Full Sail faculty members were on the move this month, with two groups attending two separate conferences on either side of the country. They each had the same goal in mind: to bring back useful information to incorporate into the Full Sail curriculum.

Mobile Development Program Manager Joe DeSetto, Web Design & Development Department Chair Rick Osborne, and Design & Technology Education Director Bill Galbreath were in San Francisco last week for the first-ever Mobile Gaming USA Conference, an industry wide meet-up for the members of the fasting growing sector of the gaming industry. The group attended several panels, including one led by consultant Karlo Icaza on HTML5, one on how to take your game global, and one on cross-platform development, which is a topic that is being developed as a future course for the Mobile Development program.

“Besides taking ideas from the panel, it’s great to go to these to meet industry contacts,” said Joe. “It’s nice to have the ability to call on people that are pretty high up in mobile gaming and ask them for their opinions on matters that involve our students.”

Meanwhile, Faculty Affairs & Development Director Angelique Smith and teams from the Academic Services and Academic Innovation departments were in Arlington, Virginia, earlier this month for the Learning & the Brain: Web-Connected Minds Conference. The three-day think tank session included presentations from researchers and scientists who have studied the brain to determine what educators need to do to update curriculums in the multimedia-centric day and age of the “digital brain.”

“It was really interesting to hear scientists talk to educators about how we can improve our educational environment,” said Angelique. “Academic Innovation is writing the systems we use to teach our students [at Full Sail], so they’re using a lot of what they’re getting at these conferences to develop the custom systems created here.”

Besides great films from recent GradFests, we want to use Film Fridays to showcase some excellent student work from the archives as well, like great examples of lighting, acting, costume design, make up, and this week’s spotlight: excellence in CGI and special effects. We’ve been checking out the archives and have also tapped into some of the faculty member’s brains to get their opinions on what stuck out in their minds.

This week, we’re showcasing Field of Honor, a film directed by Matt Fisher that was shot early last year and premiered at last April’s GradFest. It’s set in 18th century Charles Town, South Carolina, and tells the story of a newspaper journalist who is challenged to a duel by Joseph Langley, a duelist he accuses of dishonorably killing people. Matt and his production crew worked with a team of five students and faculty members from the Computer Animation department to digitally enhance most aspects of the movie, including all of the scenes you see of the plantation and Charles Town. The film crew painted the walls of the Full Sail soundstage green so that all of the landscapes could be digitally inserted in post-production.

“I drew storyboards and the Computer Animation team started creating shots before we even started filming,” said Matt. “We built the buildings on the soundstage and they digitally added the roofs, and they created an entire set extension of 1770 Charles Town in the film’s final shot.”

Matt graduated from Full Sail’s Film program as the valedictorian of his class, and has since worked in production on TV shows like America’s Got Talent and Fast Food Mania. He’s started a production company out of his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, called Emblem Film Co., and just a few weeks ago, Field of Honor was an official selection at the Greenville International Film Festival.

Today sees the release of this summer’s next major action spectacle, Battleship. The film is a big screen adaptation of Hasbro’s popular board game, directed by Peter Berg (Hancock, Friday Night Lights), and featuring a cast that includes Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, and pop star Rihanna in her first movie role.

Also on board Battleship‘s crew were a group of 14 Full Sail graduates, who worked important roles throughout its development. Nearly half of these grads were on set in positions like production assistant, electrician, and dolly grip, while the remaining group contributed to the film’s postproduction – handling everything from the music editing to the inspired visual effects.

Speaking about his experience on the project, Film grad Jesani Drew explained “You wonder how they can make a movie out of a board game, but I think this will surprise people. I had a great experience being there watching it all come together, and I’m excited to see how the final version looks with all the effects.”

The 14 Full Sail alumni featured on Battleship are:

• Matt Bauer (previsualization artist; Computer Animation)
• Chuck Bennethum IV (production assistant; Entertainment Business)
• Zane Crump (production assistant; Film)
• Jesani Drew (construction production assistant; Film)
• Devin Fairbairn (layout; Computer Animation)
• Sara Hartman (post-production assistant; Film)
• Andrew Hwang (previsualization artist; Computer Animation)
• Steven Qi Jin (previsualization modeling; Computer Animation)
• Felix Jorge (previsualization artist; Computer Animation)
• Bryan Lawson (supervising music editor; Recording Arts)
• Jason Mohan (visual effects artist; Computer Animation)
• Ryan Redmond (production assistant; Film)
• Steven Lee Tyler (electrician; Film)
• Jeremy Webre (“c” dolly grip; Film)

Full Sail recently tapped three new leaders for its audio programs, which include Recording Arts Bachelor of Science, Music Production Bachelor of Science and Show Production Bachelor of Science.

They are: Brandon Egerton, Program Manager for the Recording Arts Bachelor of Science degree program; Russ Gaspard, Program Director for the Music Production Bachelor of Science degree program and Mark Johnson, Program Manager for the Show Production Bachelor of Science degree program. All three fall under the direction of Dana Roun, Director of Audio Programs. Read on to find out more about these program leaders.

BRANDON EGERTON: Program Manager, Recording Arts Bachelor of Science

Brandon Egerton

Prior to joining Full Sail, Brandon Egerton worked for EMI Gospel Records for ten years, primarily as an A&R executive. At EMI Gospel, he managed and facilitated the label’s recording process and expanded the label’s brand into new markets. He was also involved in the creation, development, and promotion of more than 125 albums for artists including Aaron Neville and CeCe Winans. Brandon has received nominations for Grammy, Stellar, and Dove Awards as Executive Producer/A&R and has also participated on nine certified Gold-selling album projects.

What is the most interesting trend in music today?

Brandon Egerton: I love the fact that all music types have a legitimate voice now. For so long, labels (and I’ve been one of those guys) and other gatekeepers have controlled what gets marketed, played and sold. Now, that influence has shifted a great deal to consumers. I think that’s a great thing for indie artists especially. If you have a unique talent, great songs and the ability to continually grow your fan base, you can have success in this business. I believe that will eventually help to create more opportunities for engineers, producers, songwriters, managers and everyone else “behind the scenes”. 

RUSS GASPARD: Program Director, Music Production Bachelor of Science

Russ Gaspard

Russ Gaspard joined Full Sail in 2002 to design and launch the Music Theory course. He wrote the course’s textbook, designed custom educational software, and assembled a staff of music teachers to bring musical understanding to all audio students. Russ was recognized for his contributions to the school with an Outstanding Educator Award in 2003. After being promoted to Department Chair of Musical Studies in 2009, he oversaw the expansion of the music curriculum serving on-campus audio degree programs. Prior to joining Full Sail University in 2002, he composed, recorded, and performed regionally with original music acts and toured extensively throughout the Southeast.

What is your favorite band, musician, or type of music?

Russ Gaspard: My first love was the real classic rock stuff like Hendrix and Pink Floyd. There’s so much to be learned about songwriting and production from that era. I had a later period as a guitar major where I was really into baroque music and Spanish romantic as well. Lately I’ve been exploring different types of electronic music and getting back into the acoustic roots and fusion too, like The Goat Rodeo Sessions. That’s one thing we have such a great opportunity to provide for our students in MPBS. It’s about exposing people to great music of all types. To build a solid career in this industry, we want to inspire a lifestyle of always expanding horizons and developing a greater musical range to draw from.

MARK JOHNSON: Program Manager, Show Production Bachelor of Science

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in live and broadcast audio mixing as well as touring and fixed installation sound system design and operation. He began his career at Opryland USA, serving as technical coordinator, sound designer, and mixing engineer and later joined Meyer Sound Laboratories, working as technical sales support manager and director of sales and marketing. In 2003, he went to work for Sound & Video Contractor Magazine as an editor, managing production, contracting writers, and determining editorial scheduling for two publications until 2009. During his tenure, the magazine was awarded a 2004 Gold Eddie Award.

What are you excited about when it comes to your program?

Mark Johnson: I’ve only been here a short time, so it’s still a period of discovery for me as I gain an understanding of where we are now. That said, the use of audio, video and lighting technology in live production continues to evolve both in terms of the tools we have to use, and how we use them. It is incumbent on us to make sure the students are as equipped as possible to use the technology at hand, and use it well, when they hit the field. I’m excited that we have a program that helps to prepare students for a professional career in an industry where previously there was little in the way of formal education. Full Sail grads are able to assimilate much more quickly due to a solid technical foundation and they don’t have to “unlearn” many of the misconceptions that would proliferate during the earlier times of the industry. 

That giant, vividly-decorated RV you saw parked outside of Building 3 on Monday afternoon belonged to Lowell Moore and Tony Smothers, the duo behind sports marketing/production company What a Fan. The two stopped by campus earlier this week to interview students for potential internship and freelance opportunities and talked to Film students in an HD Production class about how to succeed in the industry.

What a Fan produces videos and other multimedia projects that cater to the sports enthusiast industry. The company’s RV travels around the country covering major sporting events; but rather than focusing on the athlete or the team, the focus is on the fans and their passion for sports. They’re currently looking for camera operators, sound and lighting techs, editors, programmers, website designers, and writers.

“The great thing about Full Sail is that there is a resource pool so conducive to what our needs are,” said Lowell Moore, What a Fan’s founder. “We met some great kids this morning that not only I think we’ll use in an internship program, but that will be some talent that will be with us for quite some time.”

Like live theater? Comedy? Musicals? Dance? The Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival, which runs May 16 to 28, has it all.

At Fringe festivals, anything goes.

The Orlando Fringe, like other “Fringe” festivals around the U.S. and the world, is based on the idea that artists should be allowed to show their work in an uncensored, unjuried environment and earn 100 percent of the ticket sales.

A sampling of this year’s productions include a rap performance of the Victorian classic, “Little Women” (“Lil’ Women”), a one-man comedy featuring a supernatural investigator (“Dirk Darrow: NCSSI”), and a homicidal Annie (“Annie Todd”).

Two shows created by Full Sail faculty, staff and students illustrate the diversity of Fringe offerings.

One is a historical musical named “Pearl,” based on a real 19th century Parisian courtesan, Cora Pearl, whose benefactors included Prince Napoleon, cousin to Emperor Napoleon III.

The other, “A Long Time Ago: The Eighties Strike Back” is a retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy through the rewritten lyrics of popular ’80s songs.

“The Fringe is a great way to see theater outside of a stuffy environment,” said Simon MacDonald, who works in Career Development.

MacDonald, who wrote all of the songs in “A Long Time Ago,” is a SAK comedy player, along with Adam Bellas, a software architect for Full Sail’s Information and Media Technology department. Bellas plays Darth Vader, while MacDonald plays Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Creative Writing student David Brescia plays the roles of Governor Tarkin and the Emperor in the show.

Examples of songs are “We Built Cloud City” (based on Starship’s “We Built this City”) and “Go Chewbacca Baby” (based on the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby”). The show is presented in a rock opera/musical format.

While “A Long Time Ago: The Eighties Strike Back” is obviously a parody, “Pearl” is a serious exploration into the life of the charismatic, yet ultimately tragic, Cora Pearl.

“Pearl” was researched and written by Associate Course Director Jill Craddock with scoring and musical direction by EBMS graduate Mike Wiest. Full Sail University students and staff members receive a discount on the Wednesday, May 23 show.

Craddock describes Cora Pearl as “kind of like the Kim Kardashian of her time but interesting.”

Far from being considered a scandalous figure at the time, “People would look to her for trends,” said Craddock. “She would have dinner parties and keep any number of people entertained.” She was also quoted in newspapers. “They could not get enough of her in the French press and the English press,” she added.

Pearl was reportedly well read and skilled with horses and acted and sang. According to Craddock, Pearl invented the popping-out-of-a-cake trend. A complex figure, Pearl spent lavishly and excessively and was financially bailed out by her “patrons.” She also inspired jealousy.

“Napoleon was so enamored of her that he was jealous,” said Craddock. “He wanted her all to himself.”

Other Full Sailors involved in “Pearl” include EBMS student Dave Martin (assistant producer), EBMS student Rebecca Cain (actor), Career Development Advisor Rachele Travaglini (producer) and SPT grad Jeremiah Stenberg (stage manager).

“We are most excited because one of the primary sources of research, Cora Pearl’s direct descendent, is flying in with family from Virginia,” said Craddock.

Craddock describes the music in the show as “classic Broadway” and plot-driven and said attendees can expect to see great acting and singing and a unique piece of history.

As far as “A Long Time Ago: The Eighties Strike Back,” expect to see not only a retelling of Star Wars, but endless references to other ’80s pop culture icons, like Billy Idol/Han Solo, Chewbacca/Teen Wolf, hair bands, leg warmers and video game characters.

“Everything from the ’80s is put into a grinder and then sprinkled over Star Wars,” explains Bellas.

The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival takes place May 16-28 at Loch Haven Park. Most plays are performed multiple times throughout the festival. Tickets for most individual Fringe shows are around $10; additionally, Fringe attendees must purchase a button ($8, one-time purchase) for admission to any of the performances and venues within Loch Haven Park. For show descriptions, times, ticket purchases, and more info on “how to Fringe,” go to Orlandofringe.org.

Stop repeatedly poring over your research assignment or script on your own and take advantage of a free campus resource, the Full Sail Writing Center. From going over basic creative writing concepts to helping with issues like APA format, grammar, and short scripts (10 pages or less), the Writing Center‘s tutors meet one-on-one with students to offer advice on how to better improve your projects, no matter what degree program you’re enrolled in.

While the center has been around for a while now, it recently made a couple of big improvements: Instead of 30-minute sessions, appointment times have been extended to a full hour. Also, students who make an appointment and visit the Writing Center for the first time will now receive one GPS point.

The best part: Online students can take advantage of all of the same benefits through iChat appointments with tutors. (You can send them your material beforehand so they’ll have a chance to read it and prepare notes.)

“Whatever your career path may be, you will be asked to write and communicate effectively on the job,” says Nicole Chapman, a Lab Specialist in the English Department and one of the Writing Center’s tutors. “We’re here to help all students, both dedicated writers and those who want to start developing these important communication skills.”

The Writing Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. To make an appointment, reach out at least 24 hours in advance to 407.679. 0100, ext. 2340 or by sending an e-mail with your name, desired appointment time, and brief description of what you need help with to writingcenter@fullsail.com.

Microsoft’s Kinect sensor offers a fresh perspective on motion control gaming by giving players a completely controller-free experience on the Xbox 360. The technology’s motion, facial, and voice recognition has opened new opportunities for innovation, and to learn more about what goes into developing a Kinect title, we spoke with Game Development graduate Simon Strand, who did contract work for Microsoft as a software test engineer on Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Kinect Star Wars.

“Our main goal was to make these games comfortable for people,” he says. “When you’re using a controller you can just sit on the couch for hours. With Kinect you’re on your feet, jumping around, waving your arms, which can be tiring. So we had to examine different ways of playing.”

That comfort factor was a notable issue for Kinect Disneyland Adventures, which offers a recreation of California’s Disneyland theme park for players to explore in real time.

“It’s the first Kinect title with an open world environment, so we had to solve the problem of accurately walking around a large space without a controller,” he says. “One of the coolest things is we’d bring children in to play test so we could better tune the gameplay. It was such a blast to see them scream and laugh and have such a good time.”

Working with Kinect has been a welcome change of pace for Simon, who has since moved on to a new contract position with Microsoft developing video applications for the Xbox 360 dashboard. Based on his work over the past year, he’s looking forward to seeing how other developers will continue to evolve the Kinect experience.

“It’s interesting to work with because you have to find the best way to play towards its strengths,” he says. “As time goes on more designers are finding unique things they can do, and it’s going to be cool to see what the games are like in three years. We need people who are really willing to take risks with it.”

As the population of military-affiliated students at Full Sail continues to grow, so does the need for a community to bring all of them together. A group of faculty members has realized this, and they’re introducing the Student Veterans Alliance, a re-launch of the club formerly known as the Alliance of Full Sail Veterans. The SVA will serve as a community for military-affiliated students (or dependents of those in the military) to come together, share stories, offer support, and give back to the community.

“We want to form a way for these veteran students to get together and always be up to date about what’s going on around campus,” says Scott Creson, a Military Admissions Representative and one of the club’s faculty sponsors. “It’s a way for them to communicate with each other and have that support system in place.”

Future plans for the club include GPS events for students, internship opportunities with military-affiliated companies, and the launch of a members-only website to serve as an active online forum. But, before all of that, up first is next Thursday’s Memorial Day Celebration, which the club is co-sponsoring with the Student Community Association. (There’s more info about the event over on our calendar.) In the past, the alliance has hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for military veterans on campus and commemorated Veterans Day with art galleries, guest speakers, and more.

The faculty sponsors hope to hold elections for president and vice president sometime next month. Sponsors are also still looking for a few more bands to play next week’s Memorial Day Celebration. If you’re interested in playing at the barbecue or joining the Student Veterans Alliance, send an e-mail to veteransalliance@fullsail.com.

Full Sail grads from every degree program have ended up all over the country, which is why Alumni Networking Events are popping up all over the place as well. These casual meet-ups give grads (and their guests) the chance to catch up with old classmates, network with each other, and mingle with local employers and colleagues. The Alumni Network has hosted a handful of these events this year so far (in Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami, and Detroit) and recently added four more cities to the schedule:

• Chicago: May 15 at Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant (There’s still time to RSVP!)
• Los Angeles: May 30 at The Federal Bar
• Washington D.C.: June 6 at Dirty Martini
• New York City: July 9 at Heartland Brewery

To attend, you must RSVP on the Full Sail Alumni Network’s EventBrite page. Each alum is also invited to bring a guest with them to the event.

The combination of successful guest speakers and Career Development resume workshops (for both on-campus and online students) makes this week a great one for networking and getting ahead of the game. Check out all of the details below.

Tuesday:

• Design and technology blogger Andy Budd will lead an online “Understanding Website Users and Working with Design Agencies” presentation in the Internet Marketing Wimba Classroom. More details.
• If you’ve been to one of Career Development‘s resume workshops in the past, you can take it a step further at the Advanced Resume Workshop. More details.
• Full Sail grads in the Chicago area can catch up with old classmates and meet fellow alums tonight during the latest Alumni Networking Event. More details.

Wednesday:

• Jason Ross (pictured left), the CEO of Trusun Media, will stop by campus to share some of his marketing and entertainment business success stories. More details.
• Full Sail females can network with each other and pick up some new clothes at the X-Factor Student Club’s “Swap Til You Drop” event. More details.

Thursday:

• For those online students who can’t stop by the Career Development office for resume help whenever they need it, resume architects will be hanging out in the Career Development Wimba Classroom for a couple of hours to offer up some assistance. More details.

Sunday:

• The Behind the Scenes tour is the best way for prospective students to check out campus, meet faculty, and get all of their education, admissions, and financial aid questions answered. More details.

This week’s Film Fridays features a pair of student films that premiered at last week’s GradFest. The 16mm film, Moving On, directed by David Zuckerman, is a short best described by Film Production Lab Instructor Kenny Beaumont, the movie’s producer: “Moving On puts you in the middle of an awkward situation that you would hope to never be in. It’s a funny film from a talented group of young filmmakers.”

Also directed (and written!) by David is the 35mm Mick the Brick. The period piece, set in America in the late 1800s, tells the story of Mick, an Irish immigrant and member of an underground boxing ring who finds himself in trouble with the Irish mob. An impressive group of actors (who rock some pretty fantastic Irish accents) make this one well worth checking out.

Mick the Brick: Trailer Coming Soon

Record producer, studio engineer, and entrepreneur Sylvia Massy will be on campus Tuesday, May 22 to talk to students about her 25-plus year career in the music industry. Sylvia, the owner of RadioStar Studios, is most notably known for producing the 1993 platinum-selling debut album from GRAMMY award-winning rock band Tool. After working with Tool, Sylvia joined forces with legendary producer Rick Rubin to engineer and produce albums for the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Johnny Cash, Slayer, System of a Down, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Her recording studios – located in Weed, California – are housed in a former 1920s Art Deco Vaudevillian theater and are home to some of the industry’s most vintage and rare recording equipment and instruments. Her recent clients include Sublime with Rome and Joanna Newsom. The presentation, organized by the Career Development, will be on Tuesday, May 22, in FS3F-Room 115 at 5:00 p.m.

Film grad Daniel Corey recently appeared as guest host on an episode of G4TV’s popular online series Fresh Ink, where he spoke with host Blair Butler about the latest comic book releases. Daniel is the creator of Moriarty, a series published by Image Comics that has quickly gained a following since its debut in 2011.

Speaking about his appearance on Fresh Ink, Daniel explained, “Blair writes a comic for Image too, so I connected with her through the publisher. The show really liked what I was doing, and wanted to have me on. It was a lot of fun, and they said they’d like to have me back.”

In addition to offering his picks for the best new books, Daniel also dropped details about some exciting new plans for Moriarty during the show. This included the mention of an upcoming stage adaptation that’s currently in the planning stages, which he elaborated on for us.

“We have a script right now, I’m working with composer Ray Schnurr on the music, and we’re really pounding the pavement on getting that together,” he says. “I have a background in theater and we’re hoping to have some stage readings later this year to attract investors. It’s a big project in the making, but there’s a lot of opportunity for fun, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Visit the Image Comics website for more information on Moriarty.

If you saw last night’s episode of the hit CBS drama Criminal Minds, you just happened to catch the primetime dramatic debut of actor and Entertainment Business Masters graduate Elizabeth June. Elizabeth appeared early in the show as college professor Dr. Grant, and introduced series’ lead David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) to an auditorium of students.

“It was just a couple of lines, but it’s the beginning of my return to my first love – acting,” she says.

Elizabeth is a longtime performer, having trained at the prestigious Actors Studio Drama School in New York City. While she’s been mainly focused on production side of the industry since graduating from Full Sail – writing and producing the short film Jitters – she’s recently reconnected with her dramatic roots, leading to an audition for Criminal Minds.

“I flew to Los Angeles for a week long workshop called L.A. Connection, sponsored by Actors Connection in New York,” she says. “While there I auditioned for Scott David, the Criminal Minds casting director. He called me back to meet with the producers of the show and I got the part.”

Elizabeth was on set for three days, including one day for a costume fitting and table read of the script with the cast, followed by two days of filming. “[The highlight was] meeting Joe Mantegna who plays Rossi,” she says. “He is so down to earth, friendly, and encouraging.”

In addition to pursuing further acting roles, Elizabeth continues her work as an independent filmmaker, and is currently putting together her follow up to Jitters with the help of other Full Sail alumni, including her husband Jason S. Williams and producer Sam Negron.

For the latest updates you check Elizabeth’s website and follow her on Twitter.

For all of the (fake) blood, sweat, and tears you’ve put into your student film project, it’d be a shame to let it fade into the archives after its GradFest premiere … especially when there are more than 5,000 film festivals worldwide looking to showcase great new projects.

“Festivals are a great opportunity for film students to showcase their talents and network with industry professionals,” says Dean McDermitt, a Lab Specialist for the Film department’s Documentary Filmmaking courses. Dean has had three of his own short films accepted to the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner.

Independent filmmaker (and Full Sail Film grad) Brian Quain agrees. “I think it’s important for schools to remind students that they should definitely be submitting to festivals,” he says. Brian founded Before You Submit, a company that extensively screened filmmakers’ work and provided constructive criticism before the film was submitted to festivals. He still consults with filmmakers on a freelance basis, and has seen hundreds of films hit the circuit.

Early submissions for next year’s Sundance Film Festival are already being accepted, and many international film festivals are currently taking submissions as well. While some times of the year are more popular for festival submissions than others, at any given point you can be submitting your film somewhere.

But, before you slip that DVD in its envelope and send it out, heed the advice of Dean and Brian with these four useful tips.

• Know Your Festival. Before you apply to a particular festival, look at its history and see what types of films have been showcased there in the past. “Ask yourself, ‘Has it played there? Can it play there? Would it play there?,’” says Brian. If you have a dark comedy or horror film that would make an excellent midnight screening, but the festival doesn’t do that, then you’re probably not looking at the most excellent fit.
• Start Small. “For a first time filmmaker, I’d say try the smaller festivals first,” says Brian. “You want your film to have eyes, plus, bigger festivals do look at smaller festivals. It’s good to look at a film’s resume and see that it has been showcased at six smaller festivals.” For a comprehensive list of film festivals, check out Without a Box, a sister site of IMDb that lists submission information and guidelines for more than 5,000 festivals worldwide.
• Generate Buzz. Dean recommends spreading the word about your project by posting it on various social media sites and creating a web site for it to help spread the word. One example: The recent Full Sail student documentary Pour Stars, which was just screened at the Sarasota Film Festival. The film has its own website and Facebook fan page.
• Submit Early. “The earlier the better,” says Dean. “There are often three prices: early bird, regular, and late.” Submitting to multiple festivals can quickly get pricey, so take advantage of the early submission fees. Brian recommends browsing Without a Box for festivals with no submission fees.

Everyone’s workspace decor leads to a little bit of intrigue, but when you walk by Game Project Department Chair Liam Hislop‘s desk, you can’t help but stop, stare, and want to know more. The sea of red, white, and blue is an extensive homage to Captain America, Liam’s childhood (and current) hero and one of the main characters in The Avengers. Seeing as we’re right in the thick of Avengers mania (the movie is coming off of a record-breaking $207-million opening weekend), we figured now’s a better time than ever to showcase Liam’s collection. Check it out in the video below.

Every month during Graduation, demo reels from the most recent Computer Animation and Game Art grads are showcased on a loop in FS3B-Room 113 for students and families to pop in and check out. Stopping by the showcase is one of our favorite graduation day activities: the room is dark and inviting, and the work is inspiring. If you missed last week’s showcase, here are a few of the reels that were featured:

Sarah al Meshri, Character Animator

Kaleb Gibson, Shading & Lighting

Candice Ray, Character Animator

Jacob Shroades, Compositing

Johannes Waals, Environment Artist

Sure, Halloween is almost six months away, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start prepping your costume – and let’s be honest, nothing kicks things up a notch like some fake blood. Plus, for all you filmmakers out there, this is a much safer and easier option than going with the real stuff.

In the latest installment of our YouTube how-to tutorial series, Full Sail University Makeup for Motion Pictures Lab Specialist Jared Williams breaks down some of his secret recipes for making three different types of fake blood , ranging from realistic to straight-up zombie B-movie gore. Dedicated trick-or-treaters and amateur filmmakers alike, brace yourselves – it’s about to get bloody.

At last week’s Digital Arts & Design showcase, six students from the program’s April 2012 graduating class showcased their final portfolios and demo reels to a standing room only crowd in the Entertainment Business Auditorium. Here are a few of the demo reels that were showcased:

Bryan Williams:

Jesus Suarez:

Tyler Maron: