It's not a spoiler to call "Cinematographer" timely. The new, 11-minute documentary by Demi Waldron (B.F.A., film and television, 2018), an Official Selection of the 2018 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, features six women—Reed Morano, Autumn Eakin, Kate Arizmendi, Maria Rusche, Allison Anderson and Emoni Aikens—discussing their lives as cinematographers in an industry undergoing overdue changes.

This year, director of photography (DP) Rachel Morrison was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for feature film "Mudbound"—the first female nominee in that category in the 90-year history of the Oscars. This prompted Waldron to insert two key archival clips from Academy ceremonies past at the beginning of "Cinematographer." Slight reveal: One clip features a young Elizabeth Taylor, the other a not-so-young John Wayne.

Waldron and collaborator Claudia Burgi (B.F.A., film and television, 2018) will be at both screenings of "Cinematographer" at this year's SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Come see the film, and meet the young women behind it.

Demi Waldron:

We wanted to make our film's perspective as accurate as possible, and highlight different age groups and experience levels. Each woman in "Cinematographer" came to the film industry in a different way and they represent a variety of styles. I cut the film to create a sense of them having a conversation, like they were talking back and forth to each other, which worked really well. Professor Alex Newton guided me throughout the editing process and gave great advice.

One wonderful thing about SCAD is I was able to shoot, shoot, shoot. As a student, every weekend I'd get on a project and shoot it and learn. Being a DP is challenging. There are a lot of different aspects of being a DP beyond shooting, like managing the set. Claudia and I had been talking for a long time about making a film about women in film. We decided to focus it on DPs, since that's what we are and have the most experience with.

With Reed Morano, I've followed her work longer than any other DP. I saw Reed speak at the Savannah Film Festival in 2015. Then I went to one of her screenings in New York and got to hear her talk about her new film "I Think We're Alone Now." She had recently won her Emmy for directing "The Handmaid's Tale." She's one of my biggest inspirations and role models.

The Emmys and Academy Awards are trying to become more inclusive. The thought occurred to me that it hasn't always been this way, so I went back and watched every single Academy Award Best Cinematography presentation I could find. I think I watched fifty or sixty of them on YouTube. I found two where I thought, if I open my film with these clips, without saying anything else, that sets the mood: It starts then and ends now. Having that historical context is important.

I'm excited to come back to Savannah with "Cinematographer." Showing the film at the festival is like showing it at home.

A graduate of Woodruff High School in Woodruff, South Carolina, Demi Waldron currently resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she works as a freelance cinematographer. She recently shot the music video "Rude Boy" for electro-pop band Salt Cathedral, directed by fellow alumna Susan O'Brien (B.F.A., film and television, 2014). See Demi's work at www.demiwaldron.com.

Above: Waldron (right) and “Cinematographer” executive producer and director of photography Claudia Burgi.

"Cinematographer" screens at SCAD Savannah Film Festival during "Student Shorts Block B – Heavy Hitters" at Lucas Theatre for the Arts: Tues. Oct. 30, noon; Sat. Nov. 3, 10:30 a.m.

For ticket information visit the festival website.

Come celebrate this year's SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the university's 21st annual acclamation of cinematic excellence, Oct. 27–Nov. 3, 2018. A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, the festival will screen 164 total films, including 33 narrative films, 16 documentary films and 115 shorts, more than any previous year. SCAD will welcome more than 55,000 expected attendees from around the world, including developing talent, students, and the industry luminaries who make the big screen shine.

The largest university-run film festival in the country will honor professional and emerging filmmakers during its eight-day film schedule of events. The festival kicks off Saturday, Oct. 27 with the Opening Night Gala screening “Roma," directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Actors Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira and producer Gabriela Rodriguez will be in attendance. The Centerpiece Gala feature is “If Beale Street Could Talk," written and directed by Barry Jenkins, and starring festival honorees Stephan James and KiKi Layne, all of whom will be in attendance.  The festival concludes Saturday, Nov. 3 with the Closing Gala screening “Green Book," directed by Peter Farrelly, and starring Viggo Mortensen and 2016 festival honoree Mahershala Ali.

The 2018 schedule includes Gala, Docs to Watch, Signature and Professional Competition screenings, along with Global Shorts, and the returning “Wonder Women" forum, highlighting female directors, producers, and below-the-line talent. New programming this year includes Animation Corner: Art in Motion.

SCAD's annual tribute to excellence in film has screened over 110 Oscar-nominated films, and has honored over 80 legendary actors, directors, producers, writers, and filmmakers. 

“SCAD's renowned master's and bachelor's degree programs are essential to the continued growth, sophistication, and evolution of entertainment professions in Georgia and around the world," says SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. “SCAD is the preeminent source of knowledge in film, production design, costume, animation, motion media, performing arts, screenwriting, sound, and every other aspect of entertainment. It is our pleasure to celebrate moving pictures with our better-than-ever 21st SCAD Savannah Film Festival."

More than 10,000 SCAD alumni have graduated from the schools of digital media and entertainment arts, and nearly 5,000 students are currently enrolled in majors that cover fields of animation, entertainment, motion pictures, media production, writing, editing, broadcast media and performing arts.

Celebrating its 21st year, the festival and the competition provide SCAD students with opportunities as unique as the selected films. This year, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival received a record-breaking 2,300 submissions for the competition film series. During the festival, students from every academic discipline connect with leaders from the entertainment industry through master classes, coffee talks, lectures, workshops and panel discussions.

Tickets and passes are available for purchase online at savannahboxoffice.com, by telephone at 912.525.5050, or in person at the Trustees Theater, 216 E. Broughton St., Savannah. Visit filmfest.scad.edu for a complete list of films and screening locations.

Pea coat, buckskin boots, thumbs jammed in front pockets, a haircut no professional barber could possibly countenance, his weary face still open to possibility: this is "Russell in Front of Morning Star Graffiti" (1968), one of thirteen photographs from Elaine Mayes' "Haight Ashbury Portraits," displayed at SCAD MOA as part of the new exhibition "In the Present: Five Decades."

"In the Present" includes more than 90 examples of Mayes' photographic explorations of travel, movement, and the everyday. The first woman to teach film and photography in an American university, Mayes has been an active visual artist since 1960, and worked as a photojournalist, filmmaker and educator during her singular career.

The SCAD MOA exhibition includes landscape images from Mayes' black-and-white series "Autolandscapes," photographed from a moving car, and features her lesser-known color photography, including key examples from her "Long Island Survey Project" documenting families hanging out on Jones Beach in the late 1970s. 

In 1967, Berkeley native Mayes photographed the Monterey Pop Festival, the subject of her book, "It Happened in Monterey" (Brittania Press, 2002). By the time of her Haight Ashbury series, the Summer of Love was over. Yet there is an innate sympathy in the faces of her subjects, even the hard-edged ones: Mayes, in her early thirties when she took the photos, was a fellow traveler, able to capture her subjects as equals.

Her "Haight Ashbury Portraits" seem more like Civil War-era daguerreotypes than the average fashion-conscious image of today. Part of it is process; Mayes' use of silver gelatin resembled the daguerreotype in sharpness and detail. There is a sense, too, that Mayes' souls come from the old world. They are children of a counterculture whose commodification has only accelerated in the subsequent decades, subsuming what is was meant to represent. It is hard to imagine her subjects wearing advertising.

In the spacious, well-lit environ of SCAD MOA, thirteen digital prints of Mayes' Haight photos are displayed on a single wall. Stepping back and looking at more than one photo at once creates a composite of the artist's vision. A similar effect happens with the "Autolandscapes" in the adjacent room.

Mayes' 1973 photograph "Bay Street West Mall, Window with Mannequin and People on Sidewalk, Springfield, Massachusetts" depicts a bearded young man eating a banana and a cigar-smoking older bald man wearing a suit and fat necktie. They stand only a few feet away from each other, but could not be further apart. The mannequin in the window appears to possess the most charged potential for movement.

"Recording my life has become second nature," Mayes says in her newly-completed film "Summers with Helen," which screened at the SCAD MOA theater to celebrate the opening of her exhibition, with Mayes in attendance. The film, a document of the decade she spent sharing summer vacations in the Catskills with photographer and documentary filmmaker Helen Levitt, is a minor key masterpiece, revealing something of the inner lives of these two important artists though their mundane interactions.

During the Q&A following the film, Mayes was asked what she thinks about first when she wants to take a photograph. Her response: "I don't think ahead of time. I see it. I go back later and make a value judgement. The world inspires me. My work comes out of what I see."

“In the Present: Five Decades” is on view through Jan. 13, 2019. The exhibition is supported by a grant from Mrs. Robert O. Levitt. The exhibition is curated by Storm Janse van Rensburg, head curator of SCAD Exhibitions and Susan Laney (B.F.A, photography, 1998), guest curator.

The exhibition is free for all museum members, and SCAD students, faculty and staff with a valid SCAD Card. Open to the public with the cost of museum admission.

Are you ready, Atlanta? This Sept 27-29, SCADFILM presents SCAD AnimationFest, a three-day gathering of working professionals, industry luminaries and next generation talent examining the evolving world of animation. Expand your knowledge during panel discussions, enjoy exclusive sneak peeks and screenings, and network with top talent.

The festival features over a dozen events, including a very special screening of masterfully curated Saturday morning cartoons on – you guessed it – Saturday morning. (Sept. 29, 10 a.m., SCADshow mainstage; pajamas encouraged; children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult; breakfast provided by Chick-fil-A).

AnimationFest kicks off with "The Best Saturdays of Our Lives" (11:15 am, Thurs. Sept.27, SCADshow, Stage 2), an exploration of the animated history of Saturday morning cartoons and the inner workings of the cartoon and television industries, hosted by Mark McCray, author, "The Best Saturdays of Our Lives" (iUniverse, 2015).

Spread across three days, AnimationFest screenings include Warner Bros. animated feature "Smallfoot" (just ahead of its nationwide release), Disney’s "Mulan" (presented by director Tony Bancroft), Adultswim’s hit comedy "Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell" (appearances by co-creators Dave Willis and Casper Kelly), SCAD Animation Showcase (featuring exceptional SCAD student work) and the 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows (presenting animated shorts from around the world).  

SCAD AnimationFest is proud to feature topical and timely programming including "In the Moment: Exploring Inclusion and Diversity in Animation" (Fri. Sept. 28, 12:30 p.m., SCADshow, stage 2). The panel discussion – featuring female executives, designers and coordinators from Twentieth Century Fox Animation, TED-Ed, Sesame Workshop, and Aweseome, Inc. – will explore how cultural shifts are impacting industry hiring practices, career growth and content choices.

For ticket info and a complete listing of events, visit the SCAD AnimationFest website.

SCAD School of Digital Media

The SCAD School of Digital Media combines artistry and technology within a framework that reflects the highest standards of entertainment production. Digital media students earn degrees in animation, interactive design and game development, motion media design, television producing and visual effects, and gain the technical mastery to launch their careers. Through the production-ready SCAD Digital Media Center, state-of-the-art resources, hands-on opportunities and career-building connections, SCAD students are prepared to rise to the pinnacle of their professions.

SCAD School of Entertainment Arts

The SCAD School of Entertainment Arts incorporates a diverse array of degree programs designed to guide students as they master the art forms and industries that amuse, entertain and inspire. Cutting-edge resources and equipment in every department, coupled with an experienced, acclaimed faculty, facilitate student development in these highly relevant fields. Programs feature curricula that bolster students' creative visions while providing a sound basis in both theory and practice, creating the entertainment industry leaders of tomorrow.

At the age of 4, Jessica Rubinstein was shopping for her own clothes because her mother claimed she was just too picky. Rubinstein (B.F.A., fashion, 2018) says this was when her family knew she was destined for a career in fashion.

Now, in 2018, Rubinstein is hustling through her whirlwind journey to the Supima Design Competition.

The Supima Design Competition is an annual event where finalists from multiple top design schools in the U.S. create runway collections from five types of cotton provided by Supima. The finalists will have their designs featured at New York Fashion Week, Sept. 6-Sept. 14, 2018. The winner will be announced on September 6. One look from each finalist's collection will also be shown during Paris Fashion Week, Sept. 25-Oct. 3.  

Jessica discovered the Supima Design competition her freshman year, when she saw the collection of SCAD alumna and 2015 1st place winner Kate McKenna-Schliep (B.F.A., fashion, 2015). From that moment, Rubinstein was determined to represent SCAD at the Supima Design Competition her own senior year.

"I decided I really wanted to apply for this competition because I love evening wear," said Rubinstein.

The skills Rubinstein acquired at SCAD allowed her to reach her Supima goal. Jessica claims that before SCAD she didn't even know how to sew.

"SCAD was my first everything," said Rubinstein with a laugh.

These SCAD firsts culminated her senior year, which she says were filled with long nights spent perfecting her senior collection. Over winter break, Rubinstein also interned with Project Runway finalist Merline Labissiere (B.F.A., fashion, 2011). On top of all this, Jessica had to submit her application for SCAD to choose their Supima finalist.

Two weeks before the end of senior year Rubinstein was announced as the Supima finalist for SCAD; the Monday after graduation she was at Eckberg Hall bright and early getting started on what would become the 21.21 collection.

The inspiration for Rubinstein's line 21.21 sprouted from her close relationship with her twin brother Jonathan Rubinstein (B.F.A., accessory design) and their desire to officially collaborate on a project. Jonathan, a senior, has been an integral part in the 21.21 process, helping create the acrylics for Jessica's evening wear pieces, as well as additional accessories.

The name 21.21 is laden with meanings that bring Jessica's interests and relationship with her brother to light. Jessica wanted to represent connection, especially between her and Jonathan. They were born on the 21st of November and by using the number twice Jessica wanted to represent the unique relationship between twins.

The name 21.21 also represents a major facet of Jessica's collection: technology.

"We think that technology is going to be a big part of the world. It already is," said Rubinstein.

Jessica and Jonathan initially played around with featuring technology in the pieces via electricity. Ultimately, they decided the garments would be created using the cutting-edge technology SCAD has to offer at the lab in Fahm Hall where Jonathan works, such as 3D printers and laser cutters.

"The main idea was creating a garment through technology," said Rubinstein. "That's how we got the idea of acrylics and laser cutting and scanning."

Rubinstein's collection 21.21 features white evening wear pieces made of Supima cotton, covered in blue, angular acrylics. Jessica and Jonathan have already diligently swaddled the pieces in bubble wrap to transport them to New York for Fashion Week. As arranged by Supima, Rubinstein will also be interviewed by 15 different major designers and labels.

Jessica praises SCAD for allowing her to achieve her goal of competing in Supima.

"I really encourage SCAD students who want to reach for Supima to do it," Rubinstein said. "It's a great opportunity."

The winner of the Supima Design Competition 2018 will be announced on Sept. 6 at NYFW.

Tune into the live stream at 4 p.m., Thurs. Sept. 6, here.

SCAD has created a home for everyone from the recent graduates to the industry veterans to come together and grow in their professions: SCADFILM.

Based in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, SCADFILM is the leading program for professional engagement in film, entertainment and the digital arts offering, industry professionals exclusive access to industry influencers.

On Monday, August 6, 2:30 p.m. SCADFILM explores the narrative music videos with "Story + Song: Creating Narrative Music Videos." The event is part of SCADFILM Storytellers, a series of special screenings, classes and discussions with top creatives in entertainment.

SCADFILM guests will delve into the artistry of the narrative music videos and learn why they are attracting top directors with their limitless potential for storytelling.

Featured guests will include MTV Video Music Award-winning director Andrew Donoho (Janelle Monáe's "Dirty Computer"), Kristian Zuniga, cinematographer (Trouble and Drake’s "Bring it Back"), fashion stylist Renaldo Nehemiah (Ludacris, DJ Khaled and Chingy), and other creative talent behind today's most-talked-about music videos and short films. 

Andrew Donoho is an Atlanta and Los Angeles-based director and visual effects artist with a passion for unique perspectives. In 2017 Donoho won the VMA for best rock music video director for Twenty One Pilots' "Heathens." Donoho has directed and provided VFX work on music videos for Janelle Monae, Danger Mouse, Run the Jewels, Big Boi, Raury, Skrillex, Plan B, Jai Wolf, and more. This year, Donoho co-directed the 48-minute film, "Dirty Computer" for Janelle Monae based on her concept album by the same name. "Dirty Computer" premiered on BET to critical acclaim. Learn more at www.andrewdonoho.com.

Kristian Zuniga is an award-winning director of photography and UK VMA award nominee based in Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA. Zuniga has worked with VMA winning directors and artists including Janelle Monae, Raury, 6lack, August Alsina, Run the Jewels, Lewis Del Mar, and Drake. Zuniga also directs photography for narrative and documentary films, and branded entertainment spots. His recent promotional pieces include Adidas, Puma, Verizon, Coachella and BET. Learn more at www.kristianzuniga.com.

Renaldo Nehemiah is hailed as one of the top fashion stylists in the industry, with clients including Ludacris, Chingy, Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, Jagged Edge, Cheri Dennis, Shawnna, Shareefa, the DTP family, and Eva Pigford. His credentials include styling exclusive fashion events like the "Music, Fuse, and Fashion Show" and creating some of the hottest looks for Vibe Magazine, Macy’s, and The UPN network.  His work has been featured in chart topping videos for Janelle Monae, August Alsina and DJ Khaled.

The state of Georgia is now home to an estimated 25,000 people working in film and television. SCAD is proud to continue to advance excellence in visual mediums, offering Atlanta-based industry professionals exclusive access to industry influencers through exclusive screenings, workshops and private master classes.

"Story + Song: Creating Narrative Music Videos" is free to SCAD Card holders, and $10 for the general public. The event will be held Monday, August 6, 2:30 p.m., SCADShow, 173 14th St. NE, Atlanta, GA, 30309.

For more information, visit scadfilm.com.

Screenwriter Karen McCullah came to SCAD Atlanta to inaugurate SCADFILM Storytellers with a screening of "10 Things I Hate About You," the beloved 1999 teen film she co-wrote with Kirsten Smith. Starring Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Gabriele Union and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the cult classic is as well known for its exemplary cast as for its interpolation of the work of William Shakespeare.

At a talk moderated by SCADFILM senior executive director Leigh Seaman, McCullah shared insights and anecdotes from her vaunted career. In addition to "10 Things I Hate About You," McCullah penned popular films "Legally Blonde," "She's the Man" and "The Ugly Truth," and wrote comedic scenes for last year's blockbuster hit "Girls Trip." The day after the talk, McCullah led two SCAD masterclasses on the business of screenwriting. The events were presented as part of SCADFILM Storytellers, a series of special screenings, classes and discussions with top creatives in entertainment.

1. McCullah appears in "10 Things" but don't blink...
KM: "You know how Allison Janney's character Ms. Perky is writing romance novels in the guidance counselor office, and she has posters of romance novels on the walls? I'm in one of the photos on the covers of the romance novels. A guy like Fabio has me back in a dip. But it goes by so fast you can't see it."

2. The scene where Julia Stiles reads her "10 Things" poem still affects McCullah...
KM: "When she cries reading her poem in front of the class, that wasn't in the script. I cry every time I watch it knowing that she's really crying."

3. Heath Ledger suggested a key change...
KM: "The song that Patrick serenades Kat with was originally 'I Touch Myself' by The Divinyls. We thought that's what a cocky teenage boy would pick. But Heath thought, wisely, that it should be a more romantic song, and that's how it wound up being 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You.'"

4. "Legally Blonde 3" is happening...
KM: "Reese Witherspoon's always want to do it. It was a matter of getting all the elements lined up with the studio. Last year she spent a whole day on Snapchat putting all her costumes on from the first movie. That's when I thought, Oh, this is getting done."

5. McCullah puts something of herself in her protagonists...
KM: "There are pieces of myself in most of my main female characters. Like Elle Woods I don't take a lot of crap from people, I carry my small dog in a purse, I'm blonde, and I was in a sorority. Like Katherine Heigl in 'The Ugly Truth' I can be a bit of a control freak. Like 'The House Bunny,' I can be super dumb sometimes, although she was also optimistic and good-hearted."

6. McCullah believes in giving characters goals...
KM: "Characters pop into my head, what they're like and what they say. It's like giving birth to a person in your brain. Once I have a clear idea of what the premise is and who the character is, I sit down and start writing longhand as fast as I can: sketching out scene ideas, potential lines, where I want it to go, then I organize that all into an outline. You have to know the goal of the character, where they're going to end up."

7. Marketing matters...
KM: "Studio marketing can make or break a movie. If a movie is marketed poorly, no one will see it even if it's the best movie in the world. 'Legally Blonde' was massively marketed. They got Regis to go blonde for a week, they created National Blonde Week, it was crazy! 'Girls Trip,' everyone in the world knew that movie was coming out, they did a great job."

8. On meeting writing partner Kirsten Smith...
KM: "She had a job as a script-reader at a small production company. She read a few of my scripts and called me and told me she liked them. We started writing a script on cocktail napkins that night."

9. Adapting someone else's story can be fun...
KM: "If I'm hired to adapt something that's solid story-structure wise that's always a joy. I highlight all the parts that I think will work for the movie and try to organize that with the new stuff that I have to blend in. Things get changed, like at the end of 'Legally Blonde,' which was based on an unpublished manuscript, she ended up with the professor. I was like nope, she's getting with the hot boy."

10. McCullah admires SCAD...
KM: "SCAD has very small classes compared the university I went to. The classes are interactive which is valuable. They can feel more like a conversation than a lecture. SCAD gets people jobs, which is why we're here."

SCAD festivities continued across the globe with the joyous 2018 SCAD Hong Kong commencement, a week following the Savannah and Atlanta editions. The sun shone for the celebration, held in the glimmering Diamond Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong on June 9.

SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace opened the ceremony touting the class of 2018's achievements: "Thank you for contributing your infinite gifts to SCAD. To earn this moment, you have had to call on your whole being—hand, head and heart—and we are so very proud of you!"

SCAD Hong Kong graduates, majoring in disciplines including animation, motion media design and fashion, study in the former North Kowloon Magistracy building in the dynamic Sham Shui Po district. Revitalized by SCAD to include technology amenities like digital labs and a green screen studio, the building welcomes students and visitors with vibrant art, created by students, faculty and alumni.

The 2018 SCAD Hong Kong commencement ceremony suffused students, friends and family with delight.

Here are five highlights from the festivities:

1. SCAD alumna Nikki Louise Palomaria (B.F.A., graphic design, 2015):

"During your studies, you’ve been surrounded by some of the most incredible people you’re going to meet. And as you continue from this point forward, you still have them. Stay in touch, show each other your work, make use of the SCAD family network to enrich your professional and personal life, to keep you creating and craving new knowledge and experience."

2. Valedictorian Michelle Claase (B.F.A., painting, 2018):

"At SCAD, I explored newfound interests in film and took a screenwriting class, opening up something inside me that I didn't know existed. It led me to minor in film and television and changed the course of my future."

3. Excelsus Laureate Jonathan Lau (B.F.A., photography, 2012; M.A., photography, 2018):

"As a child, I visited the North Kowloon Magistracy Building on a school field trip. When I returned years later as a SCAD student I felt a sense of déjà vu as the wood paneling and large podium in the main courtroom had transformed into SCAD Hong Kong. The regional emblem of Hong Kong remained, but the building has become a celebration of art, a place where my old and new stories meet."

4. SCAD Hong Kong vice president David Pugh, awarding SCAD Honorary Doctorate of Arts and Sciences to William Lim, founder and managing director of CL3 Architects Ltd.:

"His eye for the extraordinary permeates the objects he acquires for his pleasure, and the art he creates for ours."

5. Wen Zhou, CEO, 3.1 Phillip Lim, SCAD Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters recipient:

"I am so impressed that 100% of SCAD Hong Kong graduates are employed or seeking higher education within the first ten months of graduation. As you seek your first job, on your first interview, ask not only about salary, benefits, and technicalities, but think about the company’s values and culture. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You are our next generation of thinkers, of leaders. It is my honor and privilege to welcome you with open arms."

Friends, family, and fans of the SCAD Atlanta Class of 2018 convened at the Georgia World Congress Center on Saturday, June 2 for the university's commencement ceremony. Along with a global audience following online, they watched as each of the graduates filed across a stage that glowed under a backdrop created by SCAD alumna Lauren Clay (B.F.A., painting, 2004).

SCAD also presented an honorary doctorate of humane letters to Juliet Blake, head of TV and curator of special projects at TED, and later presented the same honor to Oprah Winfrey, media and performing arts magnate.

Diplomas in hand, graduates returned to their seats for the conferment of degrees and a final, joyous expression to mark their initiation as SCAD alumni.

The Bees, the dynamo SCAD student vocal ensemble, took to the stage with an emotional cover of "Stand By Me." As video screens overhead played congratulatory messages from luminous honorees and guests at the year's signature events, performers from the SCAD Drumline, the SCAD Performance Ensemble and iLuminate LED dancers entered the arena.

As performers belted out "Come Alive" from "The Greatest Showman," graduates rose from their seats and waved colorful LED light sticks with abandon. The moment punctuated an afternoon elevated by the remarks of speakers including outstanding graduates, honorary degree recipients, and an accomplished SCAD alumnus.

1. SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace:
"I imagined SCAD would be a new kind of higher education — with the audacity to put the words ‘professional careers' in our SCAD mission statement! … At SCAD, we teach our fashion students to design the clothes they want to wear, and we teach developers to design the game they want to play. And so I set out to create the kind of arts university that I wished I had attended."

2. Juliet Blake, honorary degree recipient:
"Stay connected. In the words of another TED Speaker, the brilliant Brene Brown: ‘Connection is why we are all here, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.' This community extends well past commencement, and you still have a lot to share with each other."

3. Valedictorian Alexis Houpt (B.F.A., fashion, 2018):
"We've worked hard to arrive at this stage, ready to take the next leap in our careers. I, for one, know that when I was stretched to my limit this past fall, this day felt so far away. And yet, that's exactly when I interviewed and landed a position I'd dreamed of. The high expectations we set for ourselves — and were held to by our classmates, professors, and advisors — that's what led us to SCAD."

4. Excelsus Laureate Alexandra Badiu (M.F.A., illustration, 2018):
"The collaborative nature of these CLC projects resulted in friendships and partnerships that led me to more enjoyable work — creating backgrounds for senior films, working as a multimedia editor of SCAD Connector and SCAN magazine. The cover illustration I made for SCAN's 2017 spring issue won first place in Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Circle Awards, but to see the excitement in the eyes of my peers when they saw the cover, and feel the way we empower each other through our art was the best reward."

5. SCAD alumnus José Reyes (B.F.A., graphic design, 1995), founder, principal and creative director, Metaleap Creative:
"Your friends, siblings, parents, your elementary and high school art teachers — these people believed in you before you took your first drawing class. Take a moment to remember the people in this room and in your life who spoke into that decision. Remember all the ‘well dones' you heard from them, because each kind word was a step toward this moment."

The SCAD Savannah Class of 2018, the largest in the university's history, convened at the Savannah Civic Center for dual commencement celebrations on the morning and afternoon of Friday, June 1.

"You're sitting here today because you had a dream, and you chose to pursue it," said Hilary Swank, SCAD honorary degree recipient. The two-time Oscar-winning actor, producer and fashion entrepreneur spoke of the extensive preparation behind her career success and commended graduates on their achievements.

"You worked incredibly hard, applied your unique creativity to everything you touched, and did not stop until you crossed the finish line. So congratulations on successfully graduating from such a prestigious university. Given the elite education offered by this university, you couldn't have done a better job positioning yourself for whatever your next step in life may be."

After degrees were conferred, all formalities were dispensed with and the jubilation flowed forth in earnest with a musical medley led by the dynamo SCAD performance ensemble, The Bees. Once the confetti cannons erupted in a final exclamation, the Class of 2018 processed from the auditorium to the sun-lit streets of Savannah as SCAD alumni, carrying with them the words of the illustrious commencement speakers:

1. SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace:
"Today, you are actors, architects, animators, designers, writers, filmmakers. And yet one day, as your dream unfurls like a proud banner across your life, you will find yourself playing surprising new roles: You will become parents, creative directors, studio founders, company presidents. What some call wishful thinking in you today will be hailed as fearlessness in the years to come."

2. SCAD alumnus An Le (B.F.A., photography, 2012), owner An Le Studio:
"The people who sit next to you, the friendships that you've made here at SCAD, and the valuable skills your professors have taught you will be all you need to succeed and achieve your dreams. I believe, as artists, we can make something out of nothing, create the extraordinary out of the ordinary. We can turn blank canvases into beautiful paintings, rolls of fabric into stunning creations."

3. Valedictorian Nicolas Barrera Castañeda (B.F.A., architecture, 2018):
"I know you'd all agree — reaching this stage has taken a tremendous amount of work, years of diligent effort. And now, as we move to the next stage of our SCAD careers — as graduates — I know that my first impressions of SCAD were spot on. This university is exactly what I sought."

4. Excelsus Laureate Shannon Vanderhill (M.F.A., design management, 2018; M.A., jewelry, 2018):
"My passion for jewelry led me here, to the nation's largest jewelry program, with its amazing studios and thoughtful faculty, where we create works of design and art that interact with people — as experiential, conversational, and sometimes sentimental objects. And SCAD led me to my work today. I found my stride as a designer in another program that matched my interests perfectly. In design management, I worked to research, synthesize and communicate insights — to facilitate conversations, experiences, and the design process from end-to-end."

5. SCAD alumnus Deron Bennett (B.F.A., sequential art, 2002), owner AndWorld Design:
"SCAD has prepared you in more ways than you know. It's because of my professors' and classmates' critiques that I can distinguish between design that works, and design that needs more work. Today, know that you chose the right path. After you walk across this stage and through those doors, more doors of opportunity await you. SCAD has given you the keys, and you have to open them."