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Notes from Alumni
Screenwriter TJ Lynch, undergrad Colin Arndt (worked video monitor play back system on film), and Professor Paul Monaco
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We thank TJ Lynch, class of 1986, for stopping by the department for a Question & Answer session during his promotional tour of the feature film "A PLUMM SUMMER". The film, his first produced feature film script, was shot in Montana two summers ago and opens in select theaters in Montana and Southern California, including Bozeman and Livingston, on Friday April 25th, 2008.
TJ shared his experiences, successes and offered words of advice and encouragement for
students pursuing their dreams in the film industry. (4/24/08) |
Tracy Graziano, class of 2005, is working as a documentary filmmaker on projects for the Presque Isle Audubon Society. She is also completing a zebra mussel film for Pennsylvania Sea Grant, doing PSAs for the Erie County Conservation District. They are in pre-production for
two additional projects focused on current research at Presque Isle State Park. Both projects are coordinated through the Regional Science Consortium.
Her company, Moonfire Film Productions, is also currently operating a large format theater at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle State Park: the Big Green Screen. She is working cooperatively with the Regional Science Consortium and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to ensure its success.
For the past year, her company has brought post festival tours from Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, the International Wildlife Film Festival, and the American Conservation Film Festival for packed audiences at the 178-seat Big Green Screen theater and raised money for research and the preservation of natural resources at Presque Isle. (2/19/08)
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James Mountain Chief Sanderville of the
Klamath & Blackfeet Nations, class of 93, is developing video game technology and learning to preserve the Native American language, culture, and traditional knowledge.
Read more about "A Play on Words Preserving Native Languages Through Game" by Marcy Davis (10/10/07)
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Preview " Iron Ridge" featuring the acting debut of Jadi Stuart who graduated from MTA in 2007! Our best of luck to Jadi as she heads for LA!! (07/14/07)
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Congratulations to Cager Thompson, class of 05, on being accepted into the screen writing program at the American Film Institute!! (10/03/07)
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Preview " Iron Ridge" featuring the acting debut of Jadi Stuart who graduated from MTA in 2007! Our best of luck to Jadi as she heads for LA!! (07/14/07)
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Graduate Greg Edwards received one of the highly competitive Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Internships. Greg is currently working a freelance videographer for "The Young and the Restless" daytime television series. He wrote:
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| This summer I will be working for Interpublic Group Media research labs during the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship Program.
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research center for an advertising conglomerate.The internship is the Emerging Tv Technologies Category. The Academy has set up a 6 week paid internship with this company and from what I've heard it's a great program.
I was a finalist for this program last year so it was great to get it this year.
I wanted to thank a few teachers who's help made this chance possible. Dennis Aig was very helpful during the application process. Theo Lipfert not only helped with a great letter of recommendation but also since this internship is in an area of media work that hasn't been covered in my standard studies in this department, it was Theo's independent studies that made this possible. But most of all Paul Monaco the teacher who not only
introduced me to this internship but was also very supportive of me during the ups and downs of my academic career. (06/22/07) |
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Northwest Chapter recently announced that Gil Stober, an alumnus of our department, of Peak Recording & Sound, has been nominated for an Emmy® Award. Gil received the nomination for Individual Achievement in the Audio Category for his work with KUSM-TV, on the “11th & Grant With Eric Funk” program as Audio Engineer/Producer.
Stober has owned Peak Recording & Sound in Bozeman, Montana for almost 26 years. He provides recording services for musicians, television, films, commercials, and much more. He’s received recognition for his work on numerous Addy Award winning commercials, and songs that he’s recorded have hit the top twenty on the national music charts.
Gil is very proud to be a part of the fantastic team that produces the "11th & Grant With Eric Funk” program at KUSM-TV, Montana PBS. The series has already won an Emmy® for Graphic Design by Scott Sterling in 2006, and has also been nominated in 2007 for Arts/Entertainment
Program/Special for Michael Ballard and Scott Sterling as Producers/Directors and under the Director category for Michael Ballard, Director.
For additional information contact Peak Recording at (406) 586-1650. (04/07) |
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Shane Ross, an alumnus of the class of '96 undergrad film program, will present "Editing and The Hollywood Way" at 6 p.m. Monday, April 2nd, in room 301 of Linfield Hall on the Montana State University campus.
Ross will make recommendations for making an impression in Hollywood, talk about getting a job, the basics of the post production process, and the critical work performed by the editor.
This event is supported by the NSF EPSCoR, or National Science Foundation Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. |
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Ken Glynn, MSU Film and Television ‘93 shares with us:
Greetings MSU Alumni,
I wanted to put word out to MSU and MTA Alumni that a former MSU Film Student has submitted a short film to Steven Spielberg’s On The Lot reality TV show, premiering this May on FOX. It’s a 5-minute Adventure/Drama film shot on 16mm and telecined to HD. Rival aviators shoot each other down, and are forced to continue their dogfight without wings, deep in the mountains of the Black Forest. The film is partly inspired by Spielberg's use of old war footage in his childhood films, and created specifically for On The Lot.
if you haven't already, check out his short film at: http://films.thelot.com/films/30769
Hopefully we'll see our colleague and friend, Colin McWilliams "On The Lot" this May!
Ken Glynn
MSU Film and Television ‘93 |
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We recently caught up with Shawn Owens, class of 1995. After graduation, Shawn moved to LA and worked as a camera operator/DP on music videos and rockumentaries such as Sophie Hawkins, The Cream will Rise, Crushed, Incandescence.
Shawn returned to Bozeman in 2000 and started the company Avalanche Films to
pursue his interest in natural history and ski films.
He recently worked as the Camera Operator/AC on "Off The Grid" by Warren Miller. Shawn was kind enough to
sit down and share some of his insights and experiences with us.
How did you get involved in extreme cinematography? I actually work on anything in a challenging and adventurous environment. I have always spent the winters in the back country skiing and snow boarding. While pursuing my degree in film, I always had a camera with me to shoot my experiences.
My first project, my senior film, was working with different camera rigs up in the back country of Bridger Bowl. We mounted cameras on snow boards, helmets, and built a mount for helicopters. We did a lot of helicopter footage.
However, it was all thanks to Ron Tobias. For four years, I persistently bugged him to take me on one of his trips. I bugged him so often that he finally said, “Okay”. He took me to Venezuela & Brazil for the "Piranhna" documentary for the Discovery Channel. That’s how I got started shooting in the jungles of Central and South America.
What were some of your most exciting or memorable experiences? Filming venomous snakes in the jungles of Brazil and Costa Rica. Filming from a helicopter over the jungles of southern Brazil and also over the local mountains in the Gallatin Range where I grew up.
How has new technology affected your work? The digital camera and Final Cut has allowed me to have an affordable studio where I can constantly shoot and edit.
Final Cut has brought filmmaking to the home, allowing me to have my own studio. Technology has effecting editing the most.
Describe what you think is the best or challenging shot you have done to date. I got a behind the scene shot of a 16 foot anaconda going after our cinematographer Ed George. It was at the time, the only predatory strike caught on film. Fortunately, the biologist, Jesus Rivas, tackled the anaconda in mid-strike before it could bite him.
What advice would you give to students entering the industry? Get as much hands on experience as possible. Be persistent. Start your own projects. To get recognition, work on a reel and shooting something you are passionate about. If you want to be a directory of photography, learn to edit. Editing basically makes you a better cinematography, because through editing you learn what shots you need and don’t need when putting a sequence together. (03/07) |
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Allison Backus, class of 2006, writes us about her new job in Oregon:
I'm doing database work and location scouting for the Oregon Film and Video Office, which is a state agency that uses incentive programs to bring large-budget films to Oregon and also promotes the indigenous film industry. It's not too rough, all of this going out on assignment to take pictures of beautiful places and hanging out with local productions.
The web site is www.oregonfilm.org - there's a huge location database online for public use, and if someone sees something that they'd like to shoot all they have to do is call our office for contact info. Low-budget films aren't eligible for incentive money, but our office still helps them find local contacts, guides them through permits and the like, and provides other general help for their production process. (03/07) |
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Mike Nondahl, class of 2006, currently living in Santa Barbara, CA writes:
Hey, everyone,
Just wanted to let you know I posted a trailer for my 10-minute film on the "On the Lot" web site. Take a look when you have the chance, rate it, then post and talk about it if you have the time. Hope you all are doing well!
-Mike (03/07)
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