Communication professors attend California film conference
Union University communication arts professors Chris Blair and David Burke recently attended the Cinema Studies Conference hosted by the Los Angeles Film Studies Center in Los Angeles.
The conference theme was “The Business of The Business,” and it featured executives from Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Wind Dancer Films, as well as Anthony Zuiker, creator of the CSI franchise.
“David and I went to see the current state of the entertainment industry, so we could bring these ideas and trends back to our film studies courses at Union,” Blair said. “We also had a chance to eat lunch at Warner Bros. with a communication arts alum, John Crook, who works in their Worldwide Theatrical Distribution division.”
The conference offered a behind-the-scenes look at the RED Studios in Hollywood where “I Love Lucy” was filmed in the 1950s and “Seinfeld” was filmed in the 1990s.
Blair also made a presentation to the faculty attending the conference, entitled, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as a Teaching Tool in Cinema Studies.”
According to the LAFSC website, the conference was aimed at the “overlooked essentials” of show business: marketing, finance and distribution.
The Los Angeles Film Studies Center offers a semester-long, immersive filmmaking program, where students learn the art and craft of filmmaking in a Christian environment. Numerous Union students attend LAFSC as part of the Film Studies minor.
