Motion Pictures

A Special Message for Supporters of the SoC

This past year, alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Miami have invested their time and money to help make extraordinary enhancements in the lives our students. Watch this special report produced by our very own School of Communication students at our UMTV studios.

Four Decades of Giving: A Model Alumna’s Unwavering Support of the U

Twenty-three years after graduating the University of Miami, the ties that drew School of Communication alumna, Jeanne Wolf A.B. ’61, to her alma mater ran deep. That spring of 1984, she established the Jeanne Wolf Scholarship Fund — an award to help make a UM education accessible to a deserving School of Communication student. Her generosity did not go unreciprocated. The very first recipient of her scholarship, Michael Robin, graduated in 1985 and went on to produce some of Hollywood’s biggest television hits, such as Nip/Tuck and The Closer. Her [...]

Motion Picture Students Adapt Stephen King’s 9/11 Story for the Screen

Facing certain death after the planes hit the World Trade Center, Sonja D’Amico jumps from a window. Yet as she plummets 110 stories, she is enveloped not by raging flames but by soothing thoughts of her beloved. Last week, School of Communication students and graduates filmed that scene, adapted from a 9/11 story by Stephen King, in the unlikeliest of places—the patio outside the Bill Cosford Cinema. Of course, when the 30-minute nonprofit, noncommercial film premieres at film festivals, no one will know that. No one will see that actress [...]

Canes Film Fest Hype

On Thursday, April 9, PREP students took over the UC breezeway to promote the University of Miami’s 18th annual Canes Film Festival. PREP students tabled to raise awareness of the upcoming event by engaging with students and faculty passing by throughout the day. Event flyers and popcorn were distributed while the students answered questions about the festival. “Tabling in the breezeway is a great way of letting people know what is happening on campus,” said PREP manager Sarah Driks. PREP students were also tasked with taking pictures of students holding up a Canes Film [...]

Traveling Haitian Film Series Culminates with the Screening of La Belle Vie: The Good Life and Papa Machete

Ayiti Images, a traveling Florida film series, ends its successful 2014-2015 run with a double-feature screening about the Haitian experience. The concept of Ayiti Images birthed from a burning desire to educate and project an authentic voice that depicts the Haitian experience from a humanistic perspective through the use of film and discussion. The screenings will be held at six locations beginning with the University of Miami at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 20, at Shoma Hall. A Q&A session with the film’s directors about the making of the films [...]

UM School of Communication Students Win 14 ADDYs

Mailers, apps and marketing campaigns characterized by their innovation led to School of Communication students taking home six gold and eight silver local ADDY awards. Students used skills learned in the classroom to take on corporate clients by creating campaigns for Mary Kay, Maker’s Mark and Johnnie Walker. They also tackled global and social problems, ingeniously addressing the issues of cyber bullying, Ebola and childhood obesity. Winning a gold or silver local ADDY award is the first of three steps to the national Student American Advertising Awards Competition. “The ADDYs [...]

2019-12-17T19:41:04-05:00March 10, 2015|Advertising, Motion Pictures, Public Relations|

And The Award Goes To…

By Lizzie Wilcox Two high school outcasts stumble across a cannibalistic alien and find themselves caught up in a big government conspiracy. No, this is not breaking news; it is Megan Rico’s screenplay that won her the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting. The Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship is awarded to an undergraduate student who plans to pursue a career in screenwriting. The Writers Guild of America, East Foundation chooses the recipient from a number of universities and colleges. The winner is provided with $10,000 and a mentor to write [...]

2019-12-17T19:41:30-05:00March 4, 2015|Motion Pictures|

Producer Stresses Media Experience

Flourish Klink is a writer, producer and self-proclaimed fangirl who is now working as a transmedia producer and writer for the Hulu original series “East Los High.” On Thursday, she spoke with students at the School of Communication about her work in the transmedia field, which she described as storytelling “across multiple delivery channels” where, ideally, “each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.” “East Los High” was created with the motive of exploring the range of possible Latino characters stepping away from the traditional [...]

April Dobbins, Graduate MFA Student, Receives Award from the S.J. Weiler Fund

April Dobbins, a graduate student in the motion pictures program, was recently presented with a $20,000 award from the S. J. Weiler Fund, a private foundation that honors the work of mid-career artists. The award is made in recognition of individual artistic achievement and creativity, as well as significant contributions to the arts community. The award is by nomination only, and a selection committee comprised of influential art figures chooses awardees. The 2014 selection committee included Andrea Grover, David Levi Strauss, Joshua Mack, Amy Sadao, Zoe Strauss, Julianne Swartz, Mickalene [...]

Jon Landau Coming to the Cosford

Jon Landau, described by SoC professor Dr. John Soliday as "the Edison of film technology," will be at the Cosford Cinema on Monday, Jan. 26, 1-3 p.m. The master's class will be moderated by Dr. Soliday and will include a Q&A session, film clips and advice from the producer of the two biggest film attractions in history, "Titanic" and "Avatar." This event is open to all University of Miami students.