COVER STORY His special effects credits include 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, and THE TREE OF LIFE. He directed SILENT RUNNING and BRAINSTORM.
U-666
“It does not get any better than exposing students to the expertise of industry leaders like Doug Trumbell,” Ruskin said. “He is brilliant. His work has awed generations of movie-goers and inspired countless young filmmakers.” Ruskin takes pride in the expertise of her faculty, which has grown from the original five to more than 30, and includes such well-known artists as Peter Bogdanovich (director, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, PAPER MOON, MASK), Ron Roose (editor, THE WANDERERS, STAR TREK VI and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP), and Thomas Ackerman, A.S.C. (cinematographer, BEETLEJUICE, JUMANJI, and THE LEGEND OF RON BURGANDY.)
WINGS
Administration degrees – offered in conjunction with other UNC campuses. Also on Ruskin’s agenda is turning a vacant film studio that the school owns in High Point into a turnkey, fully digital film stage. The facility would have the potential for gaming, digital design/effects, and 3-D, and would be available for incubating new projects and rental by the film industry. “It would be unique in this area of the country,” Ruskin said. “It is a very exciting project because it would potentially create jobs for our graduates and internship opportunities for our current students.” For help with the project, Ruskin plans to bring in film director and special effects supervisor Douglas Trumbell.
2007
Jordan Kerner is appointed the third dean of the School of Filmmaking. He serves until 2012, when he resigns to return to filmmaking full time.
The dean is also enormously proud of her students and the school’s alumni, including such notables as David Gordon Green (director of YOUR HIGHNESS, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and the HBO series “Eastbound and Down”), Jeff Nichols (writer/director of MUD and TAKE SHELTER), Martha Stephens (writer/director of LAND HO!) and Will Files (sound designer for THE SMURFS, TAKE SHELTER and TREE OF LIFE). “These alumni – and many more – have found their footings in the film industry. They are making very good films that people want to see, and they are hiring other alumni for their crews and putting students to work as interns. That’s what we call the UNCSA film mafia.” Ruskin says the reputation of the faculty and alumni is what draws smart and creative students to the program. “That is why we have come so far in such a short period of time,” she said. “And that is why the sky is the limit.”
September Zach Seivers ’06 wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming for his work on GETTYSBURG (History Channel).
2010 March The School of 2012 April UNCSA announces it has raised $120,000 Filmmaking announces that Hollywood for upgrades to the Film Scoring Stage from donor Michael icon Peter Bogdanovich, director of such films as THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, WHAT’S UP, DOC?, PAPER MOON and MASK, will join the UNCSA faculty.
May TAKE SHELTER, a film
2011
by Jeff Nichols ’01, wins the Grand Prix at the 50th annual Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival. Nichols also takes the Best Screenwriting Award from the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers at Critics’ Week.
Tiemann and Fidelity Foundation of Fidelity Investments.
July Summer Shelton ’08 is named the first Bingham Ray
Producing Fellow by the Sundance Institute.
Fall UNCSA breaks ground on a 30,000-square-foot film
production design facility.
2013
February Mark Freiburger ’05 wins the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest with his TV film “Fashionista Daddy,” which airs during the Super Bowl. May Susan Ruskin is named the fourth dean of the School of Filmmaking.
June The School of Filmmaking mourns the loss of
Daniel George McKinny, a founding member of its faculty. He was 66.
July PACIFIC RIM, with a screenplay by Travis Beacham ’05 (based on his New York Times best-selling graphic novel) opens nationwide. The 3-D science fiction film earns more than $400 million worldwide. August Eighty-four students enroll as college freshmen in the School of Filmmaking. Comprising the Class of 2017, they will be the school’s 20th graduating class.
August School of Filmmaking is ranked 12 on The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural list of the 25 best film schools in the world. SUMMER 2014
UNCSA MAGAZINE
|
21