15 South 9th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402

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Here are some statements from our staff about why they are participating in this publication:

Seth Dickenson:I do this because my need to move outside the box and grow in ways that haven’t been done before outweighs my ego as a designer. I think that is one thing that this magazine has taught me is to see the bigger picture

realize it is not about me. We don’t do things commercially for our own egos; we do this because we love to challenge others to progress as visually interesting human beings and for the better of the client. Oh! And the Free lunch is usually spectacular!

Kathy Littfin: Free coffee!

Ben Siegel: We’re like family. We eat, we laugh, we argue. But at the end of the day, we are always there for each other.

Robb Main: The energy and sense of accomplishment when producing a publication for artists by artists is one of the most exciting things I’ve been a part of here at The Art Institutes International Minnesota. Seeing your work in print is awesome too.

Frank Masi: Because I care about this school and its image. I want to spread the word about the great artists here.

Christopher Title: I do this because I’m curious, because I want to learn how to create a valuable publication, and I truly enjoy the camaraderie and friendships that have developed as a result of tackling tough problems in a small, tight-knit community of like-minded individuals.

Mission StatementMain Frame Magazine is a student publication offering exhibition

space, relevant skills and helpful resources to encourage the professional development of creative students in an innovative manner to advance the enterprise of collaboration and connectivity among creative professionals through the recognition of talent by peers and industry professionals.

Disclaimer: Main Frame Magazine is a student run publication. The Expressions in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the Education Management Corporation and The Art Institutes International Minnesota or its affiliates and employees.

What do YOU want in YOUR magazine? Tell us in room 11 at 11 am every Friday, or e-mail Main Frame at mainframe.magazine@gmail.com

Sarah KnappEditor in Chief

Seth DickensonLead Designer

Laleh AzarshinAssistant Designer

Frank MasiAssistant Editor

Ben SiegelAssistant Editor

Robb MainAssistant Editor

Kathy LittfinAssistant Editor, Designer

Christopher TitleAdvisor

Deborah WeissAdvisor

Front and Back Coverby Kathy Littfin

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Cassie Hauser

Imagineering the MagicOn Saturday May 16th, Ai Minnesota was blessed with a

rare opportunity to meet Richard Skillman, an independent producer and key player of “Imagineering the Magic,” from Disney.

The presentation was held at the Pence building. The audience comprised devoted Disney Club Members of Minnesota, students in Media Arts & Animation, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, and our newly added program, Digital Film and Video Production.

The afternoon kicked off with warm greetings from Skillman’s colleague, Warren Harmon, who is also Head of Section for Video, Audiovisual and Photography at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Skillman then introduced himself and spoke a bit about his background. He went back in time to reminisce on his passion for film-making as a small child, and his fascination for Disney. He entered the doors

at Disney as a media merchandiser in 1989. This opportunity eventually opened new doors and paved the way for greater things to come. Skillman has over 30 years of solid industry experience. He eventually joined the Imagineering team and wanted to tell the story of how “Imagineers” came to be.

Imagineers are actually a compilation of talented storytellers, artists, sculptors, architects, landscape architects, graphic designers, marketing experts, and, well, engineers…the list encompasses nearly every field, a wide ranging talent pool.

Attendees watched a special screening of “Imagineering the Magic” which is now available at Disney World and Disneyland parks. The DVD went behind the scenes of how Walt Disney came up with the concept for Disneyland. Imagineers, today, continually work to create and maintain Disney’s “look” and “legacy” within the parks.

The afternoon ended with a question and answer session, a Disney trivia game, and a photo op with Skillman. When asked what advice he had for students, his response was simple, “Never turn down any opportunity, always work hard, and keep your eyes and ears open for networking possibilities that could lead to an internship.”•

Imagineering with…Richard SkillmanBy Betty Chin-Wu

Photo By: David Wilharm From left Betty Chin-Wu (VFX), Emily Pham, David Tran (Media Arts & Animation), and Richard Skillman

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Photos by Katie Taylor

Kevin Lindee

Ganache: Truffles for Every Occassion

Owner

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Allyssa Howard What’s Crackalackin?

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Color Project:Angela Ostlund

Jukeboxhero logo design byPaul Loula

Angela Ostlund

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Web Design & Interactive Media students and faculty from The Art Institutes International Minnesota have volunteered their time designing two new Web sites for the Interdistrict Downtown (IDDS) and FAIR schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

As part of a WebRaising project for their program, the students migrated the Web sites from a beta test site to a fully functioning website during countdown celebration at the FAIR School on Monday, May 18, 2009. Over 120 students from the FAIR School and administrators from the IDDS and FAIR schools along with the Web Design & Interactive Media students attended the countdown and launch celebration.“

FAIR and IDDS approached The Art Institutes International Minnesota for support in web development because of their great reputation in providing quality training and education opportunities for students interested in the arts,” says Kevin Bennett, Principal for the FAIR and IDDS Schools. “As two fine art magnet schools in the metro area, we were seeking a partner that shared our interest in arts education with the resources to

include the International Order of Police Women Conference and Homeless Against Homelessness. Students involved in the project include Wendy Cormier, Lance Becker, Mark Zahlin, Olga Budzilovich, Mike Shockency, Brandon Christensen, Ryan Wenner, and Suzy Born.

“WebRaising provides students and faculty an opportunity to give something back to the community,” says Dana Nybo, Academic Director for the Web Design & Interactive Media degree programs at The Art Institutes International Minnesota. “Young designers should have at least one community service piece in their portfolios. I encourage all students to take advantage of the opportunities provided by events like WebRaising.”•

WEBRAISING by Anj Kozel

help us interact and communicate with our community using multimedia technology. We are thrilled with the high quality work their students produced and look forward to better serving families and students.”

WebRaising is based on the idea of an old-fashioned barnraising. At no cost to the community organizations, the WebRaising teams combined their creative and technical expertise to build new Web sites for non-profit groups in their communities. Local past beneficiaries of this program

Photos By Wendy Cormier

Melanie LinehanMarie MillerMara Skujins

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Mitch Stier

Paul Wilson

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Mitch Stier

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Paige Vergin

By Anj Kozel

The Art Institutes International Minnesota is pleased to announce that it has been approved by the Accrediting Council for Independent Col-leges and Schools to begin offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Digital Film & Video Production beginning in the summer of 2009. This degree is intended to address the growing need for content demand in the film and television industries. The evolution of digital filmmaking and video production continues to revolutionize mass communication. The ability to integrate moving imagery, motion graphics, titles, and still imagery into a cohesive, compelling work is a highly sought after skill-set. The demand for next-generation digital production and delivery methods and for compelling, effective, and aesthetical content to be delivered on DVD, high definition broadcasts, Video on Demand, video downloads, broadband Internet, and/or other emerging technology has c o m e f r o m i n d u s t r y , g o v e r n m e n t , a n d consumer arenas. The Digital Film & Video Production pro-gram will offer another option in the Media Arts degree programs at The Art Institutes International Minnesota including Media Arts & Animation and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics; the program specifically offers training in the areas of script-writing, producing, directing, film production tech-niques, audio post, post production management, and motion graphics. If you would like more infor-mation about the Digital Film & Video Production program, please visit David Wilharm in room 341 or speak with an Admissions Representative.•

NEW PROGRAM: Digital Film & Video Production

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MAUDE

Account Executive: Phuong NguyenArt Director: Jerry CampbellCopywriters: Nguyen & CampbellIllustration: Matt Kvamme

Maude is a full-service hair salon located in a warehouse in Northeast MPLS. The new owner was looking for a range of ads that highlighted the services and fun atmosphere of the salon.

The top ad, “Wires”, was actually run by the client in the Northeaster newspaper.

Jerry CampbellPhuong Nguyen

Justin Danielson

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Frank Masi Erik Roadfeldt

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Stuart Bruzek

Months ago an acquaintance asked how to get her idea at the top of a Google search if somebody typed “Women’s Greeting Cards”. Regretfully the response was ominous with no hopeful answer. SEO (search engine optimization) is a technical and mysterious art form. It is hard enough to get consistent content on a site or an application functional without the constant battle of keywords and metadata, yet years ago Google created a way for millions to search the web and its eyes are on content. Creative professionals must consider this fact as the dependency on being known can reap many benefits.

People who have an activated interest in blogging or dynamic web applications know the value of being able to track and draw a user to a site. A New York web publisher named Tim Sykes brought over $5000 dollars to his business last month because his content is streamlined and searchable. He sells a newsletter for a subscription

price which brought him an additional $88,000 dollars in the same month. If you Google his name, as you can guess, he is the first on the list.

Google is looking at specific tags, descriptions, and content keywords within sites. Another important

element to this is the keyword density. A search engine actually compares the number of times a keyword show up against the total number of words in a post. The catch here is with billions of sites on the web a search engine may only see your site three or four times in a year. Search engines are crawling through the web indexing hundreds of sites a minute.

Web application platforms like Wordpress have the ability to plug-in applications which select and repeat keywords from content posts providing an extra advantage. The SEO service pack, a free and open source download, is designed specifically for optimizing blog post content. Plug-ins for the

Content is KING in

Wordpress platform allow the blog administrator to change keywords while maintaining the title and tags of blog post. It is possible and recommended by heavily visited blog sites a web site owner change and play with the words Google is looking for until a desirable rating is achieved.

For the less assiduous web developer a few simple metadata tags in the header of a page can make a good deal of difference. The quick and dirty approach should rarely take precedence, but a good understanding in basic meta tagging should be like punctuation in writing. Two very popular methods seem to pilot many sites.

the Land of Optimization By Brett Weik-Ulrich

“know the value of being able to track and draw a user to a site.”

Paul Wilson

continue on page 27

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Mike Weinhandl Amanda Gerold

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AdLinkAdLink is an advertising student organization which networks with advertising professionals and promotes the Ai Minnesota advertisers as successful, notable members of the advertising community. Advisor: Jennifer Hood – jhood@aii.edu

American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)ASID promotes design excellence through professional education, market expansion, information sharing, and the creation of a favorable environment for the practice of interior design. Advisors: Dan Whittaker and Maria Garrido-Santos –djwhittaker@aii.edu; msgarrido@aii.edu

Animation ClubThe Animation Club can help students develop the animation skills of the students in the Animation program, establish connections in the industry, and create a network of motivated and talented students.Advisor: David Wilharm – dwhilharm@aii.edu

Anime ClubAnime Club is a group where anime lovers can come together and share their favorite anime/manga, share their own ideas, make friends, and put together anime shorts. We hope to make visits to Anime Detour Convention.Advisor: Ken Korth – ken@kenkorth.com

Campus Crusade for ChristCampus Crusade for Christ can help you learn your faith, live your faith and communicate your faith while here in college so you can walk with God for a lifetime. Advisor: Darrel Smith – wsmith@aii.edu Cinnamon Toast The focus of this club is to strengthen your rendering, presentation, board layout and technical skills. Advisor: Korrin Lohmann – cinnamontoastmpls@gmail.com

Delta Epsilon Chi Association (DEX): Ai MinnesotaDEX is a professional organization, providing leadership and career oriented opportunities to develop and enhance student potential. Advisor: Tarah Bjorklund – tbjorklund@aii.edu

Fashion ForwardFashion Forward’s purpose is to inform, invite, and update all fashion and retail management students on educational retail and fashion related events going on throughout the quarter and to promote networking opportunities with professionals in the retail industry.Advisor: KelliRae Sbewe – ksbewe@aii.edu

Faux Bold: American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) ChapterThe American Institute of Graphic Design is a graphic design organization which enhances a students education by learning from and networking with established design professionals.Advisor: Tim Armato - tarmato@aii.edu

Food for ThoughtFood For Thought will give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a classroom, but also give them a chance to engage in intense food discussion and analysis of the food, the restaurant, the menu, the kitchen and all other aspects that apply.Advisor: Lianna Johnson - liajohnson@aii.edu

LGBTQA AllianceA social student organization for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer students and their allies. Our goal is to build a supportive community for Ai students through positive social gatherings, outreach and community events.Advisors: Rob Anderson and Terri Delaney – rfanderson@aii.edu;tdelaney@aii.edu

National Technical Honor SocietyThis Honor Society recognizes outstanding student achievement in career and technical education. Membership the NTHS chapter encourages higher scholastic achievement, cultivates a desire for personal excellence and helps students find success in today’s highly competitive workplace.Advisor: Jelena Tosovic – jtosovic@aii.edu

Newspaper: Main_FrameMain Frame is a student driven publication that is produced twice a quarter. The newspaper is a great way for students to learn about the school. Many people are needed to make this publication possible so sign up today!Advisors: Chris Title and Deb Weiss – ctitle@aii.edu; dsweiss@aii.edu

PACE Leaders: Peers Assisting with the College ExperienceIn support of the Office of Student Affairs, this administrative driven group is selected to assist with orientation, welcome week, open houses and student activity programs. Selection is competitive and all students are encouraged to apply when spots are available.Advisor: Julie Kesterke - jmkesterke@aii.edu

Photo ClubThis organization is a great place for students to learn about photography and network for future career objectives and photographic opportunities. This organization also offers all students the opportunity to co-sponsor, participate in, and benefit in the club.Advisor: Anthony Marchetti - amarchetti@aii.edu

Sketch JamSketch Jam gives you a great place to sketch with your peers. Students can show work if they want it critiqued. Just bring your sketch supplies and join in on the fun.Advisor: Lafe Smith – lasmith2@aii.edu

Student Advisory CouncilStudent Advisory Council provides a student voice, representing the student body to administration while advocating for student issues.Advisor: Pam Boersig – pboersig@aii.edu

Web Design & Interactive Media Student Organization (WDIM)This organizaiton seeks to engage students in collaborative activities to benefit the WDIM department, our school, and our community while fostering individual growth and opportuntites for networking in school and in our field.Advisor: John Keston – jkeston@aii.edu

Student Clubs +Organizations

M i k e“ C a p t a i n C a r r o t ”T h o m p s o n

Sam “Green Man”

Larson

Matthew “the Gutter

Avenger” Peroutka

Derrick“Terror Shark”

Schimke

Paul“MightyJunk”

Wilson

Allyssa“Super

Samurai”Howard

Justin“Spoke”

Danielson

Summer ‘09 June 19th 9am-12pm Pence 1st Floor

Animation & VFX Portfolio Show

First the description tag may be pulled by Google to gather high ratings: <metaname=”description” content=”A simple description of your site may help users find the content you hope they are looking for.”/>

Another tag very commonly attached to the header is the “Keyword” distinction:

<metaname=”keywords”content=”use,words,separated,by,commas,to,help,readers,find,you” />

These two styles of tags added to the top of your page will assist the search engine in indexing your information. Millions of artists are publishing portfolios everyday y, and it may seem like there is a secret method to the complicated science of SEO. Something you can discover to give your site that added advantage.

No solution is perfect Searchenginewatch.com, an internet search engine documentation site, indicates with, “Meta tags are no silver bullet”.

There is one great solution in getting people to your site; fantastic content. No special SEO secret is keeping bad sites with horrible content at the top of the Google ranking. People who are producing content the public demands are getting hits they deserve, and any creative person can take advantage of the web world if they take the time to provide great work.•www.brettweikulrich.com and a financial blog for young

professionals at www.7thstreetcapital.com.

Continued from Optimization on page 23

Betty Chin-Wu

Brett Weik-Ulrich

Cassie Hauser

Erik Roadfeldt

Frank Masi

Jerry Campbell

Justin Danielson

Kathy Litfin

Kevin Lindee

Mara Skujins

Mike Weinhandl

Mitchell Steir

Paige Vergin

Paul Wilson

Phuong Hguyen

Allyssa Howard

Amanda Gerold

Angela Ostlund