We’re sharing behind the scenes photos of our Graduation Portfolio Review, what our alumni and faculty have been up to this holiday season, and any upcoming events that we think you will find interesting.
Graduation Portfolio Review
AMUA’s Fall 2019 students officially graduated and showcased the work they’ve completed so far at Graduation Portfolio Review on January 3. From special effects, wig design, props, and makeup, our graduates showed off some incredible work! Here are some highlights.
- Congratulations to Kayla Powell, who received the 1st Kettle Award, an award given to a student who showed exemplary personal and technical growth during her time at AMUA!
- 8 students graduated from The Complete Track and are now moving on to jobs from Los Angeles to New York!
- Shout out to the students who worked behind the scenes on Cage the Elephant’s new music video, Social Clues, under the supervision of Ben Rittenhouse, AMUA Special Effects Makeup Instructor.
- AMUA graduate, JP was featured with his anime-inspired prosthetic design in an online article on ComicBook.com. You can read about it here, and of course, well done JP!
- We also want to take a moment to congratulate Kevin St. James (AMUA Faculty) on being the makeup artist for the 2020 Nashville Ballet Season. He also wrote and directed a 5-part series that Dekkoo Films bought called “Stranger Hearts.” It will be released on Amazon Prime in March!
- Portfolio reviews are a great place to network. One of Michael Meyer’s first-ever students from 19 years ago was present at the event. After 14 years on tour with the Lion King, she now resides in Nashville and frequently hires AMUA students even while they are still studying. You never know who you will meet!
Would you like to see our graduates’ work up close and personal?
Our next Graduation Portfolio Review will be held on June 5, 2020 from 7-9 pm. You can RSVP here!
You can find AMUA students everywhere…
Besides working really hard in the classroom, our students also worked on few great productions in December. One of them was A Christmas Carol at the Nashville Repertory Theater. Students also worked on It’s a Wonderful Life at the Keeton Theater in Nashville this past December.
The Future of Animatronics in the Entertainment Industry
Who is a fan of baby Yoda?! On set of The Mandalorian, the producers almost shot some scenes without the Baby Yoda puppet in case they decided to go full CGI with the character. But director Werner Herzog convinced them otherwise. And it’s all because Jon Favreau and company finally recognized that rubber-and-fabric practical effects will almost always have a greater emotional impact than plasticky digital ones.
Read the rest of this great Hollywood Reporter article about the increasing popularity of animatronics, prosthetics and puppetry in the entertainment industry.
AMUA is launching a new program in the Fall of 2021 where students will learn how to create animatronics. If you’re interested in enrolling in this new animatronics program, you’ll need to finish The Complete Track first, as it is a pre-requisite.
Looking ahead…
- Cinema on the Bayoo Louisiana Film Festival – January 22nd – January 29th 2020. More information HERE>