SF State: Cinema Department updates

Fall 2009 Cinema Department office hours

ayoung — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:21:34 -0700

Due to reduced funding from the California legislature and governor, we have shortened the hours the office staff are available to the public, in order to continue the support we provide to the faculty, staff, and students of the Cinema Department.

The Cinema Department office hours for Fall 2009 are:

Monday, Thursday, Friday: 10-12 & 1-3
Tuesday, Wednesday: 11-12 & 1-2

Please see President Corrigan's message to students for further information, and SFSU's "Budget Central" for information on what you can do to improve conditions at San Francisco State University.

New Production Coordinator Blog

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:21:22 -0800

Attention Cinema Production Students: Scott Boswell has created a blog to keep you posted on production classes and information. Get updates by RSS or email pertaining to the Advanced Production Pool, Sound Stage, Edit Cage, Cinema labs, film production opportunities, and more.

Advanced Production Pool Step One Application

ayoung — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:20:43 -0700

The deadline to apply to join the Advanced Production Pool for Spring 2010 classes has passed. A list of students newly admitted to the Advanced Production Pool will be posted outside FA 422 by noon on Monday, November 16th. Step Two course applications will also be available at this time.

Advanced Production Pool Deadlines for Spring 2010

lmauricio — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:29:56 -0700

The Advanced Production Pool is a group of undergraduate Cinema majors who have completed the intermediate (foundation) level of the Cinema Major curriculum and who are eligible to take Advanced Production courses. You must be in the Advanced Production Pool in order to take Advanced Production Courses in the Cinema Department. For more information on the prerequisites, please see a Cinema Advisor or Scott Boswell, the Cinema Production Coordinator.

Monday, October 12, 2009:
STEP ONE Application ONLINE. Link to it on the Cinema website (cinema.sfsu.edu) under the News Feed. This step is an eligibility check for students who are new to the Pool. Students already accepted into the Pool do not need to apply again.

Eligibility requirements:

Completed Segments I & II
Passed the JPET or completed English 214
Completed CINE 200, 202, 300, and 310/316 with a “C” or higher by the end of the Fall 2009 semester.

Note: If you have not completed CINE 302 and CINE 340/341 with a “C” or higher by the end of the Fall 2009 semester, you must enroll in these courses in the spring semester in order to enroll in an Advanced Production Pool course.

Advanced Production Deadlines for Spring 2010 classes

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
STEP ONE Online Submission DUE by noon. Late submissions will not be accepted. If you have questions, please contact Scott Boswell: sboswell@sfsu.edu, 415.338.6533, Office: FA 422 (Hours are Wednesdays, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM and by appointment)
Monday, November 16, 2009
New Advanced Production Pool POSTED on bulletin board outside FA 422 by noon.
STEP TWO Course Applications AVAILABLE on the Cinema website under the News Feed and/or “Undergraduate Links” (right column).
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
STEP TWO Course Applications & Online Choice Form DUE by 5:00 PM. Late applications will be not accepted.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Spring ’10 Advanced Production Class Lists POSTED by 5:00 PM on bulletin board outside FA 422.

2010 Cinema graduate program application packets now available

lmauricio — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:32:59 -0700

All application materials must be postmarked by January 15, 2010. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Please email any questions to cinegrad@sfsu.edu.

Application Forms

MA application packet - PDF
MFA application packet - PDF

Cinema Department Independent Study Petitions

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:17:51 -0700

Undergraduate and graduate independent study petitions are now available for download. Petitions must be on file in the Cinema Department office before the ADD/DROP deadline.

Petition for Internship

CINE 692 Petition for Internship (PDF)
CINE 765 Petition for Internship (PDF)

Undergraduate Independent Study forms

Graduate Independent Study forms

CINE 852 Petition for Directed Experience (PDF)
CINE 894 Petition for Course by Special Study (PDF)
CINE 897 Petition for Research Project in Film (PDF)
CINE 898 Petition for Master's Thesis (PDF)
CINE 899 Petition for Course by Special Study (PDF)

MA & MFA applications

ayoung — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:06:20 -0700

MA & MFA applications will be ready OCTOBER 15, 2009. They will be very similar to last year's applications. In the meantime, gather letters of recommendation, your writing sample, video sample (MFA applicants), and unofficial transcripts.

Edit Cage and Digital Cinema Lab open Monday, 9/21

ayoung — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:08:00 -0700

Both the Edit Cage (FA 416) and the Digital Cinema Lab (FA 349) will be open Mon-Fri as of Mon, Sept 21.

Here are the hours:

EDIT CAGE (keys, 16mm editing equipment)
Mon-Thu 10:30a – 12:30p
3:30p-5:30p
8:00p-10:00p
Fri 10:30a – 12:30p
4:00p-6:00p

DIGITAL CINEMA LAB (post-lab)
Mon-Fri 5:00p-9:45p

How do I change my major to Cinema?

ayoung — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:06:15 -0700

Complete CINE 200 & 202 OR CINE 203with a grade of “C” or better
Please be aware that our system gives priority for enrollment in these classes to already-declared Cinema majors. In practice, this means that non-majors will not be able to register online for CINE 200, 202 or 203. You must go to these classes on the first day, with your transcript & DARS Report (find at MySFSU), and attempt to add. Fall Semester intro courses are generally very crowded and can therefore be difficult to add; it is therefore recommended that you try to add during Spring and Summer semesters, which are generally less crowded.
Proficiency (Exemption) Exams: You may also attempt to "test out" of CINE 200 and/or CINE 202 by taking an exemption exam for each course; these exams are generally given on the second Tuesday of each Fall & Spring semester. Exams are based on recent sections of the courses.
Complete SFSU General Education Segments I & II requirements.
Fill out a Blue Sheet (Undergraduate Advising Form).
NEW! change of major forms can be filled out online and emailed to the Cinema Department for the Chair's signature. If you have met the above requirements, your major will usually be changed within 2 business days. If you print your change of major form and hand it in, it often takes about week for the major to change. You will still need to see an advisor to fill out your Blue Sheet at some point before you start on 300-level courses.

What Cinema courses can I take if I haven’t finished CINE 200 and 202 or 203?

ayoung — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:24:38 -0700

First, you should make sure to complete your requirements for the University’s GE (General Education) Segments I and II. You may take, and count toward the major, any upper-division Cinema course that is classified as a GE course in the Bulletin or class schedule. Cinema courses commonly offered as GE courses include Documentary Film, Film and Society, Third Cinema, as well as several others, depending on the semester.

NOTE: Because these are upper-division courses, you generally will not be able to pre-register in these classes unless you have upper-division standing, but you may attempt to add them the first day of class, as space permits. Also, up to three of the one-unit weekend classes (CINE 325) may be counted toward the Cinema major. Also, after pre-approval from a Cinema advisor, cinema-related courses in other departments may be counted toward the Cinema major (see below).

What courses should I take once I have completed CINE 200 and 202 or 203?

ayoung — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:49:57 -0700

This will depend in part on your own interests. Generally, however, once you have successfully completed the Prerequisite Core courses (CINE 200 and CINE 202), you should try to complete as quickly as possible the required Foundation courses as listed above.

While you are completing the Foundation course requirements, you should also be taking classes from a variety of 300-level Cinema courses open to you. In certain cases, some 400-level courses may also be taken prior to completion of the Foundation courses--see the Blue Sheet for details.

Once you have completed the Prerequisite Core and Foundation courses, you are generally free to pursue your own particular interests within the context of available courses and class requirements. There are no “tracks” or concentrations, as such. As long as courses are upper-division cinema courses, they can be counted toward the major, with a few exceptions (for example, variable topic courses such as CINE 344 and 401 can only be taken for a maximum of 9 units, as specified in the Bulletin).

Some students will focus on production, cinema studies, animation, screenwriting, or some combination of these emphases. Depending on the emphasis, certain prerequisites may be required before taking more advanced courses. For example, taking either CINE 354 or CINE 355 is a prerequisite for taking more advanced screenwriting courses, and CINE 310/316 is a prerequisite for most advanced production courses. For animation, see below. Because of the limited availability of equipment and spaces in advanced production courses, students are assigned to these courses through an Advanced Production Pool. See links to the right for details.

How do I talk to a Cinema advisor? Who is my advisor?

ayoung — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:39:34 -0700

Cinema Advisors are full-time faculty members who oversee your progress through the departmental curriculum and offer academic guidance. Cinema students are allowed to consult an advisor of their choice, with the exception of animation students, who should see Martha Gorzycki. Fall 2009 - animation students should see Paul Naas.

The Cinema Department office maintains a list of these departmental advisors and a schedule of their availability, which is also available online. It is your responsibility to consult an advisor regularly.

Professor contributes to 'A New Literary History of America'

mitelson — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:04:10 -0700

More than 200 top scholars and writers nationwide contribute essays to a new, bold volume on the history of American culture, “A New Literary History of America.” Associate Professor Joseph McBride writes the essay on screenwriting.

McBride’s entry begins in 1941 with “Citizen Kane,” discussing the controversy over the authorship of the screenplay by Herman J. Mankewicz and Orson Welles. “I go on from there to discuss the role of the screenwriter in serving as one of the authors of a film, and to define what the contribution of the screenwriter is to a film,” McBride said.

Published by Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, “A New Literary History of America” includes 1,128 pages crucial moments in the “making” of America, addressing literature, music, film, art, history, history of science, philosophy and political rhetoric. Other contributors include Camille Paglia, Ishmael Reed and Walter Mosley. Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors edited the book.

A review in Publishers Weekly states: “Overall, this is an astounding achievement in multiculturalism and American studies, which in the age of Google and the Internet lights the way toward serious interpretive reference publishing.”

A 'Full-Grown' DVD release

mitelson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:02:14 -0700

“Full Grown Men,” the successful feature film directed by alum David Munro, receives its full DVD release Aug. 25.

Winner of the 2007 Undiscovered Gems Sundance Channel Audience Award, “Full Grown Men” garnered widespread critical acclaim during its theatrical release, including the LA Weekly, New York Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. “Full Grown Men” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and played to enthusiastic audiences at more than 24 top-tier festivals, including AFI/LA, CineVegas and the Miami International Film Festival.

The whimsical comedy tells the story of a hopelessly nostalgic man who learns the hard way that the best years of his life may still lie ahead. Stars include Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander, Amy Sedaris, Alan Cumming and Deborah Harry.

Writer-director Munro (M.A., ’96) and writer-producer Xandra Castleton (M.F.A., ’06) founded their independent production company Grottofilms in 2002. Grottofilms is the movie-making arm of the San Francisco Writers Grotto.

Check out Munro’s blog for musings on independent films and more.

Two students win international awards

mitelson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:48:25 -0700

Two Cinema students are among the 2009 Princess Grace Award winners, each receiving a coveted international prize to help fund their film projects. M.F.A. candidate Terrie Samundra and undergraduate Charlie Corriea will travel to New York for the Oct. 21 awards gala, a black-tie event attended by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Fifteen SF State students have won Princess Grace Awards since 1989. The 22 winners this year exemplify both classical and alternative artistic disciplines and, while still considered emerging talent, already show exceptional promise.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is a nonprofit, publicly supported foundation, based in New York City and founded more than 25 years ago by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in honor of his wife, Princess Grace Kelly. The Foundation's mission, mirrors that of Princess Grace, supporting emerging artists in theatre, dance and film through the awarding of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships. In total, the foundation has given more than 650 awards totaling more than $7 million.

What happened to CINE 200 & 202? What do I need to take now?

ayoung — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:25:16 -0700

Basically, you need to pass CINE 200 AND 202, OR you need to pass CINE 203, regardless of whether or not you have taken one of the other courses.

Due to the budget cuts, we have removed CINE 200 & 202 from the Fall 2009 schedule. We do not at this time know what future schedules will look like.

If you have already taken CINE 200 & 202, proceed with your degree as planned, nothing has changed.
If you have NOT taken CINE 200 or 202, or have only taken one, you will need to take CINE 203.

There will not be an exemption exam for CINE 203, and there are not any articulation agreements with any schools for this course. If you took CINE 200 or 202 at a school with an articulation agreement with SFSU, the course(s) will still count here. However, if you only took ONE of the classes you will still need to take CINE 203 to complete the requirement.

Critical Language Scholarships For Intensive Summer Institutes

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:45:15 -0700

Purpose:The CLS Program provides fully-funded seven to ten week group-based intensive language instruction and extensive cultural enrichment experiences held overseas at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels (beginning not offered for Azerbaijani, Chinese, Persian or Russian) for U.S. citizen undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D. students.

For more information please visit: https://clscholarship.org

Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:24:35 -0700

Purpose: Since 1961 the Davis-Putter Fund has provided need-based grants to students who are able to do academic work at the college level and are involved in building movements for social and economic justice. Grantees are both graduates and undergraduates enrolled in accredited schools for the period covered by their grant. Although citizenship is not a consideration, applicants must live in the United States and plan to enroll an accredited program in the US in order to qualify.

Amount

The maximum grant is $8,000 and may be considerably smaller depending on the applicant's circumstances and the funding available. All the funds come from individual donors and there are 25-30 grants awarded each year. Grants are for one year although students may re-apply for subsequent years.

The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund has applications available for student activists who are building the progressive movement. The website provides answers to questions about the Fund, the application process, and the students it supports.

Applications are due April 1 of each year. Current year information is posted every January.

Final decisions are announced every July.

SF State students: if you apply for this award, kindly notify Prof. Voloshin by email: voloshin@sfsu.edu.

Office of Academic Honors and Scholarships
573 Humanities Building
San Francisco State University
Faculty Coordinator: Prof. Beverly Voloshin, Department of English

Leo Diner Memorial Scholarship

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:13:47 -0700

Purpose: Leo Diner was an important inventor, filmmaker and businessman in the Bay Area film community who dedicated half a century to the motion picture and television industry. In 1991, his family established a memorial scholarship in his honor to encourage future generations of filmmakers to continue to invent and construct new cinematic tools and new ways of seeing.

The Leo Diner Memorial Scholarship Committee encourages students who are working on innovative new films to apply for the 2009 Leo Diner Award. The award, in the amount of $500.00, will be presented at Film Finals. The competition is open to seniors and graduate students in the Cinema Department.

The winner will be chosen by a committee composed of Cinema Department faculty, former award winners and representatives of the Diner family.

Students must submit:

a rough cut of a scene of the film or video (5 minutes or less) on DVD or VHS;
an outline of the project;
a budget for the completion of the film (include all needs for materials and services); and
a brief description of how the project is innovative in its approach to filmmaking.

Gordon Thomas Memorial Scholarship

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:42:16 -0700

Purpose
Gordon “Don” Thomas, animator and filmmaker, earned the first Master of Fine Arts in Cinema, with an Animation emphasis, at San Francisco State University in June of 2001. He designed his own program concentrating in 2D and 3D computer animation and 3D stop motion. Don was also an instructor at SF State teaching beginning and advanced animation classes. With this scholarship, Don’s family and friends seek to honor Don’s memory and promote his values: creativity, diligence, inspiration to others, and celebration of human diversity. In addition, the scholarship is intended to promote Don’s commitment to learning, his love for teaching and his belief that we need to hear each other’s voices to make a difference.

Eligibility Requirements

Must be currently enrolled at SF State and be either a junior, senior or graduate student in cinema or in the animation emphasis.
Must enroll at San Francisco State University as a full-time student with at least 12 units undergraduate or 9 units graduate for the Fall 2009 semester.
Write a personal statement (typed, double-spaced, not to exceed three pages) describing your financial need, your creativity and diligence to the subject matter, how you inspire others around you in the world of cinema, the seriousness of your approach and how your work speaks to diversity.
Submit animation samples on DVD. Please include:
1. Samples of your best most complete work AND
2. One sample of your animated work in progress which this scholarship will help fund
Submit or mail all items together: application, personal statement, and samples of work to the Cinema Department Office, FA 245.

Procedures

Completed applications that meet the above criteria and are received or postmarked by the May 1st deadline will be reviewed by faculty members and select students will then be nominated for final review by the scholarship committee. Students selected to receive scholarships will be notified at the Animation Finals on May 15, 2009.

Return applications to:
San Francisco State University
Cinema Department
Gordon Thomas Memorial Scholarship
1600 Holloway Avenue, FA 245
San Francisco, CA 94132-4011

Between mid-May & March, the application is for reference ONLY. Applications & all other materials received during this period will be thrown away
Gordon Thomas Scholarship Application - PDF

The Robin Eickman Cinema Student Scholarship

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:34:44 -0700

Purpose: In memory of Robin Eickman, director of the San Francisco Film and Video Commission (1989-1998), SF State alumna and friend of the Cinema Department. The award is intended to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers as professional filmmakers and to provide support to individuals who may be underrepresented in the film industry. Each year, it is presented to a cinema grad student or senior undergrad student whose creative work shows great potential in one of the following categories: Cinematography/lighting, sound recording/mixing, special visual effects, art direction/set design, other (to be designated by applicant).

Amount:

$500, plus a year-long mentorship with a filmmaking professional in the designated category.

The award recipient will be chosen by a committee of cinema faculty/staff, film industry professionals, former Robin Eickman award winners and members of the Robin Eickman family. The award will be presented at Film Finals.

Application process:

Applicants should submit

a creative work sample (5 min. max. DVD) demonstrating talent in one of the above areas
a brief essay (400-500 words, typed) describing the creative work sample in terms of his/her professional filmmaking goals.
The application form should be signed by a cinema faculty member familiar with the applicant’s work.

Bring 5 copies of the application form and essay and one copy of the creative work to the Cinema office (FA 245); include SASE mailer if you want materials returned.

Between mid-May & March, the application is for reference ONLY. Applications & all other materials received during this period will be thrown away
Download Application - PDF

For more information, contact Production Coordinator Scott Boswell (338-6522 or sboswell@sfsu.edu).

John Gutmann Memorial Filmmaker Excellence Award

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:52:15 -0700

Purpose: To encourage creative filmmaking in the experimental and documentary areas.

Amount: There will be three $500 awards for best documentary and/or best experimental film.

Eligibility Requirements:

Must be currently enrolled at SFSU.
Films must be in one of three categories:
- Graduate First Year films from Spring 2008 - completed projects only.
- Undergraduate films from Academic Year 2008/2009 - must be completed or fine cut.
- Graduate Thesis films from Academic Year 2008/2009 - completed projects only.

Submit or mail the following items together in one envelops clearly labeled with category:

Application form (2 copies), available in the Cinema Department office or by emailing cinedept@sfsu.edu
DVDs (2 copies) labeled with name, phone number, title and running time.

To the Cinema Department ATTN: Thomas Scholarship. Late submissions not accepted!

Between mid-May & March, the application is for reference ONLY. Applications & all other materials received during this period will be thrown away
Download Application - PDF

** Judges reserve the right to make awards at their discretion.**

Murphy & Cadogan awards for Visual Arts MFAs

ayoung — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:39:19 -0700

Purpose: The Jack and Gertrude Murphy Fellowships in the Fine Arts and the Edwin Anthony and Adelaine Bourdeaux Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts are multiple awards available to Bay Area fine arts MFA students to underwrite tuition for continued academic study.

Amount: $3,500 grant award towards tuition, and winners will be invited to be part of an exhibit at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in the fall and to the Arts Award Celebration at the San Francisco Foundation on November 5, 2009.

Eligibility:

MFA students
Must have completed at least one semester of coursework as of January 1, 2009.
Must be continuously enrolled in the same program and in good standing through December 31, 2009.
This award is not for students currently in the last year of their MFA studies.
Previous winners of Murphy or Cadogan Fellowships may not apply again.
Artwork submitted must have been completed by the student in the past two years, since April 1, 2007.
Work must be created by a sole applicant; collaborations are not accepted.

Announcements will be made by June 30th.

For full Fellowship information and an application, please visit The San Francisco Foundation website

Fotokem Graduate Student Award

lmauricio — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:44:07 -0700

Fotokem Labs is offering an award for graduate students, given each semester, which will be juried through the SF State Cinema Department. The recipient of this award will have all of his or her lab costs covered by Fotokem. This includes development and print costs. It does not include telecine costs.

You must submit the following materials:

Application
Script (narrative) or Proposal (documentary or experimental).
Line Item Budget
List of previous film work
Current curriculum vitae
Sample of creative work, VHS or DVD only.

Fotokem Graduate Student Award Application - PDF

Princess Grace Award

ayoung — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:59:51 -0700

Purpose: The Princess Grace Award is a competitive scholarship offered each year to undergraduate and a graduate students for work on their THESIS or final (undergrad) film.

Amount: The award ranges from $3000- 35000 for production or post-production costs only.

Eligibility:

To be considered for the award and SFSU nomination, you must submit an application.
All applicants must be U.S. citizens or have obtained permanent residency status.
Scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships must be completed in the United States.
Be a full time student or matriculated but not yet have completed thesis film
Have completed at least one film as director
Be the director of the proposed thesis film
Must plan to work for a significant period of time after graduation

Procedure:

Each student must turn in THREE COPIES of a 1-2 page TYPED treatment/description of their proposed thesis or senior project. The treatment should include:
1. plot description/synopsis
2. genre – and your approach to that genre
3. stylistic concerns
4. significance of project
Application, found here
You must submit a VHS tape cued to a sample of a previously completed short film (or DVD). If you have a work-in-progress of your thesis film, please submit this as well.

Drop off or mail applications by 4pm May 8, 2009 to:

Cinema Department
Attention: Sjogren/Princess Grace
1600 Holloway Ave, FA 245
San Francisco, CA 94132
Between mid-May & March, the application is for reference ONLY. Applications & all other materials received during this period will be thrown away
For more information, see the The Princess Grace Foundation website.

All submitted materials become the property of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and will not be returned. They will provide exceptions for original storyboard sketches. If directors would like original sketches returned, self-addressed packaging with appropriate postage must be included with your submission.