Hamilton students are being offered a unique opportunity to learn about the film industry this spring courtesy of alumnus Thomas Tull '92. The founder, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures has established a film treatment challenge open to any student.
On Thursday, April 17, Tull and executives from the Legendary team will come to campus to talk with all interested students in a series of open information sessions. Among the topics they will address are the steps that precede the making of a film, including the creation of a film treatment. Attendees will also hear about the elements of a film treatment in order to be able to enter the challenge which will be held in fall 2008.
The following spring, selected finalists will be flown out to Los Angeles, put up in a hotel and given the opportunity to pitch their treatment to the Legendary creative team just as the highest level directors and writers do today. Although there is no guarantee that the winning entry will be made into a film, finalists will have the invaluable experience of meeting with professionals in the film industry to discuss their work.
In defining a film treatment, Tull explains that it is no more than telling a story and explaining how that story can be presented visually in film. "Is this story cinematic? What will it take to put this on screen? To tell the story?" According to Tull, these are the kinds of questions a student must ask in the process of creating a treatment, a document that is typically no more than a few typed pages.
In explaining how the competition was conceived, Tull said, "We are very democratic here about where we get ideas for movies. A member of my team suggested the film treatment competition – and I thought, Hamilton is a great school with smart people and a theater department and I thought, why not?"
Tull is also offering two summer internships at his company to rising seniors and this year's graduates. The goal of the internship program is to provide students with hands-on experience within the entertainment industry and a holistic overview of Legendary's operations. Interns will rotate within two departments of the company, the creative development and the new media, business development and home entertainment department. "This is a great opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about the field – everything from the tedium of running errands to an inside look into how film financing is put together," said Tull.
On Thursday, April 17, Tull and executives from the Legendary team will come to campus to talk with all interested students in a series of open information sessions. Among the topics they will address are the steps that precede the making of a film, including the creation of a film treatment. Attendees will also hear about the elements of a film treatment in order to be able to enter the challenge which will be held in fall 2008.
The following spring, selected finalists will be flown out to Los Angeles, put up in a hotel and given the opportunity to pitch their treatment to the Legendary creative team just as the highest level directors and writers do today. Although there is no guarantee that the winning entry will be made into a film, finalists will have the invaluable experience of meeting with professionals in the film industry to discuss their work.
In defining a film treatment, Tull explains that it is no more than telling a story and explaining how that story can be presented visually in film. "Is this story cinematic? What will it take to put this on screen? To tell the story?" According to Tull, these are the kinds of questions a student must ask in the process of creating a treatment, a document that is typically no more than a few typed pages.
In explaining how the competition was conceived, Tull said, "We are very democratic here about where we get ideas for movies. A member of my team suggested the film treatment competition – and I thought, Hamilton is a great school with smart people and a theater department and I thought, why not?"
Tull is also offering two summer internships at his company to rising seniors and this year's graduates. The goal of the internship program is to provide students with hands-on experience within the entertainment industry and a holistic overview of Legendary's operations. Interns will rotate within two departments of the company, the creative development and the new media, business development and home entertainment department. "This is a great opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about the field – everything from the tedium of running errands to an inside look into how film financing is put together," said Tull.
