UC President Ono Provides Support for Student-Produced Documentary Series

We are delighted to report that UC President Santa Ono has announced funding support for the interdisciplinary Production Master Class in digital media, which uses experiential learning to create student-produced documentaries. Since the course’s inception with a three-year UC Forward grant in 2012, it has produced three 90-minute documentaries that air nationally on the Universal Sports Network.

Each documentary focuses on the Gold Rush Expedition Race, one of the world’s premier expedition races that feature an international field of 50 elite athletes trekking, mountainbiking, climbing and kayaking along a grueling 275-mile course in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The presidential investment in the UC Production Master Class will allow the production to continue beyond its initial three-year grant period and represents Ono’s ongoing support of interdisciplinary digital media projects and experiential learning at the University of Cincinnati.

You can read the full announcement at uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=21328.

You can learn even more about UC’s student-produced Gold Rush Expedition Race film series at ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/student-produced-film-series-airs-on-universal-sports-network.

CCM E-Media Hosts Free Public Screening of Student-Produced Short Film ‘Solitude’ on Dec. 9

‘Solitude’ poster design by Garrett Corcoran.

CCM E-Media hosts a world-premiere of the student-produced short film Solitude at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in the MainStreet Cinema of UC’s Tangeman University Center. Admission to this public screening is free and open to the general public.

Created by senior electronic media majors Matt Stalf, Cameron Coyan, Joey Meisberger and Alex Huddleson under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Electronic Media Lakshmi Tirumala, Solitude is the story of Jack Khavo, a medical researcher who finds himself trapped by his daily routine. Jack had always believed that he would be able to make a difference with his job, but as his research comes to a standstill he begins to wonder if he will ever be able to make a meaningful contribution to his field. One night Jack encounters a strange dream, which shows him how to move forward. Unfortunately, the very thing that could advance his research could also endanger his life.

According to Coyan, he and his classmates divided up production roles to best fit everyone’s strengths. “Matt has a great eye for scene composition so he took over the role of director of photography and editor,” he explains. “Alex and Joey have a lot of experience with audio, so they took on the role of pre-production recording and sound design. I took on the role of director and writer as I’m the most familiar with the story.”

The four-person production team also recruited students from other departments and colleges to bring their vision to life. Solitude features the onscreen talents of CCM Drama students Bartley Booz, Connor Lawrence and Alice Skok, along with Adjunct Assistant Professor of Drama Robert Pavlovich. CCM E-Media student Tyler Peters contributed an original score and DAAP student Douglass Rouster created the animated title sequence for the film.

“Being able to grab from several different programs – including Electronic Media and the Drama Department at CCM along with Graphic Design in DAAP – is really great because we are getting experience working through multiple creative fields to turn out a collaborative piece,” Stalf explains.

For Professor Tirumala, Solitude is a perfect showcase of the immersive training that CCM E-Media students receive. “This film gives a great insight into the standards that our program expects from the students,” he says. “Having seen the rough cut, I can say that everyone involved in this project has done an exceptional job.”

Universal Sports Network Premieres Student-Produced ‘2013 Gold Rush Expedition Race’ Film Tonight

Photography by Kaori Funahashi.

The Universal Sports Network presents the premiere broadcast of the student-produced 2013 Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary film at 6:30 p.m. ET tonight, Oct. 24!

The Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary films chronicle one of the foremost expedition races in the world. Each 90-minute documentary features an international field of 50 elite athletes tackling a grueling 275-mile course through the California wilderness as they test their mental and physical limits in the toughest competition in North America. Over the course of four days, teams face merciless heat and sleepless nights while trekking, mountain biking, climbing and kayaking amidst the beauty of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) and the winning team receives an entry into the ARWS World Championship.

Each film has been produced by a team of UC students hailing from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

Working under the guidance of professional television director/producer and CCM Electronic Media (E-Media) alumnus Brian J. Leitten (BFA, 2001) and E-Media Professor Kevin Burke, these students shot, edited, scripted and produced the film on location in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Both Leitten and Burke advise the project and provide professional guidance and feedback to the students during all phases of the documentary’s development.

Earlier this month, GearJunkie.com hailed the Gold Rush Expedition Race project as “undoubtedly one of the most amazing educational initiatives we’ve seen.”

Learn more about the Gold Rush Expedition Race project by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/student-produced-film-series-airs-on-universal-sports-network.

All broadcast times Eastern and subject to change. Learn more about the Universal Sports Network by visiting http://universalsports.com.

CCM Video: Electronic Media Students Present ‘Metamorphoses’ Trailer

To celebrate tonight’s opening performance of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, we proudly present this movie-style trailer shot and edited by Electronic Media majors Tim Neumann and Dan Marque, starring Drama majors Bailie Breaux and John Lee Odom.

Based on the classic myths of Ovid, Metamorphoses runs Feb. 6 – 9, 2014. Guest artist D. Lynn Meyers directs. The production is intended for mature audiences.

Students from CCM and McMicken College Collaborate on ‘Good Mourning’ Video Series

The University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and McMicken College of Arts and Sciences debut an original series of film shorts, Good Mourning, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, in the Tangeman University Center’s MainStreet Cinema.

Good Mourning is set in a universe where death manifests itself as a government agency. Apathetic Andy Abramczyk is approached by two agents and given one last day to live as he chooses. In his final hours, Andy meets Charlotte, a teenage runaway who is in danger after witnessing a murder. A whirlwind of events brings the pair together, cultivating a friendship no one will forget.

Assistant Professor of Electronic Media (E-Media) Lakshmi N. Tirumala knew that he wanted to try something different for this fall’s Studio CCM class. Studio CCM enables selected seniors to work in collaboration with students and professional colleagues from across campus in bringing an aspect of E-Media to a creative performance. This could include collaborating on video production of a fictional narrative, drama or opera; digital projections for a concert, drama and musical production; or an audio recording and distribution of a CCM concert. He thought that a cross-college partnership would be great real-world experience for his students, so he pioneered an unprecedented collaboration uniting CCM’s Division of E-Media and Department of Drama with McMicken College’s Department of Creative Writing.

CCM E-Media Welcomes Fox Senior Vice President of Marketing for Guest Lecture This Week

Senior Vice President of Marketing for the FOX Broadcasting Company Nick Belperio.

CCM’s Division of Electronic Media welcomes guest speaker Nick Belperio to the Cohen Family Studio Theater from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24. The Senior Vice President of Marketing for the FOX Broadcasting Co., Belperio will provide an inside look at the development, promotion and evaluation of the new hit television drama Sleepy Hollow, scheduled to air Monday nights on FOX. This presentation is free and open to the general public.

Belperio was named Senior Vice President of Affiliate Marketing in November 2007. He is responsible for supervision of the network’s Affiliate Marketing team, which oversees marketing and promotion at 209 FOX affiliates across the U.S., as well as its National Radio Promotion department. Belperio also helps guide the general objectives of the network’s marketing team, effectively maximizing affiliate TV stations’ air across all dayparts, producing creative launch kits and promo merchandise, as well as maintaining significant presence on local websites and social media platforms.

UC is Highlighted Among the Nation’s Best Colleges

For the seventh year in a row, the University of Cincinnati is praised as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features UC in the new 2014 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 378 Colleges.”

The Princeton Review’s surveys named CCM, along with UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) and College of Engineering (CEAS), as particular stand outs!

Only about 15 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges and only four colleges outside the U.S. are profiled in the book which is The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide. It includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranked lists of the top 20 schools in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of 126,000 students attending the colleges.

UC Electronic Media Students Honored at 2013 Ohio Valley Regional EMMY Awards

Two students from CCM E-Media will be honored by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) at the 49th Annual Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards on Saturday, July 20!

A 2012 graduate of CCM E-Media, Nick Lipari will receive a Student Production Award as editor for “Last Night in Town.”

Current student Tim Neumann will receive an Honorable Mention Award in the Commercial category for his work as co-writer/co-director/editor of “The Field of E-Media.”

Students from CCM E-Media have won six Regional EMMY Awards over the past three years, and won multiple national awards annually for the past 18 years.

CCM E-Media Presents Free Screening of ‘Gold Rush Expedition Race’ Film on April 24

CCM E-Media will host a debut screening of the documentary film Gold Rush Expedition Race at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24 in the MainStreet Cinema of UC’s Tangeman University Center. Admission is free and open to the general public.

The screening of this hour long film will be preceded by a brief introduction and followed by a question and answer session with the student producers, camera operators and film editors.

Educationally grounded, professionally driven and student produced, the Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary is a collaborative film produced by an interdisciplinary group of students at UC working under the guidance of a professional television and film producer/director. Sponsored by the UC Forward Collaborative, the project involved 33 students from four academic programs at three colleges at the University of Cincinnati:

• the Division of Electronic Media at the College-Conservatory of Music
• the Graphic Communication Design Program at the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning
• the Department of Communication and the Department of Anthropology at the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences

CCM Video: Arts in Harmony

In honor of the first day of UC’s Fall Semester, we are delighted to present a look at the “arts in harmony” throughout CCM Village! Learn more at ccm.uc.edu.