Adobe Systems Inc. announced that it is sponsoring the American Pavilion Student Filmmaker Program at the Cannes Film Festival, May 17 through May 28, 2006. Students representing 30 film schools in North America, the U.K., India and South Africa will be paired with professional filmmakers and instructors to create documentaries on their experience at Cannes using the Adobe Production Studio, Macromedia Flash and Macromedia Studio 8. Documentaries will be broadcast daily on the Adobe.com website.
During a three-day orientation 60 students will be trained on Adobe's desktop digital video and audio tools, matched with mentors and broken into 15 collaborative teams. The teams will produce a three-minute broadcast reporting on the Cannes film festival, a five-minute documentary about their experience and a motion logo for the American Pavilion Student Filmmaker Program. Adobe will also offer students access to leading filmmakers who have used Adobe products for their Cannes submissions with daily lectures from the Pavilion.
The best student collaborative team projects will be recognized at an "It's a Wrap Party" at the end of the Film Festival. Members from SAGIndie, the Screen Actors Guild's program for outreach to independent producers, will judge student films in four categories best broadcast, best animation logo for the program, best special effects and titling and best in show documentary. Documentaries will automatically be entered into the 2007 Adobe Design Achievement Awards student competition. Additional information on the awards is available at www.adobe.com/education/adaa.
"Students have embraced digital filmmaking and understand the creative potential unleashed by today's powerful digital video technologies," said Jim Guerard, vp of web and video products for Adobe. "As digital video becomes even more pervasive across the Internet and mobile platforms, student filmmakers can look forward to delivering their creative work to new audiences, unavailable to previous generations. We look forward to viewing the work of these talented storytellers during Cannes Film Festival."
Adobe selected professional filmmakers and instructors to participate on the faculty for the program and to mentor to the students. The faculty includes David Chai, San Jose State University; Jim Kenney, California College of Art; Kathy Smith, University of Southern California; and Bun Lee of Vancouver Film School. Past Adobe Design Achievement Awards winners and finalists Yibi Hu of Kingston University; and Khayalethus Mtshali from the Brand Communication School in South Africa will be student participants in the program; and Eric Finkelman and Evan Schoonmaker of Original City Pictures and alumni of the School of the Visual Arts will serve as industry mentors.
In the American Pavilion, Adobe will also provide a Daily Adobe Reel Ideas Studio, showcasing film, animation and broadcast finalist and winners of the 2005 Adobe Design Achievement Awards. Adobe will host daily lectures on film and animation techniques using Production Studio, Flash and Studio 8. Students will also have the opportunity to practice pitching ideas for future films and documentaries with visitors to the Pavilion during daily "Pitchfests."
For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
