Displaying items by tag: Cinema Photography

A sink full of dirty dishes; trash bags stacking up; newspapers and magazines stacked around the room. Not just any room, but the kitchen in Barbie’s dream house. This isn’t a scene you would expect to see, but the creative and dedicated work of Carrie M. Becker has made this image come to life, so to speak.

Becker, a 2002 Cinema and Photography graduate, has created a series of ten photos using 1/6th scale miniatures. She has tied the photo series called “Barbie Trashes Her Dream House” to the well-known Barbie doll so that people can understand that the images are based on miniatures.

Becker said the interpretation of Barbie becoming a hoarder came from watching television shows like “How Clean is Your House”. Also, she referenced James Casebere, a photographer who makes trompe-l’oeil miniature worlds that consist of simple rooms and spaces.  “I had a miniature collection and thought it would be interesting to light and photograph them as if they were life-size,” said Becker. “I wanted to originally do this in a manner so that viewers would not know the photograph was of miniatures.”

“However, the title came about because I had the photos in my studio blown up life-size,” said Becker, “and no one knew they were looking at was, in fact, small. Instead of being happy with my goal, I decided to change the title to ‘Barbie Trashes Her Dreamhouse’ to help people connect with what they were actually seeing. That’s when it took off- when everyone started making that connection.”

Becker has been doing installation work for quite some time. She was known at SIU-Carbondale for her use of nontraditional media rather than just straight photography, according to Jan Roddy, associate dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts Graduate Studies program.

“Carrie was at the forefront of a changing kind of student in the Photography program,” said Roddy. “She was always pushing the envelope with respect to form and material in her installation work.”

Becker, a St. Louis native, said the kitchen scene (the first photographed) took about eight hours to complete. However, by the time she got too the office scene “Working From Home” it took her about 90 hours of prep work before the shoot.  She began the project in August 2011 and just completed it in December.

“In the kitchen scene, I was relying on the miniatures I had, tiny, tiny pre-made props,” said Becker. “As I went on I tried to make them more realistic and started hand making the objects. It became more about handmade and not store bought props, and the photos became more realistic.”

“Carrie was always interested in ideas, not just technique, and as a professor it is sometimes a challenge to get students past the purely craft side of photography,” said Roddy. “It was so nice with Carrie because she wanted to use photos to investigate personal and social messages. I think we see that in her work.”

The ten-photo series has garnered a great deal of media attention since December 2011. Becker said it all started when she posted the series on Flickr.com. An anonymous user shared a link on Metafilter, and then it went viral. Flavorwire was the first news site to pick up the story. Both Time.com and Huffington Post have run articles. Becker said over forty other news sites have featured the work, among them Jezebel and Gizmodo. The work has been featured in local media, like the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as well.

Becker said she plans to continue to work with miniatures, but not a Barbie theme; perhaps something more abstract with less clutter and more fantasy.

Regarding her time spent at SIUC, Becker states: “Jan Roddy was one of the best professors I have ever had - hands down.  She was motivational almost to the point of being intimidating. I actually think of her directness when I am teaching my own classes. She never pulled any punches.”

Becker said the Cinema and Photography program at SIU Carbondale had a great impact on her work. She added the facilities were very nice to have and it was good to be able to check out equipment for projects.

In addition to working on her photos Becker is currently planning a wedding and teaching photography at St. Louis Community College in Forrest Park. She hopes to secure an artists’ residency in the near future.

Click on the links to see the articles and photos in Time and the Huffington Post.

Warner Bros. has announced it is acquiring feature rights to Tad Williams’ science fiction book series Otherland. The project will be scripted by Cinema and Photography alum John Scott 3.

Dan Lin (Lin Pictures) is set to produce the project based on the four-book series which is set 100 years in the future.

Last fall Scott, who works full time with NASA, was selected to script Issac Asimov’s Caves of Steel for Fox. Scott’s critically acclaimed original screenplay Maggie is in pre-production.

“MAGGIE, my spec script, was purchased by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, and will be financed by him, and produced by him, Matt Baer, and Trevor Kaufman,” said Scott. “We're currently casting the film with a shoot date early-mid 2012.”

Scott said in addition to the works he is adapting, he is also working on his own ideas. Henry Hobson is directing both Maggie and Caves of Steel.

Scott is represented by CAA and managed by Trevor Kaufman.

Click on the link to read the recent Variety article on the Otherland project or about Maggie.

Polly Chandler, 2004 SIUC MFA Alumna, will present and discuss her work on January 23 at 6 p.m. in the John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library. Photogenesis and the Department of Cinema and Photography are organizing the first fine art photo competition for LUX- a Fine Art Photography Journal. Polly Chandler will be serving as the guest juror for this publication.

Ms. Chandler earned an MFA in photography in 2004 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Chandler’s work has been exhibited and published widely in several fine art photography venues. Publications include PDN Photo Annual 2011, B&W Magazine, View Camera Magazine, Shots Magazine, and Silvershotz Magazine. Additionally, her photography has been exhibited in over fifty juried exhibitions since 2004. Chandler’s large format portraits and landscapes of serene environments embody a poetic charm made visible only through her careful observation of the world.

For more information, please visit: http://www.pollychandler.com/

Here is a link to the registration form:

https://docs.google.com/a/siu.edu/document/pub?id=1E-cNLQ-PhKsN-3_4y4Uky0lgE5itKayxgCSodQ8SCso&pli=1

This event is supported by the SIUC Student Fine Arts Activity Fee.

It is not uncommon to have a few students in independent studies each semester in Cinema and Photography. However, when over 20 students came forward asking for a study in practical film making, the Cinema and Photography staff decided to form a class. The class was labeled Independent Projects: Crew Production and had 22 students enrolled for the fall semester.

The class was designed to reflect the day-to-day operations of a film production. During the course of the fall semester each student was assigned a position on a film crew. The students are handling everything from scene scouting to make up to publicity.

The film they are producing is titled A Story of a Sleeping Man and will be completed in the spring semester. Gabrielle Moloney and Nick Brightwell are the co-producers and Aaron Mager is the director. Professor Lilly Boruskowski is the faculty member leading the project.

“The movie is about an aspiring writer who works as a nurse’s aid at a hospital,” said Brightwell, who wrote the original short script. “He is trying to come up with ideas to write about, while he is at work. As he writes his ideas in a notebook they come to life around him.”

This script calls for a wide array of sets and locations, and make-up effects. Logan Horberg, the team make up designer, said his toughest challenge is to show battle damage and facial burns at then end of a war scene in the film.

Moloney said the film would be about 30 minutes in length. The scenes are set in multiple locations, one of which is an Iraq war scene.

“We are working hard to make it as realistic as possible,” said Moloney. “We have scouted locations in Southern Illinois while comparing them to photos from Iraq. We are going to bring in sand and other effects to set up the desert scenes.”

The team has used the expertise of the SIU Carbondale ROTC program to ensure military scenes are accurate.

“As the director, I am working with so many people trying to make the right decisions for the project,” said Mager. “It is a huge effort; kind of sink or swim for me. I don’t want to let anyone down.”

The crew began filming on November 5. Considering all the crewmembers are full time students, many with jobs, it is challenging to find times to shoot. According to Brightwell, the filming will go on through March.

“Everyone is so dedicated and passionate, there is a lot of will power pushing us on,” said Moloney.

Boruskowski said this is one of the best classes she has taught in her career. All of those involved hope this course will become a permanent offering in the C & P schedule.

“They are all so dedicated,” she said. “It is wonderful to be able to offer a hands on experience like this to the students.”

The team's marketing crew has developed a blog and social media accounts so people may track the production. The blog can be found at http://storyofasleepingman.wordpress.com/ .

A list of the complete crew is below. You can follow A Story of a Sleeping Man on twitter by searching SleepingManSIU.

Gabrielle Moloney is a senior from Evanston, Ill. majoring in Cinema and Photography and Radio-Television.

Nick Brightwell is a senior from Cahokia, Ill. Studying Cinema and Photography.

Aaron Mager is a junior from Columbia, Ill. majoring in Cinema and Photography.

 Photos courtesy of Pat Sutphin, senior in photojournalism.

Antonio Martinez, assistant professor in Cinema and Photography, was recently awarded honorable mention as a semi-finalist in the 2011 Adobe Design Achievement Awards for his film, Near the Egress.

The black and white stop-motion video was entered in the Innovation in Motion and Video category. The film, which runs just over five minutes, consists of over 800 dry-plate tintype images of a 2006 circus.

“I had no intention for this project to be so big,” said Martinez. “I originally started with a 17 second elephant sequence. I received such positive feedback, I decided to do more.”

The process was very labor intensive and time consuming. The long process included exposing the images, turning a negative into a positive, hand coating the metal, doing a contact print onto the metal, scanning each tintype and then editing the images in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. Martinez worked on the project for three years. Martinez worked with a former student to develop the sound track that accompanies the images.

“I would take the images home with me to Tulsa at holidays,” said Martinez. “I turned my parents’ garage into a dark room. My brother would help to develop, fix and rinse the images at night after our parents had gone to sleep.”

Martinez said the project involved a lot of trial and error, and that for every one good plate there were probably eight to ten throw-aways.  After assembling the first set of images in Final Cut Pro, Martinez felt the film was too choppy. He used Photoshop to build inter-frames between each master frame. He had to build six inter-frames for every two master frames.

“I think the effort paid off,” said Martinez. “I am really happy with it. I have received such positive feedback about the project.”

To date, Near the Egress has been in over 20 art and video festivals. Martinez was featured in the September 2010 issue of pdn magazine for his work with the experimental film.

Currently, Martinez is working on two new experimental videos. Faith Into Madness is a stop motion film using images of a mustang rider at a rodeo, shot on Polaroid film. The other project is a stop motion film with images of cage fighters.

“I think the long exposures of the cage fighters’ movements and the blurring of the bodies provides a powerful image,” said Martinez.  “My current work explores the male body and the situation in which men perform and demonstrate machismo to regain power in modern society.”

Martinez’s work is currently an display as part of an exhibition at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Harmony, Indiana.

Martinez joined the C & P department in 2005. He has an M.F.A. from East Carolina University. He teaches courses in analog and digital photography, multi media, and a variety of photography topics. You can see his work at his website www.antoniom.com.

Photogenesis, a registered student organization for photographers, is providing multiple professional development opportunities to members this semester. The organization, which currently has around 20 members, has been hosting a series of faculty demonstrations, peer review sessions, and workshops with visiting artists.

In September, Carl Corey, a SIU Carbondale Cinema and Photography Alum, was on campus to present his latest work. Photogenesis helped to arrange for Corey to provide critiques of students’ current work.

“This semester we have had three faculty presentations and demonstrations,” said Dan Bowling, president. “We have two more planned for the fall semester.”

The two remaining workshops are: Nov. 8 Flash and Lighting demonstration by Antonio Martinez; and Nov. 15 faculty presentation of work by Dan Overturf, who is also the groups faculty adviser.

Members are also currently conducting a photo contest.  The winning entry will be the design for their 2011-hooded sweatshirt. Contestants have two weeks to enter a photo that is a parody of a painting or movie scene.

“We try to provide fun and educational events,” said Bowling. “We also work together to get the photo labs opened for additional hours during mid-term and finals week. This just gives members a little extra time for projects.”

The RSO meets every Tuesday at 5 p.m. in COMM 1122. Everyone is welcome to stop by and see what is happening. Right now the group is discussing plans for the spring 2012 road trip to St. Louis, Mo. This will be a day trip to visit galleries and museums, and to take photos. According to Bowling, the spring 2011 trip was to Old Shawnee National Forest.

All of these events are free to members. Membership is only $10. For more information contact Photogenesis by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

“What’s a man to do when he wants to feed the birds but the squirrels keep stealing their food? Watch as 83-year-old Stan engineers a variety of Rube Goldberg devices to foil his furry opponents. Who will prevail in the battle of man versus squirrel?”

That is the précis for the short film, Stan verses Squirrel from Lilly Boruszkowski, associate professor in Cinema and Photography. The film was awarded the Short Film Best Picture honor at the 2011 Docutah Film Festival.

“I shot the entire film in my father’s backyard in New Jersey during the fall of 2009 and 2010 over about eleven days total,” said Boruszkowski. “I was fascinated at the lengths my father was going to in order to overcome the challenge of the squirrels.”

The 22-minute film was shot and edited entirely by Boruszkowski, who said she would have to sit for hours on end waiting for the squirrel action to occur.

“I knew it was so important to get the first time the squirrels succeeded in beating the invention- I didn’t want to miss anything,” said Boruszkowski. “I had to be relentless.”

Boruszkowski said she was inspired to make the short film because she found the similarity between the human and squirrel behavior to be quite interesting.

“Both went to a great extent to figure out how to get what they wanted,” said Boruskowski. “I find it interesting how we as humans stick our nose into the natural workings of nature.”

In addition to the Docutah award, Stan verses Squirrel has also been awarded the Taos Short Film Festival audience award and a Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival cash award. The film is also going out to several other film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, and The Documentary Edge Film Festival in Australia. Given the short film’s New Jersey roots, she has also entered it into the Garden State Film Festival in the “home grown” category.

November 4 and 5 the film is screened at the River’s Edge International Film Festival in Paducah, KY.

The award from Docutah is a bust of a Raven. According to the Docutah website, the Raven is intelligent, playful, curious, observant and creative. The Raven shares these traits with many documentarians as they create their films.

Boruszkowski joined the C & P department at SIU Carbondale in 1982. She has taught a variety of film production courses including super 8 and 16mm film production, documentary production, audio for film, and advanced post-production.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Twenty outstanding students in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Department of Cinema and Photography recently earned scholarships and received awards for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The department is within the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. The scholarships and awards total $14,500.

Here is a list of scholarship winners, by hometown. Where available, the listing contains the winner’s name, year in school, major, scholarship name, the amount, and a bit of background on the award.

Illinois

Bloomington: Hannah Russell, graduated December 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in photography. Charles Swedlund Award, $450. Established in honor of former professor Charles Swedlund, who taught at SIUC for 30 years. The award goes to an outstanding photography student.

Canton: Marcie Brewer, graduated in August 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in photography. C. William Horrell Memorial Award, $500. The award honors C. William Horrell, long-time faculty member and photography program founder. Presented to an outstanding undergraduate student for accomplishment in documentary photography and/or photojournalism in the past year. Brewer also has bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and linguistics.

Carbondale: Karen Kipp, senior, cinema. Richard Blumenberg Screenwriting Award, $1,000. The award honors the late Richard Blumenberg, a former professor in screenwriting in the department. The award is the result of a script competition where students submit feature-length scripts for judging by industry professionals. Kipp, who won for her script, “Osha,” also holds degrees in art and creative writing from Virginia Intermont University and a Master of Fine Arts in English from the University of Iowa.

Carlinville: Cory Fehrenbacher, senior, cinema. Liz Ralston Cinema Production Award, $750. Established by SIUC cinema alumnus Liz Ralston, the award goes to an outstanding student filmmaker for innovation accomplishment in the past year.

Chicago: Shardaria Johnson, senior, cinema, also majoring in radio-television. Minority Filmmaker Award, $250. Established by SIUC Cinema and Photography alum and Academy Award nominee Steve James, the award goes to an outstanding minority student in advanced courses in the cinema program to cover the costs of filmmaking.

Columbia: Darren Schroeder, senior, photography. Photography Outstanding Scholar Award, $500. Established to promote scholarly studies in area of photography history, theory and criticism.

Decatur: Wesley Powers, senior, photography. Robert Dennis Filmmaking Award, $750. Established by Robert Dennis, an alumnus of the Department of Cinema and Photography, the award is given to a student in the area of cinematography whose work is judged an outstanding expression of vision through the use of light.

Elmhurst: Samantha Sliwa, senior, photography. Loren Cocking Animation Award, $500. Established in honor of Loren Cocking, who taught film production and animation courses at the University from 1976 through 2002, the award goes to an outstanding student filmmaker for accomplishment in animation in the past year.

Hawthorn Woods: Robert Bachmann, sophomore, photography. Paul Harum Memorial Award, $500. Established in honor of Paul Harum, a photography student at SIUC who died in a motorcycle accident. The award was established in 1987, and goes to an undergraduate student for outstanding accomplishment in the past year.

Jacksonville: Joshua Reuck, senior, photography. David Gilmore Award, $900. The award goes to an outstanding photography student in the past year, and honors David Gilmore, a former department chair, who taught in the department for 32 years.

Monticello: Skye Peters, senior, cinema. Cinema Production Award, $250. The award goes to a student with a film project currently under way.

Oswego: Daniel Bowling, senior, photography, also majoring in industrial technology. Charles Swedlund Award, $450.

Roscoe: Danielle Williamson, senior, cinema. John C. Mercer Scholarship Award, $500. The award goes to outstanding cinema production students for their work in the past year, and honors the professor and founder of the University’s cinema program.

Round Lake Heights: John Anslow, junior, cinema. Cinema Outstanding Scholar Award, $250. The award goes to a cinema student for outstanding scholarly accomplishment in the past year.

Springfield: Sam Phillippe senior, photography. Photography Production Award, $500. The award goes to a student for outstanding accomplishment in photography in the past year.

Sumner: Jamie Schonaman, senior, photography. Mary Green Memorial Award, $500. The award honors Mary Greene, a photography student killed in a car accident in 1986, and goes to a student for outstanding accomplishment in photography.

Urbana: Shaheen Shorish, junior in cinema also majoring in philosophy. Minority Filmmaker Award, $250.

Winfield: Robert Kohler, junior, cinema. Cinema Production Award, $250.

Kentucky

Prospect: Susan Shircliff, senior, cinema. Cinema Outstanding Scholar Award, $250. Shircliff also has a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Murray State University.

Missouri

St. Louis: Mark Norris, senior, photography. Kodak Professional Imaging Award, $5,200. Presented to an outstanding student based on academic and professional excellence in the past year.

Ohio

Mentor: See Carbondale, Ill., award for Karen Kipp, who is originally from Mentor, Ohio.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Sometimes the treasures found in Southern Illinois are easily recognizable, while at times, it takes a keen eye to ferret them out.

For a second year, students in two Southern Illinois University Carbondale classes are working to preserve not only the region’s well-known features, but also preserve images that highlight Southern Illinois’ rich history.

In what he describes as an “ambitious” undertaking, Daniel Overturf, a professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography, plans an exhibition that showcases students’ work featuring cultural and natural sites in Alexander, Johnson and Pulaski counties.

Sixteen students in Overturf’s Applied Photography II and Senior Portfolio classes have been shooting images since last month. The students are divided into three groups, one for each county, and each student will shoot three exhibition-quality prints that will be framed and available for sale. Proceeds will go to community-related projects in each of the three counties.

In addition, each student will also supply another 20 digital photographs for various website and tourism needs for the three counties. Students in Overturf’s classes in spring 2010 did a similar project involving Cairo.

The exhibition, “Land Between the Rivers,” is Saturday, April 30. Times and locations for the three separate exhibitions are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Thebes Courthouse in Thebes; noon to 3 p.m. at the Grand Chain Lodge in Grand Chain; and 2 to 5 p.m. at the Shawnee Winery in Vienna.

Admission to all of the exhibitions is free, and the public is invited.

The project not only benefits the three counties but also students who learn more about the region and become involved in community outreach, Overturf said. Students will also use their work to build their individual portfolios and resumes, along with learning about working in a photographer-client relationship, he said.

“This is volunteerism of a very specific and skilled kind,” Overturf said. “This is a way you start showing students how to do various volunteer activities and lending an expert hand with their craft.”

Students may shoot whatever they find interesting, but each of the agencies involved came up with a list of places significant to their individual counties for a “starting point,” Overturf said.

Overturf anticipates a mix of “recognizable and private discoveries” in the exhibition.

“The classroom is great but it’s when they have a chance to have inter-relationships of any kind, whether it’s to have their portfolios looked at off-campus, have a guest speaker come in and look at their work, or do some type of community outreach like this that it expands what happens in the classroom,” Overturf said. “It takes it from the theoretical into the practical.”

The students’ digital photography will be used in marketing, public relations, community needs, and on a website, www.landbetweentherivers.org. The website, which launches June 1, will showcase tourism, and community and economic development within the three counties.

The project is a “great example of a public-private partnership,” that encompasses several areas, said Amy Cox, executive director of the Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone (SIDEZ).

Having SIUC students involved is a “great benefit” for the organization, Cox said. The students’ work means the website, which will promote tourism and business opportunities within the three counties, will not have to rely upon a limited number of stock photos, Cox said.

And monies from the sale of the exhibition prints will go to historic preservation projects in the three counties, Cox said.

“This is a great innovative idea and a way for us to get what we need and also provide students with an opportunity as well,” she said.

The funds generated from the sale of the exhibition prints in Alexander County go to Alexander County Tourism and Thebes Historical Society and Thebes Courthouse for county promotion and restoration and upkeep of the historic Thebes Courthouse. In Pulaski County, the funds go to the Grand Chain Development Association for work to expand the Tunnel Hill Bike Trail from Karnak to Grand Chain, along with arts and related activities in Grand Chain. In Johnson County, the funds will go to the Johnson County Redevelopment Association for efforts that include revitalization of the theater on the square in Vienna.

Traveling to all three exhibitions sites will be a daunting task, but Overturf anticipates a rewarding experience for the students. The Southern Most Area Rural Transit (S.M.A.R.T.) is donating a bus to take students to the various exhibitions, Overturf said. As with the Cairo exhibition of a year ago, students can expect to learn more about the region from visitors who stop in to view their work, Overturf said.

“ Each photograph becomes a prospective talking point for conversations they are going to have with people who probably know considerably more about the area than they do,” Overturf said. “It’s the kind of experience they will hold with them forever.”

Several groups, organizations, and businesses are involved with the project. That includes Canon USA, which through efforts of SIUC Cinema and Photography alumnus Brian Matsumoto, a Canon technical representative, is donating printing paper and ink.

Matsumoto, a 1981 graduate, said Canon “has a wonderful program that donates photographic equipment to colleges and universities across the country.” Canon has donated cameras, lenses, and printers to both the cinema and photography department and the School of Journalism for its photojournalism work. In addition, Canon also provides support for student-related projects and exhibitions, including recent weekend shooting events in Murphysboro and Cobden and Alto Pass.

“Canon understands that the students are the future of the industry,” Matsumoto said.

Others involved with the project include the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, the Department of Cinema and Photography, Alexander County Tourism, Grand Chain Development Association, Johnson County Redevelopment Association, Pulaski County Development Association, the Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone (SIDEZ), Southern Most Area Rural Transit (S.M.A.R.T.) and the Thebes Historical Society.

Permalink: http://news.siuc.edu/news/April11/042211par11085.html

The SIUC top 25 seniors list has several students from the SIUC MCMA including Wade Morrison (Major in Cinema-Photography, Minor in Chemistry), Gavin Murphy (Double Major in Cinema and Music Performance), Krystal Saulsberry (Advertising-JRNL), and two Journalism minors (Phyllis Allen and Brittany Cheves). Congrats!

The most distinguished seniors at SIUC are individuals who have enriched the University community with their active involvement in all facets of campus life. Some of these activities include academic achievement, athletics, residential life, military services, greek life, and registered student organizations. The SIU Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Council are pleased to honor these students with a ceremony hosted by the Office of the Chancellor for the recipient and his/her family, a first year membership in the SIU Alumni Association at no charge, small gift, and a certificate of recognition.

Wade Morrison; Springfield, IL
College: Mass Communication and Media Arts
Major: Cinema and Photography
Minor: Chemistry

Gavin Murphy; Herrin, IL
College: Liberal Arts
College: Mass Communication and Media Arts
Double Major: Music Performance and Cinema

Krystal Saulsberry; Oak Park, IL
College: Mass Communication and Media Arts
Major: Advertising

Minors

Brittany Cheves; Algonquin, IL
College: Liberal Arts
Major: Speech Communication, Public Relations
Minors: Journalism, Philosphy

Phyllis Allen; Jerseyville, IL
College: Liberal Arts
Speech Communication
Minors: Finance, Journalism