The West Virginia Media Arts and Design (MAD) Festival will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. on April 27 at West Liberty University. This free event, formerly known as the Flash Animation Festival, affords WLU students and area high school students a unique opportunity to exhibit their works and to learn about the media arts from renowned authorities.

The college portion of the competition is open to currently enrolled WLU students, while the high school section is open to students currently enrolled in a public high school, private high school or home school in the states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“World class guest artists will present workshops on a wide range of topics during the MAD Festival. Featured guest artists include award-winning artist, illustrator and musician Greg Spalenka from California; Roxana Villa, a Los Angeles artist who works within the sensory realms of the visual and aromatic; filmmaker and producer Christian D’Andrea, who has produced documentary films for the Discovery Channel and teaches at WLU; and Jamie Peck, music composer and producer for several television network projects, including “CSI,” and owner of Jamie Peck Productions for 26 years.

“Also presenting will be highly regarded free-lance illustrator and WLU graduate Jesse Lenz, whose work has appeared in prestigious publications like TIME magazine, GQ, Businessweek, the Washington Post and many others; technology expert Mark Starcher, president of Scanmark, Inc., a McLean, Va.-based technology company; radio broadcasting professional Jeremy Puglisi, a WLU alumnus; and members of the WLU arts, communication, theatre and music faculty Brian Fencl, Matthew Harder, Meta Lasch, Christian Lee, Paul Padgett, Jared Thompson, Robert Villamagna and me,” James Haizlett, director of the MAD Festival and associate professor of art at WL, explained.

Entries are being accepted in the categories of video, digital imaging, electronic music, animation, illustration, mixed media, multimedia, web design and photography.

For more information about the submission and registration process, please visit the MAD Festival website at https://westliberty.edu/wvfestival. The event is free, but attendees and participants must pre-register online in order to get into the workshops of their choice and to be eligible for prizes and giveaways, Haizlett said.

The workshop and performance schedule is as follows:

• Session 1 – 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.:
  • Breaking the Mold – Jesse Lenz
  • 3D Animation with Lightwave (hands on) – Christian Lee
  • Behind the scenes of WLTV (hands on) – Jared Thompson
  • Digital Photography Tips and Tricks (hands on) – Seth Miller and Sam Starkey
  • Mixed Media Workshop (hands on) – Using recycled plastics to make fanciful and curious creatures –
  • Self-Portraits with the iPad (hands on) – Brian Fencl
  • An Informal Chat with Greg and Roxana – Greg Spalenka and Roxana Villa
• Session 2 – 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.
  • Creating a Sizzle Reel – Christian D’Andrea
  • CSI from Soup to Nuts – Jamie Peck
  • Cloud Computing for Digital Media – Mark Starcher
  • The Art of Concept Design – Greg Spalenka
  • How to Create your own 2D Character (hands on) – Alex Allen
  • Mixed Media Workshop (hands on) – Robert Villamagna
  • Virtual Analog Synthesizers – Dr. Matthew Harder
• Session 3 – 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
  • Constructive Deconstruction – Jesse Lenz
  • “Breaking into the radio business.” – Jeremy Puglisi, “The Dude” from Eagle 107.5 FM
  • 3D Animation with Lightwave (hands on) – Christian Lee
  • Roxana Villa
  • Cool Tricks in Illustrator (hands on) – Paul Padgett
  • Introduction to Faux Finishes (hands on) – Meta Lasch
• Session 4 – 1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
  • Creating a Sizzle Reel – Christian D’Andrea
  • CSI from Soup to Nuts – Jamie Peck-
  • Portfolio Review – Greg Spalenka and Roxana Villa
  • Behind the scenes of WLTV (hands on) – Jared Thompson
  • How to Create your own 2D Character (hands on) – Alex Allen
  • Hands on Mixed Media Workshop – Robert Villamagna
  • Composing Electronic Music (hands on) – Dr. Matthew Harder
• Session 5 – 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
  • Power Hour – Jesse Lenz
  • Breaking into the Radio Business. – Jeremy Puglisi
  • Cloud Computing for Digital Media – Mark Starcher
  • Illuminating Marketing – Roxana Villa
  • Digital Photography Tips and Tricks – Seth Miller and Sam Starkey
  • Painting with the iPad (hands on) – Brian Fencl
• 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. – MADFEST 2011 (student competition and showcase of student works and performances)
• 7 – 8:30 p.m. Electronic Music Ensemble Concert in College Hall