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They’re back! With college students returning for study now that Mother Nature has finished obscuring the highways with snow, their creative vibes will thaw out the region’s university campuses from their winter slumber. In particular corners it will involve film and media, so we’d like to remind undergraduates as to what is happening this first week back in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong>. Illini Film & Video<\/span><\/strong> resumed their weekly meetings<\/span><\/a> last night, Monday, January 14<\/strong>, at 7 p.m.<\/strong> in Room 1022<\/strong> of Lincoln Hall<\/strong> at the University of Illinois<\/strong> with much to discuss. Tonight, January 15<\/strong>, Champaign Movie Makers<\/span><\/strong> moves back to Tuesdays<\/strong> at 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/span><\/a> for their own monthly meetings at the Champaign Public Library<\/strong>, this one covering the topic of visual effects techniques with an expected shout-out to Pens to Lens<\/span><\/strong><\/a> planning. We also want to mention the new RSO on the block, a cinema appreciation group called C-U Cinefile<\/strong>, even though we don’t know when or where they gather. Keep tabs on their Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/span> for happenings, YouTube<\/strong> <\/a><\/span>for video essays and round-table talks, and Web site<\/span><\/a> for pertinent information about this venture, led by Cece Walcynski<\/strong> and our contributor James Hall<\/strong><\/a><\/span>. All are free to check out and invite your participation.<\/p>\n Of course, there will be other group meetings and screening events littered throughout the academic calendar where the UI student body can get their film fix, but we always seem to be a bit unclear as to how young people interested in making movies can be hands-on with learning the process. Bracketed by the likes of Columbia College<\/strong> and DePaul University<\/strong> in Chicago<\/strong> and also Southern Illinois University<\/strong> in Carbondale<\/strong>, which have long-standing and prolific filmmaking programs, the geographic heart of Illinois<\/strong> is nearly barren of centralized nuts-to-bolts instruction that is geared towards coeds. They need to look carefully at what their course work, extracurricular options, and surrounding community can provide for them as far as a space in which to experiment with media and storytelling. (Local film productions and the aforementioned Pens to Lens are always options in the C-U.) One strategic idea is to incorporate a video component within the confines of a research project or degree track as did Dakota Pruemer<\/strong>, who hails from the Charleston<\/strong> area and earned his Master’s in communication studies from Eastern Illinois University<\/strong> in December, with a little help from … the Heimlich Hero?!?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n