John Murray, chair of the Flashpoint Academy Recording Arts Department, reflects on the 127th Audio Engineering Society Convention.

The students were terrific!

Elena Rubin, Bob Stephen, Austin Lutter, and Chase Francowiak ran the Education Fair like seasoned pros, made a number of incredible connections, received roaring applause in the Student Delegate Assembly acknowledging the establishment of a “very healthy” Flashpoint Academy Student Chapter, and experienced the entirety of the industry up close and personal. And even though he didn’t work the booth with us, first-year Brandon Jackson also attended the convention. Truly, both Bernie [Mack, (faculty, recording arts)] and I were so impressed with how they handled themselves in an overwhelming environment.

Here are some highlights:

FOURTH ANNUAL CENTRAL REGION STUDENT SUMMIT AT WEBSTER UNIVERSITY [ST LOUIS]

Elena and I spent a considerable amount of time talking with students, alums, and faculty of the Webster University Audio Program about their Student Summit in March 2010. The event is rapidly becoming a mini-AES attracting 400+ students in similar programs from all over the Midwest, 100+ industry professionals, and hundreds more in high school or those thinking about careers in audio. Guest speakers scheduled for next March include George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner, Phil Ramone, and Frank Filipetti just to name a few. Unlike the National Convention, which equally includes exhibitors and vendors of pro audio equipment, the Central Region Student Summit focuses on workshops, tutorials, and career-oriented forums designed to help students transition into their professional lives.

ALEX CASE

Alex is an educator, author, engineer, and lecturer internationally known for his wonderful book Sound FX: Unlocking the Creative Potential of Recording Studio Effects. He is also this year’s Chair of the AES Tutorials and Workshops Committee. We had a long conversation and he was very impressed with how many students we have been able to attract to become AES members. His book is the main text for our year-two capstone course Signal Processing. In talking about lecturing around the country and his busy schedule, Alex mentioned that he is due to be in Chicago in November for unrelated reasons and would love to come to Flashpoint to lecture. This is a wonderful opportunity to tie-in concepts and methodologies they are learning in class from our instructors with the author of their text.

JOHN HARDY

John is the designer and manufacturer of professional microphone preamplifiers. We have one of his M1 two-channel devices installed in Music Control. World headquarters are in Evanston, IL. Bernie spent some time with him at the convention and he would like to come to Flashpoint and lecture to all of our Recording Arts students.

Click here to watch Howard Tullman of Flashpoint Academy demonstrate augmented reality on CBS 2 Chicago.

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.

Flashpoint Academy congratulates Alumnus Michael Noens and Second Year Student Amanda Marien on their 2008-2009 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Nominations!

The Chicago/Midwest Emmy Nominations were announced at Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Chicago on Thursday, October, 1, 2009. In Category #S-4, College Student Production – Information Program/Segment (Plaque Eligible Category) Climbing Kili, produced by Michael Noens earned a nomination. Snow Tides, directed by Amanda Marien, has also received a nomination in Category #S-5, College Student Production – Entertainment Program/Segment (Plaque Eligible Category).

Congratulations to these students and their outstanding cast and crew on these laudable achievements!

On Thursday, October 1, Flashpoint Academy set out for the UIC Forum for Chicago’s very first TechExpo, an intimate new expo “created to introduce and connect small business owners to technology solutions to help grow and evolve their businesses” (chicagotechexpo.net).

Flashpoint’s staff demonstrated Augmented Reality, an exciting new technology that’s creating a big stir in the business world. This technology allows a user to create a “mixed reality” of live video and 3D graphics when interfacing with a live webcam. The Flashpoint booth was abuzz with educators, entrepreneurs, and everyone in between who wanted to know how Augmented Reality is currently being leveraged as well as how this technology will be used in the future to create a more interactive online experience.

Try Augmented Reality Here.

In addition to hosting a booth and being a sponsor of TechExpo, Flashpoint also presented “Building Social Networks – Get everyone talking about your business,” an informational session about social media hosted by CEO Howard Tullman. A jam-packed room of listeners got a comprehensive look at one of the hottest topics in technology today and walked away with a new set of tools for promoting their businesses online.

An areal view of the showroom floor.

CEO Howard Tullman demonstrates Augmented Reality.

An example of Augmented Reality, triggered by an image on a Flashpoint T-shirt.

On Friday, September 25th, Flashpoint Academy film students Jenny Tunberg and Vanessa Luna assisted Flashpoint’s professional film crew at the “Couture & Cocktails” Fashion Show benefiting the Joffrey Ballet.

From behind the camera, the crew did a fabulous job capturing all of the evening’s proceedings, from pre-show and post-show interviews with the minds and talent behind the event, to all the spectacular garments, to the dancers of the Joffrey themselves. It was truly an evening not to be forgotten!

Charlene Li

This week, marketing professionals from around the city gathered at Flashpoint, The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences for a special social media- themed breakfast panel.

Over delicious organic pastries and fair trade coffee, panelists Charlene Li (co-author, Groundswell), Paul Rand (Zócalo Group), Howard Tullman (Flashpoint Academy) and Jon Bellinger (Ketchum) discussed and debated the winning strategies when leveraging social media for marketing purposes.

In addition to outside guests, a number of Flashpoint students also attended the panel, picking up some tips on how to market themselves and their art. Some attended as guests, while still others got some valuable experience behind the camera as they filmed the panelists’ discussion.

“Social Media is very important for a company’s success. One of the biggest things I took away from the event was that, companies who don’t pay attention to what’s being said about them online are in tremendous trouble.”

- Sam Carmichael, Flashpoint Academy Film Student

Slick Graphics by the Ketchum Team

The Panelists Arrive

Guests File In

Students and Production Crew

The Panelists: Jon Bellinger, Howard Tullman, Paul Rand, and Charlene Li

Howard and Jon Discuss Targeting B2B Vesus B2C Audiences

On Friday, September 25th, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin visited Flashpoint Academy to tour the school and meet with student government leaders.

On Friday, September 18th, Flashpoint welcomed over 40 students, teachers, professionals, and hobbyists of digital art for a meeting and product demo night with CG Society in our 5th floor Matrix.

Geared specifically toward 2D and 3D digital artists, this growing professional organization gives pros and aspiring students alike an opportunity to showcase their work among fellow artists, give and receive criticism, and grow as a tight-knit community of digital artists.

The meeting at Flashpoint featured a socialization hour and two demonstrations of advanced digital art programs. Marcus Kim of Autodesk presented Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010 for the 2D crowd, while presenter Jon Peake demonstrated VrayRT, an amazing raytracing technology that allows for immediate renderings of 3D images. It was truly a remarkable evening for all who came!

Guests gather in the Matrix.

Vray RT

Presenter Marcus Kim.

Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010

On September 16th 2009, World-Famous Documentary Filmmaker Ken Burns took a break in the middle of an intense promotional tour for his new film on America’s national parks to stop by Flashpoint Academy and meet privately with a handful of our film students, staff and faculty. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the kind of meeting that will surely inspire our students during their time at Flashpoint and well beyond.

The students, many of which were first year students, engaged Mr. Burns with a number of compelling questions ranging from why he chooses the subject matter that he does to how his career has been different because he resides in New Hampshire.

As busy and pressed-for-time that he was, Mr. Burns carefully and articulately explained the origins of “making the still photograph come alive”, explaining that his father had a darkroom in the basement as he was growing up and seeing the photo emerge through the chemicals fascinated him. This process, of course, has come to be known as “the Ken Burns Effect”, a popular name for a type of pan-and-scan effect used in video production from still imagery.

Mr. Burns said he was impressed with Flashpoint gleefully exclaiming “I want to come here!” He enthusiastically explained that his latest documentary odyssey, The National Parks, has been in production for a decade, a topic he has always wanted to explore due to his fond boyhood memories of Shenandoah State Park in Virginia.

The National Parks will air on PBS beginning September 27th.