DATA graduate John Mosack (right) shows current DATA student Kelvin Valenzuela how he helped build a green screen.

By Paola Fernandez

DATA graduate and cinema major Jonathan Mosack will be graduating from San Francisco State University this month. As a former DATA student, Mosack knows all about the benefits the academy can bring in the future.
After attending College of the Desert for three years, Mosack decided to transfer to SFSU and is finally getting his B.A. in cinema.
“I’m hoping to be able to work up there [Bay Area] and maintain my lifestyle,” said Mosack. After graduating, Mosack has plans to continue in the film industry as a gaffer. “I want to continue doing industrial shows and commercials, join the local union up there, and just continue to work in film,” said Mosack.
Even before graduating, Mosack had the opportunity at San Francisco State to work with Cadillac in the production of a commercial. “That commercial was a real eye opener,” said Mosack. “It was a short little 30 second commercial, but there was easily 60 people working on set.”
For the making of that commercial, Mosack and the film crew shot all throughout San Francisco. They even had the opportunity to shoot in private locations worth millions of dollars, since they were working for Cadillac. “We filmed at night, and even while it was raining. It was really fun,” he said.

While in DATA, Mosack was the only student who knew how to use the green screen available in his photography class, and that experience paid off in college. Just recently Mosack was involved in the construction of a green screen stage himself. The stage was 36 feet by 18 feet and 16 feet high. It was a total of about 500 square feet of sound stage space. “We built the stage for under $500, which is miraculous in itself. We proved that you can actually go to Home Depot, get some paint and make a green screen stage on the cheap,” said Mosack.

Not only does Mosack encourage students to appreciate all the equipment and opportunities they are exposed to in DATA, but he is also a perfect example of how beneficial the skills you learn in DATA can be. “You have a lot more access to equipment in this class than you’ll ever have going to a state university unfortunately, so I would take full advantage of anything you have in this class” said Mosack.