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CIA junior Matthew Evans and senior Markie Derminer worked on the set of two major movies this summer, putting their training in fine art to work in unique ways. Evans, a second year drawing major developed charcoal drawings used for props in the film “I, Alex Cross” while Derminer, a digital-arts major, worked as a production assistant on the set of the “Avengers.”

“Working on concept art for movies was actually why I chose to attend CIA. I knew the movie industry would only accept the most prestigious of artists, and it seems I was right. I'm extremely interested in major motion pictures, and couldn't think of a more well suited platform in which to display my art.” said Matthew Evans.

CIA’s Career Center was charged with finding an artist who could provide artwork for the movie “I, ALEX CROSS,” a film based on James Patterson’s best-selling book series. The film stars Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Ed Burns and Jean Reno. Evans was eventually chosen for his dark and foreboding work, which will be used as props in the movie.

According to Matthew, “CIA was pivotal in helping me obtain this job. Without the awesome faculty, I would've never known about this opportunity, so I'm very thankful to everyone there. Also, without the excellent Drawing courses with instructors such as Sarah Kabot and Royden Watson, I would've never had the skill set to approach this type of job.”

Markie Derminer, a third year digital-arts major with an emphasis on video, also had a taste of what it’s like to work in the film industry. She served as a production assistant on the movie set for the “Avengers,” a superhero film featuring characters from “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Thor” and “Captain America.” In this role, she assisted with the operations of the movie set.

It was through the Greater Cleveland Film Commission that Markie learned of this extraordinary opportunity. At first she was hired to work for two days as a temp, but the production company liked her so much, they hired her for three weeks in August, working 14-hour days.

When describing her experience on the “Avengers” movie set, Markie summed it up by saying, "Hurry up and wait.”

“It’s something that is affectionately said on the movie set a lot, but I believe it also relates to my experience on the set and what I've learned at CIA because you have to work hard to get to the top but you also have to be patient once you get there because you might be waiting there awhile before a good opportunity comes to you.”