, if that's what fits...), you should be scanning your professional horizons and making connections with anybody and everybody who could prove helpful as you start applying for your first "real" job.

A whole bunch of those people are going to be waiting for you to show up in some pretty amazing NYC media companies in early January. They're our alumni, a group of dedicated and generous people who have volunteered to play host (and hostess) to our Network Days program this year.

That means they'll be there to show our students around, introduce them to their colleagues, collect their resumes, agree to respond to their emails....

One of those students could be you.

Unless, of course, you don't participate in Network Days (what COULD you be thinking?)

But you can't participate if you don't apply.

Here's the deal:

Resumes are due Monday, Dec. 8 if you are interested in participating in the 1-credit course, Network Days in New York City over winter break.

So far we have scheduled sessions at the following locations:
Deluxe, Full-service Film and Digital Facility, www.bydeluxe.com
Susan Magrino Agency, Public Relations, Events and Branding Firm, www.smapr.com
Food Network, Cable Network Channel, www.foodnetwork.com

We are still working on securing:
Conde Nast Publications, publisher of "The New Yorker," "Vogue," "GQ," etc., www.condenast.com (but it is looking GOOD!)


This 1-credit course is open to all Junior and Senior Park majors and minors. To register you must bring a copy of your resume and sign up in person with April Johanns, Park 379 (third floor) no later than 5:00pm, Monday, Dec. 8. If you are currently studying abroad you can register by sending your resume to April via e-mail at ajohanns@ithaca.edu.

The 1-credit is applied to your SPRING semester and as long as you are under 18 credits there should not be a problem.
For those of you studying abroad this semester or planning to study abroad next semester...You are still eligible to apply. Your presence at 1 of the 2 mandatory meetings will be excused and you can receive or submit information and assignments by e-mail. If you are on campus however your attendance is mandatory.


NEW YORK CITY NETWORK DAYS
JANUARY 7-8, 2009

DETAILS:
Participate in this unique learning experience and meet working professionals over winter break in New York City! This is a one-credit opportunity for senior & junior Park majors to explore careers with alumni professionals. During the required two days you will visit organizations to learn directly from professionals about their industry, careers in the field, and tips on how to obtain work and/or internships -- to name a few. You will experience and learn from:

Deluxe, Full-service Film and Digital Facility, www.bydeluxe.com
Food Network, Cable Network Channel, www.foodnetwork.com
Susan Magrino Agency, Public Relations, Events and Branding Firm, www.smapr.com

We are still working on securing:
Conde Nast Publications, publisher of "The New Yorker," "Vogue," "GQ," etc., www.condenast.com

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is required at all four, 2.5 hour, sessions. Limited to 15 juniors and seniors with PREFERENCE given to seniors. Students are responsible for their own transportation, lodging and food. This is a one-credit course with required reading, a paper assignment, and 2 required class meetings. Mandatory pre-meeting is on Tuesday, December 16 from 12:10-1 pm, Location TBA and a mandatory post meeting is on Thursday, January 22, from 12:10 -1 pm, Location TBA. Attendance at these sessions are required.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS:
To register you must bring a copy of your resume and sign up in person with April Johanns, Park 379 (Third Floor) no later than 5:00pm, Monday, Dec. 8. You will be notified by e-mail no later than Wednesday, Dec. 10 if you have been selected to participate.

BONUS:
Attend the NYC Network Night, open to all IC students, and network with alumni from a variety of industries in a reception style format.
Location and registration information TBA.

To all first-year Parkies: Want lunch?

Hi everybody,

This is a special invitation to all of our first-year Parkies to PLEASE join me for lunch on Tuesday, December 9, at 12:10 p.m. in the Auditorium. (OK, so it's just pizza, but there will be lots of it....)

I want to hear about how things are going, what we can do to make your experience as a Parkie better, your stories about what went well (and didn't) this semester (though this isn't a discussion of individual classes or faculty; if you have concerns or praise about those, please feel free to see me individually up in my office).

Nobody knows better than students what works here in the Park School - and what doesn't. And as first-year students, you still see the school with 'new' eyes and bring a perspective that most of us don't.

Please stop by and share it with me. You talk (and eat), and I'll listen.

Thanks.

Parkie alum writes film for XBox delivery (very cool)

(written by Helene Maddux for Ithaca College, 12/4/2008)


A little over a year ago while working at Lightstorm Entertainment, a small production company in Santa Monica, John Clisham '03 got the chance of a lifetime. Microsoft had launched the video store for its Xbox 360 gaming system and was toying with the idea of creating original content for its Xbox Live Marketplace. Microsoft executives working with Lightstorm happened to notice John working on short horror films.

"They saw me working late at night and on weekends making these little horror movies and asked me to pitch to them, which I did," he says.

John is now the first person to direct a short film distributed exclusively via Microsoft's online marketplace.

As he describes it, his 9.5-minute horror thriller, Janitor, is the story of "a pretty young girl stuck in detention, and this janitor goes on a rampage. It's sort of Frankenstein vs. Beautiful Girl." The film stars Jenna Dewan, the lead in the dance film Step Up and a supporting player in The Grudge 2.

Janitor debuted October 27, just in time for Halloween. "So far it's doing well," John says. "My team hasn't received the official numbers yet, but for the first three weeks it was up, Janitor was the no. 1 download on the entire Xbox Live service."

Janitor is the first of eight confirmed Xbox Live original short films. The other seven began going live November 19 to help show off the HD video capabilities of the New Xbox Experience. Of the eight films, John's is the only serious horror film. The rest are horror comedies directed by some big names in horror filmmaking: James Wan and Leigh Whannell (Saw), Andrew Douglas (the Amityville Horror remake), James Gunn (Slither and Dawn of Dead), David Slade (Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night), Adam Green (Hatchet), Lucky McKee (May and The Woods), and Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut).

"One of the best things about this experience is that I get to bump shoulders with directors I've been idolizing for a number of years," John says.

The original short films are free to watch and generate revenue via advertising. According to John, Microsoft agreed to make the films as a way to test the waters. If they're downloaded by enough people, Microsoft will turn Xbox Live into a "television network of sorts," he says, expanding original content into outright series.

John says Ithaca College played a big part in his current success. "In 2002, I did the LA program. My internship was at Lightstorm Entertainment -- which many people told me was a bad place to intern, just because of the nature of the business. Lightstorm is James Cameron's production company -- and the rule of thumb is if you want to get experience, to really be a part of something, you stay away from the A-listers. But I couldn't resist; I took the internship. And, yes, for the first month or so, I read scripts and made copies. But then I got lucky -- the tech crew found me, and before long I was helping out with computers, networking, and a few small projects. It was a dream internship after that. I actually went in on days when I wasn't scheduled to be there. It was a cool place to be, and they didn't mind me sticking around."

"After graduation, I worked at IC for a couple of years for ITS [Information Technology Services]," John says, "until Lightstorm hired me and moved me to the West Coast. From that point on the experience really became Lightstorm University. I was doing so many different and unique things that it almost felt like school again. Through my experience at Lightstorm, I got the Xbox gig, and now because of the Xbox gig, I'm getting other deals."

"But it wasn't just the LA program or the Park School that prepared me," he adds. "I like to think it was IC in general that really got me here. I learned to write at IC, I learned about technology through my employment at ITS -- and that made me well rounded and well versed in different areas. IC really taught me to explore my surroundings and pick up as much as I could."

And in the "enough is enough" category.....

Want to learn animation? photography? lighting? sound design? grant writing?

We finally have figured out a way to do it.

Ever since I got to the Park School in 2004, students have been asking us to find a way to help them learn skills that aren't covered in their particular majors, OR to help them develop greater expertise in a particular professional process: lighting, directing, animation, the business of grant writing, photography.

This year, for the first time, our amazing full-time production faculty -- the folks in the school who truly are experts in all of these creative and professional practices -- are going to be offering an entire curriculum of one-credit mini-courses.

And every one of them will be open to all of you.

No prerequisites -- except your interest and motivation AND your status as a Parkie.

Cool, huh?

What follows here is the list of the courses that will be offered in the spring -- but this is just the beginning. We'll be offering the same kind of "menu" of mini-courses every semester from now on.

We're building opportunity into our curriculum -- flexible, accessible, and driven by your interests.

Let us know if there are courses you'd like us to offer that aren't on the list.

Mini courses in the Park School for Spring 2009:

Course Number: GCOM 29214-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Workshop in Stop-Motion Model Animation
Professor: Jason Harrington
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Friday, March 27 (1 to 4 p.m.), Saturday, March 28 (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.),
Sunday, March 29 (9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)
Location: Park 168
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This mini-course is a hands-on workshop in how to construct, design and animate 3D models. Using stop-motion techniques, you will construct animation characters in your design and use digital tools to capture their movements.

Course Number: GCOM 29215-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Basic Color Management and the Craft of Digital
Photographic Printmaking
Professor: Ron Jude
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Saturday, Jan. 31 (9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.),
Sunday, Feb. 1 (9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.)
Location: Park 175
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This two-day course will focus on Photoshop and film scanning techniques that enable you to produce high-end ink jet prints that meet or beat the quality of traditional chemical darkroom prints.

Course Number: GCOM 29216-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Making Pictures that Lie, a course in Advanced Photographic Manipulation
Professor: Steven Skopik
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: TBA
Location: Park 185A
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This two-day course will focus on Photoshop techniques that will allow you to seamlessly alter the appearance and meanings of photographic images. The course will offer an accelerated tutorial in image alteration techniques, and will touch on the implications such techniques have on our faith in the truth-telling capacity of the photograph.



Course Number: GCOM 29217-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Portrait Photography in the Studio and On Location
Professor: Janice Levy
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: TBA
Location: Park 144 and Park 175
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This minicourse will introduce the student to portrait photography. Participants will learn how to execute an effective “head shot” in the studio for publicity purposes and how to create a portrait on location using both natural and auxiliary lighting. Issues of what makes an effective and interesting portrait will be discussed in great detail.

Course Number: GCOM 29218-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Lighting Workshop
Professor: Cathy Crane
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Saturday, Feb. 8 (10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), Sunday, Feb. 9 (10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Location: Park 138
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This two-day course will focus on techniques for shaping light that will be useful when shooting in a studio or on location on HD or 16mm formats. Get acquainted with the equipment available from the Park Portable Equipment Center, get smart about electricity, and get your hands on lamps. We will shoot scenes in a studio as well as on location in Ithaca.

Course Number: GCOM 29219-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Introduction to Post Production
Professor: Tom Nicholson
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Block 1, Fridays, noon to 2 p.m.
Location: TBA
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 30
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This course will explore the technical and aesthetic methods of television post-production. Students will develop both creative and technical skills through a combination of exercises and projects. Upon completion students will have skills in the following software: Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack, Color, DVD Studio Pro, Motion. Students will be assessed using a project critique. Television is a labor-intensive medium so expect to spend considerable time working outside of class.



Course Number: GCOM 29220-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Documentary and Media Art Archival Retrieval:
Preserving, Retrieving and Archiving Magnetic Media
Professor: Megan Roberts
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Friday, Feb. 6 (4 to 6:30 p.m.), Saturday, Feb. 7 (1 to 5 p.m.), Sunday, Feb. 8
(1 to 5 p.m.)
Location: Park 141
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: Whether you are planning to be a documentarian and hope to have the ability to navigate media archives (that would include various audio and video analog formats which may not be digitized), or simply would like to help if a family member brings you a tape from the basement that is covered with mold and asks, “what is this and can it be saved,” this course will prepare you to know what to do or what can be done.

Course Number: GCOM 29221-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Installation Art Practicum
Professor: Megan Roberts
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Saturday, March 28 (2 to 4:30 p.m.), Sunday, March 29 (noon to 5 p.m.),
Sunday, April 5 (noon to 5 p.m.)
Location: Handwerker Gallery and Park classroom TBA
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: Installation art is a genre of Western contemporary art that cam to prominence in the 1970s. Installation artists use sculptural material and other media to modify the way in which a viewer experiences a particular space. In this instance the Handwerker Gallery will be exhibiting four thematically related sound and video installation works by Megan Roberts and Ray Ghirardo. This course provides students with the opportunity to work with the artists in the Handwerker Gallery and experience first-hand what goes into complex site-specific media art works – involving on site placement and construction of sculptural elements, multiple video projection systems, and digital masking and lighting. Students will be required to complete a series of readings and lectures/demonstrations prior to working on the installation.

Course Number: GCOM 29222-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Editing Tracey Fragments
Professor: John Scott
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Block 1, Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon
Location: Park 168
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: In 2008 the low budget independent movie “The Tracey Fragments” starring Ellen Page released nearly all of its raw footage on the internet and invitged the public to make its own edit of the feature fiction movie. The official release of “The Tracy Fragments” was already an innovative highly visual story that featured a multi-screen, multi-layered narrative that moved backwards and forwards in time. In this class each student will be given the footage to two scenes from the movie and given instructions for how to edit using multiple screen effects. Each student will then edit his or her own version of at least two scenes.

Course Number: GCOM 29223-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Painting with Light: A Class for the Moving
Image
Professor: Gossa Tsegaye
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Friday, Feb. 13 (9 a.m. to noon), Saturday, Feb. 14 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Sunday, Feb. 15
(1 to 5 p.m.)
Location: Studio A
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: This course will examine from both a practical and theoretical basis how light works in a studio and in a field setting. The focus of this course is on lighting by working as a group on projects and by creating a different kind of scenario students will examine their own experience, but learn to think in visual terms how light works in harmony with sound and pictures while complementing the story on the screen.

Course Number: GCOM 29224-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Sound Design Fundamentals
Professor: Meg Jamieson
LA/NLA: Non liberal arts
Dates/Times: Friday, Feb. 13 (time TBA), Saturday, Feb. 14 (time TBA), Sunday, Feb. 15
(time TBA)
Location: Park 138
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: In this short course, students will learn the basic elements which go into a strong sound design, including major sound designers and a tour of their work, analyzing a script for sound, identifying and assessing a sound design, and learning rudimentary audio fiex for Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack and Garage Band.

Course Number: GCOM 29304-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: Grant Writing for the Arts
Professor: Meg Jamieson
LA/NLA: Liberal arts
Dates/Times: TBA
Location: TBA
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 30 students
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: During this short grant writing course, students will learn the fundamentals of grant writing in the arts including learning about the major granting routes, identifying types of granting agencies, assessing the focus and agenda of granting agencies, and developing a grant writing template for a special project.

Course Number: GCOM 29305-01
Credits: 1 credit
Course Title: Minicourses in Communication: A Crash Course in Propaganda
Professor: Ben Crane
LA/NLA: Liberal arts
Dates/Times: Block 2, Mondays and Wednesdays, 4 to 5:15 p.m.
Location: Park 279
Prerequisites: None
Capacity: 15 students
Enrollment limits: Park School majors and minors only.
Course Description: Americans are among the most heavily propagandized people in the world, subjected to an onslaught of spin, spurious news, media propaganda, hype and persuasion. This course is a practical introduction to the nature, history, and techniques of propaganda, useful for media consumers, producers, and journalists.

It's that time of year again...and there IS a right answer....

Hard to believe it's that time of year again...but it is.

As always at the close of the semester, the Park School is buzzing with creative energy (OK, so some of it is caffeine-induced....but it's creatively caffeine-induced) and deadline anxiety.

A few words of wisdom (deanly wisdom - it's not exactly Solomon-esque, but it is the voice of experience):

Relax. Breathe. Smile. You always make it -- even though, at this point of the semester, it always seems like you won't.

At this point, you're always sure there's no way to get it all done. You're always positive you're not going to finish everything in time, there's just NO WAY....but you know, somehow you always do.

You always have that extraordinary and surprising moment when you look around, you exhale, and you realize that it's over....all the exams and the papers and the projects and the meetings and the sleepless nights....it's all over.

Sometime between this minute and that one, do something nice -- for yourself and for your fellow Parkies.

Take an hour -- or two, or three -- and show up at one of the extraordinary events that run nonstop between tomorrow, December 4, and the end of the semester on December 19.

Here's the list:


Thursday, December 4

Photography Exhibition and Design Class - Gallery Event
6-8 p.m.
126 The Commons, second floor (entrance near Petrune)
* Also open on Friday, Dec. 5 from 5-8 p.m.

Wednesday, December 10

Communication, Technology & Policy Graduate Class, Poster presentations
4-6:30 PM
Park Hall, 277

WICB "Hobo's Lullaby" Holiday Music Party (a.k.a. Cool Yule)
5-8 p.m.
Mural Lounge, Clinton House on Cayuga Street


Thursday, December 11

Doc Research Screening
7:30 PM
Park Auditorium

Senior Photo Workshop
Title: I Feel When You I Want
Opening Reception: 7 to 10PM
Location: 235 S. Cayuga St. (corner of W. Clinton and Cayuga)
Additional viewing hours: Friday and Saturday from noon-8 PM and Sunday from noon-6 PM

Friday, December 12

Video Workshop (& Animation) Screening
7-11pm
Park Auditorium

Critical Issues Class, Formal poster presentations
9-9:50AM
Park Hall, 270


Saturday, December 13

Intermediate Field Production Screening
Noon-2:30 p.m.
Park Auditorium

Non-Fiction (TV-R) Screening
2:30-4PM
Park Auditorium

Advanced Cinema Production-Fiction Screening
4-7 PM
Park Auditorium

Cinema: Senior Thesis Screening - Part 1
7:30-11PM
Park Auditorium
(Reception begins at 7 PM)


Sunday, December 14

Advanced Cinema Production-Sound
10:30-Noon
Park Auditorium
Installation TBD

Advanced Cinema Production-Animation Screening
Noon- 2PM
Park Auditorium

Advanced Cinema Production-Experimental Screening
2-5PM
Park Auditorium

Cinema: Senior Thesis Screening - Part 2
6-10PM
Park Auditorium

Monday, December 15

Critical Issues Class, Formal poster presentations
7:30 - 10AM
Park Hall, 270

Cinema Production 1 - Part 1
Noon-1PM
Park Auditorium

Tuesday, December 16

Cinema Production 1 - Part 2
9:30 am-noon
Park Auditorium

Wednesday, December 17

Critical Issues Class, Formal poster presentations
4:30- 5:50PM
Park Hall, 270

Communication, Technology & Policy Graduate Class
Virtual Presentation in SecondLife (2L) at the Park Island's Amphitheater
*Some undergrad students will also present for extra credit
6-7 PM

Thursday, December 18

Cinema Production 2 Screening
7:30 PM
Park Auditorium

Friday, December 19

Advanced Cinema Production- Cinematography Screening
6:30 PM
Park Auditorium


I'll see you there.

Jeremy Scahill, HBO's Election Correspondent with Bill Maher, comes to Park

JEREMY SCAHILL
"Independent Media in the Era of Conglomerates"
Tuesday, December 2
Park Auditorium 7:30 PM

Few journalists have raised as much hell in such a youthful career as Jeremy Scahill. The regular contributor to Democracy Now! and The Nation, and election correspondent for HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, will give a presentation on Tuesday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Park Auditorium. Scahill will discuss "The Importance of Independent Media in the Era of Conglomerates."

Scahill has won the prestigious George Polk Award twice. He won this year's Polk Book Award for his best-seller -- Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army -- which sparked federal investigations into private military. Scahill and Amy Goodman received the1998 Polk Award for their radio documentary, Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, exposing the oil company's alliance with a dictatorship that led to the death of two environmental activists. Scahill has reported from Iraq to Yugoslavia to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS’s NewsHour and Bill Moyers Journal.

His talk, which is sponsored by the Park Center for Independent Media, is free and open to the public.