ELA on horizon for Fall 2015

Students stuck in the snowier-than-usual Boston winter are California dreamin’ as they look forward to spending the Fall 2015 semester at Emerson College Los Angeles.

“This winter has been awful. It will definitely be a warm welcome,” said Elliot Friar ’16, a Marketing Communication major. “There’s tons of opportunity, so, why not go there!?”

Friar and Taylor Jett ’16 are spending Fall 2015 at Emerson Los Angeles (ELA), located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood. The program continues to accept applications for Fall 2015.

The one-semester program is open to juniors and seniors, allowing them to live in the award-winning, architecturally stunning ELA building that opened last year.

Students are connected with internships largely via Emerson’s vast alumni network in Southern California. They also take part in the College’s expanding academic and professional development programs at ELA.

“Everything is perfect about it,” said Friar, who runs his own YouTube channel and hopes to get into entertainment marketing. “There’s the innovation, this cool building, connections, meeting new people, and it’s LA. How can you go wrong?”

Jett, a Visual and Media Arts major who is involved with Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interests (EBONI), hopes to explore opportunities in entertainment and diversity.

“I’m very much into diversity and inclusion, so I will be looking into the different diversity departments at different networks,” she said. “I’m excited to be meeting different people…and to hopefully make an impression at such a young age, before I’m even out of college.”

Jett Taylor '16 is heading to Emerson Los Angeles in the Fall 2015 semester. As a member of EBONI and a major in Visual and Media Arts, Taylor will seek opportunities working in diversity and inclusion in television. (Photo by Nick Eaton '17)

Jen Tiedemann ’15, a current ELA student majoring in Performing Arts, says her internship at Illusion Industries, where she works on special effects makeup for television and film, has been an eye-opening experience.

“I used to want to be the person that applied the makeup,” Tiedemann said. “But now I’m realizing it’s a lot of fun being in the shop and building the gore effects before they hit the stage.”

Tiedemann praised the ELA outdoor open terrace, where she can practice her artwork and socialize with other students.

Aspiring filmmaker Haley Lannon '15 is a current Emerson LA student for the Spring 2015 semester. (Photo by Michelle Kwong '15)

Haley Lannon ’15, an ELA student majoring in Visual and Media Arts, recently attended a discussion event with Glenn Weiss, who co-directed NBC’s broadcast of Peter Pan Live!

“It was really cool because he talked about the process of how he filmed that,” Lannon said. “It was so different from any other set I’m [aware of].”

Lannon, an aspiring independent filmmaker, is involved in an augmented reality art installation project with John Craig Freeman, professor in Visual and Media Arts.

“There’s a lot of things to do in the city,” Lannon said. “And all my friends are here so that’s pretty awesome.”

“ELA is totally one of the reasons why I came to Emerson,” Friar said. “It’s such a cool opportunity.”