This week, Flashpoint’s Women in Media joined Broadcast Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist for a behind the scenes look at CBS studios in Chicago. After their visit, second year Recording Arts student Elena Rubin shared her reactions.

Our tour of CBS studios with Mary Kay Kleist was an absolute blast!

Mary Kay was gracious enough to give us a comprehensive tour of the CBS floors where we had the chance to meet with anchors, producers, directors, editors and many more. Everyone was so warm and inviting and seemed genuinely interested in our career prospects and offered up meaningful words of wisdom that they have gained throughout the years in the industry.

Mary Kay finished up our tour by bringing us down to the main studio where we had the opportunity to see her and the rest of the anchor crew in action. We were all taken aback at how everyone handled their jobs with such ease .

This tour was incredibly inspiring and educational. Students from all media background (broadcast, film, recording arts, visual FX) will learn a ton from this terrific touring opportunity!

The following is a guest post from Game Development student Andrew Prete reflecting upon his experience at Flashpoint Academy’s Jumpstart session with Rich Moskal, director of the Chicago Film Office.

Rich Moskal

My name is Andrew Prete. I attend Flashpoint Academy and I am “a gamer.” I am studying to become the greatest game producer that ever lived. Everything I do revolves around games, from seeing who can eat a giant piece of pizza (with pepperoni) the fastest, to driving down Lake Shore Drive weaving in and out of traffic because I can, or playing head games with my friends. Now, you might be asking yourself, how is this guy a film fanatic? Well, I will tell you.

When I am watching a movie I am emotionally vested from the very beginning. I experience what the character experiences. I laugh, cry and get scared. I am there in the thick of it every step of the way — even when the movie is not so great. I accept their reality and run with it. These things called “motion pictures” give me an escape I could have never imagined. They are my biggest muse and hold much power over me. I don’t criticize or look down upon them; I simply enjoy them like a baby discovers his or her own fingers: with wonderment and awe.

I recently had the pleasure to hear Rich Moskal talk at Flashpoint and give us his point of view of the film industry. Rich Moskal has served as the director of the Chicago Film Office for thirteen years, but before that he was a kid and a student — a student trying to find his way in the world not knowing what to do, say, or think. He attended Loyola for a short time and studied some form of medical mumbo jumbo. Trust me when I say he has done a ton of jobs both in and out of the film industry.

What I connected to most was the kindness and generosity Rich seemed to have. When he works, he does so not only for himself but for those around him. He wants to be the best he can be. Not the best producer or editor or actor. Not the best location scout or writer or camera operator. Not even the best director of the Chicago Film Office. He wants to be the best person he can be — a person who wants not only to see himself succeed but also wants those around him to succeed as well. All the stories he told and the things he accomplished boil down to just one thing: that this person came to Flashpoint, talked with the students, and answered our questions because he wants to see us have the success that we want.

I am thirty-two years old, newly married and have started my life over by coming to Flashpoint. I hope to have the same success that Rich has had but in the game industry.

Director Michael Noens.

On Monday night, October 12th, Flashpoint Academy welcomed back Director and Flashpoint Alumnus Michael Noens for a cast and crew screening of his latest feature film, Coasting.

A touching story of two young people struggling to find passion and meaning in their adult lives, Coasting is both funny and touching, and shows the remarkable heart, skill and dedication of all those who made it.

For The Independent Critic’s review of Coasting, please click here.

(Photos by Lorelei Cummins. Courtesy of CNGM Pictures.)

Flashpoint Academy helped kick off the 45th annual Chicago International Film Festival live on the red carpet, Thursday, October 8th.

Armed with cameras, mics, and great professional attitudes, students and production crew interviewed the evening’s guest of honor, Uma Thurman (who would receive CIFF’s Career Achievement Award), as well as actress Jacqueline Bisset and Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley.

The student crew, Jaime Perez and Caitlin Musick (film/broadcast), were blown away by the intelligent, soft-spoken Ms. Thurman and the beautiful, engaging Ms. Bisset. This real-world experience helped them to learn first hand what it means to be a true professional outside of the classroom, requiring them to make quick production decisions, exhibit composure, and demonstrate Red Carpet and Press Pit etiquette.

Events such as the CIFF red carpet will continue to differentiate the Flashpoint graduate from the rest of the pack, allowing them to showcase not just their outstanding reels but the successful on-the-job experiences that are a part of their scholastic background.

Peter Hawley and Laurie Scheer accompany Flashpoint Academy students to LA to visit the studios, see the sights, and “demystify Hollywood.”

View the full gallery here.

An excerpt from Peter’s email to the faculty and staff in Chicago:

On Tuesday, day two of the trip, the Flashpoint group spent the day at Sony Studios.  … We had a great meeting with Mike Rizzuto, a post-production executive.  He took us to the scoring stage (recent scores – Up, Angels and Demons and some guy named Spielberg is in there today).  We then went to a foley stage where Flashpoint friend Vince Guisetti (who came to Flashpoint in 2008 to do a professional workshop on our foley stage) was working.  He showed the students his technique and promoted Flashpoint.  “Flashpoint is the only place in the country where you can learn to do what I do.”  He wants to return.

After a tour of the back lot-stages, the Jeopardy set, a P. Diddy sighting [w]e had lunch in a studio commissary.  After lunch … we had a preview screening in an executive screening room of Taking of Pelham 123.  Afterwards we spoke with a q.c. person who viewed the print with us. (He saw dirt where no one else did.)  We talked prints and distribution.

We were at Sony from 9-4pm. From there we went to Santa Monica where students had some free time and we met up with recent grads … who are in L.A. for interviews.  At 8pm we packed up and drove up the Sunset Strip back to our hotel.

View the full gallery here.

This post was lifted from an email I sent my Flashpoint Academy Documentary students after seeing the Short Doc. program yesterday.Hello From Sundance,I have been to six screenings so far and by far the best one was the short documentary program. There were 8 films selected out of 1200 entries. Just think about that 8 out of 1200. The only one you will be likely to see is an HBO Documentary on the actor John Cazale- Fredo from the Godfather. It was great, but it was also the longest and by far the most expensive, and it didn’t seem to fit in with the other seven films as it was the most commercial.A few trends I noticed:Lots of graphics. Two films were originally designed for the Internet and were all graphics and/or found footage- one about nuclear weapons and the other about Internet censorship.A third film was about a Canadian artist and they shot an interview, but the entire piece was animated. Very beautiful and poetic.Another trend- recording dialog and interviews separately and shooting B-roll. No on camera interviews. Two films I saw- one was shot with a digital still camera and the other about people who store their belongings in public storage in Scotland- recorded their interviews on a digital disc recorder separate from shooting.This is very interesting to me because of the emphasis it puts on the B-Roll. The Scottish storage locker film was great because of the images they shot, and perhaps because there were no talking heads or faces.There was a fascinating film called Utopia Part 3 about the world’s largest shopping mall- in China. The mall is a bust, no one goes, there are only a few stores open, but it really illustrates some of the problems China is having with growth and capitalism.After the HBO/Cazale film perhaps the most traditional doc. was about high school kids in New Orleans post-Katrina. The filmmaker followed three students who were attending school even though they were living by themselves- their parents and siblings had moved or been taken to foster care. The filmmaker said that 20 percent of students at the school lived without their parents.The final film- and one I hope I don’t have to see again- is called Chop Off. It’s about a performance artist who chops off body parts as his art. Very tough to watch- no amputations on screen- and full of medical and media ethics questions.Those are the 8 films out of 1200 that made it. Just seeing them makes me want to explore some of these techniques and shoot more film.PeterH 

This past weekend Oscar winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was in Chicago speaking with filmmakers and on Sunday holding a master class for students and industry professionals.

That’s Vilmos on the left and director and cinematographer Jim Chressanthis on the right at yesterday’s master class, and those are my Flashpoint students there in the front row.

There were two events on Saturday. On Saturday morning from 11-2, in an event only open to students and industry professionals, Vilmos and Jim screened clips from their work, discussed their techniques and choices and took questions from the audience. It was really fascinating, especially if you are a filmmaker.

On Saturday evening, in an event open to the public, they screened Jim’s film No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos and took questions from the audience. The film is excellent- it appeared at Cannes last May and is on the festival circuit now. It depicts the friendship between Vilmos and Laszlo Kovacs from their escape from Soviet controlled Hungary in 1956 to their arrival in Hollywood, and how they helped shape the look of American films from the late 60s to today.

After the screening I was lucky enough to get to go out with them and have a drink and talk film. It was my personal highlight of the weekend.

Here’s a quick list of some of the films Vilmos and Laszlo has photographed.

Vilmos:
McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Deliverance, Scarecrow, The Sugarland Express, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (won the Oscar), The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate, Blow Out, The Witches of Eastwick (where Jim Chressanthis was his intern). To date he has shot over 80 films.

Laszlo ( mere 70+ films before his death in 2007)
Targets, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Shampoo, Frances, Ghost Busters, Little Nikita, Say Anything.

This will be the first of several posts about the weekend. More to follow soon.

Peter H

As Chair of the Film/Broadcast Department at Flashpoint Academy it has been a personal mission of mine to have our students shoot film. Typically we shoot HD, but this fall, thanks to Kodak, our advanced cinematography students shot some super 16mm. After seeing the rushes I felt confident that we could shoot our own film, so last Wednesday production began on October Surprise, Flashpoint Academy’s 3rd Production-in-Action.

October Surprise is a film set in a TV news room on the eve of a presidential election. Some mysterious photos of the leading candidate have appeared and there is a rush to see if they are real or fake.

Our advanced students are doing the heavy lifting on this film. Supported by key professional crew members, our students are shooting film. Production wraps this Thursday, then a much deserved winter break. More details and photos to follow.

PeterH

BTW Got Live If You Want It was the name of the Rolling Stones first live record, so I borrowed the title for this post for our first film.