Do not miss Creative Pros at Work Mini Seminars
   … series @ Digital Circus Campus

The creative person has a rare opportunity at these events to meet
and share the work of some of the best creative minds in visual media.
The School sponsors Creative Pros at Work for students and seminar
ticket holders to foster professional growth through both networking and
added skill sets. Here is a rare opportunity to learn from those who have
made their mark … and who get paid for their creative performance.

Past and present Mini Seminar guests includes:
● Pioneering HD filmmaker … who clears up the mystery of the “film look”.
● International award winning designer … with an insight to typography that makes it art.
● Lighting expert … learn and get insider tips and tricks.
● Major market TV talent … with a plan for you to get to the top.
● School grad on Academy Award winning film shares experiences on production steps.

Past Event: Softimage

EXPERIENCE THE EXCITEMENT…

• SEE THE LEADING SOFTIMAGE DEMO ARTIST
• ASK THE REAL EXPERTS QUESTIONS
• RUB ELBOWS WITH THE LOCAL LEADERS

IN THE GAME AND ANIMATION INDUSTRY

The animation industry buzz is alive with the breakthrough features of the new SOFTIMAGE® |XSI Rel7, the latest version of its professional 3D animation software for games, film, and television. Softimage Company, a part of Avid technology, Inc. announced today that they will bring their Road Show to School of Communication Arts.

The School has teamed up with the creators of SOFTIMAGE to host an INSIDERS LOOK AT THE NEW SOFTWARE. Red Carpet Seminar series members are invited. Active students and graduates at the School are automatically members.

Those with a passion for animation or the business of creativity are invited to call for reservations.

• XSI is a robust and complete software package that allows artists and technical directors to create amazing visual effects for film.

• XSI used on such films as Jurassic Park, The Golden Compass, and Titanic to create incredible 3D animation and stunning visual effects.

• XSI’s new ICE (Interactive Creative Environment) technology turns XSI into an open platform to allow for greater collaboration between artists and technical directors.

• Used in such games as Metal Gear Solid 4, and NINJA GAIDEN 2. XSI is used to create a level of realism to completely immerse players in the game.

• With the release of XSI version 7 there have been numerous improvements to its user interface, lighting capabilities, shading, referencing, and its ability to use multiple cores.

• XSI now allows users to move assets from Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max to XSI easily with built in plugins.

Dwayne Ballen, NC Production

Regarded as an outstanding host and interviewer, Dwayne Ballen’s work has earned him high praise and numerous honors, including two associated press awards for sports journalism. His on camera talents have won him many awards and he has also become a much sought after speaker and emcee. His opinion on what he calls “the alarmingly high premium placed on competitive sports in our society” and other matters of social significance have led to his being sought out as a guest by regional and national media outlets as well as a guest speaker on college campuses. He has become a familiar face on the Fox News Channel. Mr. Ballen is CEO and Creative Director of Ballen Media, a multi-million dollar North Carolina based digital media company. His firm has a number of projects currently in development including documentary films on Charles Scott, the first great black athlete at a majority white institution in the deep south and the 1898 Wilmington, N.C. race riots.

Michael Caporale, Cinematographer

For over three decades, Michael Caporale has been on the cutting-edge of motion picture technology. He is the founder of Caporale Studios, which handles national and regional television commercials, audio and post production, photography, documentaries, and web design. Caporale is one of the original developers of the Avid editing system.
Caporale’s cinematography can be found in feature films Tattered Angel and Four Roses.

For more information on Michael Caporale visit: 
http://www.ballofwaxmovie.com/cast.htm
http://www.24pdigitalcinema.com
http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/tools/gearup/
feed.rss/7880.html

Bill Reh , NBC 17 Meteorologist

Bill has been forecasting the weather in central North Carolina since 1983. He earned the American Meteorological Society Television Seal of Approval in 1984. Bill spent 13 years working and forecasting the weather at WTVD in Durham, covering such weather events as the Red Springs killer tornado outbreak of 1984, the deadly Raleigh tornado of November 1988 and Hurricane Fran in 1996. He also wrote and produced the exhibit: "Ask a Meteorologist" for the N.C. Museum of Life and Science in Durham.

Tica Lema, NBC 17

Tica Lema has over 20 years experience working in local and international television and print media. Recent projects she's worked on include America's first bilingual educational mini-series, Nuestro Barrio. She was recently featured on the cover of internationally distributed Air Brush magazine, and in 2006 she co-founded local production company, 4 Women in Film and associate produced the documentary film Milagros: Made in Mexico. She currently owns and operates a Latino relations company and was recently added as part of the Raleigh TODAY show team where she produces the daily morning traffic reports on NBC-17. 

Jason Atwell, Audio Engineer

Jason Atwell is an award winning producer and audio engineer who will be speaking has been involved in many of the large tours and broadcasts throughout the world. As a current Grammy member and music activist he is very supportive of music
education and the arts. Atwell has been listed on the IMDB as well as many other sites for his contribution to the entertainment industry. Atwell has also been involved in the recording of albums across a variety of music genres as well as producing music videos and mixing prime time shows.

Chris Scarlata, Design Director
Chris Scarlata is the Design Director for Comedy Central, a part of MTV Networks. He has also been the Art Director of On-Air Creative with Comedy Central and won the BDA 2007 Silver Award for Comedy Central’s “Last Laugh” production. Chris has been with them for over 10 years and was the Open Producer for “The Greatest Millennium”, a 1999 Comedy Central film. Chris’ specialties include art direction, branding, and creative problem-solving.

Eddie Hamrick, Professional Craftsman
Hamrick is a professional woodworker first and foremost and a master craftsman and carver. He is a woodwright who uses 18th Century reproduction tools such as the bow saw, lathe, planes, woodcarving chisel and marking gauges to create ultimate masterpieces; carving treasures for a lifetime. He is a master whose hands replicate the rich woodworking heritage of this proud nation.
By his own proud admission, Hamrick comes from a large and poor family. He once said, "Kids like me weren' t and still aren' t expected to make it." However, he did make it. He reached the pinnacle of his professional career and the apotheosis of his life at the tender age of 50.

Eric Johnson, Executive Producer
Eric Johnson, Executive Producer, Composer and Sound Designer for Blazing Music & Sound will be guest speaking at the School of Communication Arts on Thursday, 7 February 2008 at 11:00 a.m.  The studios, located within Trailblazer Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina, are equipped with state of the art Digidesign Pro Tools HD Workstations with Digidesign work surfaces and a variety of plug-ins.  Examples of their productions include commercials for Rubbermaid, Sony, Lowes Food, Wake Med and Time Warner.  They are also involved in television and film work boasting the following projects:  Great Inca Rebellion, Monster Road, John of God, Fit TV and Discovery Health CME.  For more information about the company, visit their website:  www.blazingmusicsound.com.

Leah Welsh, Los Angeles Executive Producer
Welsh has relocated to Raleigh, NC from Los Angeles, where she most recently served as president and executive producer at Space Division; a commercial post-production company with clients including Jaguar, Jeep, Landrover, AOL, Home Depot, Del Taco and Kohl’s. Prior to her post there, Welsh held positions as Executive Producer at ARTiFACT, Inc. and Senior Producer at Bedlam Editorial. 

Welsh has a Cinematography Degree from the American Film Institute in Hollywood, Calif., and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Occidental College & Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., Serious Robots is a top commercial post-production boutique that provides all aspects of editorial, animation and finishing to companies in commercial, long-form and other industries. Serious Robots is a division of Trailblazer Studios.

Steven Heller, Senior Art Director for New York Times
For 33 years, Heller has been an art director for the New York Times with almost 30 of those years on the New York Times Book Review. Currently, he is a senior art director;
He is the founder and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, New York where he lectures on the history of graphic design. Prior to this, he lectured for 14 years on the history of illustration in the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts.

Heller is also the recipient of the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 1999, the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame Special Educators Award in 1996, The Pratt Institute Herschel Levitt Award in 2000 and

Mark Gelfuso, Digital Cinematographer
Mark Gelfuso, a well-known Digital Cinematographer, 3D Layout Artist and Character Animator will be visiting the School of Communication Arts on Wednesday, January 30, 2008.  The school is delighted to have Mr. Gelfuso share his exceptional background with the students.

Mark Gelfuso has spent the last seven years successfully incorporating traditional live-action cinematography practicalities within the CG animation medium.  A former live-action camera assistant and photographer, Gelfuso began his career working as a camera production assistant on low-budget, independent films while attending film school. 

Brett Ashy-The Ashy Agency
Brett Ashy is a native of Lafayette, LA and graduated from the University of Louisiana with a BA in Public Relations.  After graduation, Brett joined the prestigious Circle in the Square Professional Theatre Program in New York City.  After a ten year acting career of “show,” Brett delved into “business” as assistant to the head of Sales and Marketing at RGA/LA.  Three months later the company restructured, the Director of Sales and Marketing resigned and Brett was appointed Director of Sales and Marketing and was about to get a “baptism by fire”. That same week the movie Se7en opened, and the watershed main title sequence from that movie created by Kyle Cooper basically kick started Brett’s 12 year career of Sales and Marketing design firms.
For information on Brett Ashy and The Ashy Agency, visit www.ashyagency.com

Ed Siomacco, Jr. ... Sony Pictures Imageworks, Los Angeles Technical Director
is a Cloth/Hair and FX technical director at Sony Pictures Imageworks, in Los Angeles, CA.  His most recent work is on I Am Legend, to be released in December of this year. Previous to I Am Legend, Ed has worked on such blockbusters as Spiderman 3, Sony Pictures Animation's Open Season, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He worked on Narnia while he was at Rhythm and Hues Studios.  In addition to his screen credits, Ed contributed to the book, Mastering Maya 8.5, a comprehensive reference book that covers all of Maya's latest advances with cloth, fur, and fluids.

Michael Donovan
Michael first attended SCA as a student and later taught 3D animation classes at SCA when the school was focused on using the Softimage (now XSI) program,  running on SGI workstations. He also has a background in computer science (programming) and has trained in traditional 2D animation on the west coast.

Jakob Trollback
President & Creative Director of Trollbäck + Company, Jakob has received dozens of highly recognized awards, including those from the Art Directors Club, the Prime time Emmy's, BDA - The Broadcast Designers Association, and Communication Arts Design Annual. Clients include top TV networks AMC, HBO and TNT, among other big name clients such as Nike, Fidelity, and Jaguar. Jakob spoke to SCA on March 15 2007.

Shawn Lovette
SCA Alumnus of the Digital Animation Department, Shawn worked on such blockbuster movies as Talladega Nights, Happy Feet, Superman Returns, and Cats and Dogs. 

Matteo Bologna
President & Creative Director of Mucca Design Corporation in New York City, Matteo has created award-winning identities for restaurants across the nation, among them Balthazar, Country, Sant Ambroeus, and Schiller's, all in NYC, and the Standard Hotel Restaurants in Los Angeles.  Matteo spoke at SCA on Feb. 1, 2007.

Jason Atwell
Jason has worked extensively in the Audio Industry as an A-list Audio Engineer, Audio Designer, FOH Engineer, Supervisor, Technical Director, Studio Engineer, Systems Tech, and Crew Leader in Local and or National locations. Artists he has worked with include: Ja Rule, Counting Crows, Martina McBride, American Idol, Mandy Moore, and the Latin Billboard Awards.  Jason spoke at SCA on June 6, 2007.

Nancy Baker
Nationally and regionally recognized painter, Nancy spoke to Marx Myth’s Art History class on April 20, 2007.

Damon Conn
At the time of the lecture, Damon was Art Director at 3D Solve, a game design company in Cary.  He is a SCAD Alumnus, founder of 7 Studios (in LA), and had previously worked for Electronic Arts.  Damon spoke at Winter 07 Graduation.

Brian Erickson
Freelance graphic designer and alumnus of NCSU College of Design, Brian has designed album covers and musicians’ websites for Sanctuary Records, Merge Records, and Indie Rock Media.  Brian spoke at Spring 07 Graduation.

Wes Phillips and Barrett Phillips
Founders of Five Point Productions in Cary, they are responsible for the overnight hit superbowl '07 Doritos commercial.  The two spoke at Spring Q Advising Day.

John Plymale
Independent Audio Engineer based out of Raleigh, John has worked with such musical groups as the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Portastatic, Caitlin Cary, and many more notable musicians.  John spoke at Spring Q Advising Day.

Randy Jones
Well-known entertainer and pop icon from the Disco era, Randy Jones was the cowboy of the Village People who went on to be a Multi-Platinum Recording Artist and American Music Award winner.  Randy spoke at SCA during the Winter Q 2007.

Jala Anderson
Jala has over ten years experience in the News Broadcast industry as a reporter and news anchor. She shared her inspiring journey of perseverance during SCA’s Winter Quarter Advising Day.

Jeff Gordon
Author and freelance Contract Negotiator, Jeff is primarily involved in technology-related negotiations.  Jeff received his B.S. and J.D. from Valparaiso University and is currently working on earning an MBA from North Carolina State University.  Jeff spoke at Spring Q Advising Day, and gave an evening lecture on May 15, 2007.

John Demers
Actor, Voice Actor, and Producer, John has appeared as the lead role in several Discovery Channel productions.  He is the founder of Studio in The Woods, Inc.  John spoke at SCA’s Fall 06 Graduation.

Nick Heim
A filmmaker from Pavilion, New York, Nick holds a BA from Bowling Green State University and a Masters in Cinema and TV Production from University of Southern California.  He currently works for Center Line Productions in downtown Raleigh.  Nick spoke at SCA’s Fall 06 Graduation.

Bill Judge
Bill is an independent filmmaker and animator for Applied Research Associates.

Jay Francis
Jay is an animator and entrepreneur.  He is the president of Phuuz Entertainment.

Jim Fink
Producer, Filmmaker, and New Media Designer, Jim works for New Century Digital Media.

Rafael Chandler
Writer for games and interactive media, Rafael has both corporate and small studio experience.  He and his wife own Media Sunshine, a local consulting company.  Rafael spoke at SCA during Spring Q 2007.

Greg Carter
Illustrator and graphic designer, Greg works for Train of Thought Marketing, a local company with international clients such as AT&T, IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Carolina Panthers, and Energizer.

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