Welcome to DAFT
ONLINE! This home page is
your navigation tool to the world of the Digital Arts, Film and
Television organization. You can learn about becoming a member, our
latest happenings and upcoming movies. K-12 students can enter our
annual film festival and participate in the several educational
programs we offer throughout the year. Please feel free to contact us
with any questions!
Visit
DAFT on Facebook! Enter Your Entry To DAFT's Michigan Student Film & Video Festival!
(Information Below)
Website updated June 16th:
Please scroll down to find out about new contest and program opportunities this Spring and Summer!
DAFT's Art In Motion workshop returns for this summer!
An exciting hands-on
workshop that provides an opportunity to try several different
kinds of animation techniques.
August 2 to 6, at the Howell Nature Center.
Click here to download the application
DAFT's Focal Point workshop returns for this summer!
An intensive week of
"hands-on" video study and production.
This workshop is for adults and mature high school students, and is
taught by a professional staff.
June 28 to July 2, at the Art Institute of Michigan in Novi.
Click here to download the application
ArtsEdNews:
Engage Learners through a focus on STEM and Arts Career Readiness for the
Film and Digital Media Industries, Aug. 24-26 in Lansing
- Please share with others in your networks-
MDE is sponsoring a 3-day workshop Aug. 24-26 at the Teaching for Learning Institute, Lansing Center:
“Preparing Students for Careers in the Film and Digital Media industries”
August 24-26
Teaching for Learning Institute, Lansing Center
We will begin with a focus on industry and career readiness, as we identify and plan curriculum that builds necessary knowledge and skills K-12.
This workshop is especially aimed at:
mathematics, arts, science, technology teachers and administrators
interested in preparing students with skills in both STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) and the Arts, prerequisites
for careers in these growing industries.
Others who would benefit from this workshop include:
- general classroom teachers,
- guidance counselors,
- ELA teachers interested in multimodal literacy,
Those with strong or emerging film and technology programs as well as those interested in developing programs that address the prerequisite mathematics, science, and arts knowledge needed for today’s film and digital careers which include computer generated animation, special effects, and gaming, along with stage design, editing, illustration, information graphics, and many other areas identified by the Michigan Film Office, a partner with MDE in the development of this workshop.
This is an opportunity to work together with others throughout the state that share a passion for engaging students with academic content through a focus on careers in film and digital media.
To register today, Register for Strand 7 at: http://www.gomiem.org/content/michigan_teaching_learning_institute_instructional_practices_transformed
Have a great summer! I hope to see you August 23-26 at the Teaching for Learning Institute at the Lansing Center.
Harvey
Ovshinsky's Screenwriting Workshops
DAFT
members are invited to replace their teacher’s hat with student
moccasins by signing up for one or both of two new weekend workshops in
June. Harvey Ovshinsky’s An Introduction to Screenwriting and If You Can Write It, You
Can Shoot it, A Beginner’s Guide to Video Storytelling are both excellent
examples of how Harvey O’s reputation as a master storyteller is
matched only by his skills as an educator. And don’t be put off by the
‘introduction’ or ‘beginner’s’ reference. Harvey treats allof his classes
and workshops as if they are master classes, regardless of the skills,
talent, or experience of the participants. For a preview, check out
Harvey’s inspiring Letters
to a Young Filmmaker series
on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LokHJ_3CwLo&feature=youtube_gdata.
Or learn more about the workshops by clicking onhttp://hkomedia.com/workshops.shtml
POSTER
CONTEST
High
school artists, enter the Michigan Youth Arts Poster Contest 2010 to
win the chance to have your work featured on the 2010 Arts in Motion
5k poster or the 2011 Festival poster! Download the entry form and
guidelines and email your entry by August 15, 2010.
http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/postercontest.pdf
The
winning artists receive a $100 prize and ten copies of the final
poster. The contest is open to any Michigan high school student
(enrolled in grades 9-12 for the 2010-2011 school year). Artwork
can be created in any medium (drawing, painting, graphic design,
photography...). All submissions must be emailed by August 15
for consideration.
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ARTS
IN MOTION 5K
Family-friendly
and suitable for both runners and walkers, the Arts in Motion 5k raises
money to support arts education
in Michigan schools. More than just a race, the day is a celebration of
the arts - join us on 10/10/10 at 10am in
Royal Oak!
Registration is now open.
http://michiganyoutharts.org/5k
DO
ART
Artists
of all ages are invited to submit proposals to perform
or install art at the event!
We are especially looking for groups to perform along the route and in
the park, visual and interactive art in the park,
and creative awards to give to participants. Download the
guidelines and submit a proposal.
http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/artistguidelines.pdf
DONATE
Whether
you're a runner, a walker, an artist, an educator, a student or a
parent, you can be
a fundraiser,
too! Set up your own personal page with a photo, a personal fundraising
goal, and the opportunity to track your progress and let people know
how to sponsor you. You don't have to participate in the 5k to collect
sponsorships, but running or walking for a cause is a great way to stay
motivated and to inspire others!
http://www.active.com/donate/michiganyoutharts
VOLUNTEER
Race-day
volunteers will staff the water station, serve as course marshalls,
help with registration and check-in, and much more. Anyone high school
age or older is welcome. This is a great chance for school groups or
scout troops to perform
a service
to the community!
http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/5kvolunteers.pdf
DAFT Michigan Student Film & Video Festival winner
Petra Tank, was awarded a scholarship to the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts.
Here is a photo of Petra with Mr. Howard himself!
Calling
All Editors -- DAFT Highly Recommends This Conference!
Click HERE for more
information.
West of Center
June 4-27, 2010
For an application, click the link below:
MITTEN MOVIE PROJECT
Future Filmmakers Night
Tuesday, August 3, 7:30
pm
Main Art Theatre, Royal Oak
Call for shorts by
young filmmakers!
Click here for more information!
Congratulations
to DAFT alumni Dan Scanlon!
His film "Tracy" won in the category "Best Michigan
Feature" , Dan won for "Best Director", and Brian Fee, who played the
title character "Tracy" won for "Best Actor", at the first annual
Michigan Film Awards at the Detroit Independent Film Festival
DAFT instructor John Prusak works with video students at the 2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival
MEMBERSHIP FOR DAFT'S
2009-2010 SEASON
NOW AVAILABLE!
Dear Friend,
If you are DAFT it means that you support our mission to promote the creative use of film and video. Digital Arts, Film & Television (DAFT) is a non-profit educational organization that has been providing services to its members and the state of Michigan for 40 years.
If you are DAFT you will be supporting new installments of our highly successful workshop programs like the Focal Point video workshop, Art in Motion animation workshop and the Student Animation Workshop. DAFT will continue the tradition of presenting the Michigan Student Film & Video Festival, America's longest-running film festival devoted to showcasing work by students in kindergarten through high school.
If you are DAFT it means that you can attend our monthly meetings that are being reinstated after a year's hiatus. The format will be new and we hope more responsive to the educational and artistic needs of DAFT members and guests. Each month the meeting location will change and will take place in a studio, classroom, theatre or gallery space to allow members to see a wide variety of media locations and programs. A short informational session will be followed by perhaps a tour of the facility, a discussion on a particular topic, sharing of ideas or a film to watch.
Become
a
DAFT member
Regular Membership is $50
for one year
When paying through
PayPal,
please e-mail your home
address
and phone number to DAFT at areyoudaft@hotmail.com
CALL FOR ENTRIES
CICFF is the only Academy Award qualifying children's film festival!
- CICFF Award Categories include: Feature, Short, Animation, Live-action, Documentary, TV series, Poetry-based, & Child-produced film.
- CICFF Prizes Include: Poetry Prize ($10,000), Montgomery Award for Best Emerging Director ($2500); Montgomery Award for Best Child Produced Film ($2500)
ArtsEdNews: WatchKnow.org Hosts Educational Videos for Students Ages 3 to 18
Larry Sanger,
co-founder of Wikipedia,
has launched a new web site designed to gather and organize educational
videos for students ages 3 to 18. The site, WatchKnow.org, currently
features more than 11,000 videos across 2,000 categories on subjects
such as math, science, and history. The nonprofit site features new
software, developed specifically for the site by Sanger, that allows
wiki-style collaboration among users. “Think of it as YouTube meets
Wikipedia,
filtering out everything but quality educational videos,” Sanger said.
“WatchKnow.org links together content from traditional sites, and also
allows users of the site to improve the organization of the video
categories, which makes finding the video you need much easier.” The
site, which features videos from National Geographic, YouTube, and Google
Videos, among other sources, is intended to complement and enhance the
learning experience for students as they study concepts that are
traditionally hard to learn. “Many of our country’s educators are
unaware of the enormous amount of good video content available for free
online,” said Chareen Snelson, an advisory committee member and
professor at Boise State
specializing in online educational videos. “Having a central repository
of organized, quality videos is a blessing for busy teachers and
students.” WatchKnow.org is funded by the Community Foundation of
Northwest Mississippi, which has set the goal of offering more than
50,000 videos on the site by the end of 2010. The site offers tips for
video searching, separate pages for students, parents, and teachers,
and a guide for contributors. http://www.watchknow.org
2009 Traverse City Film Festival Film School
By
DAFT board member,
Andrea M. Beaudoin
click here to read the article
Featured web link: Retrevo
Retrevo is a product
review search service focused solely on
electronics. The site aggregates product information, reviews and
articles from blogs, forums, websites and manufacturers. Retrevo does
their best to provide unadulterated product reviews by filtering out
ads, eBay pages and online electronic stores like Best Buy and Amazon.
And,
you can find almost any manual for any electronic product there! Great
for when you lose the manual to your camcorder!
John Prusak has been DAFT for 40 years!
John began as a student at Focal Point and then returned as an instructor the next year, a role he has filled every since. John has also been DAFT Board president (and now is an emeritus member of the Board), chairperson of the Michigan Student Film & Video Festival and instructor in many other workshops, notably 19 years with the Student Animation Workshop and 5 years with Art in Motion.
At a surprise gathering of DAFT friends and family last spring John was presented with a quilt created from the panels of DAFT t-shirts from over the years. The party was planned as a surprise - and it really was. But John noted that it did explain all the t-shirts with huge rectangles cut from the fronts. Here are some photos taken by Nancy Rae Gilliland.
DAFT instructors lead
workshops with artsJam! Detroit WAY (Work Alternatives For Youth)
click
here to read the full
Detroit Free Press news article
Michigan Youth Arts is thrilled to announce the award of six $250 professional development scholarships for arts educators! Made possible through a generous gift from MEEMIC Insurance Company, two educators were chosen by lottery to attend each of three summer professional workshops hosted by Digital Arts, Film & Television, the Michigan Art Education Association, and the Michigan School Vocal Music Association.
Over 100 teachers from across Michigan entered the scholarship drawing. The six recipients teach in Greenville, Hamtramck, Kentwood, Chelsea, Ferndale and Livonia.
The Michigan Youth Arts Association (MYAA) is a statewide arts education association that serves as a collaborative of discipline-specific arts education organizations. The programming of MYAA consists of the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, statewide arts education awards, arts education advocacy, leadership roundtables and funding programs for youth, schools and arts education professionals throughout Michigan.
MEEMIC Insurance Company provides personal auto, homeowners, boat, and umbrella coverages to teachers and other educational employees in the state of Michigan. MEEMIC is also the sponsor of the Michigan Youth Arts Educator of the Year awards, which honored 14 distinguished arts educators at this year's Michigan Youth Arts Festival.
DAFT volunteers at
Detroit Public TV's
2009 Pledge Drive
We enjoyed renewing our ongoing
friendship and cooperation with Detroit Public TV, assisting in their
pledge drive by answering telephones.
DAFT members pictured above, left to right:
John Prusak, Len Radjewski, Annette Frank,
Andrea Beaudoin, Jere Stormer, Tom Mansell
Steve Julin
recognized as "Film & Video
Educator of the Year" at
2009 Michigan Youth Arts Festival
DAFT Board Member Emeritus, John Prusak, with
his former student, Steve Julin, who graciously receives
his recognition as DAFT's Film & Video Educator of the Year.
Doug Blush, former
DAFT student,
edits new
documentary "OUTRAGE"
PLEASE help us spread the word to friends, family and neighbors across the country to help get this controversial, entertaining and very important film seen and discussed! Even if the film is not yet showing in your city, please forward the email to those who might be interested, and see below for ideas on using Facebook, MySpace and other web sites.
Below are links to everything about the film, provided by Amy Ziering, our producer.
THANKS! Get OUTRAGED!
Doug
Outrage URL http://www.outragethemovie.com/
YouTube Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgESXQccWi8
Magnolia Pictures Site http://www.magpictures.com/mailer/outragethemovie/index.html
Buy Tickets http://www.movietickets.com/movie_detail.asp?movie_id=72692
Below is a list of things people can do to promote this film
- Send out an email or Facebook update to all of your contacts, recommending the film and linking to the trailers and how to buy tickets.
- Change your status to "I am OUTRAGED" and link to trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgESXQccWi8
- Post links, recommendations, and the trailer itself on the walls of popular film, gay issue or political groups, indivduals or organizations
- Invite friends to group showing of the film.
Chris Houghton, former DAFT
student,
featured in the news!
Detroit Free Press 05/10/2009
ARTISTS +THEIR ART
CHRIS HOUGHTON
Houghton is a junior at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, an illustrator and cartoonist who has earned national attention for his playful animation style. “Gunther and the Steak Snacking Snake!” — a kid-friendly comic that combines Western and fantasy elements and features that bear-tripping wrangler — is an example of the kind of work that recently won him a $5,000 scholarship from the National Cartoonists Society.
“Gunther,” which he drew and his older brother wrote, will be available along with a few other of his pieces, plus thousands from other CCS students, at the college’s annual Student Exhibition, which opens Friday. The exhibition is a highlight of the year for CCS students and area art fans, providing a great way to scout up-and-coming talent.
Houghton, who is freelancing professionally while attending school, certainly fits that bill. He says he’s driven by “a mix of passion and the desperation to constantly improve” and that he will do “anything I can” to make a career via his cartooning skills once he graduates.
“It’s been an incredible amount of work,” Houghton says of his time at CCS. “The three years has been packed full of learning, experience and picking up new tools.”
-- BY STEVE BYRNE, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
This illustration from Houghton’s
portfolio was drawn with pen and ink and colored
on a computer.
Houghton hopes to make a living using his cartooning skills after
he graduates.
TOMMY SCOTT/College for
Creative Studies
Poetry Foundation Prize
The Poetry Prize recognizes excellence in the arts of poetry and film through the presentation of a cash award for the best film based on a poem. The Prize will be awarded to a filmmaker whose use of verse in film opens new artistic vistas and inspires children to a deeper appreciation of poetry. This unique competition was created to encourage filmmakers around the world to incorporate poetry into their films in new and compelling ways.
Both animated and live action films will be eligible to compete for the Poetry Foundation prize and a special jury will be convened during the summer of 2009 to determine the award winner. The prize will be awarded to the film that truly captures, reflects and expresses the spirit of poetry in film for young audiences. In order to compete for the Poetry Foundation prize, films submitted must be based on poems that are written by a poet other than the filmmaker.
For more information, please visit www.cicff.org
DAFT Announces 2009 Film/Video
Educator of the Year:
Steve Julin
Steve
Julin has been editing, directing and producing video for over 24
years. He was a principal partner in developing Media Power and is an Apple
Certified Instructor as well as Michigan's first Avid Certified
Instructor. He has edited and provided training for such companies as Ford Motor Company, Kmart, Comcast, The Discovery
Channel, CBS, PBS and NBC.
In 2000,
Steve received a Golden Eagle Award
for documentary editing and was nominated for an Emmy in 2001. He also
served as Senior Avid Editor at Grace & Wild HD Studios. Steve is a
graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he received a
B.S. in Television Journalism.
In March
of 2004 Steve’s first book, “Avid Xpress Pro: Power”, was released and
published by Muska and Lipman.
In
2008 Steve create Postapalooza, a retreat and conference for anyone
interested in post production. The two-day conference is held every
fall in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. Currently Steve serves as the Director
of Curriculum Development at the Specs Howard School of
Broadcast Arts and teaches at Media
Power.
Steve
Julin's high school film / video production class photo.
Steve is on the far right. His mentor, John Prusak is the fellow in the
top row with the moustache.
Student Animation Workshop
Featured in Traverse City Newspaper!
"Students' art comes to life"
By CAROL SOUTH
Special to the Record-Eagle
TRAVERSE CITY -- Fade in.
Interior, The Art Place, Saturday afternoon.
Sixteen high schoolers engaged in a vibrant hum of creativity: generating animation cels ... shooting sketches for an animation morph ... meticulously moving fruit characters around for a stop-action scene ... placing cut outs just so for the camera.
http://www.gtherald.com/local/local_story_055192333.html
2008 Michigan Student Film & Video Festival
CLICK HERE
to view the 2008 Best of Show winners!
NEW!
American
Film Institute Launches "Screen Nation" An Online
Video Posting and Sharing Community for Middle and High School
Students and Teachers
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
DAFT featured on PBS
Detroit Public
Television produced a mini-documentary
about DAFT in conjunction with our group's recognition at the 2006
Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture.
You can view this video by clicking the link below.
The video is hosted by YouTube, a great online source for
independent video content.
Click
here to watch the video.
Exciting News:
DAFT wins in
the Small Cultural Organization Category at the
2006
ArtServe Michigan's Governor's Awards for Arts & Culture
Become a
DAFT member
Regular Membership is $50
for one year
When paying through PayPal, please e-mail your home address and phone number to DAFT at areyoudaft@hotmail.com
Please consider making a donation to support DAFT's workshops and mission