The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce held its 60th annual Winter Park Christmas Parade this past weekend, and Full Sail took part in the celebration. The school’s festively-decorated float was designed and built by the Show Production and Set Design teams, and featured lights, giant snowflakes, and a live “Full Sail Band” performing atop of it. (The band was made up of Full Sail faculty and staff members Brad Thompson, Dave Franko, Rick Horne, Tim Gregory, and David Gibbs). About 150 other Full Sailors and their family members, decked out in red and green, walked alongside the float and handed out toys to children in the crowd. Check out pictures of the float and parade in the gallery below.

All week, 11 local Orlando bands will be visiting our flagship recording studio the Audio Temple to record interpretations of songs from Beck’s new album Song Reader, which was released only as sheet music. Advanced Session Recording Course Director Darren Schneider is producing and engineering these songs with the help of Recording Arts students, while instructors and students from the Film program are documenting the performances.

The final three performances from the Song Reader Project are below.

Rubox Cube. You probably haven’t heard too many Beck songs beat-boxed before, but vocal percussionist Rubox Cube did just that (with the help of a loop pedal) during his take on “Sorry.”

Andy Matchett & the Minks. This rock band known around town for their energetic live shows put their spin on “Heaven’s Ladder.”

The Mud Flappers. Orlando Weekly readers have voted the Mud Flappers the best folk act in town for the past two years. Here the group adds some banjo, accordion, and more to Beck’s song, “I’m Down.”

We just found out about a recent project that Full Sail Film department faculty, students, and grads were involved with: the music video shoot for singer-songwriter Adaku‘s debut single, “Or You Can.” The Nigerian-born Afro-Soul singer was featured last summer on YouTube Music’s “Fresh Faces” channel, and her debut album will be released this year.

The music video, which was just released last week, was shot on location around Orlando and on Full Sail’s backlot last November. It was directed by Olajide Ajala, a 2011 Full Sail Film grad. Seventeen Full Sail students, four grads, and four faculty members worked on the shoot. Check out the video below.

Six Full Sail alumni are headed to Rio de Janiero this April to serve as keynote speakers for the CG Extreme conference hosted by Brazilian media arts school Grupo Seven. The event is designed to showcase the latest trends in digital media, and these grads were selected to share their expertise in film, television, video games, and music.

Among them is Cordy Rierson, 1993 Film graduate, Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee, and executive producer at Microsoft Studios. As she explains, Brazil has seen steady growth in their computer graphics and entertainment industries, and she’s excited to learn more about the innovative work being produced by their artists.

“I’m looking forward to attending CG Extreme to get a sense of the industry there,” says Cordy. “Brazil has been rapidly developing in this space and I hope to learn from those on the ground how that is shaping up, and what it is doing for their economy. There could be great opportunities that come out of this.”

This will be the first trip to Brazil for many members of the alumni group, which also includes 2002 Computer Animation grad Nathaniel Howe. As creative director for Los Angeles design agency Nathaniel James, he explained his interest in discovering new inspiration while getting a better understanding of the culture.

“I am excited to be able to experience the colors and beauty of the country,” Nathaniel says. “Brazil has produced a lot of beautiful work and I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the country and connect with its artists. I am most excited to interact with the people, to hear what they are passionate about.”

The CG Extreme conference will be held at Citibank Hall in Rio de Janeiro on April 27 and 28, with tickets available on Grupo Seven’s website. The six Full Sail alumni scheduled to speak during the two-day event are:

• Laurie Brugger (2000 Computer Animation graduate; 2011 Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee) Laurie is a senior rigger at Framestore in London, England, where her credits have included Captain America: The First Avenger, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Where the Wild Things Are.
• Chance Glasco (2001 Computer Animation graduate; 2012 Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee) Chance is a senior animator at Infinity Ward, and has worked on Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
• Nathaniel Howe (2002 Computer Animation graduate) Nathaniel is creative director and partner at Nathaniel James, and has helped produce music videos, commercials, and films for clients like Pepsi, Disney, Microsoft, MTV, Ford, ABC, and Universal Pictures.
• Sebastian Krys (1991 Recording Arts graduate; 2009 Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee) Sebastian is a multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY-winning producer and engineer. He has worked on acclaimed projects alongside artists like Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Carlos Vives, Ricky Martin, and Luis Fonsi.
• Cordy Rierson (1993 Film graduate; 2009 Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee) Cordy has worked in both film and gaming, and is currently an executive producer at Microsoft Studios. Her credits include movies like Independence Day, and the games Silent Hill: Homecoming and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
• Jayson Whitmore (1997 Recording Arts graduate, 1998 Film graduate, 1999 Digital Media graduate; 2009 Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee) Jayson is the creative director/founder of Royale, and has done work for clients like Nike, Apple, Madonna, Diesel, VH1, McDonalds, Nickelodeon, and Kodak.

Get back in the swing of things after Spring Break by checking out one of these events happening on and around campus this week.

Monday:

• Watch an acoustic performance from alternative rock band Paper Tongues then stick around for a Q&A session about the music industry. More details. (RSVP) 

Tuesday:

• The Florida Film Festival is happening all this week and Full Sail is the event’s primary sponsor. If you have the time, go see one of the films Full Sail faculty and grads worked on, or watch as Film Program Director Anne Watters introduces The Sting, the festival’s Popcorn Flick in the Park. More details.

Wednesday:

• The Florida Film Festival comes to campus for the “Anatomy of a Short Film” Panel, where Full Sail faculty members will discuss the short film genre. More details.
• Ken Maruyama from Sony Pictures Imageworks will share his demo reel tips and talk to students about VFX internship opportunities with Sony. More details. (RSVP)

Thursday:

• Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton will talk to students about his career and his animation process. More details. (RSVP)
• The 1989 Robin Williams flick Dead Poets Society is the featured film during this month’s Movie Night in the Library. More details. (RSVP)

Friday:

• Over at the Enzian, Film Program Director Anne Watters will moderate the Florida Film Festival’s “Perseverance: Women in the Industry” panel. More details.

Sometimes success is all about being in the right place at the right time. Nothing could be more true of Bryan Reilly’s amazing rock ‘n’ roll ride over the past decade, but add to the serendipity one more special ingredient: talent. Sure, it’s helped to be asked to audition for Ty Stone, and to get to record with superstars like Bruce Springsteen and Kid Rock, but that’s not all luck; Bryan kills on the drums.

It all started at a Detroit Guitar Center store where Bryan worked part-time when he moved back to Michigan after graduating from our Recording Arts and Entertainment Business programs. “While I was working there I got into teaching, and it turned out that the parents of one of my students owned a recording studio [Harmonie Park] downtown,” Bryan says. “I worked [there] for two years part-time, until I was promoted to chief engineer in 2010. I left Guitar Center, but a few months later a friend I had worked with there offered me an audition for Ty Stone’s band. Their current drummer had other obligations and wasn’t able to tour, so I went up against eight other guys with four days to rehearse, killed it and got the gig.”

In 2011, he played drums for Ty Stone (signed to Atlantic Records) and did over 40 sold out shows across the country. “We played everywhere from Detroit’s Ford Field and Comerica Park, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Chicago’s United Center, the Kid Rock Cruise and many more,” Bryan says.

Bryan moved on from Harmonie Park in August 2012 and joined RMS Sound Studios in Birmingham, Michigan, where he currently resides. Most recently he has spent the past few months finishing up work on Stewart Francke’s newest record, Love Implied, on which he is not just playing drums and guitars, but also producing, engineering, and mixing. Bryan was previously considered for a Grammy nomination in 2011 for his work on Francke’s collaboration with Bruce Springsteen, “Summer Soldier (Holler If Ya Hear Me).”

“I am also currently working on Ty Stone’s new record, which is really a mix of all styles of music. It sounds really hip and modern with influences from old rock ‘n’ roll and soul music,” Bryan says. “I am engineering, co-producing, mixing, playing drums, bass, guitars, mandolin, piano. We are hoping to release it on Atlantic Records later in 2013.”

In between these big-budget recording and touring gigs, Bryan is still finding time to return to what really inspires him: Detroit’s ever-vibrant new-rock scene. “Ty and I also started our own independent record label called Minor Label Records, based out of RMS,” he says. “I’m working with Kaleido, a Detroit rock band with killer musicians and a great female front singer – producing and engineering their new record. We are trying to give people a shot and build a community in Detroit where everyone works together and helps each other out.”

We’re about halfway through our #MyBlueprint Instagram Contest, where we’ve been asking you to submit photos via Instagram of your “blueprint,” the items you consider to best describe your life in one photo. We’ve already received more than 200 entries – check out a few of the coolest ones we’ve seen so far:

@lilmagnificent

@trentarant

@jennapiphanie

@hertzfelt

@djkwest15

@aliciaoshea

If you haven’t entered yet already, you still can by uploading your picture to Instagram and including the hashtag #MyBlueprint. One winner will be chosen at random on Friday, May 31, and Friday, June 7, and each will receive a prize pack which includes a Full Sail drawstring bag packed with a Full Sail T-shirt, Full Sail sunglasses, $40 Steam gift card, $25 iTunes gift card, and a $20 gift card to The HangR. Also on June 7, two grand prize winners will be chosen at random and will receive the prize pack already mentioned, plus a Full Sail backpack and copies of Lincoln and Django Unchained on DVD and Bioshock Infinite on Xbox. One entry per person is allowed, and the contest is open to the public (age 13 and up). If you’ve already entered, you’re sill eligible to win in the upcoming giveaways. Check out fullsailblog.com/myblueprint for more entries.

Last week’s Game Project Final Presentations featured three student games with three very different premises. There’s one that takes place in the future, one where you play as a forest animal, and one where you’re a robot fighting robots. Whichever you prefer, check out details on each of them below along with a link to download and play them.

In the first-person shooter game Eris (created by Team Avalanche), players must protect their futuristic station against an army of alien insectoids. The player, decked out in a space suit, has a Blaster rifle and can also use the surrounding environment to shoot at switches and other objects to slow or destroy enemies.

UnNatural Selection (created by Team Mustachios) is a colorful third-person hack and slash game where your character is a forest animal with an axe. You must kill all of the other forest animals so you can get to the top of the food chain.

ERROR (created by Team Lounge Tigers) is a fast-paced arcade shooter game where up to four players assume the role of robots and have to fight off hordes of enemy robots. There are three levels of enemy and environmental opposition, each one of them ending with a battle against a robot boss.

These games were created by Game Art, Game Development, and Game Design Master’s students from May’s graduating class. As part of their final game project, they had to present a demonstration of the game in the Full Sail Live Venue last week. To see more screenshots, watch those demos, or download and play each of the games, head to Full Sail University’s Game Project Web Portal.

Mobile games have been around for awhile now (who didn’t love Snake?),  but the possibilities of the medium only really began to blossom with the advent of smart phones, touch screens, and tablets. With new technology broadening the scope of gaming on the go, the past few years have seen developers make real strides in the field of interactive entertainment.

“The mobile game industry has exploded, and there’s been some great recent releases,” says Jeremiah Blanchard, Game Development Department Chair. “It’s not as big as the home console industry yet, but I’d be very surprised in the long term if it doesn’t hit that point. People are still exploring the interface and discovering new ways to apply it for gaming.”

Blanchard went on to give us his picks for the top five modern games that best showcase recent trends in the industry, have attracted new players, and paved the way for future innovation in mobile development.

•  Angry Birds (2009) – Does it really need explanation? It made a huge splash by being accessible, challenging, and fun.
• Insaniquarium (2004) – Notable as a sandbox game (and for being ADDICTING).
• Puzzle Dragon (2012) –  A dungeon and puzzle combo game; wildly successful. One of the highest selling mobile games ever.
• Where’s My Water (2011) – A puzzle game from a major company with characters developed explicitly for it; written explicitly and only for mobile platforms. Also notable for drawing children and adults into the mobile puzzle space – and it’s fun too.
• Words with Friends (2009) – One of first games to effectively use multiplayer in the casual mobile space.

Other notable games to consider: Bonsai Blast, Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja

Rhyan Michele Adams is a presence both on stage and off. Since earning her Entertainment Business Masters degree in 2010 she has started her own South Carolina production company, Cineman Shots Inc, while continuing to grow her own career as a live performer – most recently with “The Ultimate Thriller: ‘The’ Michael Jackson Tribute.”

The musical hit the road in 2012 and was produced under the guidance of LaVelle Smith, choreographer and principle dancer for three of Jackson’s world tours. During the show a revolving cast recreates iconic moments from the pop star’s history as a music innovator, with Rhyan performing hits from his Jackson 5 era. A longtime fan, she checked in with us recently to share her experiences from the past year of singing his classics across the country.

“It’s surreal still, it took awhile for it to soak in for me,” Rhyan says. “You’ve got thousands of people and they’re there to see you – how cool is that? It’s the closest thing you can get to a Michael Jackson concert considering he’s no longer here with us. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

The next date for The Ultimate Thriller is scheduled for September 21 in Dallas, Texas, with more shows expected this fall. You can keep an eye on their website for additional details.

It’s a busy week at Full Sail, leading up to Graduation on Friday. Check out all of the details on the events happening on campus below, including lectures and Q&A sessions from guest speakers working in the sports production and music industries, final presentations, and more.

Tuesday:

• Grads in the New York City area can catch up with each other during a free Alumni Networking Event at Bowlmor Lanes in Times Square. More details.

Wednesday:

• Learn about the world of live sports production during a guest presentation from Martin Porter and Jerry Gepner of the Sports Video Group. More details. (RSVP)

Thursday:

• Eyal Levi, a musician, producer, and the co-owner of Florida’s Audiohammer Studios, will speak to students about the realities of the music business. More details.
• A full day of final presentation showcases kicks off with the Digital Arts & Design September Grad Showcase in the Entertainment Business Auditorium. More details.
• Game Studies students will live demo their final game projects during the Game Project Final Presentations. More details.
• Back in the Entertainment Business Auditorium, graduating Web Design & Development students will present their final projects. More details.
• Final presentations end with GradFest, where graduating Film students will premiere their lighting projects and 16mm and 35mm films. More details.

Friday:

• Happy graduation!

Sunday:

• The Behind the Scenes tour is the best way for prospective students to tour campus, meet faculty, and get their admissions and financial aid questions answered. More details.

This October we’re celebrating “Horror Month” on the Full Sail Blog. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for a series of features and interviews celebrating the best in horror entertainment.

Everyone has their own favorite scary movies, but we recently checked in with one of our resident horror experts on staff for his recommendations on the best films to watch in the evenings leading up to Halloween. Michael Ferraro is the course director for our Literary Techniques and Storytelling class, as well as a contributing writer to the horror site Bloody Disgusting.

Mike sat down with us to give suggestions for hosting your own horror movie marathons this month – broken down into classic, modern, and cult picks. We kicked off Monday with classic horror favorites, followed it on Wednesday with contemporary horror, and finish the series today with his top five choices for cult horror films that are just a little outside the mainstream.

1. Audition (1999, dir: Takashi Miike)

Not since Hitchcock has a filmmaker crafted such a slow burn, tense nightmare about a widowed man trying to get himself back out there. The results are deeply disturbing.

2. Re-Animator (1985, dir: Stuart Gordon)

This inspired vision of the gross and strange takes an H.P. Lovecraft story and turns it up to 11.

3. Dead Alive (1992, dir: Peter Jackson)

Before he took us on a long journey through Middle Earth, director Peter Jackson was covering us with buckets of blood. This is his gory (and hilarious) masterpiece.

4. Let the Right One In (2008, dir: Tomas Alfredson)

Released the same year as Twilight, this quiet vampire tale not only terrifies, it’s actually touching as well. It also proves that having a vampire for a friend is a huge benefit to thwart bullying.

5. Zombie (1979, dir: Lucio Fulci)

Have you ever seen an underwater fight between a zombie and a shark? It’s just as glorious as you’d expect, as is the rest of this Italian answer to Dawn of the Dead.

This October we’re celebrating “Horror Month” on the Full Sail Blog. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for a series of features and interviews celebrating the best in horror entertainment.

Video game designers have been using horror themes to engage players since early Atari classics like Haunted House, which while built on primitive graphics and gameplay, still tapped into the essential elements of what scares us – the unknown.

Technology has given developers greater possibilities in immersing us in the macabre, and we recently spoke with horror fan and instructor Keyvan Acosta for his selections of the Top 5 Horror Video Games. Keyvan teaches the foundations of story and design as the course director for our Game Design I class, and has a deep appreciation for video games as a unique vehicle for horror.

Turn the lights off, crank the volume up, and try your hand at one of these classics of interactive terror.

1. Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games, 2010)

It asks you to ask more questions than it reveals, and that is unsettling. The thing about it is the unseen – with this game, it’s not obvious what’s haunting you or scaring you. It’s really about that thing that you thought you saw. It’s like the designers treat you like an adult, that is really interesting to me, and is what drives the spookiness.

2. Silent Hill 2 (Konami, 2001)

A genius game from start to finish because of the pacing and the atmosphere. Everything that happens in that game, the atmosphere of it is set up perfectly. You’re tense and you’re exploring something bizarre. Little by little they reveal what’s going on, but they also keep things from you, so it’s perfectly paced. The gravitas that they’re trying to get just works.

3. Resident Evil (Capcom, 1996)

The first Resident Evil game deals with tropes in a good way. It’s kind of tacky and corny, but at the turn of the corner you’re going to be attacked by zombies, or killed by dogs that jump out of a window. There’s a startling thing with Resident Evil. That’s something that game has that other games do poorly. You didn’t know what to expect, so getting startled by it became horror. It’s such a memorable experience.

4. The Room (Fireproof Games, 2012)

It has got an incredible ambiance that feels like Clive Barker or H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a 3D puzzle game and it feels like you’re playing with the box from the movie Hellraiser. There’s mysticism and the mythical aspect to it. It’s a game where you’re afraid to make choices, and that feeling is really powerful. You have to slowly piece it together, and it’s all told through story snippets. The style of it is so well done.

5. Deadly Premonition (Access Games, 2010)

Deadly Premonition is the type of horror game where your character is dealing with all of these fantastical elements, but it’s basically X-Files done scarier and sillier. It is similar to Alan Wake, which got a lot of attention, but this is a bit different because of the mix of humor and horror. It’s something I hope a lot more people take the time to play.

Also of note: Alan Wake (Remedy Entertainment, 2010), Limbo (Playdead, 2010), Metro 2033 (4A Games, 2010), The Stanley Parable (Davey Wredon, 2011), The Walking Dead (Telltale Games, 2012)

Working in different mediums (paint, pencil, clay, pixels) helps artists flex their creative muscles, but Associate Course Director Paul Waijman likes to throw one more material at his students: cardboard. During his two “Cardboard Days,” students studying Computer Animation and Game Art plan and design anything they like using only cardboard, glue, and paint.

The simplicity of the medium forces students in his Methods of Design class to really consider the form and function of their designs – in this lesson, there are no intricate illustrations or color schemes to hide behind, says Waijman.

“One of the main criteria that students are graded on, outside the actual sculpture itself, is the negative space that is created by the sculpture,” says Waijman. “It really relates to design in all forms, whether one is designing a character silhouette, an interesting environmental prop, or a series of poses for an animation. By creating a more dynamic relationship between the positive and negative space in any design, in general, the overall visual aesthetic is improved.”

The Cardboard Day assignment has produced some interesting pieces, says Waijman. “We have had everything from geometric pattern-based sculptures, to topographical breakdowns of natural formations, abstract representations of characters, and most recently, a [moving] robot.”

Our Year in Review series features the best of life at Full Sail in 2013, highlighting award-winning grads, popular student work, industry guests, and more. 

One of the things I enjoy most about writing for FullSailBlog is the array of topics that I get to cover. With 44 different degree programs, there’s always something new and different happening on campus, and I’ve definitely learned a lot this year, from what anosmia is to which video games have the best soundtracks. Of the two hundred-plus of posts I wrote in 2013, I’d say the three below are my favorite. (They are for today, at least. I’ll probably change my mind tomorrow.)

Is Projection Technology the Future of Design?
Talking with Digital Arts & Design grad Dylan Roscover was awesome; he’s doing so well for himself out in Los Angeles, and you can really tell he’s passionate about the projects he’s creating, like this projection design art installation, which I wrote about back in April. We’ll see where this projection technology heads in 2014…

6 Ways to Get a Wider Audience for Your Writing
When I’m not blogging, I write fiction, so this piece about how to promote your own writing was a personal favorite. Our Creative Writing for Entertainment faculty members are published authors themselves, so their advice is worth a read or two.

Horror Month: 5 Halloween Movies Without the Horror
I have no shame admitting I’m afraid of horror movies, so I didn’t mind sharing that confession on the blog back in October. A behind-the-scenes bonus: I spent an entire afternoon debating whether or not The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie, so I ended up leaving it off the list.

This month we’re spotlighting the Computer Animation program, focusing on the courses that make up the backbone of the curriculum that students learn across its 21 months.

One way to understand the different roles involved in the animation pipeline is to think of animated characters as puppets. Modelers and character riggers would be the puppet makers, building the characters and adding joints and controls to allow the puppets to move. Animators would be the puppeteers, actually bringing the puppets to life.

That’s a simplistic yet also illustrative analogy, says Ken Norman, Course Director for Character Rigging II within the Computer Animation degree program.

Character riggers, also sometimes called Character Technical Directors or Setup Artists, are the artists who give characters their “strings,” or the potential for movement.

“It’s basically putting the skeleton structure inside of the characters, giving them the potential for life. We’re not technically moving the characters, we’re giving you the ability to facilitate the motion,” explains Norman.

To do this, character riggers add a skeletal structure and controls, otherwise known as a “rig,” to a computer-generated model. At the basic level, riggers are adding joints for movement, but they’re also adding muscles, and making the skin, hair, fur, and cloth systems – anything that would help a character come to life.

“Every 3D model is built on geometry, so we’re taking points of the polygons, and we’re ‘mapping’ them to our skeleton,” says Norman. “We’re telling [the model] to follow certain aspects of our skeleton. In some cases, if they want to make it do certain things, they have to code it themselves using math-based expressions.”

Using the 3D animation software Maya, students first learn to create a skeleton or rig in Character Rigging I. In Character Rigging II, their job is to take the skeleton and make it manipulate the skin. This includes making the skin of their character “jiggle” and mimicking physical movements.

Character riggers are not just limited to animation; character riggers are used in films with stunts and visual effects and in the video game industry. They are considered the problem-solvers within the animation pipeline. And although the students work with a humanoid character, Norman is quick to point out that a character is anything an animator can bring to life – including a talking car, Pixar’s iconic lamp, even the writhing, squid-like beard on Captain Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

In the case of Davy Jones’ beard, for instance, the character rigger would have to study anatomy – “animals, squids, octopi, whatever is out there that’s related to what you’re doing,” says Norman. “They have to figure out how to make that move, and that would be where a character rigger would come in.”

The best artists, writers, filmmakers, game developers, and animators go to great lengths to infuse their work with realism. After all, coaxing an audience to get lost in the story is what it’s all about. In this series, we talk to professionals in the media and entertainment industries to find out some of the ways the pros go about making their work believable. 

The new military comedy Enlisted, about three brothers assigned to a backwater Army base, launched on the Fox network on Jan. 10. Although the show is obviously a farce, the producers are working hard to ensure it portrays military life with a fair amount of accuracy. For instance, the show hired military consultants for advice on realism and also sponsored a “spot the errors” giveaway aimed at members of the military, encouraging them to report an error in exchange for a promotional Enlisted coin.

Fox Social Media Producer Emily Murray works closely with the press and the casts of the shows she promotes, and she told us about the actors’ experience participating in a real Army boot camp. Emily, a Full Sail graduate, accompanied several of the Enlisted actors to a Texas Army base last fall.

“They were sent to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and I went to take photos and cover them while they were there. They had to go through boot camp training, they were woken up at 2 a.m. to get inspections, it was 100 degrees, and they were troopers out in the desert,” says Emily. “It was exciting to see,” she adds. “They understood what it takes to be in the military.”

Watch a webisode on the Enlisted actors’ experience at Fort Bliss.

If you’ve been looking for a place to dance, or if you’ve ever had an interest in learning hip hop, dancehall, contemporary, or a number of other styles, you’ll want to check out Full Sail’s new IntenCity Dance Club. Since last summer, the group has given students and faculty members the opportunity to meet for free dance classes.

IntenCity meets once a week at the nearby Center for Contemporary for Dance, where in exchange for members volunteering their services, the club is allowed to use studio space for free. An additional benefit to this volunteering, according to Aryana Joy Roberts, a Film student and one of the club’s co-founders, is that it has given several students the chance to gain experience in their chosen fields, including videography, social media, graphic design, and show production.

“IntenCity is unique in it being the first established performing arts/athletic-based Full Sail club,” says Christa Evans, the club’s faculty advisor. “They’ve even gone a step further and adopted a charity [the Center for Contemporary Dance] and established a mutually beneficial partnership with them.”

IntenCity Dance Club members

Members can volunteer and take weekly dance classes for fun, but if they’re more serious about dance, the club holds auditions to form smaller groups that perform at various events, including the recent Rage on the Runway Fashion Show and the 2013 Full Sail’s Got Talent showcase. In the future, the club hopes to host their own IntenCity Dance Showcase, but right now, they’re just focused on getting their name out there as Full Sail’s go-to Dance Group.

“If a fellow student needs dancers for a performance, we want them to think to contact us first,” says Aundrea Parsons, an Entertainment Business Master’s student and the club’s current president.

Students interested in the IntenCity Dance Club can join via Connect or by requesting access to the group’s Facebook page.

“I think our club is a fun, wacky bunch who share a love for dance,” says Aundrea. “I love that we’re from all over the world, from all different backgrounds, and that we’re able to provide students at Full Sail a fun outlet from our crazy day-to-day lives.”

We ran around like crazy during last week’s Fifth Annual Hall of Fame festivities, catching up with grads and inductees, interviewing industry guests, sitting in for as many panels as possible, and handing out Full Sail Hall of Fame gear to students. When everything was said and done we ended up with a lot of insightful (and random) notes, covering everything from career advice to what our grads are working on next. Check out some of our favorite #FullSailHOF Fun Facts below.

• Record labels are reinventing their roles in the music business. As the industry continues to adapt in the post-digital age, some companies are launching their own boutique labels. Hard Rock Records‘ Director of Music and Marketing James Buell spoke about a business model whose goal isn’t to score platinum plaques, but to develop new artists under a one-year contract that preps them for bigger labels while also strengthening Hard Rock’s brand.
• The first batch of Playstation 4 and Xbox One games only scratch the surface. During “The Greatest Console Generation?” panel 2012 Hall of Fame inductee Chance Glasco commented on the latest home consoles, explaining the initial launch lineup only hints at the great things on the horizon, explaining “The early games that come out are sort of generation 1.5, because we haven’t been able to tune our engines properly. In another year you’re going to see some really amazing games.”
• 2013 Hall of Fame Inductee Kim Alpert used to be a carpenter. Kim told students in her “Ask Me Anything” session that it was after her sister showed her how to use Illustrator that she decided to come to Full Sail to study Digital Media. Over a decade later, she’s the Founder/Creative Director at Make Amazing.
• Your Plan B should always be a variant of your Plan A. That piece of advice was just one of dozens dished out by 2010 Hall of Fame Inductees Leslie Brathwaite and Troy DeVolld during their “So You’ve Succeeded: Now What?” panel. We also found out the two friends are currently working on a book together.
• R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series is being adapted to film. We ran into Film grad and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Steve Cainas, who is currently working on the movie adaptation of R.L. Stine’s classic Goosebumps book series. The movie starts shooting this April in Atlanta, with Steve acting as production coordinator. Jack Black is set to star under the direction of Rob Letterman (Gulliver’s Travels, Shark Tale).
• Mixing engineers have an arsenal of creative tools they can draw upon in their sessions, meaning that they’re doing more than just adjusting volume levels. Many guests shed light on their process inside the studio, including 2005 Recording Arts graduate/producer/mixer/engineer Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young. Swivel walked through a live mixing session of Beyonce’s “I Care,” demonstrating how sending her backup vocals through an Amplitube guitar amp plug-in created the illusion of a smoking guitar solo that perfectly doubled her melodic runs.
• You could be on “Real Rob,” Rob Schneider’s new television show. During a conversation with students, the actor and director shared that “Real Rob” will be casting locally in Orlando. He also mentioned that students interested in working behind the scenes may have the chance to do so as well. “Real Rob” will filming its eight episodes on Full Sail’s soundstages beginning next month.
• The man who designed Full Sail’s Studio A also designed Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios. In Robert Margouleff’s discussion about his pioneering synthesizer collaborations with Stevie Wonder in the ‘70s, he mentioned that the sessions began in New York at Electric Lady. The studio was the first to designed by legendary architect and acoustician John Storyk, who also, Margouleff said, designed the first studio here at Full Sail. Storyk, of course, has gone on to head up the design and construction of many more studios (he’s a founding partner of Walters-Storyk Design Group), including Bearsville, and private studios for the likes of Jay Z and Bruce Springsteen, so it was great to hear about his Full Sail connection.
• Reality television show writers are called “story producers.” Technically, a “reality” TV show isn’t supposed to have writers, even though they do. 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Troy DeVolld laid out the hierarchy of a reality television production staff during “The Specialized World of TV Writing Panel,” while other guests talked about writing for sitcoms, dramas, documentaries, and animated cartoon programs.
• You don’t say “They’re in the bathroom” when a production tech asks “Where’s the talent?” We thought we were giving a straightforward answer to a straightforward question, but we ended up learning that you say “they’re in makeup,” because nobody wants to picture talent in the bathroom, apparently.

So, what’s the most interesting thing you learned during the Fifth Annual Hall of Fame Week? Let us know in the comments!

-Amy Cassell, Jason Ferguson, James Gregory, Sean Kantrowitz

In FSBlog’s Just Launched feature, we talk to brand new Full Sail graduates, right out the door from graduation, about what’s next for them as they head out in the workforce. This month’s Just Launched graduate is Chris Hunt.

Name: Chris Hunt

Degree Program: Sports Marketing & Media (Online)

Graduation Date: March 7, 2014

First Job: I started this Monday [March 10] as an Inside Sales Consultant with the Charlotte Bobcats NBA franchise here in North Carolina. I’m selling suite tickets and season ticket packages by talking directly to prospective customers on the phone and giving them arena tours. My degree is definitely going to help me – even though I’m not directly marketing a product, I’m selling it, and the Sports Marketing & Media program has made me more prepared to make that product appealing to the customer.

How You Got Your Foot in the Door: I’ve been interning with the Bobcats since September in the Community Relations department, which has involved promoting the Charlotte Bobcats organization outside of the arena. We were working on a program called Dunk Hunger, where anyone who donated cereal (which we brought to a food bank) was entered into a raffle for courtside seats. Apparently I was selling the raffle tickets quite well and someone in sales took notice and asked my supervisor if they could approach me. They asked if I’d ever given sales a thought, so I interviewed with them, thought about it for a month, then committed to the job. It’s definitely one of those stories where internships do pay off, so I was pretty happy about that.

Before Graduation: The Bobcats internship is the only one I’ve had. I applied three times before I got a call back, so persistence is key. It was difficult juggling the internship with school. It didn’t leave much time for a personal life but it was definitely worth it.

Down the Road: Within the next year, I’d like to see myself promoted from Inside Sales Consultant to potentially a group sales or Account Manager position.

Long-Term Goal: I wouldn’t be opposed to possibly one day reaching the Vice President of Season Ticket Sales position. I also wouldn’t count out going back to Community Relations, because I really enjoyed that while I was there. The sky’s the limit!