This year's Visions, a juried honors exhibit of the Communications Media Department, opened with an Alumni Panel in the Ellis White White Lecture Hall. This lively discussion was followed by The Gallery Opening, and a Film & Video Screening in Weston Auditorium. Thank you to the alumni, jurors, Communications Media faculty, students, and staff. The Exhibit will run until June 30, 2023. 

Students in Professor Lee's Cinematography course work to properly light a scene in the TV Studio with artificial light, and outside with natural. This course is a blend of the artistic and the technical. Aspects of the topic include film stock, laboratories, lenses, lighting, cameras, composition, camera angles, continuity, color and special processes. The relationship between the cinematographer and other members of the production team, as well as the structure of feature film camera departments are examined. Learn about our Film/Video Production Program here, and our School of Arts & Sciences here.

Beginning this evening, the Communications Media Department will present its production of William Mastrosimon’s celebrated play Extremities. The play is inspired by the fantasy of taking control back from an attacker, and examines the extremes of human capacity: mercy against hatred, compassion against violence, and humanity against torture. The university’s production is directed by Professor Mary Vreeland. Extremities will be performed in the Wallace Theater for the Performing Arts at the McKay Complex at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18; Wednesday, April 19; Thursday, April 20; Friday, April 21; and Saturday, April 22. There will be matinee performances at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23. Learn more about the production here.

Students in Fitchburg State’s game design program work on, and test, their their capstone projects in the IdeaLab which is located off-campus. The IdeaLab houses a state of the art studio space designed to promote applied work and create interaction between students, faculty and working professionals. Student groups are tasked with creating a game wherein students have the opportunity to work with developers from Rockstar New England as mentors, in addition to our faculty.

Professor Harris' Intro to Film and Video class experiments with film making using 16mm film cameras across campus. Learn about our Film & Video Program here.

Students in Theater Professor Mary Vreeland's  Acting for the Camera course, An intensive scene study course for the advanced student actor, spent their class time recording short commercial scripts, each trying to convince the viewer to purchase a self-care product.  The scene was reviewed and Professor Vreeland and the rest of the class gave immediate feedback. 

The Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State University continued its series on the “Made in Italy” brand this month this afternoon with a screening of the documentary film Stracci in Ellis White Lecture Hall in Hammond Hall. The documentary discusses the sustainability of fashion by looking at it through the eyes of those who have always recycled used clothes and transformed them into raw materials. A journey that starts from Prato, the world capital of recycled wool, and goes around the world, to discover the impact on the planet of the excessive consumption to which the world of fashion has educated us.

Earlier this semester, students in Professor Kevin McCarthy's Sound Design course got a tour of the Sound Studio in Conlon. Professor McCarthy pointed out the unique assets in the studio, including a Whisper Booth; a soundproof chamber to record voice-over audio. The Course examines the elements of post-production sound design within the context of film and video production. It blends the artistic and the technical. wherein students use nonlinear editors, digital audio work stations and analog and digital recording equipment to design soundtracks for film and video productions.

Students in Theater Professor Mary Vreeland's  Acting for the Camera course, An intensive scene study course for the advanced student actor, spent their class time recording short commercial scripts for the camera. The scene was reviewed and Professor Vreeland and the rest of the class gave immediate feedback.