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COURIER NEWS
Immaculata teacher inspires filmmakers
Published: Saturday, July 05, 2008
by Craig Turpin
SOMERVILLE --- Joe DeVito, who graduated in 1998 from Immaculata High School, returned to his alma mater three years ago to teach art and filmmaking. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City and a professional filmmaker, DeVito brings real life experience to the classroom, as well as an astute understanding of aspiring teenaged artists and filmmakers. This year his Digital Filmmaking class produced a short film called DeVito's Eleven, a spoof of a day in the life of a typical high school student. One of the inspirations for the project is DeVito's own film, Satire High School, which he and his classmates produced 10 years ago. For Chris Laffoon of Hillsborough, this class solidified his decision to study filmmaking in college. "I have learned so much about the technical aspect of the craft and the ways to channel my creativity into good films," he said. Mike Gioia of Branchburg hopes to study documentary filmmaking and writing next year. He said he felt this class broadened his view of career options he would have as a film writer. "I treat every project in this class as if it were a real production in the Hollywood industry," DeVito explained. "My students are expected to pitch an idea, write the script, and draw storyboards before filming. We practice the importance of budgeting and production logistics and also how each job on the set plays its role in bringing the production together in an organized and collaborative manner. In this class the students find their strengths and weaknesses as a team and learn how to work together to achieve a goal."
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MSG VARSITY NETWORK
Immaculata Welcomes Fashion Expert
Published: Thursday, January 20, 2011
by Kerry Hannan
SOMERVILLE --- Immaculata High School recently welcomed Joseph M. DeVito Sr. as a guest speaker in the Art Portfolio class, a course offered to students who intend to pursue a college career in the visual arts. DeVito gave aspiring fashion students Christina Argonish and Julia Doran a demonstration of the fundamentals of sewing and also discussed the business of the fashion and garment industry. Joe Sr., 86, and the grandfather of Immaculata's visual arts teacher Joseph M. DeVito III, was a lifelong tailor by trade. While in high school in the early 1940s, DeVito Sr. opened his first garment store with his dad, Blue Jacket Uniforms, in Brooklyn, N.Y. After serving in the Navy he returned to take charge of the shop from his dad. In a few years they expanded and opened Jodan Sportswear, a women's sportswear company. In 1969, he dissolved the business and started working for other manufacturing firms doing a variety of quality control and production jobs. In these roles, he did everything to ensure that the garments were being made to both design and price specifications as well as overseeing troubleshooting production and equipment issues. Finally, he worked for 20 years at Carol Wren, a ladies' sportswear firm, as General Manager and Quality Control Officer. During that time he also taught sewing classes at night at the Fashion Institute of Technology. After semi-retiring and moving to South Jersey, he worked for several small tailor shops in the area until he retired totally in 2001. Today he lives in Bridgewater with his wife of 61 years, Marie.
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