FilmFest showcases student creativity

Apr 19, 2022 | FilmFest, News & Events, Projects, Students

[This week the Learning Studio’s Nathan Driskell contributed a story featured on ACU News that we wanted to share.]

Ten short films representing the work of more than 70 ACU students premiered to a packed Paramount Theatre during ACU’s 18th annual FilmFest gala April 7. The teams behind this year’s submissions included students from 15 different majors from across campus. At the event, awards were given in 11 categories including writing, acting and cinematography.

It was the first time since 2019 the event was held at the historic downtown theater, which made the traditional black-tie gala a first for most in attendance. The pandemic forced changes of venue for the 2020 and 2021 events.

Read the full story on ACU News.

FilmFest premieres student films Under the Stars

Apr 10, 2021 | FilmFest, News & Events, Projects, Students

[This week the Learning Studio’s Nathan Driskell contributed a story featured on ACU News that we wanted to share.]

In an ordinary year, the Paramount Theatre in downtown Abilene would roll out the red carpet for ACU’s FilmFest Gala, the university’s annual student film competition, now in its 17th year. But this year was, of course, no ordinary one, and so the festival moved outside for ACU’s first-ever FilmFest: Under the Stars.

Last Friday night as the sun set behind the Tower of Light, students and faculty watched this year’s films in the Beauchamp Amphitheatre and cheered award winners in 13 categories for excellence in filmmaking.

Read the full story on ACU News.

FilmFest hosts its first live-streamed gala

May 11, 2020 | FilmFest, News & Events, Projects, Students

[This week the Learning Studio’s Nathan Driskell contributed a story to the ACU Today blog that we wanted to share.]

Six short films, representing months of work by more than 50 ACU students, were destined for a Paramount Theatre screening at the ACU FilmFest gala in early April. But when classes moved online in response to the coronavirus pandemic, so did FilmFest.   

On April 23, the gala, which typically draws a full house at the historic Abilene theatre, instead screened online during a specially produced livestream, premiering the year’s student film submissions in the first event of its kind in FilmFest’s 16-year history. The planning began in the Learning Studio, which has worked with FilmFest since 2011, but it soon included the help of staff and faculty members across the university to produce the 90-minute live broadcast.

Read the full story on ACU Today.

Student Highlights this Spring

May 11, 2018 | News & Events, Students

We’ve put the spotlight on faculty creativity this week but didn’t want to miss the chance to share some strong projects from some of our graduates this spring. Whether they were spending hours in the Media Lab perfecting an illustration or they were attending advanced media training in Stage 1, students of all majors this semester took advantage of the tools, spaces, and training on offer in the Learning Studio to produce work that they could be truly proud of.

“All ACU students should take advantage of the Learning Studio regardless of their major. Learning how to create and share ideas has made me a better social worker, but it has also made me a more effective communicator. The AT&T Learning Studio is a prime example of ACU’s commitment to innovative learning.”  – Hannah Sims

The Learning Studio helped these graduating seniors and grad students leave campus with the skills to share stories with the world that matter. We can’t wait to see what these creators do next!

Student Projects

Year-Round short film
John Greer (senior, Multimedia)

We were excited to have 13 student films premiere at FilmFest this year, but one film caught our eye. For his 4th consecutive FilmFest, John Greer wrote and directed Year-Round. He also shot his film on one of our Canon 6D DSLR cameras with carefully composed shots that won the Best Cinematography award this year. You can find more winners from this year or John’s previous films on the FilmFest blog.

Wichita Mountains photos
Nicholas Cromwell (senior, Accounting)

In short afternoon training or weekend workshops, students are developing more confidence with their cameras. Nick has been doing the important work of any photographer–shooting as much as possible–and taking pictures wherever and whenever he is is paying off. Over spring break he kept shooting with friends on some hikes in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, and this last year his portfolio landed him a job shooting for The Optimist. 

Fostering Brighter Futures video
Hannah Sims (grad student, Social Work)

This spring Hannah worked with the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards on a video project to improve perceptions around foster parenting. She filmed the spots in the One Button Studio and finished them with skills she picked up in Social Work classes producing media assignments. It’s exciting to see how skills developed for one project build the confidence to try the next one. Read more about Hannah’s project on the ACU Today blog.

ARAMARK Employee Appreciation video
Abbie Hamilton (senior, Marketing)

Lots of the projects we see are connected to media projects in classes, so it was fun to see Abbie’s music video produced with the staff of the World Famous Bean. The playful look of the project hides just how much work went into the editing, sound, and on-screen titles. Great way to end of the semester!

Outer Space infographic
Christi Lim (senior, Graphic Design)

As they approach graduation, graphic designers take a portfolio class where they get ready to share their best work with future employers. Christi spent hours in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop this semester polishing work like her infographics on the solar system and Frank Lloyd Wright for Ryan Feerer’s Information Graphics class. See the final product in more detail.

Dead Day Karaoke

May 7, 2018 | Featured Video, News & Events

We love rock ’n’roll, and what better way to celebrate the final countdown before you beat it than by showing the campus your true colors.

This Dead Day, we’ll host 1980s video karaoke upstairs in the Learning Studio, filmed in glorious Standard Definition. All you need is a USB thumb drive and a favorite song from any decade (air guitar and backup dancers optional).

We’ll kick things off with some rock star professors who are bringing big vocals and big hair back into fashion, so stay tuned.

We know it’s a manic Monday, but we’ll be rocking upstairs in the library, with or without you.
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Don’t Adjust Your Set

For the week we’ve upgraded the High Definition video you expect from the One Button Studio in Stage 1 with an old-school VHS camcorder to capture all your 1980s moves in glorious Standard Definition (that’s SD instead of HD). So if the recordings we’re sharing this week look a little funny, just pop in a videocassette mixtape of your favorite MTV music videos and sing along.

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Faculty Highlights