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Motion Pictures

Motion Pictures Student’s Pivot From Engineering to Pursue Cinematography

By: Bianca De Paz Motion Pictures rising senior Cameron Tavakoly enters his senior year feeling thrilled for what’s in store as he embarks on his journey as a startup freelance cinematographer.    From the moment he began his freshman year, Tavakoly has been a part of an organization known as Delta Kappa Alpha, a co-educational, Professional Fraternity for Cinematic Arts students. He later became Production Chair his sophomore year.   Originally, he chose to study engineering because it played a role throughout his high school years. However, he was also interested in film and wanted to find [...]

2021-08-11T12:02:13-04:00August 11, 2021|Motion Pictures|
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Film Professor Shares the Inspiration Behind ‘Phantom Lady’

By: Emmalyse Brownstein Christina Lane, chair and associate professor in the Department of Cinematic Arts, has devoted her research in film studies to the subject of women in the film industry. When Christina Lane was a student at Mount Holyoke College in suburban Massachusetts, she knew she was interested in movies. Lane thought that her place was behind the scenes, yet she couldn’t shake that her passion for film was not so much in learning how to operate a Steadicam, but rather in examining its cultural influence and how films [...]

2021-04-29T12:12:48-04:00April 29, 2021|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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Cinematic Arts Students Make a Movie in China

By: Karina Valdes When cinematic arts students were faced with challenges that could have prevented them from making a film, they adapted and used technology to connect globally and created their own opportunity. “What if we made a film in China?” Ali Habashi, assistant professor of professional practice, asked the students in his fall 2020 CCA 351 class, Intermediate Filmmaking, through Zoom. Habashi had 18 students in his online filmmaking class, with two students unable to leave China because of the travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19. In a [...]

2021-03-19T15:33:58-04:00March 19, 2021|Motion Pictures|
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UM Students Win National DEA Red Ribbon Week PSA Contest

By: Jabria Roscoe University of Miami students Julie Erhardt and Julia Hecht are the winners of the national 2020 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Red Ribbon Week Campus Video PSA Contest. The competition allows universities from across the nation to submit videos that promote the importance of stopping drug and alcohol abuse among college students. Hecht says that winning the competition was a great way to wrap up the semester. “It was really cool. We were home, I was in New York and Julie was in New Jersey. Julie facetimed me [...]

2021-03-17T14:10:49-04:00March 17, 2021|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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Alumnus Tim Sparks writes and directs HBO film “AMARAICA”

By: Bianca De Paz Master of Fine Arts alumnus, a writer and director of the multiple award-winning film, Tim Sparks, recently worked on his latest full feature, “AMARAICA.” The movie, which takes place in Texas, California, and Mexico, will be streaming on HBO in September 2021. At the time, Sparks created this film due to the U.S. government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ child separation policy at Mexico's border. Since he is a father and having dealt with this personally in the past with his own undocumented family members, he felt that this was a story that he really connected to.   “As [...]

2021-02-18T13:10:21-05:00February 16, 2021|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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‘TheWrap’ Ranks UM A Top 50 Film School

By: Karina Valdes TheWrap’s Top 50 Film Schools of 2020 lists the University of Miami School of Communication as one of the best in the country to study cinematic arts. Earning a spot at number 32 on the list, the program went up three spots from number 35 in 2019. “Our ranking in TheWrap reflects the standing that the University of Miami has gained in the industry, especially now that our graduate program is well over two decades along and alumni have succeeded at every facet and level,” said Christina Lane, chair for the Department of Cinematic Arts. Notable [...]

2021-01-26T14:42:31-05:00January 26, 2021|Motion Pictures|
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UM Professor Awarded Fellowship, Plans Special Art Project

By: Jabria Roscoe Ali Habashi, award winning documentary filmmaker and assistant professor of professional practice for the Department of Cinematic Arts, is a recipient of the University of Miami Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities for 2020. This highly selective award strives to support and fund the startup of new artistic projects, advance already existing ones, and enhance University of Miami’s reputation for scholarly and creative excellence. This fiscal year, 12 Fellowships in the Arts and Humanities were awarded. “I’m humbled to be trusted by the selection committee to carry [...]

2020-10-21T13:40:15-04:00October 21, 2020|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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Documentary Filmmaker Billy Corben Shares Career Advice with Students

By: Karina Valdes For students pursuing a career in motion pictures, advice and humor intertwined during the Career Conversations Series with guest Billy Corben, B.S.C. ’03. A documentary filmmaker known for Cocaine Cowboys, The U, and Screwball, Corben graduated from the University of Miami School of Communication and has led a successful career that includes co-founding the Miami-based media company, Rakontur. “I've been quarantining, but I have been blessed to have a job, number one and, number two, to have a job that enables me to work remotely,” said Corben. [...]

2020-08-20T11:06:14-04:00July 23, 2020|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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The Future of the Entertainment Industry

By: Amanda M. Perez Experts from across the University of Miami and those in the entertainment business weigh in on how the global pandemic has affected the profession and how it could shape the dynamics moving forward. For many people who make a living in the entertainment industry, life as they knew it abruptly changed in late March when the spread of COVID-19 forced every aspect of the business to shut down. With movie theaters going dark, concert halls closing their doors, and film sets delaying production indefinitely, the global [...]

2020-08-20T10:33:51-04:00July 22, 2020|Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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Two New Special Topics Classes for Fall 2020

The School of Communication has added two new special topics classes to its fall schedule where students can explore how communication can be used to help communities. Communicating COVID-19: Social Justice Research, Action, and Impact offers students an opportunity to implement community-based projects founded on communication theory, research and practice. Students will be able to use their skills as researchers, communicators, and storytellers to join the unprecedented global response to the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The class will leverage the diverse talents of professors from across the [...]

2020-05-11T11:22:51-04:00May 11, 2020|Journalism, Media Management, Motion Pictures, School of Communication|
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