By Tony Barber
Wolverine Con is San Bernardino Valley College's annual International Student Film Festival.
This year's 2024 Wolverine Con, the 13th, was held from March 5 - March 8; its theme was the 1980’s and was well represented by the supporting; posters, web presence & program art, et. al.
It was celebrated around our campus over 4 days and included many events and film viewings. Tuesday, March 5 was marked by numerous workshops and events (six in all). The initial happening was a well-attended, moderated head-to-head winner-take-all style debate by applause-O-meter. The subject was DC versus Marvel universes and it kicked off at 1 p.m. in our SBVC library viewing room.
The debate was hosted by Susan (Suzie) Mattson, faculty chair for the Communication Studies department, and it offered much lively discussion about the two major comic companies' characters and their universes. Though Marvel was well represented, DC's arguers ultimately won out resulting in the final winner, FTVM student Alex Salas, choosing a beautifully “slabbed” X-Men comic as his prize.
The second event was a workshop on costume design held in SBVC’s Auditorium Black Box Theater and began at 2 p.m. This workshop was hosted by Professor of Theater Arts Melinda Fogle Ph. D. & culminated in a sudden costume contest joined in by a dozen or so students. The first place winner was an SBVC student Jack Evans, and second place went to an FTVM student Arrayah Smith.
The 3rd and 4th workshops transpired concurrently at 3 p.m. one being a panel on the '80s horror genre of movies held in the library’s viewing room while the other, a primer on the basics of motion capture technology was held in the Auditorium Black Box Theater.
The motion capture basics primer was quite a wonderful learning opportunity for every student present. The workshop was hosted by Jr. Motion Capture Technology Director Gage Hensley and co-hosted and supported technological assistance by FTVM Professor Kevin Lyons. Motion capture technology and software are used commonly in modern films needing C.G.I. (computer-generated images) to modify, enhance or change an actor's looks in a film.
Andy Serkis is considered the “godfather” of motion capture acting, having played Gollum in the J.R.R. Tolkien films made by Peter Jackson amongst other roles.
The Fifth presentation was a discussion held near SBVC’s STEM Mesa Lab at 4 p.m. covering physics and film. This seminar opened with a discussion and demonstration of the basics of light and its color, including our use of spectrometers to view different spectrums from different light sources. These experiments and explorations were led by Dr. Leif Andersen and Dr. Daniel Mayo. They shared several physics lab websites and virtual physics lab animations before getting to the crux of the seminar which was to teach us about steadicams and their use.
Steadicams have been well utilized since around 1976 when it was first employed successfully in Sylvester Stallone's film “Rocky.” The Steadicam workshop was presented by FTVM Professor Lyons and FTVM Alumnus Danny Rich. All told a very useful and informative workshop and helpful to all attendees.
The final event of the first day was a well-attended celebration, a filmmaker's mixer from 6 - 8 p.m. in MC 142 back across campus in the FTVM department. It had a 1980s vibe with neon tubes a’glowin’, and a music playlist via Spotify, including iconic tunes such as; “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie” and “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell, with ensuing dancing. There were even three stand-up console video games including; Pac Man, Contra & Marvel v. Capcom. Snacks galore were presented; a fresh fruit platter, several trays of snack sandwiches, and corndog nuggets and three libation choices: ice water, “bug juice” fruit punch and coffee. There were also the modern amenities of a selfie “step and repeat” and the IMA (Institute of Media Arts) was present and offered information and freebie giveaways from pens to bags to digital cables. I witnessed a grand time enjoyed by all.
This was all only on the first-day kickoff of the 13th Wolverine Con.
Day 2, Wed. March 6 began around 10 a.m. with an Expo/Artwalk between the Physical Sciences building, (that houses the STEM Mesa center) and the SBVC Art Gallery. Many SBVC and high school students gathered to learn more about opportunities offered by SBVC and several of its clubs, classes and institutes. The SBVC Culinary Arts program presented free delicious gourmet tacos for most attendees.
This was followed up by the 2024 Wolverine Con’s first block of film showings, which was an animation festival known as The 22nd Show of Shows as presented by its curator and creator UCLA Instructor Ron Diamond. This was a 2 hour showing of 10 short animated films beginning at 1 p.m. in Art 144. Mr. Diamond was very engaging and interesting including offering each attendee his cell phone number so each viewer could offer him their personal take on their 2 most moving films watched… most interestingly to me, he requested that each remembrance shared be written as a haiku, this was a fascinating and challenging but a fun assignment.
The final event for the day was the FTVM dept. In MC 133 from 5 - 9 p.m. where a digital “Street Fighter” contest known as Wolverine Fight Fest 3 took place resulting in a young student taking first place and winning a cash prize.
March 7th events included many short films shown. The big happening of the day was the red carpet event showcasing the premiere feature viewing of “A Man’s Due” by FTVM Alumnus Briana Navarro.
March 8th consisted primarily of screenings of short films, several by p3 (phase 3), in SBVC’s Auditorium culminating in the Friday evening awards ceremony dinner. The awards were many, but dominated by a very well-received “We Missed You,” a film by FTVM student Juan Manuel Villegas.