Due to the fire and damage to the 630 S Wabash Bldg (aka the George Diamind Steakhouse) we unfortunately had to postpone (and hopeful can reschedule) Show Off visits from Wunderman and Pie Town TV. Go Go Graduate School (located in the 1104 S Wabash Bldg) however is still very much on for Friday, October 27th at 10am as is Monday's 7pm session for interactive designers, Too Flashy? Showcasing your interactive talent. (The 623 S Wabash Bldg is currently slated to re-open on Monday the 30th.)
It's a sad fact, however, the old cliche of the starving artist sometimes feels very real to people trying to make a living as filmmakers, photographers, performers, painters and other fabulous and creative professions. Some keep at it by surviving on ramen noodles. Some devote the 9-5 portion of their day to a desk job. And some go to graduate school.
But, how would more school help anything? You studied your craft for 4 years (sometimes more) so how would another two or three or even five years of learning get your closer to your goals? Well, graduate school and undergraduate school are two totally different experiences.
For starters, graduate study allows you to focus more specifically. While your undergraduate career has armed you with the basics, your graduate career will most likely offer a more unique and specialized course of study. The culmination of your graduate study will most likely allow you the opportunity to make that documentary, shoot that series or sharpen that specialized painting technique that started your interest in making art.
Additionally, graduate school offers you the chance to meet more artists and make more connections. With projects and grants for support, you will have more opportunities to get your name out there with the backing of a university. Those connections come in pretty handy later when you're out on your own.
Lastly, many programs will offer some level of funding, meaning you have a chance to work on your art without accruing too much debt (also meaning you may escape the ramen noodle diet after you earn your degree.)
However, to apply to graduate school, you need to prove to admissions committees that you are focused and committed to what you intend to study. Part of your application package will include a portfolio, and that's where Go-Go Graduate School leaps to the rescue.
On Friday, October 27th, the Portfolio Center and the Advising Center are bringing over 25 programs to campus to help you get the inside track on how to make the most of your application. We'll be offering panels on the visual arts, film & television, as well as a general "how-to" and information about the newly emerging "digtized portfolio." Not a listener? All of the schools will be there answering questions and reviewing work. It will be a great way to start learning about the process. You don't need to apply right away, but, the information will come in very handy should you ever find yourself trapped in a cubicle.
Design Director Amy Kosnick from i4Design will visit the Portfolio Center on November 7th at 10am to meet juniors, seniors and spring '06 grads from the graphic and product design programs. Amy will be here to look at work samples and advise students on building a portfolio (or building a better one). i4Design is also seeking potential intern talent, both from graphic and product design backgrounds. i4 design is an award-winning branding and package design agency effectively reaching consumers by stimulating emotional experiences. Clients include Kellogg's, Quaker, Philip Morris, Keebler, Ocean Spray among others.
To sign up, call 312.344.7280 -but wait - if you haven't already, register with us first. This will help us verify that you're eligible and we'll also email you in the future whenever anyone in your field visits the Portfolio Center.
On November 2nd, Lisa Boyle - of the Lisa Boyle Gallery - will visit to meet and review the work of fine art students and photographers aspiring towards gallery respresentation. Lisa will advise students on the practices of preparing and presenting work to a gallery and of course, like all gallery directors, will have some thoughts on the work itself.
The Lisa Boyle Gallery displays work in a variety of media (paint, pencil, photo and sculpture) and within a variety of styles - with an eye towards emerging talent. Hey, we don't promise anything other than feedback - but we do have a track record of helping Columbia's talent get their first gallery show. It can literally pay to Show Off.
As with all Show Off visits, if you haven't already registered with us, do so, and then call 312.344.7280 to sign up.
One of the great ironies of life is that so many talented interactive designers fail to complete their own online portfolio. Ok, maybe it's not a "great" irony of life, but it is ironic and it is something we want to bring an end to.
Step one. Attend Too Flashy? Showcasing your interactive talent on Monday, October 30th at 7pm in the Portfolio Center. (No RSVP needed.) Guest Creative Directors will have a show and tell session for you, showing off the best online portfolios they've seen and talking with you about how you might go about creating your own webfolio.
Our guests are Lakonic (take a look, they do some surprisingly non-corporate, very cool stuff) Principal and Creative Chief Merrick (no last name) and Critical Mass Creative guru Geoffrey Frankel.
The brave and talented among you will have a chance to show off your own talents as well. Both Lakonic and Critical Mass are in fact seeking talent for internships and full-time positions. If you're not there yet, that's cool. This is a program designed to get your prepared for that day when it comes. (...it ain't that far off either).
As with all our informational events - it's free and open to all current students and spring '06 grads.
...almost forgot Step two. Build an online portfolio! If you want, we can help. In more ways than one.
Make art with people and feel good about helping them. What's not to love?
An art therapist guides his/her patients through an artistic process to help them understand and cope with what they're struggling with. Maybe you will be working with foster children through the medium of fingerpainting. Perhaps you will be teaching collage work to help addicts recover. Whoever you're working with, creating art has proven to be a hugely successful method to help people of all ages and types begin their own personal healing process.
To become an Art Therapist, however, you need more than a big heart and a B.A. You need a Master's Degree in Art Therapy. But, don't give up just yet. Go-Go Graduate School is here to save the day. We are bringing five nationally accredited Art Therapy programs to campus to talk to you about how to take the next step. They will explain their programs, answer your questions and review your work to see how you can get a jumpstart on preparing your application.
On October 24th @ 7pm, Wunderman Chicago is part of a global award-winning promotional agency whose clients include Microsoft (Xbox), Burger King, Vodafone and Coke. Art Director Kristine Rohl '03 will visit to review creative advertising portfolios.
Don't be shy, this is an opportunity to get your work in front of an Art Director who'll help you shape it, tweek it and improve it before graduation comes and you hit the pavement looking for work. If this is your first Show Off and you haven't already registered with us, go ahead and start there. Then call us at 312.344.7280 to sign up to meet Kristine. Hey, she's good people and was in your spot just a few years back. Getting good feedback won't ever be this easy again.
Open to Juniors, Seniors and Spring '06 graduates. Not yet a Junior? Try our portfolio advising service.
We get it, radio students don't truly "show off" or have a "portfolio," but we think you get the idea. Patty Martin, Program Director of WDRV, 97.1 "The Drive" will be here on November 8th at 10am to meet future on-air talents to consult with them about their airchecks and / or how to go about turning random samples into an efficient, professional aircheck.
If you've not yet participated in Show Off, you have to register first and then call us to sign up. 312.344.7280. Don't be shy. It's like a practice run with your aircheck. Patty's coming to give you advice and direction on making a potent demo. One that makes program director's wanna pick up the phone and call you for a tryout. In the spring we'll be doing several more of these with regional stations looking for talent, so this is a good time to begin stretching those professional legs and warm-up.
Oh, it's only for Seniors and spring '06 grads. Sorry. Hey, if you're not yet a senior, try portfolio advising. It's for everyone.
If you're reading this blog, then chances are you've stumbled across the basic concept of a portfolio 11 or 12 times already. However, while mostly we're concerned about getting you a job after graduation, sometimes a job isn't the answer. Sometimes more school is the answer. Well, we've got you covered there too.
A portfolio for a graduate school application is a whole different body of work. You need to be prepared to show what you can do and what you plan do all in a concise set of 8-15 images or a three-minute reel, along with an essay explaining your intentions during your future study.
How can we help? Well, we can't really. But, we did invite a whole mess of people who can. 22 schools from around the country are arriving on Friday, October 27th to give YOU the insider information on what makes a good application rise to the top of the pile. We'll be hosting panels on the Visual Arts application, the Film/TV Application, and digitizing your portfolio. Heads of Music and Theater departments will be there to explain how to nail your audition. Law school representatives will be there- and no, you're not a sell out if you're excited to talk to them. Interested in psychology? Five art therapy programs want to help you get started.
Come by. Bring your work to get some feedback. Grab a brochure. Go on to greatness. You can thank us later.
The American Film Institute, known to their friends as AFI, will visit Columbia this month to tell you about their MFA programs in Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. There is no easy route to "amke it" in film, but certainly AFI is a program that has many successful alumni to it's credit. Admissions manager JJ Jacksman and Stephen Lighthill, ASC Filmmaker-in-Residence: Cinematography will cover the basics of applying and getting into AFI, and screen work from it's students and graduates. (Fyi - they count among their students TV hopefuls as well as film).
So....at 6pm on Thursday, October 26, 2006, be in Room 504 of 1104 S. Wabash if you're considering (or curious if you should consider) AFI in your future.
The following day, you'll find JJ and Stephen can also be found at the Go Go Graduate School event in the Conaway Center.
Amy Carr, Managing Editor of Time Out Chicago recently visited our center and reviewed the work of 8 magazine journalism and fiction writing students. For the most part she had positive things to say about the individuals she met with. BUT Amy did mention several areas that can be improved upon. I am going to be blunter than Amy in my articulation of these areas. Please take time out to read the tips below-- if you care about landing a writing job.
Tip 1: If you are a fiction writer by major but budding magazine journalist by desire, please be sure the sample work you send to a potential magazine employer is magazine oriented and worthy. It is also suggested that you send samples that fit the style/market of the publication.
Tip 2: If you plan to send multiple articles via e-mail you should package them in an organized and concise way that is easy for the employer to read. Not preferred: Listing various links to various clips online at various websites. JPEGS are also not advised. This format can often distort text or images making the document unreadable. Preferred: Try a PDF document that bundles your resume and clips into one bouquet of thought provoking text. Amy also mentioned she likes good, old fashion Word documents. Links to a website may be good too as long as the site is easy to navigate. But you should check whether the employer is willing to review a website before sending only a link.
Tip 3: Re-read, have someone else read and check for TYPOS. All I can say about that is that's its "ungood." And if you have typos, your submission (no matter how mind blowing the writing is, much like this blog) will probably be filed in the big circular basket located under the employer's desk.
On November 8th from 11am-2pm, the SOC (Student Organization Council) is hosting Viva Volunteerism! Columbia College Service Expo in the Hokin Annex, 1st Floor, 623 S. Wabash.
The goal of the expo is to connect students to community partners and to develop partnerships between the two. Focusing on the 3 main components of working within the community; social, academic, and career development, the expo hopes to host between 15-20 community partners and 5-10 student organizations that actively participate in community life through service. Tables will be set up in the comfortable Hokin spaces of Columbia. Students, staff, and faculty will be able to view tables with information and speak to representatives. Refreshments will be served.
Visit www.colum.edu/leadership for more information.
One of the purveyors of cable reality shows, Pietown Productions, will visit the Portfolio Center on Thursday, October 26th to scout future TV talent and give advice to budding production professionals on the creation of a reel. Specifically if you're interested in work as a Director of Photography or Camera Operator, Pie Town is seeking interns ready and willing to shoot. If you're interested, sign up to meet Pie Town's Kenneth Arkow, show him your stuff, get feedback, ask questions and ask about the Camera Internship.
Pie Town's visit is part of the Show Off program, thus, if you haven't already, please complete our registration form before calling 312.344.7280 to sign up. This event is open to Juniors, Seniors, grad students and spring '06 grads.
Mid-Day Mixer hosted by Click, Thursday, October 26, 12:00-2:00 PM, 623 Wabash, Hoken Annex
Click's Mid-Day Mixer is a social networking event offered to Columbia students and Chicago land artists. The purpose of this event is to create an interactive atmosphere that will encourage networking for artists.
The event will display artist work of all kind. Displays of paintings, photography, dance, music, graphic design, video, writings, and anything else you can think of will be included. Free nonalcoholic mixed drinks will be distributed to guests. There will also be interactive tables where guests can create artwork of their own!
For more information about the event and how you can display your work, visit columbiaclick.org.
Dear emerging filmmakers, animators, and TV moguls:
Hi. How are you? Us? We're great. We held an event on October 6 called Reel Exchange. The annual event is a meeting of the minds of sorts. It's the only program anywhere that allows you to hear how your body of work, the sum of your abilities, sells in the industry. And as you go off into the world applying for jobs and grants; many organizations prefer to view a reel and not just one particular project.
The event was open to all. With a selective screening process, 28 students and recent alumni screened their reels for 17 professionals whose jobs range from directors & producers to lead animators to DPs to post production extrodinaires. Hopefully these individuals benefited from the array of feedback they received.
We wish you were there. But no worries...will do it again next fall. Bigger and better.
XOXO, Portfolio Center
P.S. -- If you wanna gear up to submit work to be screened at next year's event, check out our Short Cuts program. This resource will pair you up with an editor to cut your reel as well as author it to DVD.
Just to be clear, we're not in the habbit of stumping for anyone anxious to get their hands on your money. Nor do we endorse any company or product. If, as is the case here, we mention a service that is not free it's because we think it's worth looking in to....so, we think MOO's Flickr Minicards program is worth looking in to. For $20 clams (more like $25 when you add shipping) you can use some of the nearly infinite imagery on Flickr as the basis for your business card. Judging by some of the cards we see, you could use the help.
...and keep an eye out 'cause once in a while, our Portfolio Production guru Adam Berry offers up some of Columbia's best design talents for the custom creation of business cards. To ensure you hear about that when it happens, be sure you're registered with us.
Glad we could help
If you've never heard of Resfest, we pity you. It's a film festival on visual steroids (but legal). It's also on wheels and will be rolling into Chicago (housed in the Museum of Contemporary Art) on October 19th. It's got nothing to do with reels in the purset sense, but everything to do with visually impressive short films, music videos, experimental animation and motion graphics. Q: What is a good reel after all without good work? A: It's a trick question, there are no good reels without good work on them. Your good work starts with the appreciation of others'. Go. See. Appreciate.
Storytelling in 30 seconds usually takes place in the form of a commercial. On Friday, October 20 one of the top commerical houses in Chicago will be at the Portfolio Center to spread the knowledge. Ebel Productions' Executive Producer Jason Schettler will review work from student directors, cinematographers and producers in one-on-one, 20 minute Show Off portfolio reviews. Only 9 spots available so don't wait to sign-up.
Students who have yet to register with our office will need to before calling 312.344.7280 to sign up to meet Jason.
Do you need someone to edit your reel? Some DVD authoring too? Read on:
To get good work in your industry, you need more than a business card and a cool hair- cut. You need a really good reel cut -- professional and authored onto a DVD. Get it done at Short Cuts, a solid week of editing and DVD authoring. On campus. For free.
Monday, November 6th through Friday, November 10th
Get guidelines and schedule a meeting with an advanced editor by calling 312-344-8624.
THINKING ABOUT ATTENDING GRAD SCHOOL FOR FILM???
JJ Jackman, Admissions Manager of the American Film Institute will be back again to speak with Columbia students about the school's diverse programs in cinematography, directing, editing, producing, production design and screenwriting. He'll be joined by Stephen Lighthill, Filmmaker-in-Residence: Cinematography. AFI's fellows receive advanced hands-on creative experience within a 60-plus credit hour Master of Fine Arts degree program. For many Columbia College graduates, AFI has been the next step in their careers. Come learn more about AFI's graduate film program and check out recent thesis work from AFI fellows!
On Thursday, October 26, 2006 @ 6:00PM, 1104 S. Wabash, Room 504
You can also receive individual feedback from JJ Jackman on Friday, October 26 from 10AM-3PM at the Go-Go Graduate School event. He and representatives from other film programs can watch your reel and give you pointers to improve the packaging of your work.
Yes, Time Out comes for Show Off almost every semester, but this is a rare opportunity to get your writing in front of the Managing Editor herself. Amy Carr will visit the Portfolio Center on Monday, October 16th at 10am to meet seniors, grad students and Spring '06 grads who have a working package of writing clips and want to pursue work in magazine journalism.
Students who have yet to register with out office will need to before calling 312.344.7280 to sign up to meet Amy. Once you sign up, we'll give you Amy's contact info and have you send ahead two writing samples.
Dust off those spiral bound notebooks under your bed. Track down those misplaced zip disks you've stuffed in drawers. Find your best creative fiction work because The Reader is accepting submissions for its annual all-fiction issue, coming out in December. They purchase first serial, web, and archival rights. Deadline: October 15.
Send submissions to, pasted in the body rather than attachments to fiction@chicagoreader.com or Pure Fiction, Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago, IL 60611.
