80 percent of people with Down Syndrome are unemployed because employers fear they could be a risk. “That statistic was staggering to me,” says Derek Helwig (BFA ’05). Helwig, currently an adjunct faculty member at Dodge, is a producer for Xpedition Media, a creative production and consulting agency founded by Chapman alum Hunter Johnson (BFA/FTV
Kendall Goldberg’s (BFA/FP ’17) feature directorial debut, WHEN JEFF TRIED TO SAVE THE WORLD starring Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) and Jim O’Heir (Parks & Recreation), is now available for pre-order on iTunes. It will also be available to purchase and/or rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, VUDU, Redbox on Demand, FandangoNOW, Microsoft Movies &TV and PlayStation on Friday, December 7, 2018.
Five years back, I was invited into a classroom of 4th grade filmmakers by my friend, producer Polo Munoz, CCO of Creating Creators. At first I was a little hesitant to believe that ten year olds were producing their own films, but one step in the door, I realized that these were not ordinary fourth
So, you want to be a filmmaker, but you are wondering – what happens if it doesn’t work out? What happens if the statistics win, and I’m not the next Spielberg? Can I do anything with my film degree in other industries? While other degrees will make your professional path easier in the business world,
For the third installment of Chapman University alumni directing for PlayStation Emerging Filmmaker Program we have Taylor Maxwell (MFA/DR ’13). “It was a rollercoaster,” says Taylor about the experience, and adds that, “it was really exciting.” Taylor shares that he had been let down in the past, having been so close to shooting on a
Ashton Avila completed her MFA in 2017 and through a series of fortunate events was hired for the PlayStation Emerging Filmmakers program to direct a pilot show, Two Roads. Avila made sure to network at her previous employments and through a relationship was contacted for an opening for director. Over the next two weeks her
Sarah Wilson Thacker (MFA/DR ’13) and Jamie Clevenger (MFA/FTP ’12) directed and produced, respectively, The Many Lives of Ayn Winters pilot for PlayStation’s Emerging Filmmakers Program. The program called for original stories through a competition with creators, and once five ideas were selected, Sarah was hired on to develop the screenplay. Sarah was the first
The love and pursuit of video games landed Ovilee May (BFA/News and Doc ’18) her current role as the sole Broadcast Interviewer with one of the biggest eSports leagues in the world, League of Legends. “I’ve been playing video games since I could hold a controller at like 3 years old,” says May. She still
Ben Weiner (’17) and Logan Beerman (’16), came together to form Bazooka Entertainment, LLC a few years ago to film, edit and produce sports-related content. With their main clients being NFL Network and US Soccer, they became immersed in the sports world and decided they wanted to create a story of their own – an
I had the pleasure of watching Blindspotting (2018) at The Landmark in LA on Friday July 20th. As many other publications have said, it is a very timely piece. Unfortunately, as Daveed Diggs said in a post movie Q&A, “It’s nice to have a film that’s relevant, but like, it would’ve been cool if it was
Being passionate about what you do means that you will go wherever opportunities present themselves—even if that means traveling over 8000 miles to get there or just jumping into a project for a short time. Spanish cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez (MFA/FP ’09) took his talents to Asia when work was limited in Los Angeles. And he
Makena Costlow (BFA/FP ’17) has been with The Third Floor as an assistant editor since November. The Third Floor is a pre-visualization company that has worked on Star Wars and most Marvel movies among many other features, games, and theme park attraction. Marisol Diaz (BA/SW ’16) & Hadley Dion (BFA/FP ’16) have co-written and are