Features
November 19, 1998
19
Communications department prepares for big move next fall
Amy Medders
Contributing Reporter
To meet its growing needs,
Elon ’s communications department
will get a ‘new to them’ facility in
January 2000. McEwen Library’s
makeover into a premiere commu
nications department will take time,
but plans are being tentatively made.
“This building will be very
high tech, obviously,” said Chris
Fulkerson, associate director of the
library.
Some problems are occurring,
though, due to the several design
flaws. The columns currently in the
library, placed every 22 feet, cannot
be removed.
"It is an interlocked grid. If
you take one out, then something
collapses,” said Gerald Gibson, pro
fessor of communications. “It has
become a very complicated issue.”
Other design problems deal
with traffic flow, edit bays, light
ing, long hallways and isolated of
fices.
An additional unforeseen
complication is the government
bond money reserved for this
project.
“The bond money cannot be
added to by the college. Any cost
overrun on Duke renovations im
pacts our building negatively,” said
Gibson.
“The bond money allotted to
this project will only pay for the
renovations to the basement and
main floor. Plans to renovate the
second (or top) floor are not being
discussed at this time due to this
lack of funds. The upstairs area will
likely be divided into offices and
classrooms once the official project
is completed.
In its new facility, the com
munications department will house
editing bays, two computer labs,
classrooms, offices and two full size
television studios.
The studios provide space for
a class to learn and watch films
together. The editing labs will be
user-friendly to classes aimed at
teaching students how to use this
equipment. There will be two large
editing labs, in addition to nine in
dividual stations.
There are several new addi
tions to the building that will be
added on to the current facility.
The television studios will be
built onto the current building on
the side of Williamson and
Lebannon Avenues. An elevator
will also be added to make the build
ing handicap-accessible.
A film viewing room will also
be a new feature to the department.
It will double as a large-lecture class
room to accommodate large classes.
“It will be in a theater style
and will be set up so that you can do
reel film or video projection. It will
be a multimedia room of sorts,”
said Fulkerson.
This room’s idea developed
over many talks with the architects
and Elon representatives. The film
viewing room was originally
planned as a small classroom that
would have film equipment.
It has become a multimedia,
70-plus seating classroom that will
be available to many users.
“The idea was simply to have
some place where we could show
student projects, have film festi
vals, show independent movies, in
vite graduates back and let them
show their work,” explains Gibson.
“It will be more like Yeager
Hall than Carlton.”
The new communications
building promises to be a state of
the art facility that will give the
department room to grow.
“The plans still are in flux,”
said Gibson. “It’s probably in the
next couple of weeks that this stuff
will solidify and go ‘OK, this is the
way it is going to be.’”
Chapel Hill studio head discusses film at Fletcher series
Giselle Pole
The Pendulum
Robert Landau, a film editor
who is the head of New Century
Films, showed the film "Paradise
Lost" at the annual Fletcher Film
Festival Tuesday evening. After the
film’s showing, he spoke with The
Pendulum about his experiences in
the film industry.
Q: How exactly did you get
your start in the film industry?
A: Well, I kind of had a little
advantage. I grew up in a family
with my cousins and an uncle who
are producers. My father ran a show
biz hotel, I got the bug and kind of
hung around it. It wasn’t something
that was so unusual to me.
Q: Where are you from origi
nally?
A: New York City.
Q: What made you decide to
move to North Carolina?
A; At the
first college I
went to, my
roommate’s fa
ther taught at
UNC. He’d tell
me what a great
place it was. I
came down and
checked the
place out, and
fell in love with
it.
Q: So do you think that North
Carolina is a hot spot for the film
industry?
A: Yeah, it’s been amazing. I
came here in ‘73 originally, and
worked here professionally from
‘77 and returned in ‘84. In just that
time, it grew. When Screen Gems
(Studio) was built in Wilmington, it
really changed
^ things. It
brought in a lot
of people who
gained a lot of
skills from
working there.
That and the
studio in High
Point. Part of it
is because
North Carolina
is a pleasant
place. It’s got a lot of great loca
tions, and now it’s got a great base
of crew people who are highly
skilled.
Q: How long have you been
editing?
A: Since I was in third grade,
to be honest. Professionally, since
‘78.
Q: Where are some of the
places you’ve worked?
A: I’ve been in Nashville,
New York City and Los Angeles to
name a few, and when I decided I’d
get married and settle down, I chose
Chapel Hill.
Q: What are some of the
things you’ve done?
A: Recently I edited a docu
mentary for the Discovery Channel
called “Immortality on Ice.” I’ve
worked with Natioanl Geographic
a bunch, associate produced and
edited a series for Fox called “Ur
ban Anxiety.”
Q: What is the biggest ad
vantage for working in independent
film industry?
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A; It’s always the money.
Raising it, finding the people who
want to invest in the film, and mak
ing the money back. Everything
else is here.
There’s not a lab in North
Carolina, but that’s a small throw
back. But there are a couple of small
studios.
Q; Do you have any advice
for future filmmakers?
A: Get as many skills and get
as much experience as you can. Try
to figure out what you like to do.
Q: What’s the next project
for your business?
A: Right now we’re working
on a film called “Trulove’s
Kitchen.” We’re in the process of
raising money for that now. We
hope to shoot it in the spring and I’ll
be directing it.
The Fletcher Film series con
cludes tonight with two movies—
"Chesterfield" at 2 p.m. in Yeager
Hall, and "InsignificantOthers"at
7 p.m. in Whitley Auditorium.
Soul Food!!
Friday,
Nov. 20 at
5:30 p.m.
1st floor
McEwen
f
$3