Big Picture Alliance

Big Picture Alliance congratulates Scholastic Young Artist Gold Key Award Winner Ricardo Lopez for the movie poster he designed for the narrative film Divided Loyalties during the 2011 Delphi Teen Media Summer Program. An Awards Ceremony and reception will take place on Saturday, April 14 at 1 p.m. at the University of the Arts.

Works earning Gold Keys are forwarded to the national judging of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in New York City. All Gold Key works from across the country will be reviewed by nationally and internationally renowned artists to select approximately 1,000 awards on the national level.

We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for you, Ricardo!

BPA Welcomes Winter/Spring 2012 Intern Sam Wickes…

Sam Wickes is 18-years-old and currently a senior at Hill Top Preparatory School in Rosemont, PA.  Sam’s interest in film and video began at a very young age where he recalls crawling to the VCR to watch “The Lion King” and “Titan A.E.” As he grew older, his visits to Blockbuster became more frequent and he realized he had a passion for storytelling and film. He also realized the value, and power, in media.

“With the help of technology, we have created movies that get the audience to think about the situation and to think about what will happen next,” says Sam, “it means that we think about stories and ideas that we wish to share.”

Sam is actively involved in his school’s performance group and basketball team, in addition to his new adventure with Big Picture Alliance. He hopes to learn more about himself while developing both his filmmaking and computer skills.

Check back soon for a video about what Sam hopes to achieve through his co-op… and some other fun facts!

Dear Friends of Big Picture Alliance,

Happy New Year!

Thanks to your generous support in 2011, Big Picture Alliance can continue to provide transformative learning experiences in 2012.

You are helping to offer underserved youth a forum for self-expression, creativity and accomplishment through the medium of film and video.

Supporters like you make our community a better place for us to educate, engage and empower our students to learn, grow and live.

—

Missed the Giving Season? It’s never too late to support: DONATE Today.

REELFilm Experience students work closely with a BPA Media Instructor to learn basic camera skills.

Heartfelt thanks to The Allen Hilles Fund, Enon Baptist Community Ministries & The Matthews Family Foundation for their support of Big Picture Alliance and our REELFilm Experience programs in the coming year!  It’s thanks to supporters like these that we can continue to engage, educate and expose youth to the world of media arts, literacy and filmmaking in 2012 and beyond!

Want to support Big Picture Alliance?  Click here.

Does your company match?  Remember our United Way Donor Choice #10298.

From all of us at Big Picture Alliance, Thank you!

Cabral working with a student in BPA's REEL Film Experience 2011

BPA Media Instructor Nuala Cabral is a jack of all trades. In addition to her teaching, she is also a filmmaker who actively supports the anti-street harassment movement and is the co-founder of a Philadelphia-based media literacy project, FAAN Mail.

Walking  Home, one of Cabrals’ more recent films, won the “Speaking Out Award” at the Media That Matters festival in New York City .  This festival is a premiere showcase for short films that inspire action on the most important topics relating to both local and global communities.  It’s only natural that Cabral’s poetic film about street harassment (from the unique perspective of women who are harassed) was selected for this honorable project.

“Walking Home” will be screened in NYC on Thursday, October 27 at the SVA Theatre.

Sending her a big congratulations for this honor!

On Sunday, Big Picture Alliance was one of many outstanding arts and environmental organizations to participate in the CAFe Community Arts Festival which featured a full day of arts, environmental education, and fun!  Additionally each organization presented one interactive, engaging activity for attendees.

Big Picture Alliance helped the community to learn about digital arts and filmmaking by allowing participants to use flip cameras to film the event.  This video is a collective effort created by CAFe attendees and participating organizations and edited by a Big Picture Alliance staff member.  Great work, CAFe!

CAFe 2011 is a community arts festival presented by InLiquid, Crane Arts, Kensington South Neighborhood Advisory Council and ArtsRising.

Congratulations to BPA student Jessica Lynn Grose for being one of 17 finalists in the WHYY Youth Media Awards, honoring the best works by young filmmakers in WHYY’s broadcast area.  Jessica’s exceptional piece entitled Reflections, which was produced this summer during BPA’s REEL Film Experience at the Philadelphia Center for Arts & Technology, took 3rd place in the Open Category and 1st Place in the Judges Award Category!

Reflections, along with the 16 other student works, were screened at the awards presentation on Thursday, October 13 in the Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Commons at WHYY.

Here is Jessica’s “reflection” on her experiences with BPA this summer:

“Coming to this program [REEL Film Experience] has completely expanded my repertoire,” says Grose, “and being able to learn more about what I love [filmmaking] is such an opportunity for me, it has been such fun.”

Jessica Lynn Grose is 15-years-old and attends Norristown Area High School.  She is involved in marching band, concert band, drama, and field hockey.  She is a singer and songwriter who also plays several instruments including saxophone and piano. In fact, the song featured in Reflections was both written and performed by Grose.

This month the Math + Science Coalition, a division of the Philadelphia Education Fund, is hosting their first-ever Student Video Contest.

For more information, visit the contest website and Facebook page.

This Sunday, October 16 Big Picture Alliance will have a table at the CAFe Community Arts Festival; a full day of arts, environmental education, and fun for all ages! The  festival will feature live music, food, drink, and tables for interactive activities by various arts and environmental organizations.

Big Picture Alliance’s table will host a fun “video activity” for attendees, demo reels, informational packets and more!

This event is FREE and open to the public, rain or shine, so come out and support BPA and other Philadelphia arts and environmental organizations!  For more information, visit www.inliquid.org/features/cafe2011

Organizations that help Philadelphia youth build self-expression and creative skills through digital media production are banding together to increase visibility of youth media programs in the city through the Philadelphia Youth Media Collaborative (PYMC).   Last week the PYMC received a $50,000 grant to continue to build a vibrant network of youth-serving media organizations with expertise in youth development, youth media, and digital and media literacy in Philadelphia.

More than 3,000 young people each year in the Philadelphia region participate in a variety of youth media programs. Today, the Collaborative is able to actively move ahead to further strengthen collaboration between program providers, to increase the quality of instructional practices and programs, amplifying positive youth voices, while making youth media a larger part of the public discourse in Philadelphia.

The PYMC was started in 2009 when representatives from local media organizations, including Big Picture Alliance, WHYY Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons, YES Philly, the Media Education Lab at Temple University,  PhillyCAM, the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia, PhillyCAM, Scribe Video Center, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, and the Mural Arts Program started to meet regularly for information exchange and networking.

According to Gretjen Clausing, Executive Director of PhillyCAM, “The PYMC will bring more visibility and better connections between organizations, while creating a space for youth to actively engaged in media creation and distribution to talk about issues of importance to them.”

The Philadelphia Foundation, a public charity, is Southeastern Pennsylvania’s leading center for community philanthropic engagement and is committed to improving the quality of life in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties through funds established by its donors. Established in 1918, The Philadelphia Foundation continues to help donors harness their generosity and vision by providing tools, knowledge and financial stewardship directed to maximize the strategic impact of charitable contributions. Grants from more than 775 charitable funds strengthen the effectiveness of nonprofits and support programs that are vital to the people of this region.