News

Bassano in Amalfi for "National Geographic Traveler"

Nat'l Geographic Traveler/Massimo BassanoMMW photography instructor Massimo Bassano recently traveled within his native country of Italy to shoot the cover story for April 2010’s National Geographic Traveler magazine.

The story, written by Elizabeth Berg, is an account of the author’s experiences during a solo one-week cooking vacation in the coastal hill town of Positano, along the Amalfi coast. Accompanying her article are Bassano’s mouthwatering images of quintessential Italian fare: colorful fresh vegetables and pasta in tomato sauce and herbs, as well as a variety of images of the people and places that make Positano special.

The story can be found in its entirety online at the National Geographic Traveler website, along with Bassano’s accompanying image gallery. A photojournalist with international publication credits, Massimo leads his workshop The Human Touch here in Maine June 6 - 12.

MMW Instructor Horn On MediaStorm Project

"Take Care" on MediaStormMultimedia faculty Brad Horn is fresh off the site of a recent documentary he helped produce in March as part of a workshop run by multimedia production studio MediaStorm. Take Care follows 22-year old Virginia Gandee, a single mother living in Staten Island, NY. One is initially struck by her appearance, with bright red hair and a dozen tattoos, but over the course of eight minutes the film quickly pulls in its viewers with a deeper story of Gin’s personal history, hopes for her daughter’s future as well as her own, and the love and care she has for her family.

As Associate Producer, one of Brad’s main roles was to help gather good sound for the piece. Acknowledging that in multimedia, sound is the most important vehicle in communicating a story, he says “we basically started with a radio piece, and then added visuals”. The resulting story is a well-composed, compelling account of one woman’s struggles and hopes which challenges viewers to look beyond initial stereotypes and get to know Gin as a complex, caring person. “This was just a great example of what you can do with such a talented and energetic group of people”, he remarked, citing the contribution of New York Times Magazine photographer Gillian Laub as especially valuable.  Currently Brad is working on another MediaStorm piece in Georgia. 

When he’s not teaching at MMW or producing for other multimedia projects, Brad works as a reporter, producer, and anchor for National Public Radio member station WAER in Syracuse, New York. Here in Maine, Brad teaches Introduction to Audio Storytelling.

Bloxham's Road Trip "Shootapalooza"

Shootapalooza imageAndy Bloxham is on his way to Maine from Louisiana, but he's taking a round-about route. This photographer and MMW instructor is turning a three-day trip in to an 11-day, 3,000-mile photo journey he's calling "Shootapalooza".

"Starting out on May 26, I'm going from Louisiana to Springfield, Missouri, then Des Moines, then Minneapolis, then Chicago, then Pittsburgh, then NYC, then Boston, then finally to Maine," says Andy, an LA native who received his MFA in photography from Louisiana Tech University. "At each stop, I'll be creating cinematic, constructed still images, each telling a unique fictional story, with area actors and models at various regional locations. Current estimates are for a total of 15 new images from the trip as I roll onto 70 Camden Street," destination Rockport.

Andy will also blog each step of the way on his website with production photos, video interviews, and travel insights.

Once in Maine, Andy will prepare to teach a series of summer workshops including From Lightroom to Photoshop June 6 - 12, Photoshop for Photographers June 13 - 19. In July, he leads Photoshop for Video July 4 - 10 and a 2-week Advanced Young Digital Photographers workshop July 11 - 24. Safe travels Andy - we'll be watching!

CIFF 2010 Calls for Entries

CIFF LogoThe Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) is now accepting submissions for the 2010 fest.  Documentary features and shorts of any length will be considered.  Fresh off a very successful 5th edition last October, CIFF has recently been recognized as one of the Top 25 Film Festivals for Documentary Films and Filmmakers Internationally and is quickly gaining serious attention from the film industry worldwide.   

"We love films that push the artistic boundaries of the form. We also love films that shed light on the important issues in our world. Most importantly, we love a good story," says Founder and Director, Benjamin Fowlie. Rough cuts and work-in-progress films are also invited for submission.  

There are several deadlines between now and the closing of submission on August 1st:  the early bird deadline is May 1, the regular deadline is June 15. For more information on how to submit, visit CIFF's website.

Trudell's Film Career Rolls in Boston

image: Shea RichardsMaine Media College graduate and MMW Young Artists film instructor, Travis Trudell, has built a steady filmmaking career for himself in Boston.

Since graduating in 2001, he has consistently gained industry experience on the East Coast, working as rigging grip and rigging electrician on films like 21, The Women 27 Dresses, and more recent projects like Edge of Darkness and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island.

Several films he's worked on will be released later this year, including Grown Ups with Adam Sandler, Salma Hayek, and Chris Rock, and Ben Affleck's The Town.

Travis leads his two-week MMW Young Filmmakers workshop for high school students June 27 - July 10 and returns to Rockport August 8 - 21 to teach Advanced Young Filmmakers.

 

MMW Partners with Immersion, Mountain Workshops

Mountain Workshops / Immersion Workshop LogosMaine Media has teamed up with Western Kentucky University's The Mountain Workshops and the NPPA Immersion Workshop to offer continued educational opportunities that will help both professional journalists and students entering the field.

"One of the great things about the journalism community is their willingness to share,” says MMW Multimedia Program Director, Tim McLaughlin. “Whether it's multimedia or photojournalism, I've been struck countless times by how enthusiastic these professionals can be when it comes to sharing their knowledge.”

At this year’s Immersion and The Mountain Workshops, one lucky participant in each program will receive a scholarship to attend a one-week multimedia workshop in Maine. Says McLaughlin who has worked to establish these industry collaborations, “We're excited to be a part of a community of workshops whose goal is to educate current and future generations of journalists in this time of flux."

Tim has assembled a who’s who of industry leaders to teach in MMW’s expanded multimedia program, including Tom Kennedy, Jonathan D. Woods, Bob Sacha, and Pamela Chen, plus NPPA Immersion’s Seth Gitner and Will Sullivan , and The Mountain Workshop’s Tim Broekema.

Visit MaineMedia.edu for complete course listings and faculty bios and for information about the Maine Media College multimedia tracks for the one-year Professional Certificate Program and low-residency Master of Fine Arts Degree program.

 

Digital Effects Seminar, Book Launch with Wright at NAB

Steve Wright "Digital Compositing for Film & Video", 3rd EditionMMW digital effects instructor Steve Wright introduces the third edition of his book Digital Compositing for Film and Video this month at the 2010 NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show.

Referred to by industry professionals as a “compositor’s bible,” Steve's book addresses real-world problems of digital compositing through a combination of theory and practical methods. The third edition, which arrives in bookstores and at Amazon.com in May, contains new material on 3D compositing, stereo and multi-pass CGI compositing.

A limited number of copies will be available for purchase and signing at NAB, where Steve will present Nuke, a powerful new compositing program from The Foundry that is quickly gaining popularity in the visual effects industry. Steve will demonstrate the program at The Foundry’s booth, SL2805, on April 13, 15, and 15. The NAB Show is the world’s largest digital media conference and runs from April 10-15, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV.

Steve Wright is a Senior Compositor, 2D Technical Director and a senior industry veteran in visual effects compositing with over 20 years of production experience. He will be teaching several classes this year at the Workshops, including Introduction to VFX Compositing and Advanced VFX Compositing.

VII Mentor Program Call for Applications

(c) Antonin Kratochvil / VIIThe VII Photo Agency is an international photographic collective of award-winning photojournalists. From time to time individual members may choose to adopt a young photographer to coach as they launch their careers in the professional world. These appointments are personal to the VII member photographers and are not mediated by VII Photo Agency. This year’s deadline for application to the VII Mentor program is May 7. Visit the VII website for complete application information.

Maine Media’s series of VII Master Classes continues this summer with photographers Ron Haviv, Gary Knight and Antonin Kratochvil all leading workshops in Rockport.

 

 

Pages

more