SF State: BECA Department updates

BECA in India: The Project Continues

lmauricio — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:36:00 -0700

Last week, we had several changes in our project with the Smile Foundation. And now the focus for our video is different. We are now doing a video aimed at the "privileged class" - and, particularly, college students - in India, with the intent to bring to their awareness two concepts: 1) the need to contribute to India's development (Smile calls it "charity;" we would call it community and individual "empowerment"), and 2) the name and concept of the Smile Foundation. As indicated in the earlier blog, Smile partners with corporations and it partners with, and supports, existing NGOs that are doing good work in local communities, particularly in the field of education. The foundation provides local NGOs with resources and support that will eventually enable those organizations to be self-sufficient. Smile has four main programs: 1) Mission Education, which works with children between the ages of 5 and 12, to get them ready for school, and to support them in government schools; 2) Smile Twin E-learning Project, or "STEP," which targets youth between the ages of 18 and 25, and provides them with a six-month intensive course of English and computer skills that makes them employable; 3) Smile on Wheels, a medical van equipped with 2 doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist who is also a driver, that travels from community to community providing health care (preventive, promotional, and curative) to people in those communities; and 4) Swabhiman, the program addressing women's rights that I described in the first blog. In the video, we plan to describe the concept of "Social Venture Philanthropy," and how Smile operates, and then feature each of these four programs. Today, students interviewed (on video) the CEO of Microsoft-India. Microsoft is a major supporter of the STEP program. We have been shooting the Mission Education program, the Swabhiman program, Smile on Wheels, and also STEP. Students have also been shooting B-roll around the city. One day, we went to the area where women who are about to be married pick out their saris and their jewelry for their wedding. It's an old neighborhood, with lots of winding alleys, and a most traditional way of doing business. We found some monkeys climbing around on the phone lines directly above our heads! Another group went to the spice market, and got some great shots. As you have heard before, the poverty here is indescribable. Our shooting has taken us from very poor neighborhoods, with self-built "huts" out of found materials to the Microsoft corporate offices. The distance from rich to poor is quite a stretch here in India, and we are getting a front-row seat! One of our favorite days was when we saw street theater put on by a combination of Smile staff and community people. It served to address one aspect of women's place in India, dramatizing the lack of celebration for the birth of a girl, in contrast to the joyous celebration of the birth of a boy. The drama went on to profile a woman who marries a man who becomes a drunkard, thus leaving the woman, without education or skills, to support a family. The theater managed to be humorous, but serious at the same time - and a huge crowd gathered to watch it, in the middle of a very poor neighborhood in the noonday sun!
Again, stay tuned for more reports.

Student Shoot at Chinese New Year's Parade

lmauricio — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:37:00 -0800

Students from BECA 580 - Media in Community Service will have their first shoot of the semester at Saturday's Chinese New Year's Parade. The students are in the process of producing a video for the Community Response Team of the Community Youth Center (CYC), an organization that works with Asian and Pacific Islander youth in San Francisco. Two CYC groups - a hip hop group and a drill team - will march in the parade. The BECA 580 crew will catch the youth while they rehearse before the parade, and then follow their progress in the parade. As rain appears to be a tradition for the Chinese New Year's Parade, the crew is thinking through how to protect the equipment and still be ready to nab a shot of the dragon and the youth!

MANDATORY INTERNSHIP MEETING for SUMMER Interns!!!

lmauricio — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:27:00 -0700

A MANDATORY MEETING will be held on May 14, 2009 in CA 126 at 12n for all those planning (or simply thinking about) doing an internship in the summer and taking BECA 576 in order to receive credit. You MUST attend this meeting or you will be ineligible to take the class.

Please be advised: The ONLY way you can receive credit for your internship is to be enrolled in and satisfactorily complete BECA 576 during the semester you are completing your internship. Most internships require that you be receiving credit in order to be in compliance with California labor laws. EVEN IF the internship only requires you to be "enrolled in a college or university", you must be enrolled in BECA 576 in order for the Department to complete any forms and/or certify your matriculation. There are NO exceptions to this rule.

Students may intern outside of the Bay Area and still receive credit! It simply needs to be prearranged with Dr. Camacho prior to leaving.

For information about when the class meets, etc., click on the "footnote" section of the BECA 576 schedule listing. The information is all there.

You MUST find an internship prior to the official beginning of summer session R2. If you're not sure how to begin looking for an internship, please look at the Internship Binders located in the BECA Office (CA 133) for extensive listings of internship possibilities. If you find an internship on your own, please make sure that it is approved for our program by checking the binders. If the listing is not there, it is NOT approved. Non-approved internships must be approved prior to the summer session in order to give you more time to look for another placement if it does not meet the BECA requirements.

For approval info and other questions, do not hesitate to contact Dr. Camacho at mcamacho@sfsu.edu.

Death of Art France

lmauricio — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:52:00 -0800

Professor Emeritus John Hewitt writes with some sad news.

I just had a call from Joan France in North Carolina to say that long-time BECA professor Art France had died on Saturday. He was a wonderful guy with a great sense of humor and was a tireless teacher. Even after he left the university, he ran a free workshop for minority students in the East Bay to teach video production and journalism.

I will miss him greatly.
And I have copied his obit here.

Arthur Lloyd France, 78,peacefully passed on to eternal rest on December 6, 2008, in Raleigh, NC

He was born in Queens, New York to Joseph C. France and Eliza Jeffers France. He served his country in the United States Navy.

Art graduated from New York University with a Master of Education Degree and Northwestern University with a PhD in Education. Arthur taught high school in New York City and Scarsdale, New York. His interest was Media and Broadcast Journalism. Later in his career, he became a Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. He then became the Department Chair of Radio, Television and Film. Art later moved to San Francisco where he was a professor in the Broadcast [Communication Arts] Department at San Francisco State University, retiring in 1994. He received the title of Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts from SFSU on May 22, 1996.

Arthur enjoyed working in his church, St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Marin City, CA. He enjoyed working with the youth and helping with media development in the church. Since moving to Raleigh, he attended Davies Street Presbyterian Church and again worked in the youth ministry helping with video and media production.

Arthur was a devoted husband, father and friend. After a courageous battle with Lymphoma, he leaves to cherish his memory a beloved wife of 16 years, Joan Williams-France; four children, Peter Lloyd France of New York, Alison Clair France of New York, Anthony France of Washington, DC and their mother Vilma France; Arturo Ramon France of Seattle, Washington and his mother; two brothers, Joseph N. France and Kenneth O. France of Queens, NY; eight nieces and nephews; a grand-daughter, Cheko France of New York and stepdaughter Lisa Williams of Atlanta, GA.

A memorial service will be held in New York at a later date. Arrangements will be made by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas. Contributions may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 401 Harrison Oak Blvd., Suite 200, Cary, NC, 27513; or the Hospice of Wake County, 1300 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, NC, 27605.

BECA 580 Goes to India!

lmauricio — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:57:00 -0700

The BECA 580 class is on the move again! Fourteen students, accompanied by Rai Poquiz in the role of Director of Production, Professor Betsy Blosser, and Consulting Professor Vinay Shrivastava, are in Delhi, India, to produce a video for the Smile Foundation. Smile is an organization that focuses on education as the primary means of effecting social change. The Smile staff identify ongoing projects in India in which someone is accomplishing a great deal in the field of education. Smile then provides the project with support - financial and empowerment support to enable the project to be self supporting. To do so, Smile partners with corporate donors practicing Social Venture Capital; these corportations wish to give back to the community, but they do not have direct contacts in the community. Smile employs their funding to support the promising projects mentioned above. Smile is organized so that the group of 40 original founders provide the operating costs; this enables 100% of corporate donations to go directly to the educational projects.
BECA 580 students will be producing a video on one of the projects Smile supports. "Swabhiman" means "living with dignity." It is a project directed toward women - adults and adolescents - to assist women in doing just that - by acquiring an education and a livelihood; by improving their health care; by reducing the age of marriage; and by taking leadership positions in the community. This first week in India, we are learning as much as we can about both Smile and the Swabhiman project.
Meanwhile, we are adjusting to our surroundings. We are staying in a "backpackers' hotel" in the Paharganj area of Delhi, near Connaught Place. It is in the middle of a bazaar. When we come out of the hotel, we travel through a narrow alley, full of shops, to a street full of shops, people, animals, and much activity. Yesterday, several of us walked past a pallet being readied to carry away a corpse. As we walk along the street, people approach us to sell us things or to beg. We have to watch where we step to avoid cow pies, water, rats, and occasionally, people sleeping on the street. Today we passed two cows as we walked the 50 feet from the place we ate lunch to the alley where the hotel is located. We have become experts at riding in motorized rickshaws, paying 100 rupees (or about $2.00) to cross the city, three at a time. We have learned that it is better not to look at what is happening on the road. The traffic is unbelievable and the "close calls" happen all too frequently.
But the group is in good spirits - excited about the project, about being in India, and about the constant inundation with sights, sounds, and smells. It is HOT, and the sun beats down so hard. Sun screen and bottled water are our constant companions.
Stay tuned for more reports as the project develops!

Check out this

lmauricio — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:45:00 -0700

Check out this cool map of Situation Comedy Locations in the United States.

New Online Ad and Audience Measurement Standards

lmauricio — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:59:00 -0800

The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) is implementing new standards for measuring audiences and establishing standard formats for online advertising. Check out the full story at the NewTeeVee blog!

BECA 2009 Media Career Symposium

lmauricio — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:08:00 -0700

If you missed this years' Media Career Symposium, you can watch it in it's entirety here
http://www.archive.org/details/BECA_2009_MEDIA_CAREER_SYMPOSIUM

CA200 Edit Lab Hours

lmauricio — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:20:00 -0800

CA200 Hours for Spring 2009:
M,W, F 10a-2p
T 12p-7p
TH 12p-9p

BECA Faculty and Students Honored by the Broadcast Education Association

lmauricio — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:46:00 -0800

The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international exhibition of award-wining faculty and student works chosen in the following competitions: audio, documentary, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting, and video. This year, the Festival received a record number 878 submissions across the 13 faculty and student competitions. BECA Faculty and Students were honored in several categories:

Jeff Jacoby received FIRST PLACE, BEST OF COMPETITION honors in Faculty Audio - Long Form Production Category for his most recent episode of “The Traveling Radio Show.”

Dina Ibrahim received FIRST PLACE, BEST OF COMPETITION honors in the Faculty News - Radio Feature News Reporting Category for her story, “What About the Arab-American Vote.” You can check out this story and more by visiting KPOO's homepage and clicking on the show"Arab Talk."

David Dunaway, visiting BECA artist in residence, received FIRST PLACE, BEST OF COMPETITION, and the BEA BEST OF FESTIVAL KING FOUNDATION AWARD for his radio documentary, “Pete Seeger: How Can I Keep from Singing?”

Two of Grace Provenzano's Documentary Production Students were also honored in the student division: Nina Soriano received second place in the Documentary - Long Form category for her project, “Amores de Dolores” and Melinda Quesenberry received third place in the Documentary - Short Form category for her video, “Africa Alive.”

Congratulations BECA Winners!

Copyright Law vs. Innovation and Consumers' Rights

lmauricio — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:00:00 -0800

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is challenging the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) on the grounds that it "impedes innovation and thwarts consumers' rights to make full use" of digital material and gives "some industry leaders unprecedented power to influence the pace and nature of innovation. . . upsetting the traditional balance between the interests of copyright owners and the interests of the public."

Click here to read the whole story. And be sure to subscribe to their newsletter and/or blog for updates on free speech, online privacy and surveillance, bloggers' rights, intellectual property, and lots more!

BECA in India: All Work and No Play . . .

lmauricio — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:35:00 -0700

The BECA 580 students took a break from their production this past weekend. They traveled to the town of Agra, where they were able to visit the Taj Mahal. What a thrill for all of us! It is true that photos do not do the Taj Mahal justice! You have to see it with your own eyes! The students switched to still photography (video cameras were not allowed on the grounds) and took millions of "snaps" (as they call them in India) from every possible angle. They also visited Akbar's tomb. (Akbar was one of the Mogul rulers of India - the grandfather of the man who built the Taj Mahal.) And they toured the Agra Fort, complete with a moat for crocodiles to swim in, a "mini jungle" where tigers roamed, and a slanted entrance ramp so that if the enemy got beyond the crocodiles and tigers, one could roll a huge, cylindrical rock down the ramp and knock 'em out that way! The detail - marble embedded with precious stones, and arches of all shapes and sizes - was spectacular! On the way back to Delhi, the group stopped in the town of Vrindavan to visit a friend of one of the students. What the group didn't know was that Vrindavan is the center of Hare Krishna's work in India. We were greeted with "leis" of flowers; we ate at the Hare Krishna restaurant, which had wonderful Indian food at low prices: and we took a boat ride on the Yamuna River. It was quite an unexpected adventure! Next weekend the group travels to Jaipur to see the sights. More on that in another blog, so stay tuned!

NEW BECA/GE CLASS AVAILABLE via CEL

lmauricio — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:14:00 -0700

BECA 201 Life on TV: A Critical View is being added to the CEL schedule for Fall 2009.
This course is open to all majors and is a lower division GE class for 3 units.
The class will be taught by Dr. Melissa Camacho and meets Monday 1610-1930 beginning 9/14/09 in CA 116.
If you are not able to register in advance through CEL*, please go to the first meeting. There is a 25 student cap on the class.
Elements of basic kinds of television programs: drama, sports, comedy, documentary, and variety; critical criteria for evaluating programs. [GE]

*Due to furloughs, CEL website may not be updated immediately.

BECA in India: To Mumbai by Train

lmauricio — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:41:00 -0700

Sixteen of us boarded the overnight train to Mumbai on Thursday evening, only knowing we were to sleep on the train, but having no idea of what to expect. A few of us loaded up with junk food to make sure we would stay fed while rolling along. As it turned out, we each had a narrow bunk, and almost all of us were on top. We were provided with sheets, a pillow, and a blanket -necessary to keep warm with the air conditioning on. And they began feeding us immediately! First, we received a snack at tea time. Then there was dinner. And in the morning, we were served a full breakfast before arriving in Mumbai at 8:30 AM. Although the bunks were a bit narrow, we slept fine, and were ready for a day of sightseeing after checking in to our hotel.
Mumbai is a much more cosmopolitan city than Delhi. If 90% of women in Delhi wear saris or "suits," probably 80% of women in Mumbai do not. Instead, jean and tops, much like you would see on young women in the U.S., are the "uniform" of choice. The Muslim population is much more prominent in Mumbai than in Delhi; mosques are everywhere, and men wear small, white caps, while a few women wear burqas. Another immediate difference is the weather! The humidity was near 90% while the temperature was probably in the high 70s or low 80s - COOL for us, after several weeks in one hundred degree temperatures in Delhi.
Vinay (Professor Vinay Shrivastava) led us on a walk around the city. We passed Victoria Transit, or "V.T.," a gorgeous, British train station, that led us to take many photos of the architecture. It was one of the three sites hit in the bombings in November, and was under repair. Despite all that, it is photogenic. We went on to the Gateway to India, on the water's edge, and the site of the arrival by boat of the November terrorists. The Taj Mahal Hotel, which stands immediately behind the Gateway arch, was another of the three sites "hit" in November. It, too, is under repair, but much of it is operational. Then Vinay organized a horse and carriage ride to the other side of the peninsula on which Mumbai is located. There, we sat along the water and "chilled" for awhile. We were in front of the third site - another hotel, that has been renamed the Trident - targeted in the attacks. Again, it is under repair, although a part of the hotel is operating. It was eerie to be in these places that were so familiar from world news reports.
The next day - Saturday, July 4th, we took a whirlwind tour of Bollywood! We were grateful NOT to have fireworks for the 4th - especially if that meant terrorist fireworks, but we had floods instead! It rained heavily all day - the beginning of the monsoon season, and by evening, the city had flooded and roads were closed in various places. Even so, we had a wonderful day. Vinay had arranged for a bus to take us from place to place. We visited an editing lab, and later, a recording studio, where a soon-to-be-released Bollywood film was being dubbed. Due to the hospitality of Vinay's college friends, now working in the industry, we were able to watch the process "up close and personal." After a quick lunch, we went on to Whispering Woods International, a state-of-the-art school for filmmakers, where we toured the classrooms and drooled over the impressive equipment, saw a bit of a student film, and glimpsed a prominent Bollywood star from afar. Finally, we went on to the set of a weekly variety show, "Krazy Kane Ke 2," where this week's episode was being shot. By this time, it was after dark and the roads were full of water. We felt fortunate to make it back safely to the hotel.
Sunday was a free day. Some folks took boats to Elephanta Island where they explored the jungle-like environment. Others went to Mumbai's planetarium. Still others toured the Crawford Market and shopped for gifts for friends and relatives. By late afternoon, we were back on the train for the 16-hour ride to Delhi and our last few days in India.
Stay tuned for the remaining days of production and the wrap!

BECA in India: The Journey Continues

lmauricio — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:34:00 -0700

Production continues to go well as we are nearing the end of our shooting. We have two important interviews next week - close to our departure from Delhi, but right now, we are capturing, logging, transcribing, and getting as much B-roll as we think will be useful. Since Delhi is a photogenic place, it is tempting to shoot everything - but the students, well trained as they are, are sticking to their shot lists and doing a great job.
Last weekend, we traveled to Jaipur, otherwise known as the "Pink City," because many of the buildings have either been painted that color or are made from a sandstone that is a light terracotta. Arrangements were made for us to have an air-conditioned bus for the trip, but the AC broke down halfway there! And, since the bus is designed to be air conditioned, the windows do not open. So . . . imagine sitting in a large, sealed tin can with the temperature outside well over 100 degress F! We all arrived in Jaipur safely, though drenched in sweat, and we were grateful when the bus company replaced our bus for the trip back to Delhi.
In Jaipur, we wandered around a market selling fabric for saris and "suits" (women's clothes that are less formal than saris). It was delightful to see the "tie and dye" fabric that puts our Sixties styles to shame. Here, it's an art that has gone on for centuries. Women tie tiny bits of cloth (about 1 cm. in diameter) into "puffs," in a regular design, so that a cloth that begins as five meters in length becomes a piece about a yard long. Then it is dyed in the respective color or colors. When the threads are removed, it leaves a gorgeous, dotted pattern - intricate and delicate. Jaipur also has a long tradition of block-printed fabric, and the work - centuries old - is beautiful!
We toured the Amber Fort, a huge construction built across 200 years. It is surrounded by walls that look like the Great Wall in China. The fort has room after room, and secret passages so the king could visit one of his 12 wives without the other 11 knowing whom he was visiting. Some of the students took elephant rides up to the entrance to the fort. We also visited the City Palace, built by one of the kings when he "tired" of the fort. In it, there was a lovely textile museum, a less lovely museum of armaments, and two 900 gallon silver urns that one king filled with water from the Ganges and took with him to England, so that he could immerse himself, as was the custom, after he touched the hands of those who were not Hindu!
We traveled back to Delhi in air-conditioned splendor. Actually, the AC was a bit high, but we were afraid to complain after our AC-less trip the day before. Sunday traffic in India is grueling, so the 100 mile or so trip took about five hours. The next trip is to Mumbai, by train, so stay tuned!

State of Events, Episode 6

lmauricio — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:34:00 -0800

The students in BECA 660 and BECA 516 collaborate each week to produce an original newscast, State of Events.
This weeks episode was Produced by Derek Highsmith and Directed by Chris Ceglia.

State of Events, Episode 5

lmauricio — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:39:00 -0700

The students of BECA 660 and BECA 516 proudly present the latest episode of State of Events. This week's episode was Produced by Derek Highsmith and Directed by John Marovich.

SFSU vs. CSUDH Live Soccer

lmauricio — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:19:00 -0700

Watch as the SFSU Gators Women's and Men's team take on the Toros live from San Francisco. Join the BECA Sports Broadcasting Team in their first installment of this semester. Log on to UStream live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gators-soccer-9-18 and root for the home team.

State of Events, Episode 4

lmauricio — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:07:00 -0700

Watch the latest episode of State of Events produced by the students in BECA 660 and BECA 516.

BECA CHAIR'S OFFICE HOURS

lmauricio — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:13:00 -0700

Here are Dr. Scott Patterson's office hours for the next 3 weeks:

Monday 8/17 from 10-12 (canceled for university closure)
Tuesday 8/18 from 12-2
Thursday 8/20 from 12-2
Monday 8/24 from 10-12 (canceled for faculty meeting)
Tuesday 8/25 from 9-11
Wednesday 8/26 from 12-2
Thursday 8/27 from 9-11
Monday 8/31 from 10-12
Monday 9/7 from 10-12 (canceled for Labor Day. University Closure.)
Wednesday 9/9 from 1-3

And here is the rest of it.

BECA in India:Close to a Wrap

lmauricio — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:26:00 -0700

This week, upon arriving back from Mumbai, we finished up the last of our shoots - a major shoot of the Mission Education program, and some additional B-roll. We had our last production meeting on Monday, where we tended to details like evaluations and plans for getting the equipment safely back to San Francisco. Additionally, the week has been full of running around, making last purchases of gifts for friends and family, and seeing those monuments that eluded us in the midst of production. The Smile Foundation hosted us for lunch on Wednesday, and presented us all with gifts, including a Smile tee-shirt for all. We attended another dinner - at the home of some of Vinay's relatives - last night. It was a bit of a last-night-in-Delhi celebration, with folks from Smile, some of Vinay's college classmates, and a former SFSU student, now living back in India, in attendance. It was a bittersweet time - the end of a terrific experience and a group that enjoyed being together, but the beginning of new adventures and the chance to get away from the heat and pollution of Delhi.
A number of the students have plans to travel after the end of the class. One left early to visit an SFSU friend in Korea. Three went north to land in Darjeeling, and arrive in Varanasi for the solar eclipse. Another three went south to enjoy the beaches in Goa and explore parts of the south, but will meet the others for the eclipse. Two others will depart for Viet Nam and Korea from our layover in Seoul. And the rest of us will go straight home, and return the production equipment on Monday. Students will continue to work on post production for the next month or two, with student Veronica Bretzer in charge.
It's been a great experience! We have set the date for the screening of the Smile Foundation video for Thursday, October 1, at 7:00 PM. Do join us in Studio One of the Creative Arts Building on that date! Namaste!

BECA in India: Getting Around

lmauricio — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:58:00 -0700

In California - and especially in Southern California, we have the car. But in Delhi, how does one get around? Well, we are learning. Certainly there are cars - far too many for the streets. Imagine a four-lane, one-way street with at least five lanes of traffic traveling along it - and another few motorcycles or auto rickshaws creating even newer lanes! Oh, and keep in mind that streets are British style - one drives on the left. This means that, for the unsuspecting Californian who not only assumes that cars stop for pedestrians, but that cars drive on the right, crossing the street is a major adventure. Actually, that is a poor description. It is a life or death proposition. Cars, rickshaws, motorcycles and pedestrians all fight for space on the streets, and it is a constant game of chicken. One learns quickly to jump out of the way - quickly!
There is a metro - well built, clean, efficient, and inexpensive. There is quite a bit of security; women form one line and men form another as they go through airport-like security checks of their person and packages. Since more men are traveling than women, the line for men to pass through the security system is a great revenge for lines for women's restrooms around the world! The trains are air conditioned; they can be crowded, but even so, are quite comfortable. At every stop, a recording of a woman with a marked British accent warns the traveler to, "Mind the gap!" between the train and the platform. Unfortunately, the metro does not yet go to all parts of Delhi; it won't be complete until 2015, so that leaves the need to find other ways to get around.
Rickshaws! There are two types: the auto rickshaw and the bicycle rickshaw. The auto rickshaw is a motorized three-wheeler that holds up to 3 people (three THIN people!). The rule is to negotiate the price ahead of time, and to have an idea of what the ride should cost before the negotiation begins. Riding the autorickshaw is another experience of taking one's life in one's hands. The rickshaw driver crosses lanes of traffic, cuts off cars and other rickshaws, and constantly competes with other drivers to get where you want to go. One problem is that many rickshaw drivers can negotiate the traffic effectively, but they don't know how to get to specific places in Delhi. (No GPS system here!) We have spent huge amounts of time, especially at rush hour, trying to find the address we were looking for. The best way to ride in a rickshaw is to focus on something else - ANYTHING but the road ahead!
The bicycle rickshaw is another matter entirely. Two people (max) fit on the auto rickshaw, but for this Westerner, it is guilt-producing to get on a bicycle rickshaw, feeling the heat and knowing the energy it takes to pedal a bicycle, let alone one carrying a cart on which people are riding. The autorickshaw is best used for short distances, and we have done just that. The auto rickshaw driver needs to negotiate the same street with everyone else, so the game of chicken continues.
Yes, there are city buses, but we have been warned away from them by tales of pickpocketers and, more seriously, reports of sexual abuse. So we see them pass by, loaded with people, windows open, with no AC, and are grateful not to be riding them.
Tonight, we will experience the Indian train as we travel, overnight, to Mumbai. Stay tuned for a future report on that mode of transportation.

BECA programs on TV & the Web

lmauricio — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:12:00 -0700

BECA students are hard at work producing weekly programs for your enjoyment. Be sure to tune into our weekly newscast, State of Events, and our weekly talk show, Under SF, on the following Comcast channels:

San Francisco:
Channel 27
Fridays 5pm-7pm
Wednesday 1:30pm-2pm

Channel 75
Saturdays: 8pm-10pm
Sundays: 1am-3am

Channel 29: Sundays at noon
Channel 76: Wednesdays at 5:30 PM

Millbrae, Brisbane, San Carlos, San Mateo
Channel 27: Fridays 10-11pm
Also airs on AT&T U-verse - Channel 99 and live web stream on www.mctv.tv

And be sure to check out www.stateofevents.tv for all the latest news!

TV and New Media Meet—Twice!

lmauricio — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:17:00 -0700

As traditional and new media converge, show creators are reaping big rewards for being able to do both.

Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse, responded to the 2008 writers' strike by plunging into the new-media realm with Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog. This week, Whedon received an Emmy award for the web musical—his first Emmy win despite the huge popularity of his TV shows.

Dan Harmon, founder of Channel 101—one of the first major web venues for short-format video series—crossed over to cable television as co-creator of The Sarah Silverman Show, and is the creator and executive producer of Community, a new sitcom airing on NBC.

What does this mean for BECA students? More opportunities—and more to learn! Creating your own web series will challenge your writing and production skills as well as give you something great to include in your portfolio. Your cast, your crew, all the people you need are right here in the College of Creative Arts; for example, check out Adventures with Seth, a monthly web series created by BECA students, and Break a Leg, one of the web's first and longest running sitcoms, created by Cinema students.

State of Events, Episode 7

lmauricio — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:16:00 -0800

State of Events is produced by the students in BECA 660 in collaboration with the BECA 516 TV Studio News Crew.
This week's episode was produced by Heather Arruda & Derek Highsmith, and directed by Cristhian Diaz.