'Cutting Teeth' meant a learning experience for Jonathan Forsythe (1/31/2008) | | |
 Dave Denton, (256)824-6414 | Jonathan Forsythe, a senior art major at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, has so far worked on a short award-winning film, numerous photography projects, web designs and will soon begin work on a French-speaking film involving foreign language students. And he hasn't even graduated yet. "I feel that you can't limit your learning time to the classroom. I'm interested in an all-media education," Forsythe said. "I feel like with this age we're in, you're expected to do a whole lot more within a given media." Forsythe stretched his talents into a film project last summer called "Cutting Teeth." He, along with about seven of his friends, completed the project as an entry for the Birmingham Sidewalk Film Festival last July. They formed a team known as Team Space Camp, and had 48 hours to complete the project, along with their required criteria. "We were given the style of a particular director (Woody Allen), a prop (a garden rake) and a required phrase to be used somewhere in the film," said Forsythe. "Our phrase was 'reluctant yam.'" The team combined these elements into a commercial project about a soft drink made to whiten teeth and eliminate tooth decay. The project delves into the infomercial itself, and then takes you into a control room discussion of the characters to reveal subplots and conflicts among the talent. The "reluctant yam" describes a cast member who lacks enthusiasm, and the garden rake is used by a wife, enraged that her TV star husband is womanizing on the set. Forsythe helped develop the concept, was one of the writers and served as an extra in the film. The project won numerous awards including "Best of Show" and "Best Director" in the film category "Sidewalk Scramble." It can be viewed today on "YouTube." When it comes to photography, Forsythe likes to leave the new digital world for black and white, 35 mm photos, along with a broad lens for a narrow image field. He's currently learning from José Betancourt. Personal projects included photographing co-employees in their natural setting. Last year, Forsythe took on an environmental portrait project for the employees of the restaurant 801 Franklin, photographing them in their everyday work setting. He knew the owners since he worked there as a teenager. Before he took his first photography classes, Forsythe studied various books and articles online on the subject in order to be prepared for projects like this one. "If I become interested in something, I dive into it," Forsythe said. "With a broad skill set, you'll be better off." Forsythe's parents operated a small print shop business, where he learned the fundamentals of typography, photography and how to market a product. His art concentration is in photography and graphic design, and his minor is marketing. His upcoming venture of making a foreign language film is part of a collaboration between the departments of Art & Art History, and Foreign Languages & Literatures. Forsythe and various other photography students will help produce a short film in each of the foreign languages taught at UAH. He'll be working on the French project. Forsythe sees an immediate future in graphic design, but expects the career to also encompass other medias. "It's important to have an interest in your field of study outside of going to class and making grades," Forsythe said. "Professional development is more than an academic pursuit." Forsythe is a 2002 graduate of Grissom High School. His work can be viewed on the web at www.jonathan-forsythe.com. To view the short film "Cutting Teeth", go to the following website address: youtube.com.
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