Exuberance is contagious, and Remo Williams from The Beat 94.5 brought a boat-load with him when he came to talk with our students in Broadcasting for Radio & Television.

Remo started his radio career in Brandon, Manitoba and hosted the Remo Rant at CKMM in Winnipeg before moving to Vancouver in 2005.

Remo talked about diving into this industry headfirst, and that you have to attack to get what you want. Be aggressive. Be passionate. Ask questions. And don't forget to give a little back. After all, what goes around comes around. Thanks Remo for giving back to Columbia Academy @ VanArts!

If you are interested in a career in broadcasting, sign up today for our Workshop & Open House on Feb 25!  Scholarships also available for our upcoming March start date, so contact us for details.

On Wednesday, January 25th, VanArts was excited to welcome Recruiter Maggie Lee and Recruiting Supervisor Joe Caggiano from Rhythm & Hues Studios to give a presentation to our students & staff.  The award-winning studio from Los Angeles has opened a branch in Vancouver and is busy gearing up for full production.  Maggie and Joe showed us production reels from their feature films, talked about how to apply to their studio, and took many great questions from our students in Character Animation, Game Art & Design and Visual Effects.

A big thanks to Rhythm & Hues for taking the time to spend with us here at VanArts!

VanArts was very glad to receive a visit today by local VFX studio Image Engine's Recruiting Coordinator Jimmy Ockey along with Roto Lead Jackie Mills, who came in to interview our senior VFX students and a few recent graduates.

Image Engine has visited our school on several occasions to give presentations and information on how to apply to their studio, and we are very proud to have this strong relationship with them.

Thanks for spending time with our students as they prepare for the industry!

Related Stories:

Image Engine Visits VFX Students

Endorsement from Head of Image Engine Studio

VanArts was pleased to receive another visit today from Anne Denman, Director of Human Resources & Recruitment for DHX Media.  Formerly known as Studio B Productions, the DHX studio in Vancouver is one of the top animation studios in town, where several of our past graduates have been lucky to find employment. Anne spoke to our students today and answered questions about how to network and apply for jobs in the industry. 

Thanks Anne for taking the time to spend with our animation students!

Related Stories:

Visit from Studio B (2010)

Animation Grad at Studio B - Stephanie Mahoney

Animation Grad at Studio B - Augusto Kapronczai

VanArts is very proud to have recently contributed our skills and resources to help promote Project Limelight Society, a new organization that has developed an artistic community program for youth living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.  Their vision is to support kids as they pursue their passion and education in the performing arts.

Project Limelight was founded by sisters Donalda Weaver and Maureen Webb  (pictured above, left to right, with Board Member Carmen Amos), who each have substantial experience as Casting Directors for our local film & theatre industries.  Maureen has been connected with our Acting Department through the William Davis Centre for many years, and through this connection she was introduced to key members of our Digital Photography department: Program Director Christa LeCraw, Studio Manager Jeff Bell, and DSLR Video Instructor Scott Hastings.  These three joined forces to direct and produce promotional videos for Project Limelight in our professional top-floor studio space overlooking the Vancouver skyline.

A top-notch line-up of actors, musicians, politicians, and various professionals across many industries were brought into the studio to be filmed for this project, including Vancouver Park Board Chair Constance Barnes, legendary folk-singer Valdy and his daughter, actress Chelah Horsdal (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Supernatural) Sweatshop Union hip-hop artist Kyprios, D.O.A's Joe Keithley, and actors Cory Monteith (Glee, Final Destination 3), Kacey Rohl (V, Red Riding Hood), and William Davis Centre at VanArts alumnus Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica, The Bridge), along with many others.

Here is one of the videos that was produced by our VanArts team:

We also produced a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, with cinematography by Andy Matheson, a part-time student from our DSLR Video Production course.

Huge thanks to everyone who made this production possible!

Read more about Project Limelight, see more videos, and offer your support to them by visiting http://www.projectlimelightsociety.org/

This past weekend from November 10-12 saw the final performance project for our full-time Acting students at the Havana Theatre, "Sunday on the Rocks," a two-act comedy by Theresa Rebeck.  Poster for the play was designed by our Digital Photography student Jens Kristian Balle.

This performance was directed by Mel Tuck, a highly regarded pioneer of Canadian theatre, a director of international reputation and an innovator in theatre training technique and philosophy. Mel's thirty-five year history of directing, teaching and performing in Canadian theatre is extensive, including artistic directorship of three companies, thirteen years as administrative director of Ryerson's acting program and national recognition in the form of three ACTRA and two Etrog (Genie) nominations. 

For our actors Avery Crane, Alexis Lundergan, Samica Poon, and Tamara Williamson, this was a fantastic opportunity and an amazing performance.  Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy the show! 

VanArts was proud to be a participant and exhibitor in the annual CREATIVEMIX Conference again this year, on November 3rd at the Roundhouse Community Centre.

CREATIVEMIX is a professional development conference for both emerging and established creative professionals, entrepreneurs and artists of all kinds, bringing them together in an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration.  A big thanks to coordinators Corwin Hiebert and Eileen Rothe for putting on another inspiring event! 

(Above Conference Photos: Jeremy Lim)

At the VanArts booth, guests were invited to get their photo taken in front of our green-screen, later to be composited into our army of VanBots!  Photos were entered into a contest and our selected winners are featured below for best group, couple and single photos.

Check out all the photos at  Facebook and  Flickr

Check out our blog post here from last year's CREATIVEMIX 2010.

For more information on the conference, visit creativemix.ca.

Congratulations to 2011 Digital Photography graduate Kira Oujonkova (pictured below with her instructors Kaj Svensson and Ian McGuffie) for landing a job as the official photographer for TEDxCapU, a local independent TEDx event being hosted at Capilano University tomorrow, Nov. 5th!

TEDx is all about changing Technology, Expectations and Demographics, where Vancouver’s movers and shakers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and distinguished guests will come together to share ideas, uncover possibilities and stretch brains.

Kira says, "I am very excited to be an official photographer for TED which has been a source of inspiration for me over the last few years."

UPDATE: Check out Kira's photos from the event HERE!

Also check out Kira's latest fashion shoot on her blog.

kiraoujonkova.com

Students in the Broadcasting for Radio & TV program from Columbia Academy @ VanArts welcomed Promotions Guru Crosby McWilliam yesterday for a guest lecture.  Crosby started his career as a copywriter and now is creative cheerleader at Astral Radio in Vancouver.  He is the brains, muscle and heart behind the "Gold Digger" contest and the incredible "Fake Film Festival" at Virgin.

Crosby dropped by to talk with the students about what it takes to work in the busy Promotions Department of a major radio station and how to brainstorm those big contest ideas that get everyone talking.

You can listen in to our students LIVE from 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm Monday to Friday at VanArtsBroadcasting on Ustream.

It's not your typical Monday at VanArts today (or is it?), as our students and staff are getting into the Halloween spirit while they continue their studies.

Check out more photos on Facebook!