"The Package" filmed by Harrington College of Design Digital Photography Department Chair

CHICAGO, IL (July 30,2007) – Dirk Fletcher, department chair for the Digital Photography Program at Harrington College of Design, received third place for his experimental film, The Package.

The Think Big, Shoot Small Festival is the first of its kind sponsored by Pro8MM to focus on the super 8 format which is gaining popularity due to its unique and often dated look. Such films as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the 2006 Andy Warhol story, Factory Girl, were shot with super 8 film.

The festival was held on Sunday June 24th in Burbank, California. The films were scored by a distinguished panel of judges, and were graded on a number of criteria for the difficult challenge of shooting a film on a single roll of 8mm film with all editing done in camera. Judges included Giles Perkins, creator of the website Onsuper8.org; Maureen Herzog, editor of Indie Slate Magazine; Chris Gore, editor of Film Threat Magazine; and Chris Cottrill, editor of Super 8 Today Magazine.

"The film is a circular logic piece that depicts undercover spies transferring a yellow brief case to an undisclosed mail box," explains Fletcher. "The twist is the content of the mysterious yellow briefcase, which is the actual film being entered to the Pro 8MM Think Big, Shoot Small Film Festival." The film can be seen on Fletcher’s web site: www.dirkfletcher.com.

With more than sixteen years experience in corporate industrial photography, Dirk Fletcher is the Department Chair of the Digital Photography department at Harrington College of Design. Fletcher graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in California, in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial/Illustration Photography and is currently pursuing a Masters in Digital Filmmaking at Governors State University. After moving to Chicago ten years ago he established a freelance business and served as staff photographer at the Museum of Science and Industry, until he was asked to launch Harrington’s new commercial digital photography program in 2004.

Fletcher’s work has been published in national newspapers and magazines, annual reports, and advertisements. To balance his high-tech days, he enjoys shooting with “old school” tools and techniques. His favorite camera is a custom-made, super-wide-angle pinhole camera that allows for a sweeping panoramic feel. Fletcher’s personal work—which is influenced by industrial greats Winston Link and Andreas Feininger—records skyscrapers, bridges, airplanes, railroads and bridges, as well as his wife and two young sons.

About Harrington College of Design

Harrington College of Design is a four-year college that offers flexible scheduling for a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Interior Design, an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Interior Design or Digital Photography and a new Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Communication Design. Harrington is committed to creating the next generation of design professionals to lead and serve the global community.

Harrington has been a member of Chicago’s design and higher education communities since 1931. Located at 200 W. Madison St., Harrington seeks to foster an environment that maximizes students’ intellectual and artistic potential. The majority of the faculty is practicing interior designers, architects, photographers and fine art professionals.

Harrington is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees and bachelor's degrees. The college is also an institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Harrington is recognized as a private college by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), and is authorized by the IBHE to confer baccalaureate and associate degrees. The Interior Design Program leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, www.accredit-id.org, 146 Monroe Center NW, Suite 1318, Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2822.

For more information, call 312.939.4975 or visit www.harringtoncollege.com.

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