Classic film series and OBU blogabout

On this day in history, Ouachita Baptist College (now University) became a reality. And how glad I am!

I could write about the colorful campus, the friendly folks, the A+ academics. I could write about how Ouachita changed and grew me. But I’m not going to. I’m just going to give these bits of advice to prospective students of this University:

• If you step on campus for the first time and God nudges you, I can bet He’s telling you OBU is right for you.
• If you leave campus and God nudges you, call up your admissions counselor. Maybe you just need to talk some more to someone who knows and loves Ouachita.
• If your sibling goes to OBU, it might be the right place for you. Pray on it, explore your options and when God nudges you toward OBU, listen to Him.
• If you are a high school student looking to attend a small Christian college, check out OBU!

Both of my sisters attend Ouachita, but going there was not an easy decision for either of them. Their experiences have been completely different than mine. That’s what makes this school so wonderful.

Leading into my design below, I shall use a cliché and say, “Jump on the band wagon!” Join the Ouachita family. And if you students get a call from my sister Madison who is working as a telecounselor, don’t hang up on her!

Happy Founders Day. On this lovely Labor Day, I recommend checking out “The Band Wagon,” a 1953 musical starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The storyline is uncontrived and solid for a musical, and the dancing between Astaire and Charisse is impeccable. There are laughs aplenty and songs galore, including the famous “That’s Entertainment.”

For this classic film series piece, I captured a moment from “Dancing in the Dark,” a gorgeous Astaire/Charisse dance sequence in Central Park.

Filed under: 1950s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, News, Baptist, classic movie, Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, graphic design, illustration, musical, Ouachita, prospective, students, University

Classic film series: Rear Window (1954)

I have no problem with a director falling in love with an actor and using him in nearly every film the director makes. My favorite actors and directors are collaborators: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock.

Stewart and Hitchcock only made four films together before going their separate ways (Hitchcock blamed Stewart’s age on Vertigo‘s failure to attract audiences in 1958). My favorite of their movies together is Rear Window (1954). Not only does Stewart show off his acting by spending the entire film in his apartment stuck in a wheelchair with his left leg in a cast, but the story keeps you engaged from start to finish. It’s a murder mystery with a bit of glamour (thanks to the delightful Grace Kelly) and one of Hitchcock’s finest pieces.

Filed under: 1950s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies

Classic film series update

Apparently Turner Classic Movies hired Michael Schwab to design their Summer Under the Stars campaign during the month of August. What a strange coincidence that I too am designing classic film pieces. Perhaps Schwab and I should team up? Maybe several years from now.

I’ll make sure I don’t create illustrations from any of the films TCM is promoting this month. Next in my Netflix list is “For Me and My Gal.” I believe it will be quite inspiring, but is it too soon to design Judy Garland again? Never!

Filed under: Classic Film Series, Design, Netflix, News, Judy Garland, Michael Schwab, Netflix, TCM, Turner Classic Movies

Classic film series: Wait Until Dark (1967)

My friend and long, lost, younger twin brother Rance Collins had a group of friends watch Wait Until Dark (1967) one year at college. He said it was scary. I didn’t believe it until close to the end of the movie where Audrey Hepburn’s blind character smashes all the lights in her apartment as she defends herself against Alan Arkin, who plays a very freaky criminal. What results from this scene is a most terrifying moment that tops my “movie scare moments” list.

Yesterday was Rance’s birthday, so happy birthday, brother. This one’s for you in all your Turner Classic Movies interning glory.

Filed under: 1960s, Classic Film Series, Design, Movies, Alan Arkin, Audrey Hepburn, classic movie, graphic design, illustration, scary movie, Wait Until Dark

Classic film series: Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Years after MGM’s heyday of musical productions, the studio released this gem: Fiddler on the Roof (1971). I remember the many New Year’s Eves where my sister Madison insisted on watching this three-hour film to pass the time before we stomped on bubble wrap at midnight. We would dance around the television with our hands in the air à la Topol (as Tevye) performing his “If I Were a Rich Man” musical number.

The opening shot of the film pans along the skyline of a Russian town. It leads to a shot of the famous fiddler as the sun rises, all before the film breaks into the first production number “Tradition.” That moment of the fiddler standing atop a home with the orange sky behind him inspired this design. In fact, the shadow of the fiddler on the roof set itself up as the iconic image used on many covers for videos and DVDs.

Thanks to my mom for suggesting this film as a design for this series!

Filed under: 1970s, Classic Film Series, Design, Movies, classic movie, Fiddler On The Roof, graphic design, illustration, musical