Roger Ebert posted my short film MAGRITTE MOMENT on his blog yesterday:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/movies-free-online/magritte-moment.html

And said "extraordinary short film. Ian Fischer has the right stuff."

Playing With the Pros!

In order to show all interested parties films that are nominated or considered for Academy Awards, each year Variety.com hosts the Variety Screening Series on both coasts. After the films are shown, the A-List filmmakers conduct a Q & A session, for the mostly industry audiences.

Last year, Digital Filmmaking instructor Jason Moore, an active industry professional, was asked by his contacts at Variety if he would produce a series for their website showing segments of the Q & A sessions. After a successful run, the team was asked back this year.

A comparable series is produced in Los Angeles by working professionals; their work is now side by side on the website with ours, created by students and graduates.

The interviews are edited into five minute webisodes and posted on Variety’s website immediately after the screening. There are about a dozen students on the crew. Three shoots have been completed for the films, “The Kings’s Speech,” starring Colin Firth, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” starring Michael Douglas, and “Solitary Man,” also starring Michael Douglas.

Students function as camera operators, editors and production managers. The positions are paid, and provide many students with their first professional job in the industry.

According to instructor Jason Moore who acts as supervisor, “This is as good as a first time job as there could be in this industry. I wish I had had this opportunity when I was just starting out!”

Jason hopes the team will continue to be asked back each year, and that this assignment will become an annual opportunity for students to gain real-world experience, mirroring the school’s involvement with the Tribeca Film Festival.

These are the students on the crew so far:
Chris Conti, Jennifer Hahn, Eddie Pages, Daniel Gonzales, and recent graduate Jose Alvarado. The television show "Extra" will be screening a portion of the "Solitary Man" video, edited by Jennifer Hahn, as part of their feature story on Michael Douglas.

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=videoBC&bctid=700809031001

Variety Screening Series 2010

Deck the Halls at 67 Livingston!

According to Tavis Young, Director of Resident Life, students had a great time decorating 67 Livingston for the holiday season.

Halloween Party at 67 Livingston!

A Glow in the Dark Halloween bash took place at 67 Livingston for resident and non-resident students alike. A DJ played great music, prizes were awarded, and refreshments were served. The event was facilitated by Tavis Young, Director of Student Life and Housing.

Successful Career Services Week!

From October 25 - October 28, the Career Services department, under the leadership of Director Marc Scoleri, staged a week of career-focused seminars, workshops, and visits from industry professionals.

On Monday, Carmen Reynal, Career Services Advisor for Interior Design, had as her guest, Clodagh, who is well-known for the quality of her designs that seek to eliminate the extraneous clutter in our lives, and focus on the substantive essentials that define our every day experiences. In the photo she and Carmen are shown with Interior Design department chair Anthony Caradonna.

Clodagh vividly shared with the students how her willingness to be inspired by anything and everything, and her ability to build extraordinarily successful businesses, is available to people regardless of their backgrounds.

According to Carmen, Clodagh is a prominent names in the Architectural/Interior Design world, and we were fortunate to have her share her experience and her designs with students and faculty.

She has welcomed interns and has hired those those who do well in her studio.

On Tuesday, October 26, Sr. Career Services Advisor for Fashion, Regina Pokidaylo, welcomed outstanding graduate, Nicole Hinton. While a student, Niki worked at 3 internship positions, all while doing well in her studies and serving as a Resident Advisor in student housing! She was recently the subject of a feature story in her hometown paper, the Wilmington, DE, News Journal. She will write a weekly blog for the paper as well. She discussed with current students the value of augmenting their education with internships.

On Wednesday, October 27, a SRO crowd attended a Marvel Comics Internship Workshop, facilitated by Donna Holder, Career Services Advisor for Graphic Design. Attendees were very interested in learning how to be successful in securing and learning from an internship at this well-known company. Donna is shown with the Marvel representatives who spoke to our students.

On Thursday, October 28, Alumni Coordinator Marifrances Boccia facilitated an "Ask Alumni Workshop," providing the opportunity for students to hear two successful graduates discuss what they learned in their internships. What did they do right? What did they wish had done differently? The speakers were two alumni who have graduated in the past five years and are employed in industries related to their internships: Rob Roan, Graphic Design, 2007 & Vivienne Pash, Fashion Design 2007.

Halloween Party for Ai New York City Students!

On Friday, October 29, students celebrated Halloween in the 5th floor lounge. Most were dressed in costume, some extremely creative. The party was facilitated by Joe Pirrello and the Student Affairs staff. Pizza, soft drinks and candy galore were served.

Susi Graf's TV class students shot a ghost story for Halloween!

Halloween Festivities!

Glow in the Dark party at 67 Livingston, Penthouse Lounge, given by Residence Life & Housing. Live DJ, Food, Prizes - all students invited to participate.

Cool vs. Cruel Winners Celebrated!

Fashion Design department chairs Amanda Lovell and Vikki Nulman took the top 3 winners of the Cool vs. Cruel competition out for a celebratory lunch at neighboring restaurant, Le Cercle Rouge. First place, Travis Oestreich, second, Ricky Jimenez, third, Olatunde Onakoya. The competition promotes the use of cruelty-free materials. Travis is now one of the 10 finalists in the national competition.

Talent Shows Early!

Two years ago, Nicole Hinton had already shown herself to be an outstanding Fashion Design student. She competed in the Cool vs. Cruel competition, co-sponsored by The Art Institutes and the Humane Society of the United States. She was most excited about participating in Fashion Week, and volunteered each time the opportunity came along. “I wanted to be involved in any way I could,” she said, “and I was willing to do anything, including getting coffee!”

“Being in New York City for fashion week in Bryant Park was like a dream. I am so grateful that the school has provided this opportunity. I learned a lot about how much work goes into putting on a show, but that it pays off in the end. I still know this is what I want to do, even after seeing the chaos.”

Your correspondent interviewed her for a Student Success Story. Here is her quote from the last paragraph of that profile:

“Looking back at all I’ve done, coming to the Art Institute was the perfect choice for me. Instructors and staff have recognized my hard work and have been extremely encouraging. I feel the hard work will pay off, and I’m more than prepared for what the future holds.”

The future did indeed hold promise for Niki, and she was ready.

After graduation, she returned to her home town of Middletown, Delaware, creating her own line, Nicole J. by Niki Hinton. She started her business in Delaware instead of New York City, because, “I believe Delaware needs a young custom dress designer. I want to design affordable, one of a kind pieces for any occasion. Eventually I’d love to see my pieces sell in Delaware boutiques and possibly a boutique of my own.”

A major feature article about her appeared in the Delaware News Journal (the state's largest newspaper) and delawareonline.com. She also writes a weekly blog for the paper, and is definitely making a name for herself.

Instructors Star in Film Festivals!

Digital Filmmaking instructors Ian Fischer and Susi Graf currently have films being shown around the country. (As the photo shows, Ian's films have appeared at Cannes as well.)

Ian's short film and music videos are playing in 6 film fests this month:

Vampyre! A PAIN LIKE THIS music video
Spookey Movie (DC)
Vampire Film Festival (New Orleans)
Rhode Island Film Festival (Rhode Island)

FOET short film
DMVFF (DC)
Chicago Film Brigade (Chicago)
Flyway FilM Festival (Milwaukee)

Susi's full-length feature, "Lost in the Crowd," has been shown at Frameline, San Francisco (premiere), in North Carolina, Atlantic City, and Rochester, with the next showing at a festival in Chicago. In addition, Spelman College in Atlanta is flying her in to show the film and give a talk. Music plays a big part in the film. Hollywood composer, Nicholas Wright composed the Lost in the Crowd theme song;
Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons donated his world-wide hit “You Are My Sister;” the third song, composed and performed for the film is
“Skin Deep.”

Stylesight Broadens Students' Learning

On October 19, students and faculty gathered in the Gallery for a demonstration of Stylesight.com, a leading trend forecasting website that is now accessible to students and faculty at no cost. Britt Kapec, Stylesight’s East Coast “site genius,” showed participants how to create their own logins for the site, watch runway videos, build mood boards, download patterns, flats and clip art, and more. She also explained how trend analysis and forecasting is used in the fashion industry. For more information contact the Librarian at benichols@aii.edu.

Meet the Greek Night!

On Friday, October 8, a "Meet the Greek" event was held at 67 Livingston (school sponsored housing). Students made their own togas. Awards were give to the most creative designs. Director of Residential Life and Housing, Tavis Young, was in charge.

Francisco Toto Vargas' Documentary

A former feature film actress in her native Denmark, Ulla Darni is the star of a documentary by Digital Filmmaking instructor Francisco Vargas. The film depicts her history and her process as she creates paintings, lighting pieces and sculptures in her Catskills studio.

Francisco met when Ulla when he was a graduate student, and was impressed with her work and personality. Ulla’s talent is so perceptible that she has been hailed as “Today’s Tiffany.” She had never allowed a documentary on her work before, but she said yes to Francisco, who was assisted in the documentary by AiNYC student Gabriel Garcia Rosa.

Collectors of her works include Prince Charles of England, Richard Rockefeller, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Cher, Goldie Hawn, and many other celebrities.

The multi-talented artist spent seven years as a feature film actress in her native Denmark. Now she is back in front of the camera as the star of this documentary. Francisco Vargas has captured the colorful essence of Ulla as she paints, plays the harp and shares her multifaceted life.

Link to documentary teaser http://www.interactivenations.com/DocumentariesUlla.html

Jennifer Hahn's Documentary

As her final project, outstanding Digital Filmmaking student Jennifer Hahn is creating an independent study documentary. Instructor Roz Sohnen is acting as mentor for Jennifer's project, helping her through the producing/directing process.

Jennifer is following a small technology/telecom company called M5 Networks over 6 months, as they take a unique journey with the Paul Green School of Rock.

Close to half of M5's employees are participating in the program which includes weekly private music lessons with instructors from the Paul Green School of Rock, split into 6 bands. Many of these employees have never picked up an instrument; some are learning a new one. Other employees who are already professional musicians are coaching the bands along with the School of Rock instructors. In December, the bands will compete against each other in a Battle of the Bands competition at a local performance venue.

The film will follow M5's rock journey, as well as an in-depth story of how a new business thrives and survives from small start-up to national presence. A series of webisodes, trailers, and a final, longer film will be produced. M5's program has already been written up in the NY Post and will soon be picked up by other media outlets.

"M5 Rock" - Trailer 1 from Jennifer Hahn on Vimeo.

Student Helps Increase Autism Awareness

Frances Gutierrez is a Fashion Design student whose daughter is moderately autistic. She works tirelessly to increase awareness and raise funds for associated organizations.

On October 1st, she produced a fashion show, with proceeds going to help build a school for autistic children in Puerto Rico. Fran’s nephew who lives in PR is also autistic, and there are limited resources for assistance there.

The Fashion Show was held in the Times Square area. All twenty models were AiNYC students, and the designs were also by Ai fashion students. $6,000 was raised so far, and contributions are still coming in.

At the show to show their support were Joe Pirrello, Paul Henkel, Wendy Lindberg, Larissa Losilevich, Patricia McCoy and Gordon Wine.

Steve Rude coming to AiNYC!

Steve Rude, aka Steve "The Dude" Rude, noted comic magazine artist and illustrator with a world-wide reputation, will deliver a guest lecture on Thursday, October 14 from 5 - 7 in the gallery. Steve is coming to our school because Digital Filmmaking instructor Ian Fischer is currently creating a major documentary about the artist. See the documentary trailer:

Rude Dude documentary Comicon trailer from ian fischer on Vimeo.

Student's Dream Comes True!

Kenneth Martinez was the local winner of the Americans for the Arts/Art Institutes Poster Design competition in 2008. He has been thriving at The Art Institute of New York City, where his native talent has been trained and shaped by his instructors. It seems important to note that winning the competition is predictive of later success in school.

With the assistance of Career Services Advisor Donna Holder, Kenny has just earned a sought-after internship at Marvel Comics. He is beyond excited, saying, “I’ve always wanted to be a Comic Book artist, but now I see I can still work for Marvel, but as a Graphic Designer. My dream came true!”