Student Spotlight Volume 3, Number 2

Margot La Penta, Sophomore Kevin Kast, Freshman Entrepreneurial Business Entertainment Media

Originally from New York, Margot While in high school in Roseburg, Oregon, has had a desire since high school Kevin made up to ten films per year and to create a fun fashion magazine won numerous contests. Since it didn’t for teen girls that would appeal seem likely that he would be able to find a to the moral aspect of their lives. film school that was passionately Catholic, he stuck to toning his writing skills and Margot graduated in August planned to attend the University of Portland. 2007 with a degree in Journalism from Franciscan University. She A week before he was to start there, realized that her magazine a family friend mentioned JP Catholic. After checking out the JP would not come to life without business experience. Catholic website, Kevin made the last minute decision to change This Issue: Soon after this realization she found out about JP schools and pursue his education in filmmaking in San Diego. April 2008 Catholic, decided to attend, and started last September. th� Moved by the beauty of the Vatican, Kevin says, “I look at art Message from the President...... 1 Margot enjoys her time at JP Catholic and is amazed as her in an entirely new light. My life’s dream is to do with film what idea for her magazine develops every day. “It is a great gift Michaelangelo did with paint and stone. “That’s why I’m at JP Messenger Inside the New Media Lab...... 2 to see my dream to start a magazine becoming a reality.” Catholic.” QUARTER LY NEWSLETTER Giuseppe Awards: Student Film Festival...... 2 JP Catholic - Inventing the Future of Catholic Higher Education Faculty Spotlight: Prof. Chris Riley...... 2 www atholic com Dr. Derry Connolly, President of JP Catholic • .JPC . • Taking out the Cameras...... 3 This is an audacious goal for a fledgling institution and the “why” is very important to understand. NON-PROFIT ORG. 90 Seconds Before the Holy Father...... 3 US POSTAGE PAID JP Catholic is the first Catholic university with the goal of being at the center of an How You Can Help: Scholarships...... 3 SAN DIEGO, CA industry cluster – namely New Media. Some of the finest secular universities in the PERMIT #1184 world sit at the hub of regional industry clusters. Stanford, in the Silicon Valley, is a Student Spotlight...... 4 prime example. Silicon Valley depends upon the innovation and talent of Stanford graduates. The University of California, San Diego is another example. UCSD fuels Inventing the Future of Catholic Higher Education the Telecommunications and Biotech clusters in the greater San Diego region through ongoing research and development of talent. No Catholic university in the US sits at the hub of a regional industry cluster.

The industry cluster JP Catholic seeks to position itself within is the New Media. New Media is media content that is distributed via the Internet and cell phones, compared to Old Media, which 10174 Old Grove Road, Suite 200 encompasses print media, film, and TV. While old media’s distri- San Diego, CA 92131 bution channels are tightly controlled by monopolies, the New (858) 653-6740 Media is transforming the landscape of the industry and offers great opportunity. JP Catholic will position itself to be at the cen- ter of New Media technology innovation and content creation. www.JPCatholic.com This audacious goal is critical, apropos, and has a long time Open horizon. It is critical for the Catholic Church in its efforts for the new evangelization – an idea frequently articulated by Pope Houses John Paul II; apropos in that JP Catholic is in the right place May 3rd (Southern California) and at the right time to be a university hub for the evolving Catholic efforts in New Media. It has, how- June 7th ever, a long time horizon in that it can take from 20 to 40 years for a university to grow July 12th a critical mass of companies to have a meaningful impact on the truly global industry. Dr. Derry Connolly with students Tasha Freeman, Lisa Hegeman, and Jessica Bauer God Bless, JP Catholic has received a temporary approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Derry Connolly Vocational Education (BPPVE) in order to enable the Bureau to conduct a quality inspection of the institution. Inside the New Media Lab 90 Seconds Before the Holy Father Extraordinary Generosity enables by: Tom Dunn, Director of Digital Media Extraordinary Potential. Lighting that exquisite background. Compos- Most media projects are JP Catholic students make film for Pope’s ing the perfect frame. Recording the precise polished in our editing Mass in D.C. sound. Bringing all these elements together room with its 10 high- into a concise message and allowing the idea end computer worksta- JP Catholic has created a 90-second film segment for and emotion to jump off the screen. This is the tions. This post-produc- the Diocese of San Diego as part of a video greet- power of today’s high-tech media. It is also a tion facility provides ing to be shown before the April 17th Mass that world dependent upon a varied assortment students the capabil- Pope Benedict will celebrate in Washington DC. of computer-based equipment to communi- ity to edit video and cate these stories to the intended audience. audio, create custom Dioceses from around the nation are contributing to sound tracks and the video that will showcase the ethnic, geograph- JP Catholic’s state-of-the-art digital media lab sound effects, apply ic, and generational diversity of our Church and to provides students with the tools to transform visual effects and mo- convey the enthusiasm of the Catholic faithful na- their compelling and uplifting stories into tion graphics, author tionwide for their Church and for the Holy Father. viewable media. custom DVD menus and titles, and re- Overseen by Prof. Tom Dunn, the student team The Digital Media Lab is divided into produc- compress their media to the various sizes and created a segment that features statements from tion and post-production. The production formats available for viewing. Post-production editing lab Bishop Robert Brom and Auxiliary Bishop Salva- unit houses 5 JVC digital camcorders that al- tore Cordileone, as well as beautiful visuals of some low students to shoot in both standard and The Digital Media Lab is critical to pro- The university is forever grateful to our of San Diego’s historic churches and Catholic life at high-definition, along with a large assortment viding students with the skills and tools very generous benefactors who have made the parish level. The film’s focus is on the mission- of lighting, grip & audio tools. needed to affect culture through media. this high-tech digital media lab a reality. ary history of the Church in San Diego, and how this original vocation is still being carried out today.

Giuseppe Awards Faculty Spotlight: The students were excited to be asked by the Chan- Student Film Festival Chris Riley cellor of the Diocese to do the project, to work with Your Legacy... the Bishops, and to create a film segment that will by: Tim Evans, Sophomore Professor of Film be viewed by approximately 46,000 pilgrims -as well as Pope Benedict. Sophomore entertainment The annual Giuseppe Awards Film Festival provides a forum for stu- JP Catholic Professor Chris Riley, a Los media major Tim Evans says, “It’s so amazing that dents to apply the skills they acquire in class to the production of short Angeles-based screenwriter and the my first real film will be seen by the Holy Father.” extracurricular films. director of the acclaimed Act One Writing Program in Hollywood, is meeting with rave Organized completely by the student body, the contest takes place reviews from his favorite audience: over the course of one full quarter. Producers rise from the ranks of the college students. student body and choose their team members: director, cinematogra- pher, writer, editor, and actors. The producers are Riley teaches a series of classes at JP Catholic that introduces given “loglines” the students to the basics of telling a story through film and (one sentence sees them through writing their own feature-length scripts. Contribute to our Student Scholarship Fund! story ideas) Call (858) 653-6740 or come visit us in person to discuss your gift. and then set to “He helps us understand the differences between telling a work writing, story on paper and writing for the screen,” says freshman media filming, and major Alena Cabral. Taking out the Cameras editing their projects, work- While a script-processing manager for Warner Bros. Inc., Students Get to Use the Real Thing ing hard to meet Riley oversaw a staff of more than a dozen writers producing by: Mollie O’Hare, Sophomore their deadlines. scripts for every major Hollywood studio. He is also the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and The films are Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. He takes that JP Catholic students film One of the coolest things about being an Entertainment Media ma- judged by JP experience in helping others develop scripts into the classroom. Bishop Robert Brom for a film segment to be part of jor is comparing the student films made at the beginning of the Catholic pro- the video greeting before the Mass that Pope Bene- year with those made at the end and seeing the improvement. fessors on “He helps us bring a sense of truth to our scripts by teaching us to draw dict will celebrate in Washington D.C. this month. While we work hard in the classroom, we are also blessed to be able to Student film in progress Story, Produc- on our own experiences,” says sophomore media major Adrian Flores. hone our skills off campus by taking the cameras, along with lighting and tion Values, Philosophies Expressed, Mar- sound equipment, to shoot films on location. The obligation is simply that ketability, and Critical Impact. As students learn to apply these Riley also prepares the students to maintain their we use the equipment responsibly and return it all on time. Many students standards to their films and to act professionally, com- integrity in the filmmaking industry. Freshman media major avail themselves of this opportunity and practice making short films just for petitively, and spiritually, they ready themselves to cre- Elizabeth Merriman says, “He is an amazing man of faith and fun, sometimes in as little as 24 hours. This access fosters our creativity and ate quality New Media that will positively impact the culture. brings that perspective on the industry to the classroom.” helps us to become better filmmakers -which is why we chose JP Catholic.