Art Institute of Philadelphia

I was invited to be an evaluator in the portfolio review session at the Art Institute last night. Along with several faculty members, I had the opportunity to review the work of eight students in a session that ran from 6:00 to 10:00pm.

The students showed no fewer than three, and as many as five, clips. Some were countdown clips that ran for less than ten seconds, while the longest went for about two minutes. We provided written notes to the students, then spoke to them directly about their videos. Some of the students enrolled in the Art Institute directly from high school, while others were "adult learners", looking to enter the world of professional video as a new career.

One student's work really stood out from the others. Jonathan DeMuth's work was, for the most part, on a par with nearly anything I've seen from professionals. All the other students showed tremendous potential, which bodes well for our industry.

There was one scene in particular that amused me. One student included wedding clips in his montage. There was a scene of a bride coming down the stairs at her parent's home. Because it was shot from a low, side angle, and because the bride wore a strapless gown, we could see beneath her arms. This bride had gone to the trouble of getting a tan, but had neglected the white skin under her arms. So the lesson is that you'll never know the angles from which you'll be seen at a wedding. If you're tanning, make sure that you tan evenly.

The experience overall was not unlike the Artistic Achievement Awards program we have at the 4EVER Group. The production elements being evaluated were quite similar, and opinions were offered by several professionals. In the awards competition, you win or you don't. In these evaluations, you pass or fail.

I want to thank Craig Do'Vidio from the Art Institute for inviting me to participate. It was a real honor.