President's Blog

Photo Credit: Cole Smothers

On Saturday, March 27^th Director and Film student Gregory Zobel with the support of Director of Photography and Visual Journalism student Hannah Singleton, film editors and students Hayden Johnson and Chris Okula, as well as a group of student and faculty volunteers worked together to film approximately five one hour episodes of the cable access show currently titled, “Brooks Institute Spotlight.”

Among the lineup of student and alumni films profiled for the first five episodes were:

“Une Vie Mervielleuse” by Sean Broadbent

“Revelar Los Enlaces: A Brooks Institute Student Documentary of Chile” represented by Jeff Johns, Amanda Reyes and Marina Dominguez

“Morton” by Johnny Bishop

“Jessica” by Brent Rumble

“Valhalla” by Jacob Strunk

“Cabbie” by Glynn Beard & Steve Gelder

“Broken” by Doug Conant

“Heard” by Mia Shimabuku

“D. On Darox and Linda the Fox” by Melina Pizano and Simara Sousa

“Pique” by Hayden Johnson

“Spare Me!” by Chris Okula and Gregory Zobel

With the pilot episode expected to be complete this week, School of Film Program Director Glynn Beard will present it to Community Access Partners of San Buenaventura (CAPS) to receive a time slot on cable access. The group expects to deliver an hour of programming per week after the pilot premieres.

Filming for the next series of episodes is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 24^th at Brooks Institute’s Ventura campus and will feature more Brooks Institute student and alumni films.

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"Rodeo" Image by Emma Fernelius

Brooks Institute presents the grand opening of “Revelar los Enlaces,” a student-developed documentary of Chile. The documentary, which chronicles the country’s people, life and culture, will premier as a multi-media presentation April 8, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara. Immediately following the premier, an exhibit and artists’ reception displaying the students’ documentary prints will be held at Brooks Institute’s Gallery 27.

As the premier date approached, the Feb. 27, 2010 earthquake in Chile became a focal point for the documentary group. With relief efforts underway, the students at Brooks Institute teamed up with Direct Relief International, a California-based, non-profit organization that provides financial and medical support to those in need. All proceeds resulting in the sale of the book and DVD will be donated to help the people of Chile. The students also will be collecting donations and conducting print auctions at the three gallery opening events.

“Chile now has a home in my heart,” said visual journalism student and documentary co-producer Jeff Johns.  “I realized we have an unbelievable opportunity to use these products we created to gain attention, awareness and relief for the victims of this horrible earthquake. By turning our opening events into fund raising opportunities, we have high hopes of raising funds to immediately impact those in desperate need.”

Each year, the visual journalism program of Brooks Institute offers an international documentary trip for interested Visual Journalism, Professional Photography, Graphic Design and Film students. The class, which is staged in a different international location each year, is limited to the strongest applicants. In November and December 2009, the 16 selected students and instructor spent seven weeks in Chile. Upon their return, the students created projects to showcase their experiences from this documented trip, including a multimedia presentation, a print exhibition, Web site, book and a DVD.

Following this grand opening event on April 8 will be a special screening and multimedia presentation at Brooks Institute’s Ventura Campus Saturday, April 10 from 6 – 10 p.m.  A screening and print show will also be held at the Marriott Ventura Beach Thursday, April 15, from 5 – 7:30 p.m. Each event will be unique as the students bring their Chilean experience to Southern California.

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From Left to Right: Dr. Roger Andersen, Walter C. Douglas, Joyce Douglas Photo Credit: Nina Gomez

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with Walter C. Douglas, an early graduate of Brooks Institute. He attended from May of 1946 to May of 1948, just after serving in the military, when the school occupied a small space on the 900 block of State Street in Santa Barbara. We have come a long way since then, as we currently occupy four campuses in Ventura and Santa Barbara. Through the years, the values and quality of education are still intact. Walter shared his early experience and the path his photography took.

“When I was in school, if you couldn’t take it in three photographs, you might as well forget about it,” Walter shared with me when we sat down.

Walter specialized in black and white photography. “Color, I never did like,” shared Walter, “They had a dye transfer process that I couldn’t take because my hands were nervous from the war.  I am a black and white photographer.”

His black and white photography was fine-tuned through his education and practice at Brooks. “I photographed a beautiful girl, so sharp you could peel the makeup off of her face. It turned me off,” said Walter.

He turned his focus to portraiture and historic photography. Walter’s wife, Joyce, knew Ansel Adams and set Walter up with an opportunity to meet the iconic photographer. “We shook hands and he nearly knocked me off my feet. He was so strong.” The portrait he took is well known today.

Walter explained how he set up the session with Ansel. “It was a dark living room and the dining room was adjacent. I thought I would take my Ansel Adams book and have him autograph it.” Ansel asked Walter what he wanted him to do and Walter told him, “Take your left hand and move the left finger out, sign your name, and stop.” Walter continued, “He made it perfect.” Walter snapped the photo. He decided to take another one just to be sure, but during the second one, Ansel moved his left hand very slightly. They decided to take a third shot, just to be sure.

“I took three shots, and would you believe it? The first shot is always the best,” he shared.

Walter Douglas’s work is currently being scanned and saved by the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. His work will serve as historical reference for future generations.

Brooks Institute has invited Walter and his family to be guests of honor at Brooks Institute’s 65^th Anniversary celebration to be held on October 17^th at the Marriott Ventura Beach.

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Flyer image by Mark Turner

Outstanding work from the Brooks Institute School of Visual Journalism is being featured now at the Ventura County Arts Council Collegiate Exhibition. The exhibit runs from March 5 through March 31 at the Ventura County Government Center located at 800 South Victoria Blvd in Ventura. (The exhibition is located in the Main Administration Building, top floor of the Atrium Gallery.) The public is invited to a reception scheduled for Thursday, March 18 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

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Photo Credit: Laurel Costa/Brooks Institute

On Friday, July 31st, Brooks Institute honored local firefighters in a private reception by giving them a poster of images from the Jesusita Fire along with messages of thanks. The poster was conceptualized by BI faculty member Bill Robbins and composed of images taken by students, staff, faculty and alumni. Those on-hand to accept a framed version of the poster and letter of gratitude on behalf of their department were: Interim Fire Chief for the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department, Andrew DiMizio; Fire Chief for the City of Montecito Fire Department, Kevin Wallace; Battalion Chief for the Ventura County Fire Department, Bryan Vanden Bossche; and Captain Ron Topolinski of the Ventura County Fire Department. Thank you to all who worked very hard to stop the Jesusita Wildfire.

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Brooks Institute will serve as a major sponsor and the Ventura campus will be a venue for the 2009 Ojai-Ventura International Film Festival. The Festival will hold events at the campus on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7. (The Festival will run from Thursday, Nov. 5 through Sunday, Nov. 8.) On Friday, Nov. 6, Festival films will be shown in two locations at the Ventura campus, including a special award ceremony for Haskell Wexler, ASC. Mr. Wexler has also agreed to participate in student panel discussions on Saturday, Nov. 7. All Brooks Institute students will receive a free festival pass. Brooks Institute’s School of Film faculty member Richard Fortinberry is coordinating arrangements between the school and the Festival.

From left to right: Rich Fortinberry, Faculty Member - Brooks Institute School of Film; David Shor, President - Ojai-Ventura International Film Festival; President Andersen; Meegan Huff, Executive Director - Ojai-Ventura International Film Festival; Photo Credit: Paul Gomez/Brooks Institute

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Richard Carlson had a best-seller with Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…And It’s All Small Stuff.

As we all know, it is the small stuff – the little things – that often sets the tone of our days or turns an experience into a positive or negative one.

Some small stuff to recognize:

The staff of our Cota and Mason Street campuses recently cleaned all the student chairs with a steamcleaner and scrub brush. (They even picked off hardened gum!) We know that students appreciate a desk, chair, meeting table or learning environment that is clean and attractive. To our fantastic Cota and Mason people: thank you!

Faculty and staff at the Ventura campus recently spent part of a Friday roaming the campus picking up disgarded cigarette butts. Even though we have special cigarette disposal units located throughout the campus, many people simply chose to toss and smash on our sidewalks and lawn areas. To the “butt picker-uppers” at Ventura: thank you!

Brooks Institute allows all of its full-time employees to use up to eight hours of paid time each year to volunteer for a local, non-profit organization. Although Brooks already has a high level of community involvement and civic engagement, we wanted to increase our commitment – especially in these difficult economic times. (The entire 7-member Brooks Institute Leadership Team will be working an entire day for FoodShare of Ventura County in late March as our collective commitment to this fantastic program.) For all faculty and staff who have served in 2008 and already in 2009: thank you!

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Photo credit: Austin Bockelman

On Tuesday, January 20, the Brooks Institute Student Council sponsored an open forum for all students to meet with the President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Program Directors.  Over 40 students attended Pizza with the President. This informal get-together was held in the Ventura Campus Screening Room.

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Image by Matt Mallams

We invite the public to attend the artist reception for If the Way is Open at our Visions Gallery in the Marriott Ventura Beach on Thursday, January 22 from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. This exhibit portrays the ebb and flow of life as seen by two Brooks alumni, Matt Mallams and Elyse Butler. The Marriott is providing food and beverages and covers parking in the hotel lot for the reception. This should be a fun evening for everyone.

The public is also invited to attend the next exhibit at Brooks Institute’s Gallery 27 located at our Cota Street campus (located at 27 East Cota Street in downtown Santa Barbara). Under the Sea showcases unique underwater images created by our students and graduates. This stunning multimedia exhibit details the elegance and fluid motion of life captured underwater. The artist reception is scheduled for Thursday, February 5 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. As I mentioned in my last posting, Brooks Institute is a major player in the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization’s First Thursday art celebration and gallery tour each month. Refreshments will be served at the February 5th reception.

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