Senior cinema major Emily Robinson will attend the Fusion Arts Exchange program in Los Angeles for five weeks. Robinson was selected from a wide field of applicants as one of five American undergraduate students to participate with 15 international students in writing and production workshops at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
The program is being sponsored by the Bureau ofEducational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. In additionto the four weeks of workshops, seminars, screenings and tours, the group willtake an educational bus trip up the coast of California to San Francisco, andthen fly to Washington, D.C., for the final few days. The program runs from July7 to Aug. 15.
“I think mycross-cultural experience growing up probably helped set me apart (from some ofthe other candidates),” says Robinson, who grew up in Germany. “The programwill be really challenging for the international students, and I understandwhat they are experiencing. I am looking forward to being with a group ofinternational students and serving as a good liaison person.”
So, what is she looking forward to the most?
“It’s a toss up between the amazing course content withstate of the art equipment and technology at USC, and experiencing not only theCalifornia film industry first hand, but also California itself,” she says. “Thetours and cultural experiences included in the program are fantastic.”
The international students are from Egypt, France, ThePhilippines, Mexico and Lebanon. The four other US educational institutionsrepresented are UC-Berkeley, the University of Oklahoma, Wake Forest andCalarts.
The program’slectures, tutorials and workshops are divided into three components: screen writing, directing/producing(including learning how to stage and direct scenes, how to work with actors anda tutorial with the Avid editing equipment) and the study of American film.
In additionto the classroom activities, the students will visit a working television orfilm set, take a studio tour and a make a trip to one of the leading visualeffects companies. Evening screenings and special seminars are also planned.
Theeducational tour includes visits to the Pacific Film Archives in Berkeley, toAlcatraz and to the Hearst Castle. While in San Francisco, the students willvisit PIXAR, Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light and Magic, the last two beingpart of the George Lucas companies.