Tom Savini Launching Digital Filmmaking Program

Douglas Education Center (DEC), a creative career school located just 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh, is already home to Tom Savini’s monstrously successful Special Make-Up Effects Program, which began in 2000 and has graduated hundreds of students from all over the country. DEC offers many other programs besides make-up effects, including graphic design, illustration, cosmetology, and starting in February, Tom Savini’s Digital Film Production Program. “Our film students are going to have the opportunity to collaborate with all of these other programs on their productions,” said Savini. “They will be surrounded by talented individuals, just like in a professional studio, from the very first day they step on campus.”

Each student entering the 16-month program receives a video camera and a laptop computer fully equipped with software for all their filmmaking
needs. As part of the curriculum, they will work on real productions, alongside instructors culled from the entertainment industry, utilizing high definition cameras, professional lighting equipment and a newly constructed soundstage. Planned projects include music videos, trailers to present to the American Film Market, feature films, and even pilots for reality television shows.

First on the slate is a short film directed by Savini that will be included on a direct-to-DVD anthology being distributed by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2008. The series is called Beyond the Pale and along with Savini’s short, the first volume will include other shorts directed by Mark
Steensland and written by award-winning authors, including one scripted by best-selling author Rick Hautala, which he based on a Stephen King idea.

Facilities include a soundstage with green screen, infinity wall, shop farm (with rooms for make-up, wardrobe and props), dressing rooms, administrative offices, lounges, a recording studio, editing suites and eventually a 50 + seat theater for film classes and student film showcases.

“We’re doing everything we can to give the students an amazing portfolio ‘reel’ when they step into the real world,” said Savini. “And that’s what excites me. The possibilities are endless.”

For more information, or to apply to the program, visit the DEC Web site at http://www.douglas-school.com

SOURCE Douglas Education Center

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