The biggest buzz over the weekend was about learning raw cinema cameras (such as RED) and learning DaVinci Resolve for color correction.  PHT 274 (Digital Editing) will teach students basic and advanced editing techniques in Final Cut Pro X and Premiere Pro CS6, motion graphics in After Effects, and color correction in Resolve.  The course is by permission only, so you should have some familiarity with either FCP or Premiere already (just the basics) and be somewhat familiar with Photoshop too.

I will be teaching, among other things, working with cinema cameras, such as RED, in the PHT 298 cinematography course.  However, this is not a basic course (nor is it an advanced course).  The class is designed for those that have worked with video cameras in the past, preferably in a professional or academic setting and not just filming friends for online content.  You should already know how to get a good exposure on a camera, the basics of things such as luma and chroma, and lighting for video production (even if just three-point setups).  We will teach you the next level but, also, explore lots of different areas of production; so, please do not also think this is an exclusive training class for a RED camera.  You will certainly learn how to shoot raw and put it into practice on a RED camera, among other cameras, but know you will get a well-rounded instruction on being a cinematographer and not just a specialized how-to training class on one particular camera.

Please come see me on campus in room 328 or contact me via e-mail at cstallings@nvcc.edu if you have more questions about these two new classes being offered this fall.

We have not announced the AMC movie ticket raffle winners yet but we will do so by the end of the week, so please keep checking back.  There are ten winners, so the chances are good for those that signed up over the weekend.  Also, you still have some time for the second raffle – simply enroll for one of the “film” classes by June 14th of this year and you will be entered into a second raffle to appear on the big screen in our promotional video.

What a great event we had over the weekend.  Over 16,000 theater patrons passed by our display over the three days and we got to meet many new people with some level of interest in film.  We treasured all the conversations and look forward to many new working relationships with all the great people we greeted.  We hope to see you at the movies soon and keep an eye out for our promotional video to probably air at AMC in July.

Jonathan Balsamo and Bryan Brown working the cameras (ironically enough, I had to take a picture on my phone, so please excuse the quality).

We are excited to announce that the Woodbridge campus of NOVA will be tabling an event at AMC theaters in Woodbridge for the weekend release of Star Trek 2 (May 17th).  We will have film program professors available at a table in the lobby of the theater to answer any questions you might have about our classes.  We will also be raffling off movie tickets and displaying some RED equipment, so please stop by and speak to us.

Also, keep an eye out for the NOVA Woodbridge film program promotional video we will be producing in the coming months and it will play in the theater before every movie through the end of the summer and as classes start in the fall.  We are excited about this opportunity.

Here is a preview of some of pictures that were snapped by our College photographer, Robbie Hammer, during a recent photo shoot of our film program:

 

The students of PHT 131 (Video II) worked together to film their semester-long short film, “There’s Something About Alex.”  Now that it’s in the can, they can concentrate on completing post-production before the end of the month.  There will be more information about its screening and film festival run in later postings.  We are proud of the work they have done so far.

Here is a link to the music video for the song “Good Life” that was completed over the summer with the Filmmaking Club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfkZmBMbF9Q