Faculty News

Student Oscars
USC Films Take Home Top Accolades
July 01, 2008
Students from the USC School of the Cinematic Arts were rewarded for months of late nights and hard work at the 2008 Student Academy Awards, where four Trojan films took home prizes, including two Gold Medals.

Wellness Partners Game
IMD Lands $200,000 Health Research Grant
June 11, 2008
A University of Southern California research effort co-lead by Marientina Gotsis of the Interactive Media Division has received a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to explore how interactive digital games could be designed to improve players' health behaviors and outcomes.

Highly Animated
Experimental Animation Screening Crosses Divisions
June 05, 2008
If you think animators only spend their days (and nights) sequestered in dark cubicles toiling by themselves, think again. As students from the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts proved during the recent “2008 Experimental Animation Screening,” collaborating with counterparts in the School of Cinematic Arts and Thornton School of Music truly brought their animations to life.

Commencement Day
School of Cinematic Arts Honors Over 500 Graduates
May 22, 2008
Despite searing temperatures outside, spirits were high at the Shrine Auditorium on May 16, as the School of Cinematic Arts, with the help of industry giants Robert A. Iger and Brian T. Grazer, lauded its most recent graduating class and celebrated the next generation of entertainment artists and professionals.

Oakie Masters Series
Comic Genius James L. Brooks Inaugurates Annual Lecture Event
May 13, 2008
USC students enjoyed a wide-ranging lecture and discussion with Oscar and Emmy award-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks on May 2 as part of the inaugural event of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters Lecture Series.

Press Start
Interactive M.F.A. Projects Challenge Convention
May 13, 2008
This year’s Interactive Media Division (IMD) M.F.A. graduates challenged themselves to discover new technology mediated experiences that could keep pace with their imaginations. The result—an array of 11 projects that range from a videogame incorporating time travel to a new way to battle traffic congestion—are on display at the “Press Start” thesis show running from May 10 to 15 in the division’s atelier at 555 W. 23rd Street.

Hot Type
First Pitch 2008 Gives Industry Reps Inside Track On SCA Scripts
May 13, 2008
Representatives from 39 the industry’s leading agencies, management firms and production companies got first crack at the latest scripts from SCA writing students on May 5, as 48 writers showcased tales from every genre during the seventh annual First Pitch event.

Doniger Donation
Peyton Place Director Donates Archives to USC
May 07, 2008
Golden Globe nominee Walter Doniger, a creative force behind television classics like Marcus Welby, M.D., Ellery Queen and Night Gallery, has donated his personal archives of film and television memorabilia to the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

CU: Jon M. Chu
Stepping Up from SCA to The Industry
May 05, 2008
In Motion sat down with Jon M. Chu, director of "Step Up 2: The Streets" to ask him about USC, making a dance extravaganza in five weeks and the power of Miley Cyrus.

The World In 2050
IBM Research and Cinematic Arts Envision the Future
May 05, 2008
On the evening of April 30, five of IBM’s top research scientists joined with School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) students, alumni, faculty and members of the entertainment industry to brainstorm about the art of the possible—circa 2050. The reception and discussion kicked off a collaboration between SCA and IBM to inspire a new generation of film, television and interactive artists, as well as suggest creative directions for researchers.

TV Turns 10
Trojan Vision Celebrates A Decade Of Service
May 05, 2008
When it started 10 years ago, Trojan Vision was short on facilities, personnel and equipment, but long on the dream of what could be. A decade later, the dream has become reality, with the station serving the university, winning national awards and providing hands-on experience that has enabled students to launch their careers.

First Pitch 2008
Alumnus Matthew Weiner (Mad Men, The Sopranos) Hosts
April 21, 2008
The freshest film and television writing talent from USC will go one-on-one with reps from leading agencies, management firms and production companies during First Pitch, hosted on Monday, May 5 by alumnus Matthew Weiner, Dean Elizabeth M. Daley announced.

Screening Kudos
Industry Professionals At First Look 2.0
March 31, 2008
The School of Cinematic Arts hosted its annual student film festival, First Look 2.0, this weekend, incorporating for the first time an awards system to recognize top student films. Forty-six films debuted at the festival, which USC community members and entertainment industry professionals attended.

Shanty Town
SCA Faculty Member Heads Kenyan Film Workshops
March 26, 2008
Young people from an African shanty town making films may seem unlikely, but not to Senior Lecturer Mary Beth Fielder, who along with the Nairobi-based Hot Sun Foundation is leading a series of film workshops for forty aspiring moviemakers from Kibera, Kenya.

RKO Expert
Rick Jewell Lands Academy Grant To Examine Classic Studio
March 25, 2008
Critical Studies Professor and Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film Professor Rick Jewell has been named one of two 2008 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is one of two recipients of a $25,000 grant from the Institutional Grants Committee of the Academy Foundation.

Art Against AIDS
Hench-DADA Students Help To Prevent HIV/AIDS Among Youth
March 19, 2008
Working in partnership with doctors from the Keck School of Medicine, students from the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts (Hench-DADA) have put their creative powers to use by generating a series of public service announcements to fight against the incidence of HIV/AIDS in youth.

Hecho En LA
Alumni Produced MADE IN LA Doc Takes On Sweatshops
March 13, 2008
An award-winning documentary, produced by Stark alumnus Robert Bahar, about garment workers who take a stand against the retailer responsible for their low wages and sub-standard working conditions, made its SCA debut at the Taper Hall of Humanities on March 11, 2008.

Malvin Wald
Writer and Former Instructor Passes Away
March 11, 2008
Writer and former School of Cinematic Arts Writing Faculty Malvin Wald, best known for co-writing the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 1948 film The Naked City, died March 6, 2008 in Los Angeles. He was 90.

Critical Commons
Faculty Members Receive Grant To Promote Digital Fair Use
February 29, 2008
SCA faculty members Steve Anderson and Holly Willis have received a key grant from the from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to probe one of the digital era’s most pressing issues: fair use of protected assets in support of learning.

Healthy Entertainment
Probing The Power Of Health-Themed Entertainment Media
February 20, 2008
From television programs like GREY'S ANATOMY and HOUSE, to films like JOHN Q and PHILADELPHIA, medical themes can make compelling entertainment.But they are also great educational opportunities, as students recently discovered in a unique joint course of the School of Cinematic Arts and The Keck School of Medicine.

First Look 2.0
Transforming SCA’s Premiere Festival
February 14, 2008
The hottest films to come out of the School of Cinematic Arts this year will hit the big screen during the First Look 2.0 festival, taking place at the Norris Theatre Complex from March 28 – 30. And for the first time ever in its history, the festival will present juried award winners at all of its screenings, including a Special Awards Ceremony at the Directors Guild of America on April 2.

24/7 Summit
Landmark Conference Draws Global Video Experts
February 13, 2008
Video creators, scholars, activists, policy makers, technologists and entrepreneurs gathered at USC to focus on the fate and future of visual media in the 21st century during 24/7: A DIY Video Summit—a first-of-its-kind international event held at an academic institution.

Sundance Shines
SCA Lights Up Park City Festival Scene
February 12, 2008
A touch of Southern California sunshine warmed the snowy landscape of Park City, Utah as the School of Cinematic Arts celebrated its most successful year of screenings ever at the Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals.

Golden Age Gold
Movie Memories And More At The Warner Bros. Archives
February 05, 2008
How do you build a small family business into a multi-billion dollar industry giant? Bit, by bit, as researchers have discovered over the past 30 years of combing through the School of Cinematic Arts Warner Bros. Archives, whose contents offer a unique glimpse into the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system.

Marathon Run
A USC Collaborative Efforts Hits Theater Screens
January 24, 2008
Four years in the making, Spirit of the Marathon, the collaborative effort of three-time Academy Award winner Mark Jonathan Harris, Telly Award winner and marathon runner Jon Dunham ‘00 and producer/marathoner Gwendolen Twist premieres tonight.

Model Worker
Precision Is The Hallmark Of German Pinchevsky
January 22, 2008
In the early 1960s, German Pinchevsky studied the art of cinematography at the Moscow Film School, the oldest institute of its kind in the world. Five decades later, his unique craftsmanship and ingenuity is a key factor to ensure students at the oldest American cinema program keep on rolling.

Holman Honored
SCA Professor Recognized By Peers
January 14, 2008
Professor Tomlinson Holman, whose THX theatre system revolutionized sound in movie theatres, has been recognized as a fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for “contributions to the recording of cinema sound and its realistic reproduction in both cinema and home environments.”

Kudos Kathy
Kathy Fogg Retires From The Stark Program
December 07, 2007
The Peter Stark Producing Program will mark the end of an era this month, when 23-year veteran Kathy Fogg—long revered for her warm, personal attention—retires from her post as associate director.

Top Pen
Blockbuster Scribe Jack Epps, Jr., Helms The Writing Division
November 28, 2007
As his first semester at the head of the school’s Writing Division winds down, Associate Professor and Writing Chair Jack Epps, Jr., took a moment recently to reflect on how he sees his role in helping to educate the next generation of screenwriters.

Strike Impact
Writing Division Hosts Forum On WGA Work Stoppage
November 16, 2007
While the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is having an immediate impact on current television and film scribes, SCA students and recent alumni learned during a special forum hosted by the Writing Division that it can have long-term consequences on them as well.

Bull Market
Mardik Martin Reflects On His Classic Film
November 15, 2007
After a roller coaster of a career, 70-year-old screenwriter Mardik Martin accepts his newfound accolades with a somewhat bothersome wave of the hand. These recent honors include the Writer's Guild of America naming "Raging Bull" as one of the 101 Best Screenplays of All Time; the ARPA Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, which Martin recently received at its latest International Film Festival; and a documentary of Martin's life, "Mardik: From Baghdad to Hollywood."

Darfur Now
Ted Braun's Story Of Hope In One Of Humanity’s Darkest Hours
October 26, 2007
Bringing to life the conflict in Darfur and the people living through what the United Nations has described as “the world’s greatest humanitarian and human rights catastrophe,” Writing Assistant Professor Ted Braun’s new documentary Darfur Now shines a light on tragedy and illustrates how the actions of single individuals can make a difference to millions.

Most Active Alumni
USC Honors Herb Farmer ’42
October 17, 2007
USC’s Half-Century Club honored Emeritus Professor Herb Farmer ’42 with its Most Active Alumni Award at the club’s luncheon for the class of 1957 during Trojan Parents’ Weekend on Friday, October 12.

Eisenstein Award
Celebrating and Honoring the Work of Costa-Gavras
October 09, 2007
Director, screenwriter, and producer Costa-Gavras presented with Eisenstein Award.

THE GRADUATE
40 Years Later, Larry Turman Reflects On His Iconic Production
October 04, 2007
Producer Larry Turman reflects on a film that still resonates with audiences today, forty years after its debut.

Media Of Choice
USC Institute for Multimedia Literacy Fuses Image, Sound and Text
September 18, 2007
Since its founding, the IML has worked with over 100 faculty members at USC and beyond, in addition to scores of teachers from K-12, to hone the philosophy and the teaching methods of a literacy based on multiple media—from text to moving- and still-images, to audio files and other databased resources.

Robert Enders
In Memoriam
September 18, 2007
Writer, director and producer Robert Enders, who taught as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Cinematic Arts for 14 years, passed away on September 7 in Los Angeles.

The Producers
Michael Peyser and John Watson Join Production Faculty
September 07, 2007
Seasoned producers Michael Peyser and John Watson, whose credits are among some of the most recognized titles in contemporary film, have joined the faculty of the school’s Film & Television Production Division

Div Docs
New Ph.D. Program Spans All The School’s Divisions
August 28, 2007
A new degree is the second doctoral track in the school, joining the Critical Studies Ph.D., which became the nation’s first Cinema Ph.D. in 1958.

Complex Cam
A Bird's-Eye View Of The School's New Facilities
August 14, 2007
Over the course of the summer, visitors to the University Park campus have watched the construction on the new cinematic arts complex make great strides. Now, as construction heightens, any one can track its development thanks to a 24/7 camera.

William Tuttle
In Memoriam
August 04, 2007
William J. “Bill” Tuttle, the pioneering makeup artist who received an honorary Academy Award in 1965 for his groundbreaking work in 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and former adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts passed away on July 30. He was 95.

Lionel Schaen
Former Production Instructor Passes Away
July 27, 2007
Lionel Schaen,former adjunct professor in the School of Cinematic Arts who devoted time and energy to numerous industry-related endeavors passed away on July 25 in Los Angeles. He was 72.

Prison Cel
Hench Associate Professor Draws The Light On Social Justice
June 21, 2007
Using methods most people attribute to movies involving green ogres and penguin habitats, a new documentary from John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts Associate Professor Sheila Sofian entitled Truth Has Fallen is set to highlight a crusade to free those wrongly convicted of capital crimes, while educating audiences on the current state of the American justice system and its issues including racism, the death penalty and the susceptibility of eyewitness testimony.

Interactive Politics
Launching An Anti-Gerrymandering Video Game
June 14, 2007
An interactive media research team from the University of Southern California, supported by members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and key political reform groups, launched The Redistricting Game on Capital Hill on Wednesday, June 13, 2007.

Perfect Timing
Jerilyn “Cookie” Clayton Goes From Pay Sheets To Musical Beats
June 05, 2007
Dealing with the time sheets and personnel issues of over 400 bi-weekly schedules that comprise the student workers and staff of the School of Cinematic Arts, payroll coordinator Jerilyn “Cookie” Clayton could very well be dubbed the queen of everything OTIS.

Global Reach
SCA Teams Teach Abroad, International Students Trek To LA
May 29, 2007
Just because the regular school year has ended doesn’t mean the lazy days of summer have come to the School of Cinematic Arts. With teaching teams deployed around the globe and scores of international students arriving over the next two months—including a contingent funded by an exclusive State Department grant—the SCA has become one of the summer’s hot spots.

Honorary Alumnus
SCA Bestows Award On Clint Eastwood
May 03, 2007
Acclaimed actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood will receive the first Honorary Alumni Award ever conferred by the USC School of Cinematic Arts during its 2007 commencement exercises on May 11.

Future Of Film
LA Conference Unites Film and Technology Decision Makers
March 13, 2007
Film and technology decision-makers are set to network and share ideas with over 300 of the industry’s most innovative digital media insiders at the very first Future of Film conference in Beverly Hills on March 21, 2007.

E. Russell McGregor II
Production Professor Was School's First Interim Dean
February 13, 2007
Dr. E. Russell McGregor II, the first interim dean of the School of Cinematic Arts and former professor in the Division of Film & Television Production, passed away on February 7, 2007 in San Luis Obispo. He was 76.

Charles S. Swartz
Entertainment Industry Leader Passes Away
February 13, 2007
Charles S. Swartz, respected throughout the entertainment industry and academia for his role in shepherding innovations that broke new ground in cinematic content, distribution, and display, passed away on February 10 from pneumonia, his family announced today.

Film Scholar
David James Ph.D. focuses on the link between music and movies
February 06, 2007
David E. James, professor in critical studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, has been named one of two 2007 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Scene at Sundance
SCA Films Screen at Prestigious Festival
January 30, 2007
Though Park City temps were sub-zero, School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) alumni, students, and faculty were in the glow as they celebrated the official USC screenings selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Cinema-Tech
Vince Gonzales Captures The Art of Motion Picture Technology
January 30, 2007
While a magic lantern might seem like it belongs with Aladdin and his flying carpet, in reality, the classic piece of pre-cinema history from the late 1700s is coming to life as part of a unique photography show by SCA staffer Vince Gonzales.

Golden State
USC Project Examines The History Of Jews In California
January 17, 2007
Though the roles of Jewish people throughout California are undeniably important to the state’s cultural development, until now, Jewish California has been a little studied aspect of American history. That’s all about to change as a new interactive media project gets underway.

Female Forum
Women In Film Salutes Dean Daley
January 17, 2007
Elizabeth Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, was honored last fall at a ceremony celebrating the contribution of women in the film industry.

Page To Screen
Children Of Men Wins Scripter Award
January 16, 2007
The author of Children of Men and the screenwriters of the film based on the book have won the 19th annual USC Libraries Scripter Award.

Entertainment Leader
Hollywood Veteran David Wertheimer To Lead ETC
January 16, 2007
The Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California (ETC-USC), a neutral, non-partisan research organization in the School of Cinematic Arts that studies entertainment technology developments that are critical to the creative community; production companies; content owners, distributors and exhibitors; and technology companies has tapped entrepreneur, technologist, and Hollywood veteran David Wertheimer to lead the organization.

Cinema Manifesto
Documentary Examines Filmmakers '70s Exploits
January 12, 2007
In the early 1970s in San Francisco, Judy Irola, now the head of cinematography in the USC School of Cinematic Arts, was part of a groundbreaking Marxist filmmaking collective called Cine Manifest.

Price Is Right
BOC Chair Is Nominee For Council On Arts
January 10, 2007
Frank Price, a USC Life Trustee and Chair of the Board of Councilors for the School of Cinematic Arts, has been nominated by President George W. Bush to a six-year term on the National Council on the Arts. The council advises the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts on grants to be made by the endowment.

Capture This
Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis Teaches Performance Capture Class
January 09, 2007
What’s it like to make a live-action film with characters and settings that can never be filmed? This spring, a group of 12 School of Cinematic Arts graduate students will learn just that when director Robert Zemeckis ’73 and SCA Digital Systems Specialist Eric Furie teach the inaugural semester of CTAN 599: Motion Capture Performance.

Listen Up
Professor Tom Holman Receives IEEE’s Ibuka Award
January 08, 2007
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has named School of Cinematic Arts Professor Tom Holman as the recipient of its 2007 Masaru Ibuka Award, recognizing Holman’s contribution to the development of advanced audio and cinema multi-channel playback systems.

Savage Screenplay
Bringing Murder To Life On The Big Screen
January 03, 2007
One of the hallmarks of the School of Cinematic Arts is an environment where theory and practice interact—even, at times, collide. For faculty who balance careers in the industry and university, it can prove an interesting juggling act. Just ask Howard A. Rodman, who’s spent the past year chairing the writing division and teaching, while at the same time penning a pilot for HBO and edging his adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book Savage Grace toward the big screen.

Much Ado About Dodos
Two USC Filmmakers And A Flock Of Extinct Birds Put The Debate On Evolution And Intelligent Design In Focus
January 03, 2007
The dodo, that famously dumb and dead bird, has been brought back from extinction in a feature film garnering praise everywhere it plays since its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Now, the acclaimed film will have a special USC screening on February 10, 2007 at the Norris Theatre.

Enticing Extras
SCA Historians Share Their Perspectives On Screen Gems Of The Past
November 08, 2006
Most film historians are known to a limited audience. Their essays in scholarly journals might be read by professors and university students who number in the thousands. But with the advent of bonus features on DVDs in the past few years, studios have been turning to academics to supply voice-over commentaries and participate in documentaries.

Grid Unlock
SCA Team Collaborates On High-Speed CineGrid Streaming Test
October 25, 2006
In collaboration with teams around the Pacific Rim, a School of Cinematic Arts team headed by Richard Weinberg has successfully proven that ultra-high resolution image and audio files can be effectively streamed across the globe, a development that has major implications for cinematic distribution.

Historic Signing
Marking The Creation Of The Red Sea Institue Of Cinematic Arts
September 21, 2006
King Abdullah II of Jordan presided over a ceremony in New York City on September 20th marking the creation of the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in Jordan’s Red Sea resort town of Aqaba.

Finding Focus
July 14, 2006
For eight weeks each summer, The Cosby Summer Youth Institute at the School of Cinema-Television, takes youngsters out of the maelstrom and puts them behind the camera, where they have the chance to explore their creative potential.

Culture Clash
Perceptions of Arab & American Films
June 04, 2006
The ways a group of 12 USC students – half from American and half from Middle Eastern backgrounds – view and understand the same films is focus of Projecting Culture: Perceptions of Arab and American Films, a 27-minute documentary just released by Cinema-Television faculty and staff.

Agent Extraordinaire
Marking The Installation Of The School's 13th Endowed Chair
May 12, 2006
At a star-studded gala that began with the fanfare of the Trojan Marching Band, friends, family, scholars, students, and supporters of Associate Dean Larry Auerbach marked his installation as the school’s record-breaking 13th endowed chair on May 10.

Freedom Focus
ACLU Series Probes the Struggle for Freedom—Past and Present
March 29, 2006
In the run up to the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin extolled his compatriots with an eloquent yet profound thought, one which was meant to open their eyes to the threat looming before them: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."