A tribute to UNCSA

Music by founder Vittorio Giannini (sung by Mario Lanza)

Video from films made by UNCSA alumni David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Aaron Katz, Peter Hedges

A letter to Vittorio Giannini

Mr. Giannini,

I am currently wrapping up trimester one of year one at UNCSA, the school which you of course founded. Suffice to say I am pleased here, and feel very comfortable. The people here are intelligent, and, most of all interesting. This school is a fertile ground for artists. Of course I love my friends from back home, and always will, but back there, for the most part, people didn't have the deep passion for the arts, especially not my major, cinema. Whereas at home my parents discouraged watching so many films, here the teachers repeatedly insist we do. An arts school is truly an environment to which I belong, so thank you for that.

You fought to establish UNCSA, because it was what you believed in. Since I attend here, I am obligated to have the same drive. I need to fight to make the films I want to make, to stay true to whatever vision I might have, no matter how out-there or uncommercial it may be. You have left a legacy of refusal to compromise, so I'd like to follow in it.

Finally, something else that caught my attention when I read about you. Musically, you have been described as a neo-classicist, taking your influence from composers of the Romantic era, particularly Wagner. I also think it's important to look back in terms of one's art form. While I doubt I'll be neo-classicist, per se, in my filmmaking, I know that it is important to watch the classics. Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford - directors who helped write the cinematic vocabulary. A good artist should think in terms of the past, the present, and the future.

I don't know for sure, what any of the other schools I applied to would be like to attend, but I can safely say I am happy here, and think that UNCSA will nurture me as an artist. So good work, Mr. Giannini.

-Spencer Lucas

Final video project

Here is the completed video project I discussed in the last post. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out although I fear the voiceover may be a tad difficult to understand. This was a fun creative process, but not much of a learning process, because I have done plenty of editing before so it was relatively familiar. However, this was my first time doing one for a digital media class, so therein lied the new experience. Despite initial inclination, I avoided a droll lecture, and I hope that my attempt at giving it personality and fun was successful.

Video Assignment

At first I attempted to write a script in which I lecture my thoughts about digital media. But then I had a change of heart. I figured I could do a lot better with this assignment if I thought outside the box. Rather than lecturing about digital media, I decided to cut together a parody trailer using old horror films, for a new horror film about the most terrifying monster of all - The Internet! Of course I do not fear the internet, or I would not be typing this right now. What I intend to do is parody the mindset many of the older generation have - that the internet is strange, alien, harmful, a waste of time, making our kids stupid. By spoofing this paranoia I hope to call attention to its silliness.

A mixed bag

That term applies very well to digital media, and the series of articles I've read this week enforces that. The pros and cons must be weighed. For example, communication is at an all-time high, but attention span is suffering. That's why it's impossible to call digital media simply "good" or "bad." My personal opinion of digital media is this: like any form of media, it is a tool, and like any tool, it must be used correctly in order to be a positive force. Since digital media is a relatively new commodity, we are still learning how to do so.

Is digital media bad for us?

Saying that digital media is a "bad" thing would be oversimplifying a complicated issue. Digital media surely changes the landscape of modern art and communication, but it can't be so easily classified in such black-and-white terms as "good" or "bad." The consensus of the educated is that digital media is a double-edged sword. It is "good" in that it allows for faster sharing of information all around the globe, which gives greater access to potentially valuable info. Digital media is "bad" in its narcotic power of addiction, that causes us to lose touch with reality because we are so hooked in. I'm glad websites such as YouTube allow me to share my videos. I think we must take advantage of digital media's pluses without getting sucked in too deep. We cannot let ourselves lose touch with face-to-face conversation, or books mad of paper and ink instead of 1's and 0's. If we strike the right balance between the two worlds, we can make digital media work in our favor.