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Fade to grey: Smoke fires up Cinema's students

Video effects tool a gift of creativity at Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
May 28, 2012
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By Scott McCulloch


Glasses raised to Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Frederick Lowy and Mary Kay Lowy.
From left to right: Marielle Nitoslawska, Heather McDiarmid, Marie Claire Morin, Marc-André Ferguson

University officials paid tribute to Autodesk Inc. for its gift in-kind of Smoke video editing software to Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at a cocktail reception May 24.

Close to 30 guests, including cinema industry veteran Mel Hoppenheim, gathered on the 11th floor of the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex for a cozy ceremony complemented by a video montage by the school’s post-production coordinator Marcus von Holtzendorff. Like many visual effects artists, Von Holtzendorff used Smoke to produce his alluring video.

Marc-André Ferguson
Marc-André Ferguson

Smoke industry manager Marc-André Ferguson said Autodesk’s video tool would open doors of creativity for cinema students. “There is no limit to what you can produce anymore,” Ferguson said. “If you can imagine it, there’s a camera to film it and software to realize your vision.”

Marielle Nitoslawska
Marielle Nitoslawska

Marielle Nitoslawska, chair of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, spoke warmly about her cinema colleagues and said she hoped to deepen Concordia’s relationship with Autodesk.

The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema’s version of Smoke, widely used by film and video editors, will be upgraded by Autodesk as new applications emerge. “Autodesk has much to offer and its video-editing software Smoke has found a natural home at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema,” said Marie Claire Morin, vice-president of Concordia’s Advancement and Alumni Relations.

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