Video Arts and Screenwriting

Snow Death

2010-03-22T09:49:00.000-05:00

Another awesome production, this one by Omer Farooq and Cody Allbrink. Gotta shout out to Casey Villebrun though, his score makes the movie work.

Snow Death from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

I've been thinkin, With Keke Parker

2010-03-12T22:26:00.005-06:00

"I been Thinkin' with Keke Parker is a weekly video blog produced by Keke Parker and the DMA Video Department. Keke has a great way of telling it like it is, she's sarcastic, a little cutting, and she doesn't pull any punches, but it's her great big smile and her fantastic wit that make her spots shine. Go to http://kekebeenthinkin.blogspot.com to view her site and watch her video

Congratulations to the Hit the Couch Crew

2010-02-18T11:29:00.000-06:00

Their short film TARGET HIGH was named as an official selection for the Watertown Film Festival. In its fourth year, the Watertown FF was founded and is directed by high school go-getter Andrew Hatling, himself a talented young filmmaker. It's nice to see the future of Minnesota Filmmaking creating successes like these. Way to go HTC Crew, as well as the rest of the DMA staff and students who contributed to TARGET HIGH.

Finally, it's Here!!!

2010-01-29T15:21:00.002-06:00

Hit the Couch, Season 2, Episode 1 from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

Another Great Commercial Parody Makes it Through Post Production

2010-01-13T21:22:00.001-06:00

These things sometimes stack up a little. When we give our post-production sound class a big project (like the coming episode of Hit the Couch) we can sometimes create a back-up with all of these little ones. Well they cranked this guy out the other day because Forest Olivier - the creative force behind it - was very anxious to see the finished product. Of course Forest had lots of help on this - like all of our projects, one student takes the lead on what is really a group project. Special thanks to Nick Fuego for playing the part of the "doctor."

Insta-Fro from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

.EDU News

2010-01-12T23:04:00.000-06:00

Read the latest .EDU News by following this link to our online newsletter...

Copyright Infringement or Compliment?

2010-01-04T21:57:00.001-06:00

We're just going to take this as a major compliment. Watch this 2006-07 video by Jarvis Gibson and Josh Carlson, then take a look at the Zachary Levi short, part of the Liberty Mutual Responsibility Project. Seem a little similar?

The Good Deed from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

Two New Commercial Parodies... both sprays???

2009-12-15T14:40:00.001-06:00

Ice Cold Spray from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

Swagger Spray from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

More Student Storyboards

2009-12-14T22:48:00.002-06:00

Ninja Assassin, by Ryan Gregersen

(Click here to see the full size version)

"Black Guy's Revenge" or "Timmy's Payback" by Deon'dre Bradley

(Click here to see full size version)

"Basketball Problems"

2009-12-11T14:08:00.001-06:00

Take a look at this storyboard for a short film created on Bitstrips.com. It's the work of DMA Video Arts students Cody Allbrink, Rimari Howard, Rashad Samuels, and Omer Farooq.

(Click here to see the full size version)

Double Whammy Banner ad by Cody McKee

2009-12-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

The Graphic Arts Department has created another great animated banner ad for one of the commercial parodies that we made last year, this one created by graphic artist (and advanced video student) Cody McKee. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this blog to see Cody's work. And click on the banner to see the video.

2009-10's first completed product!

2009-11-23T15:04:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to George Wood, Kristofer Johnson, Sharod Wills, Cassandra Klopsleisch, Demera Larkins - members of the freshman Intro to the DMA class. They are the first class to complete a project, get it through post, and post it on the internet. Enjoy...

The Smother, "the Snuggy without the holes" from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

Halloween Postcards

2009-10-26T08:58:00.004-05:00

We got some new toys this year in the Video Arts Department and we've been having fun with them in a couple of different ways. We've been doing some green-screen production in the advanced class (Video for TV), and are just starting to introduce it to a couple of the intro classes.

Working with a green screen is not easy, and there are two aspects that need to be learned - the actual production and the post production. It's important when setting up the green screen to light the screen evenly to ensure an even shade of green. You must also light the subject well, to provide for a realistic image when you superimpose it over the background. Lastly, you need to be sure that your subject is not wearing clothing or jewelry - or even tattoos - that are the same color as the background (you can see in one of our examples, a student with a cyan shirt that appeared blue actually had enough green in it to become semi-transparent).

In post production, we use Final Cut Pro to "key" out the green of the background. This is not as easy as it sounds. Ask any professional, chroma keying is a skill that takes lots and lots of practice, there is not a concrete recipe for success.

With that being said - I think our students did a pretty good job learning the basics of this technique. Take a look at the results:

To see all of the MTS High School's Video Postcards, go to YouTube...

Disconnected

2009-09-21T21:35:00.001-05:00

Melody Gilbert is a great friend of our program and a two time panalist at the .EDU Film Festival. This is a great way to look at this doc that Ms Gilbert produced with her students. Enjoy...

Week 3, 2009-10

2009-09-15T19:21:00.003-05:00

We've had a great start this year, despite some complications with registration which have left many of the elective classes light on students. We're slowly filling up and are looking forward to next term, when students will be able to adjust their schedules and get into the classes they want. I know I can speak for the entire DMA when I say that we are missing some great students right now and are really looking forward to seeing them next term.

In Video Arts and Screenwriting, we started out the year signing up for a couple of social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter. We will be using the two sites to better our communication in and out of school. The two sites will be used in different ways.

Facebook is a way for students, parents, and teachers to follow news and events in the school and specifically the DMA. We post pictures, student projects, links to articles and videos about education and the digital arts, and anything else we can think of. "Fans" of the Digital Media Academy's page can also post insights or just say, "hi."

Twitter is more of a communication tool to help me keep in touch with my students. Students can access Twitter from their cell phones, ipods, home computers, or school computers. They can log on to Twitter's site or view the feed on my Moodle classes or at the school email/Google docs start page. I post reminders, links, and little pieces of homework via Twitter. I will "tweet" 3-4 questions or though provoking pieces of info each term. I'll give out 5 points to every student who chimes in. Students should be checking their Twitter accounts whenever possible.

If any parents, friends, staff, or students who aren't in my classes want to follow along on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook, there are links on the right side of this page.

Thanks for reading... TW

One Week Down - 9/07/09

2009-09-07T08:06:00.007-05:00

Well, we got through our first week of classes. Things went very smoothly this year. With the creation of the MTS High School - a combination of the old Tech and Com Arts High Schools into one entity - we have organized the students into houses. One of the most successful elements of ComArts High, and the one that I think contributed to the absence of fights and other conflicts between students, was our size. We were a small community and the students all knew each other well, no matter what color, age, or neighborhood they came from. I hope that the creation of the house system in the new MTS High will create several small communities that will work in the same way.

I work in the 10th and 11th grade house and we spent the first two days getting to know each other, coming up with a name (the Jackie Robinson, or J.R. house), designing logos and t-shirts, decorating the pod, and playing kickball (yes, I was bruised, scraped, and stiff the next day). The students put together a mission statement that I was particularly proud of. I really think they did a good job. We directed them a bit, but the words and structure are all theirs:

Our mission at the Jackie Robinson House is to express our individuality with a positive attitude. We at the J. R. House will provide support for each other through loyalty, trust, honesty, and encouragement; with courage, intelligence, passion, and respect. We are motivated to achieve greatness and overcome all possible obstacles. Breaking barriers between races and accepting people for who they are is our house-wide goal.

On Thursday, we were back to our classrooms and regular structure. It was a little strange to go back to the old studio at the old ComArts building, surrounded by middle school kids. The new studios for the Digital Media Academy are behind schedule, due to some zoning issues - more about that in another post.

We were all a bit disappointed at the sizes of our classes - very few students in almost all sections of every department. We are seeing our returning students from ComArts - I've got a great group of veterans for Video For TV, but very few new students. We are told that the students are reluctant to leave campus and come over to the middle school for DMA classes. We've got to find a solution for this. We are hoping that we'll get a rush of new students coming in on the Tuesday, the traditional day for school start, and that we can overcome this fear of the middle school site.

Most sections were spent just getting to know each other, looking at the past work of students in the department, and introducing students to Moodle, Google Apps, and some of the new social networking services we are using this year.

I've decided to use Twitter to communicate with students. Each student will have a Twitter account that will be linked to the Video Department's account. I will use the service to communicate to the kids about homework, to remind them of upcoming projects, for an occasional mini-quiz, and to pass along interesting articles and websites that I want them to look at. Students can access their accounts on their MTS email startpage on any computer with Internet access, or through their cell phones. I'm hoping that this will help me to keep in touch with my students (and parents, I urge you all to sign up to follow and see what we are up to).

I've also set up a Facebook page for the DMA. I had such success with the .EDU Film Festival Facebook page, that I thought I'd try to do the same for the DMA. We post updates, student work, videos, music, podcasts, and other news on the account. Sign up and become a fan.

Well this is a long post, so if you've made it this far, congratulations. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more news from the Video Department at MTS Digital Media Academy.

2009 DVDs Available Now

2009-09-06T21:27:00.002-05:00

Each year, the DMA produces a DVD - 5ive min films - that features the work done over the course of the year. This years DVD was completed a little later than usual. I attempted to use Lulu.com, the same service that we use to produce The Last Draft, the department's compilation of screenplays - but a series of complications caused me to abandon that plan. Instead, I chose a similar publishing service, CreateSpace and eventually found some success. Turns out that self publishing a DVD is more difficult than self publishing a book.

At any rate, the DVD is finished and looks great. It features a couple of narrative shorts, a stop-motion animation, a series of promotional pieces that the department created for the DMA, a collection of podcasts produced by the Music and Sound Department, and of course, artwork created in the Graphic Arts Department.

Copies of the DVD are available for sale at CreateSpace and a portion of every sale comes back to the video department to help with the cost of equipment, software, and activities. Please, take a look at the site and support the Video Department and the DMA.

Keith Ellison Visits MTS and the DMA

2009-07-31T13:46:00.000-05:00

US Congressman Keith Ellison visited several of MTS’ locations on Monday, July 28th. He met with administrators, teachers, and students while touring our various facilities. Congressman Ellison spoke with Superintendent Tony Scallon, Junior High Director Justin Birchem, Video Arts teacher Trey Wodele, and Junior High Teachers Tyler Coley and Brianna Andrighetti among others. The Congressman also gave a short speech to a group of junior high summer-school students. Keith Ellison represents Minnesota’s fifth District in congress and is serving his second term. Thank you to Congressman Ellison for taking the time to visit with us and talk with our young people. And thanks to Tyler Coley for snapping photos of the visit!

View photo gallery

2009-07-15T14:07:00.002-05:00

Mojo Solo Creates "Making of" Doc featuring three MTS Students

MTS Graphic Arts Students Dustin Barnes and Eiryn Heglund, and Video Arts student Faith Cavalier had a unique opportunity this spring to partner with creative firm Mojo Solo to create the trailer used at the .EDU Film Festival.

Mojo Solo's web page says it best: "Like MSPIFF and the Sound Unseen Festival, we were more than thrilled when the good folks at the .edu Film Festival asked us to create a trailer for their program. It became apparent during the creative process, however, that in a festival dedicated to showcasing the film and video work of high school students across the state, it would be wrong to leave the students out in the creation of their festival's trailer.

That idea quickly evolved into a highly collaborative 5 hour workshop with three students from the MTS Digital Media Academy at the Mojo Solo offices. In addition to providing an intense brainstorm and production session, we wanted to give the students a chance to see the type of work environment their skills could take them in the future.

We were so pleasantly surprised by the energy, creativity and workmanship that these students contributed to the trailer that we decided to share the excitement with all of you as well!

We hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look and we wish nothing but the best for the future of these talented and bright filmmakers."

Please check out this Mojo Solo produced video short featuring Dustin, Eiryn, and Faith:

Student Portfolios

2009-06-10T10:58:00.005-05:00

Click on the images to view year-end student portfolios

This year's last Episode of Hit THe Couch

2009-06-08T13:39:00.003-05:00

The DMA Video Department and the HTC crew is proud to present the last episode of the 2008-09 school year, but is looking forward to an awesome season next year.

In this episode, hosts Richard Bland and Eric Cooper talk about the 2009 .EDU Film Festival; present the .EDU award winning video, Commercial Break, created by DMA students; and show the HTC crews only 5 minute narrative of the year, Steeling Edu (sic).

As they like to say on the show, "Thank you for watching everyone, and remember - 'HIT THE COUCH!!"

Hit the Couch, Episode 5 from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

For an archive of past Hit the Couch Episodes, got to the HTC web Channel at www.hit-the-couch.blogspot.com

One more week!

2009-06-02T10:05:00.005-05:00

With only a few days left of the last term of the year, students are working hard to create year-end portfolios featuring the work they accomplished over the year. This is a new assignment for me, and I'm liking the way it is turning out. Every student is creating a blog, embedding the videos that they were a part of, and writing reflections about the experience. I think that they are having fun creating their own websites and I'm looking forward to the finished product. Some of them are looking very cool already. I'll post one more time this year with links to each portfolio. They will also be posted on the Digital Media Academy's Facebook Page.

The Screenwriting students at MTS Digital Media Academy have produced another volume of The Last Draft, a compilation of some of the best screenplays written by DMA students over the past two years. The Last Draft is published bi-annually with the help of the non-profit publishers, Lulu.com.

Lulu is an interesting organization and the way they do business allows us to produce this book with no initial cost to the district. We upload the artwork (produced by the Graphic Arts department), and the content (produced by the screenwriting students) to Lulu's site and they create a blueprint for the book. When a consumer purchases the book, Lulu manufactures that copy and sends it to the buyer. Lulu takes the cost of manufacturing the book and a cut of the author royalties as their payment for the printing. The rest of the money goes to the author, in this case - the students of the screenwriting department.

This year, Lulu again chose our book to be one of the titles featured on Amazon.com, as well as the Lulu website. I think this is quite an honor, although I advise you to buy directly from Lulu - it's less expensive!

Notes:

Shout-out to Dustin Barnes - the Graphic Arts student who created the cover and inside graphics for The Last Draft.
We are in the process of creating our year-end DVD for the video students. We will also publish this DVD using Lulu this year and it will be available for purchase soon. I will keep you posted on the progress.
All .EDU screenings are available to watch, just as they were presented, at Vimeo.com. Check out the festival from the comfort of your home!

5/16/2009 Success at the Fest!

2009-05-20T09:09:00.002-05:00

The MTS Digital Media Academy and the Video Arts Department is proud to announce that "Commercial Break" a short compilation of Saturday-Night-Live-style commercial spoofs, edited by DMA student Tess Rashcio, was awarded a "Special Mention" for Narrative Film at this weekend's 2nd annual .EDU Film Festival.

Commercial Break, edited by Tess Raschio, MTS Digital Media Academy - Special Mention, Narrative from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

In the first three weeks of every Video Arts class, students are assigned either a promotional spot for MTS, a public service announcement, or an SNL style commercial spoof. Tess took these spoofs and put them together to create her video short. Thus, virtually every student who has participated in Video Arts this year, not to mention those who helped with the graphics and sound, should be offered a congratulations on this accomplishment.

In its second year the MTS sponsored .EDU Film Festival expanded to two days and two locations, received 125 videos and films from hundreds of Minnesota students, screened 60 of those entries over the course of the two-day fest, and saw over 500 Minnesota High School students from 25 participating schools and organizations. We are very pleased with the success of the Festival this year and look forward to continue to host this important event.

2nd Annual .EDU Film Festival Trailer

2009-05-11T13:36:00.001-05:00

And here it is! I think that this trailer is very cool, and I am very proud of the students involved. This was a really great opportunity for them and they are still talking about the fun that they had. Mojo Solo documented the entire experience so I'm looking forward to that footage as well. Let's hope that the Mojo Solo Crew had as much fun as we did and will invite us back again. Thanks guys!

Commercial Break - makes semi-finalist cut

2009-05-11T13:31:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the DMA Video and Music/Sound department. Commercial Break, a short video that dozens of students worked on over the course of the year, moved on to the Semi-Finals of the .EDU Film Festival.

Go to the final screening at St. Anthony Main Theater on Saturday May 16th to watch this hilarious little movie. Then attend the Wrap Party to find out which films take home the "Best of Fest" trophies.

Visit edufilmfest.org for details.

5/01/09 DMA Entries Make it into the .EDU Film Fest.

2009-05-01T22:43:00.003-05:00

I know it seems like it may not be fair and that the DMA entries have a better chance of getting into the festival because I work as the FF co-director. Believe me - and ask the kids - it's not true. I take myself entirely out of the decision-making process when it comes to DMA entries.

And so it is an honor to announce that, of the six short videos we entered this year, five were accepted as Official Selections in the .EDU Film Festival. They are:

Commercial Break, edited by Tess Raschio - this hilarious project combines work done in several of the video classes by dozens of DMA students. It was a favorite of the MCTC interns and student filmmakers who helped to make the selections this year.
Minneapolis Snow Emergency, by Tess Raschio and Sam Winchester - this animated short marks the Video Departments first attempt at animation, and it is really cool.
Mr. Woodley's Revenge, by Amber Malark and Faith Cavaliere - Yes, it's actually spelled W-O-D-E-L-E, but we opted for pronunciation!
Spray It, Don't Say It, by Tess Raschio and Faith Cavaliere - This is a great little doc about graffiitti. Are you starting to see a pattern? Good job Faith and Tess!
Talent Show, by Richard Bland and Superghost Productions - This was produced at the tail end of last year and so was entered into this year's festival. Richie has been focusing his talents on Hit the Couch this year, but he and the HTC crew have got a couple of new narrative video projects that should be done in time for our year-end DVD.

The students named here are certainly not the only students involved in these prouctions. Practically every student at the ComArts/DMA, along with many of our Tech High students, has a hand in these projects, whether its through sound production, music, graphic design, acting, crewing, or editing.

Be proud of your students. Support them at this event. Come out on May 15th and 16th and shake these kids hands.

For more information about the .EDU Film Festival, go to www.edufilmfest.org or sign on to our Twitter or Facebook accounts.

TW

5/01/09 MOJO SOLO TRIP

2009-05-01T22:40:00.001-05:00

Today, .EDU Film Festival co-Director Rick Hansen took selected students from MTS Digital Media Academy and headed out for a field trip to the St. Paul based media production company Mojo Solo. Selected students Fayth Cavaliere, Dustin Barnes and Eiryn Hegland accepted invitations to come and tour Mojo’s facilities and help create the .EDU Film Festival trailer.

At first, the kids were a bit apprehensive. ‘I did not know what to expect’ quipped Dustin at one of the taped interviews, ‘but it was such a relaxed environment. They really were getting stuff done, and totally professional, but in a cool and fun environment.’ Over the course of the day, the students looked into a real life media production work environment, met with Mojo’s staff, brainstormed ideas about the trailer, ate pizza/drank Red Bull, and got to work on actually creating the concept, imagery, and content of this year’s festival trailer. The day went by so quickly, because the Mojo Solo staff had the kids on a very tight schedule. No time for messing around because there was much work to do, and the time went by bang, bang, bang! Overall both the kids and professionals walked away inspired, rejuvenated and with a festival trailer that makes us all very proud. Great work by all and extra special thanks to MTS Digital Media Academy and Mojo Solo for making it all happen.

New Promotional Pieces for the DMA

2009-03-30T14:51:00.010-05:00

DMA Video Arts Ad from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

DMA Graphic Arts Ad from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

DMA Music and Sound Ad from MTS Digital Media Academy on Vimeo.

March 26th

2009-03-26T08:59:00.011-05:00

BIG CHANGES IN 2009: Busy days at MTS. There is lots of talk about the changes that are scheduled to happen next year and lots of anxiety about what that means for our students. As you may know, MTS is combining its two major high schools. Next fall, MTS Technology High School will be absorbed by MTS ComArts High School (name to be announced). The schools will be housed at the Lake Street/Minnehaha Avenue campus near the Lake Street Target store.

What does this mean for students of the Video Arts, Graphic Design, and Music & Sound departments? A major improvement. As of now, all of our Digital Media Academy classes will be held in their current locations; students will take core classes at the Minnehaha Campus and transport to the DMA for their academy classes. Additionally, with the changes in the structure of the school and the greater flexibility in scheduling, students will have less conflicts in scheduling the Academy courses that they are interested in. We are developing a plan to strengthen the feeling of "membership" to the academy and the DMA campus will be a big step in this direction.

EDU FILM FESTIVAL, MAY 15th & 16th: The MTS sponsored EDU Film Fest is getting closer and closer. Co-founder Rick Hansen and I are working hard to make the festival truly amazing this year. This is quickly becoming a major event in Minnesota, with activities spanning two days and kids convening from all over the state. Check out our website for more info (www.edufilmfest.org), or join our face book page (link to the right --->) for updates on EDU events, as well as film screenings, contests, and all kinds of Minnesota film events.

STUDENT SCREENPLAYS PUBLISHED: We are very proud to announce that the second edition of The Last Draft is published and available to purchase online at LuLu Publishing. The Last Draft is a compilation of some of the screenplays written by Video Arts Students during the 2007 - 2009 school years.

These are some really great scripts and I'm very proud of the work of the students involved. Screenwriting is not as easy as it may seem. There are very stringent formatting and grammatical rules. It takes hard work to learn them and then apply them to a creative project. I'm really proud to present this book to the public. Who knows, maybe someone outside of the district will read one of these scripts and want to shoot it!

MCTC INTERN: In one last piece of news, I would like to introduce you to Yarrow Benrud. He is a graduate of South High School in Minneapolis and is just finishing up his two year program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Yarrow is studying Video Production and Screenwriting at MCTC and took advantage of the "Power of You" program, a Minneapolis program that provides free tuition to MCTC for the first two years of his/her education - to any student who graduates from a Minneapolis High School (including MTS!).

Yarrow will be working as an intern for .EDU/Sight Unseen Film Festivals and the ComArts Video Arts Department. He sat in on class on Wednesday and was quickly involved in a complicated shoot with our video students. Stop by and visit with him sometime, he's a great (if temporary) addition to the department.

That's it for today - keep the B-ball team in mind - They are about to play their first game of the state tournament. Let's hope for success! TW

Friday the 13th of Feb., 2009

2009-02-13T12:28:00.007-06:00

Parents, Students, and Staff: Above is the new Digital Media Academy commercial spot, made in one of the video classes. We think it looks great - you'll probably see it embedded in the mtcs site and elsewhere. It's the end of the term today so there is lots of grading to be done. I've started a new policy of requiring the video students to email me at term's end and tell me what kind of grade they think they deserve and support their argument. They've been pretty honest!

If you would like to see more work by the video kids, don't forget about our video channels, all linked on the right side of this page. Thanks for this week, Trey

Monday, Feb. 9, 2009

2009-02-09T08:57:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been a bit lax in updating for the last few weeks. I've been very busy putting the finishing touches on the Moodle class that will accompany next year's regular video curriculum. Having students work on some online classwork at the same time as they work together in projects will create a stronger backbone for the class and hopefully keep it focused in the difficult winter months when we are trapped inside. The coursework will also address some of the more advanced techniques that we don't formally teach in class. Some of the students are already going through some of the units, just to make sure that everything works as it should. In the meantime, I am putting together a new Film History class.

On Friday, Fayth and I did some off-site work at Saint Sabrina's Tattoos. Fayth is working hard on a doc that compares professional tattooing to "prison style" work. The shoot went well and I'm looking forward to seeing the footage.

If you've noticed a gap in out Hit the Couch schedule, it's because the Video for TV crew really wanted to produce a narrative of their own. They are in the planning stages of a Billy Madison style comedy about three losers who go back to school disguised as janitors.

We're still putting the final touches on The Last Draft - submissions keep coming in, but I'm going to draw the line soon!

Also, t-shirts for this years .edu FF are on the way! They will be for sale in the video room later this month.

That's all for this week. TW

Term 6, week 3

2009-01-27T08:54:00.002-06:00

We had a short week to end the term. Here are some updates:

Screenwriting: I can't stress enough the importance of working on screenwriting at home if you fall behind. Several screenwriting students will see "I" or "incomplete" on their report cards this term. They have until the end of term 7 to catch up and change that incomplete to a passing grade.

On a more positive note, we have finalized a design for this year's copy of The Last Draft and I am compiling entries. Copies should be available for purchase by the end of February.

Intro to DMA: This group finished a very funny infomercial for the "Double Whammy" morning kit. It is in post-production and will be posted under the "new work" link next week. You may also see it pop up in the next episode of Hit the Couch.

Video: Our two video classes are both hard at work on projects. We are hope full that we can complete Jazmine and Hancia's short in the coming week and begin editing.

In our other video class, we are working on a informational piece for the city of Minneapolis, more specifically snow emergencies. The city is hosting a contest for video shorts and I'm confident that we will do well. We are tackling some stop-motion animation on this project. This is not something I've worked with before, so the students and I are working together to master the process. I think that this is sometimes the best learning. It forces the students to solve the problems instead of looking to me for answers. I enjoy learning from them as well; their computer skills are so much more intuitive than mine.

Video for TV: We are putting the final touches on our fourth episode of Hit the Couch. In addition, we are beginning production of a video short conceived and directed by Richard. Some of the students wanted to produce a narrative short in this class. We will continue to produce episodes of HTC.

A couple of additional notes:

the .edu Film Festival now has FaceBook and MySpace pages. On FaceBook, you can search "edu FilmFestival" and on myspace, "edu Film Fest." We've been joined by over 350 followers on FaceBook, and our myspace is just coming together. I urge you to become friends with us on either service for news and announcements concerning the film festival.
We now have a student serving as an intern to Sound Unseen Film Festivals, LLC. Eric is directly assisting director Richard Hansen in the production of both Sound Unseen and .edu Film Festival.

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading, TW

Term 6, week 2

2009-01-20T08:39:00.003-06:00

We had a productive week, despite my absence on Friday. In Video Class, we completed the shooting at Tech High and are close to completing the project. This week is only three days for students, so with the block schedule, some classes will only meet once. We will get two days to shoot our "lunchroom" scene though, so I'm confident we will finish up in that time.

Screenwriters continue to work on scripts, although several have fallen behind. Parents, don't forget that screenwriting can be done at home over the Internet. (learnmtcs.org) This is a class that is easy to fall behind in. If a student misses a day or two, he/she will need to catch up outside of class.

The next episode of Hit the Couch is in editing and will be ready soon. As I said last week, this next show will feature footage from the winners of last year's festival. It's looking pretty good so far, and we are anxious to get it to the Sound Department for post.

Speaking of the festival, we started a Facebook marketing campaign on Friday. As of Monday, we have collected over 350 friends! We are already getting inquiries from Facebook friends, many of whom are students from the high schools that participated last year, and many of whom are video instructors and film community members. Please, go to Facebook and look us up - it's a great way to keep in touch with what's going on as we count down to this year's event. Search for Edu FilmFestival to find us on FB.

Don't forget that students are off on Monday and Friday this week - I'm sure everybody is looking forward to a short week!

One last thing, Rebecca Collins,from the Minnesota Film and TV Board is still scheduled to be here this week. You can see details on the calender. We are looking forward to her visit.

Term 6, week 1

2009-01-10T11:12:00.005-06:00

There's a lot going on in the screenwriting and film department this term. Here are some of the things we are working on this week.

The Last Draft, Volume 2: The Graphic design department was just "hired" to design the cover of our second volume of TLD. The Last Draft is a compilation of student screenplays written by students from the MTS Digital Media Screenwriting Department. The book is published by Lulu.com and will be available for purchase online. Copies of Volume 1 are still available at Lulu. Last year we earned over $500 in profits from TLD sales and donated it all to the .edu Film Festival.

Hit the Couch: We will air the newest episode of HTC on Monday, Jan 12th. Episode 3 is hosted by Andy Cincotta and Eric Cooper and includes a short "tech review, " a student video blog on our new president, and a pair video shorts from 2006 and 2007. The Video for TV class began production on Episode 5 on Friday. Episode 5 will feature videos from film/video students from Rosemount High School, Perpich Center for Arts Education, TV by Girls - all winners of "best of Fest" awards at last years film festival. Students will also interview Rick Hansen, co-director of .edu.

The intro to DMA students will shoot their first project on Tuesday of next week - a short commercial parody. With only two weeks left of the term - they are going to have to hustle!

Another of our groups of students is starting production on a promotional piece for Minneapolis Snow Emergency. The city agency is hosting a contest for informational videos aimed at getting cars off the street during snow emergencies. Some of the winners will be aired on television and the web. We were happy that a big snowfall was forecast on Friday and disappointed when it failed to materialize. Hopefully it will snow again soon.

A third group of video students has started production on a new video short. We began shooting Friday at the Tech Site campus. Watch for Hancia, Jazmine, Brentin, and the rest of the class for a week or so. And please, try to be quiet if you see them, our mics are sensitive!

I'm also proud to announce that one of our top students, Eric Cooper, has been accepted as an intern for Sound Unseen Film Festivals, LLC, the company that offices at the Com Site and is the business end of our .edu Film Festival. Eric will be assisting Rick Hansen in the planning and production of the festival. Eric's first task is to create a MySpace and a Facebook Page for the festival. We'll be searching for friends soon! In addition, Eric is now the student in charge of producing our student video blogs, so watch for him, armed with a camera, at our various campuses.

Thanks for reading - please go ahead and subscribe to our posts (below) - you'll then be notified as this page is updated. Until next week... TW

Intro to the Video Department Page

2009-01-07T22:23:00.001-06:00

<----- BACK TO MTCS MAIN SITE <------

Welcome back from winter vacation- I hope you all had a great break. Welcome also to the first post in the Video Arts Department's class page. I hope to post news and events here at least once a week if not more often.

You will be able to link to this page from any email I send you, from your online Screenwriting and Video class sites, and from the school's main webpage (www.mtcs.org).

I'll use this site to post upcoming events, pictures, and videos; to remind you of homework, due dates, and term starts and stops; and to fill students and parents in on just exactly what it is we are doing in class.

If you look down and to the right, you will see a list of links. There are links to our webTV show Hit the Couch, the .edu Film Festival's website and webTV channel, a site with all of the department's most recent work, the website where students can access online classes, and the link for student email and online documents.

I've also posted a mini slide show featuring some hardworking filmmakers. Look for new photos coming soon. I'll be snapping photos more often now that I have a good place to put them. And if you want to see a larger slide show, just click on the pictures.

At the bottom of the page, you will see the department calendar. This should be a very useful tool for parents and students. It will be the place to find out about department events, field trips, due dates and term dates. Just click on the events for more details.

I will continue to tweak and improve this site as I go along, if you have any suggestions, please send me an email at twodele@emailmtcs.org. Thanks, TW