UCSB Summer Program for Environmental Media
June 23 - August 25, 2012
BLUE HORIZONS students explore how to communicate vital stories about the ocean through media.
During this 9-week summer program, students learn elements that are essential to producing documentary films – from developing a film’s core idea and story, to thinking about its impact on its audiences, to the nuts-and-bolts of video production itself. Then, after examining the critical issues of our region’s oceans and seashores, students develop their own stories and produce their own short documentaries. The films premiere at the end of the Blue Horizons program in UCSB’s new Pollock Theater.
In this media-focused world, audiences are bombarded with messages, and are left to try to make sense of an overwhelming amount of information. How can our messages actually cut through the clutter to help motivate new awareness, new behaviors? Which strategies lead to a more effective use of media? Today’s students need a sophisticated sense of how media works and what it does, to become better communicators themselves.
The Blue Horizons summer program brings together students interested in digital media production and environmental studies to learn about important issues of the global ocean from a local, California perspective. A coordinated series of interdisciplinary courses and related activities, Blue Horizons introduces students to scriptwriting; media portrayals of the environment; the biological, socio-economic, and political aspects of marine conservation; and the latest innovations in environmental filmmaking.
Students will gain the skills necessary to communicate effectively with their peers, scientists, policymakers, and the general public by producing short, compelling videos (see Student Success Story below). Issues such as marine protected areas, sustainable fishing, watershed ecosystems, beach erosion, aquaculture, and others will be closely studied, providing a foundation for the research necessary to produce an informative film. Techniques of digital video camera operations, sound gathering, lighting, and editing with industry standard Final Cut Pro will also be covered.
To learn more about the program, explore the department's BLUE HORIZONS website.
This 4-course summer program is open to undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines. Questions can be addressed to Natalie Fawcett at fawcett at cftnm.ucsb.edu. To apply, fill out theBLUE HORIZONS Application .
Required Courses
Session A (June 25-August 3)
Session D (June 25-July 13)
Session F: (August 6-24)
FSSP is designed for admitted UCSB freshmen students to get a head start on their academic careers. FSSP allows UCSB freshmen to get on the “Inside Track” to undergraduate life at UCSB.
Landscape Painting with an Artist and Naturalist
Art and science both require careful observation and an understanding of what is being observed in order to yield good results. In this Creative Studies class, an artist and a botanist/geologist will help you to examine the natural landscape with eye and brush. We will have demonstrations and brief lectures focused upon the biological, geological, and artistic aspects of two of UCSB’s great Natural Reserves: Coal Oil Point and Sedgwick Reserve.
Three Class Meetings (2012 dates will be listed soon)
For the weekend meetings, students must provide their own camping equipment and art supplies.
This three-week course which focuses on writing about film (reviews, articles, etc.) begins on the UCSB campus and culminates with four days of film viewing and special sessions at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival (TFF) in Colorado.
The Telluride Film Festival is one of the most prestigious in the U.S. It offers over thirty different programs with films chosen from new releases, both foreign and domestic, retrospectives and themed selections. Unlike many other festivals, the target audience is not Hollywood insiders but film lovers who come for the opportunity to be the FIRST to see next year’s Oscar contenders or to catch films that might not get distribution, and to meet and mingle with, directors, actors and writers etc. Because of the festival’s short time span and broad range of topics, students will have a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in film.
For more information contact the instructor, Mashey Bernstein at mashey@writing.ucsb.edu.
Theater 43 and 143. The People’s Voice: A Joint Collaboration Between the Community and UCSB
This is a course that is open to non-theater majors, as well as those students who are specializing in theater studies.
This class is a joint collaboration with UC students and teens from the community. The community organization involved this year is Boys Camp. Los Prietos Boys Camp provides pro-social training to help rehabilitate delinquent males between the ages of 13 and 18. The goal of Los Prietos is to return wards to the community as responsible and productive members of society.
By it’s nature, this class is not exclusive to theater students. It is open to anyone seeking a fieldwork component with an educational or social service mission. The course is also open to students that are interested in the power of language in our culture. The focus is on theater as a tool for transformation, understanding and growth. In this exciting new course, theater as a public arena for personal, social, and cultural issues will be explored. Through a series of exercises, the participants discover the unique mythic elements in their lives and how to utilize them to tell the story of The Odyssey of Homer. The goal is to merge the epic and the personal in such a way that the storyteller reveals inner truths within the structure of larger story as outlined by the author’s text and plot. By exploring a great work of literature each participant will tell the tale from his or her own life perspective. The process will culminate in a performance involving both teens and UC students.
It is important to establish a level playing field between the two groups in order to create an open dialog. UC students benefit by learning that a valuable source of their inspiration as artists, educators, and social workers emanates from human stories, both their own and others. The teens will benefit by finding validation for their voices and sharing a creative endeavor in an environment of higher learning. One of the aims of this course is to inspire teenagers’ interest in college by having them work closely with university students.
Discover how our current culture merges with and illuminates epic themes and topics. As a storyteller, you will reveal and validate your own stories within the structure of a great work of literature. Further, participate in the collaborative process by joining a innovative team. Become the hero in your own creative journey.
SESSION A: June 25 – August 3
MTWR: 2:00-5:50PM
Instructor: Michael Morgan – mmorgan@theaterdance.ucsb.edu
Sydney & Cape Tribulation, Australia — We will start in Sydney before moving on to Cape Tribulation, located within the Daintree National Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage area, only 12 miles from the Great Barrier Reef.
London, England—Join us as we experience London as a “global city” – some say the global city of the contemporary era – by studying its current identity, culture, and social movements. We will explore the everyday life of people living in the heart of London through markets, schools, the media, and its politics. We will also experience the cultural array the city offers through its art, food, fashion, museums, music, and theatre. We will take guided walks thought some of London’s lively and historic districts.
Procida, Italy — Come discover Italian art, history, and culture this summer! Earn 8 units of UC credit in three weeks, while living and studying on one of the most magical islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Students will enhance their study of Mediterranean Italy by exploring the island itself, along with field trips to archeological sites such as Pompeii, ancient maritime towns like Amalfi, and, of course, the awesome artistic treasures of the city of Naples.