Alumni Weekend 2008 - Symposium

“We may not know exactly what to expect when the lights go down, but somewhere in the dark interior of our very personal intersection with the filmmaker’s vision, a creative fusion takes place. We are transformed by our experience.”
                                         — Bob Bassett ’63

“You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark!”
                                         — Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard

Ever since the Edison studio captured a moving image of “Fred Ott’s Sneeze” in 1893, we’ve been captivated by motion pictures. Some images are as vivid as our own memories—a burning sled, a circling shark fin, a white dress blown up by a gust from a subway vent. What we don’t always think about is the collective effort behind each of these iconic scenes. Writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, visual effects, sound, music and casting are all pieces of the puzzle that make cinema the most collaborative of the arts.

The 19th annual Alumni Symposium will showcase some of Pomona’s outstanding professionals—graduates who have pursued careers in film, as well as those who are working to preserve our rich legacy of motion pictures and to educate the next generation of filmmakers. Nine featured speakers will offer a behind-the-scenes look at topics including:

• Illusion, magic, and the art of visual effects
• The screenplay — original vs. adapted; individually vs. team written
• Beyond Oscar night — the Academy’s other 364 days
• Resuscitating an ailing script — the role of a script doctor
• Casting calls — from leading roles to one-line walk-ons
• The Cinderella Effect: taking the “little story” to the big screen
• Preserving and archiving movies in the digital era
• Maintaining personal integrity in Hollywood
• Film as the literature of the 21st Century

We hope you’ll join us for “Reel Time: Sagehens and the Silver Screen,” a lively program of lectures, discussions and student film screenings.

Lunch Reservations
If you haven’t already made lunch reservations for Friday or Saturday, you can purchase them in person. On Friday, May 2, lunch will be in Edmunds Ballroom from noon to 1:30 p.m., and there will be a check-in table just outside the Ballroom where you can pay. On Saturday, May 3, lunch will be on Marston Quad from noon to 1:30 p.m., and you can buy a lunch ticket at the Registration tent on the east side of the Quad. The cost for each meal is $20 per person.