Rebels With A Cause PSA Contest
Make your life anything but ordinary by winning the Rebel With A Cause Contest. Winners are awarded a full scholarship to Specs Howard School of Media Arts! FOX 66 and Specs Howard present Rebels with a Cause, challenging high school seniors and high school graduates up to 26 years old to produce a 20 second Public Service Announcement addressing one of these 8 causes:
- Animal Rights
- Drug or Alcohol Abuse
- Texting while driving
- Bullying
- Suicide Prevention
- Cancer Awareness
- Discrimination
- Importance of the Arts
- Choose the cause thats most important to you and then start scripting your 20 second PSA!
All entries most be received by 5:30pm on Friday, March 25th.
The PSAs will be judged on creativity, originality, and impact of message from a panel of FOX66 judges. The PSA named the grand prize winner will premiere on April 6th before the airing of American Idol. The winner will receive a Digital Media Arts Program scholarship to Specs Howard School of Media Arts and be awarded 10 Cedar Point tickets. The second and third place winners will each receive 4 Cedar Point tickets.
Click here for official contest rules.
2010 Specs Howard Hall of Fame Inductees
Specs Howard School of Media Arts would like to congratulate our 2010 inductees into our Hall of Fame. We are pleased to honor five extraordinary graduates who have significantly contributed to the media industry including Jim Bell, Tommy Brunswick, Eric De Fino, Al Johnson, and Jeff Gesler. We would also like to congratulate Jay Hudson for being chosen as the Detroit on-air “Popular Vote” choice for our Hall of Fame.
Specs Howard School would not be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year without them. Our inductees will join 37 other graduates and will be featured in a Specs Howard Hall of Fame exhibit at our Southfield campus, on our website, and in all future hall of fame exhibits and publications.
Specs Grad, Renee Vitale, joins Jay Towers on WNIC morning show
Specs Howard is proud to announce that grad, Renee Vitale, will be joined by co-host Jay Towers for a new morning show on WNIC-FM (100.3). The new show begins July 12 and will air weekday mornings throughout metro Detroit.
Excerpt from Freep.com:
Motor City media personality Jay Towers is adding a new stop to his busy commute: Starting July 12 he'll launch a new morning radio show on WNIC-FM (100.3).
Towers, with co-host Renee Vitale, will power up Detroit commuters from 5:30-10 a.m. He'll also serve as program director for WDTW-FM (106.7, the Beat), a sister station in Clear Channel’s Detroit radio cluster, Clear Channel announced today. Clear Channel Detroit, which runs WNIC, also oversees WKQI-FM (95.5), WJLB-FM (97.9), WMXD-FM (92.3), WDFN-AM (1130), and WDTW-AM (1310).
“The morning show is going to be a mix of what's going on in Detroit and feature all kinds of lifestyle and entertainment news and music,” Towers told the Free Press today. “We're going to keep it fresh and moving; it's not going to sound like anything else.”
You can also check out the video below from the Fox 2 newscast.
(Photo: Courtesy of Clear Channel Detroit/WNIC)
WIN A LOGO CONTEST
Specs Howard School of Media Arts is offering Michigan businesses a chance to better their brands in our first "Win A Logo Contest." The online contest provides a unique opportunity for small to medium-sized business owners to have their company logo redesigned—for free—to meet the challenges of a new economy.
“The Win A Logo Contest contest is designed to be mutually beneficial to both students and the business community,” said Lisa Zahodne, president and COO of Specs Howard. “One company will win a new logo to strengthen its brand identity, while the students will receive real-world design experience.”
To enter, business owners simply submit their current logo to the Win A Logo website along with a short narrative on why the business needs a new logo and why it deserves to win.
Participants will be judged based on their company story, current logo and fulfillment of basic eligibility requirements. The contest is open to the owner or officer of a legal business who are 18 years or older. The company must have been in business for at least six months, be headquartered in Michigan and have an existing company Web site and logo.
The grand prize is a gift certificate for a company logo redesign, provided by the students from Specs Howard’s Graphic Design Program, with a retail value of $1,500, based on a maximum of 30 design hours. The winning company will choose one of several designs provided by the students for its new logo. The contest deadline is April 25. For more information or to enter the contest, visit winalogo.com.
Tanner Friedman
SAVING BROTHERHOOD
Tentative Release: June 2010
Phil Lupo, Patrick Witt, Mike Schiappacasse, Andrew Wenner and Jason Radulski, all Specs grads, along with their partner Marco Centi, have joined forces under 309 Productions (their RTV class number) to independently produce “Saving Brotherhood” – a documentary about a group of fraternity brothers who come together to save their fraternity house from being sold.
Forget what you think you know about frat boys. Saving Brotherhood puts to rest common misconceptions (beer bongs, chasing girls, and popped collars) and explores the true meaning of what it means to be a “brother.”
This documentary, which follows a group of fraternity brothers on a quest to save their house, provides a unique perspective on a cornerstone of collegiate life. The film digs deep to define what brotherhood is and highlights the importance of protecting tradition.
Lupo says, “It is because of the instructors’ knowledge and experience and the camaraderie of our class at Specs Howard that 309 Productions exists today.”
They are anticipating a June 2010 premier for “Saving Brotherhood."
Phil Lupo, Producer/Director
AND NOW THERE ARE TWO
Well, not quite, but we now have two cars we’re proud to drive to promotional events. This past summer, our new Camaro made its debut in the Woodward Dream Cruise. And now our funky little white, black and green cruiser will take to the streets this winter!
Forest Post Productions hires Specs Howard graduates
Chris Staels, VP of Forest Post Productions, Farmington Hills, Michigan, is pleased to announce that recent Specs Howard graduates Josh Swansey and Jake Scott are now on staff. Josh and Jake began their internships at Forest Post in February of 2009. Josh joins the Video Edit department as an Assistant Editor, and Jake is on the Design Department team.
Both Josh and Jake displayed great commitment throughout their internships, and developed their technical and creative talents over the last several months. Perhaps not always glamorous, their internships proved to the Forest Post staff that both were enthusiastic and willing to execute whatever was asked of them. And clients have provided positive feedback as well regarding their work!
“Both these kids have really done it right regarding their internships,” says Staels. “They stuck to it, which is a really big deal! We are fortunate to have both Josh and Jake “on board” at Forest Post, and we look forward to a great future with them!”
Specs Howard School Announces Digital Media Program
Specs Howard School of Media Arts has launched a new Digital Media Arts program with the first classes scheduled to start at the Studio Center location this spring. The announcement was made by Lisa Zahodne, President/COO of Specs Howard School.
An intensive 12-month program, Specs Howard School of Media Arts’ new Digital Media Arts curriculum will provide students with a comprehensive foundation for a career in the growing digital media field. Areas of focus will include:
- Digital Media Production and Editing
- ENG (electronic news gathering)
- Graphic Design
- Media Ethics, Policy and Law
- Motion Graphics
- Website Design
- Writing for Digital Media
With a legendary broadcast curriculum spanning nearly 40 years, Specs Howard School added a graphic design program in 2008 and, earlier this year, two new film workshops, including an eight-week “Introduction to Film Workshop” and seven-week “World of Post-Production Workshop."
Said Jonathan Liebman, Chairman/CEO, Specs Howard School of Media Arts: “We are looking forward to continuing our evolution in preparing students for new and emerging opportunities in the creative and media arts fields, including those seeking to transition to new careers.”
Tanner Friedman
SPECS HOWARD SCHOOL CELEBRATES 40 YEARS
Specs Howard School celebrated its 40th anniversary on January 14. Our founder, Mr. Specs Howard, toasted all available staff, reminding us that when the doors opened, he himself was his one and only employee. He enrolled students, swept the floor, did the bookkeeping (using an old stove for a file cabinet) and taught all the classes. Today, the Specs Howard staff tops off at roughly 100 people.
Specs’ early commitment to hands-on training is what made his school a success. He equipped his two-room school with two turntables, headphones, a microphone, two reel-to-reel tape machines, and one small console, which was quite progressive for the time. The other broadcast schools were correspondence schools where students recorded their lessons onto a tape and sent them in to be graded. He said his students loved that they could talk into a microphone and hear themselves through the headphones.
Six months later, Mr. Howard moved the school to the One Northland Drive Building in Southfield, Michigan. He had one full-time and two part-time employees.
For more fun facts about the history of Specs Howard School, visit our 40 Years in 40 Days exhibit on WRIF’s website.
