By Lookout Staff

September 26, 2016 -- Santa Monica College will launch a new lecture series next month that presents a line-up of communication and media industry professionals who will talk about their work, college officials announced Friday.

The series -- which kicks off October 4 -- will feature viral videos, barbershop books and a selection of films and videos, officials said.

The first lecture takes place next Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. in Humanities & Social Sciences Lecture Hall 165, when Andy Signore, the Emmy-nominated creator of "Honest Trailers" and "Screen Junkies," presents “How Videos Go Viral.”

Signore, who is Senior Vice President of Programming at Defy Media, "will share how he created a successful viral video franchise, screen several of the most popular trailers, discuss his creative process and strategy, and offer tips on how to succeed in this industry," organizers said.

On Tuesday, October 11, at the same time and venue, Alvin Irby, the founder of Barbershop Books, will present “Promoting Urban Literacy Through Barbershop Books.”

Irby will talk about his philosophy and experiences in creating and finding support for the project, which "creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops throughout the U.S. to encourage urban boys to love reading and succeed in school," organizers said.

The event is co-sponsored by the SMC Black Collegians Program and SMC GRiT Program.

On Thursday, October 20, Tom Yellin, co-founder of the independent production company The Documentary Group and an award-winning TV and film producer, will present “Cartel Land Screening and Q&A.”

The event, which takes place at 7 p.m. in Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165, includes a screening of Yellin's 2015 documentary film "Cartel Land," which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary and BAFTA for Best Documentary. An audience Q&A session will follow the screening.

The lecture series will continue in November with a presentation by Allan Kartun titled “Directing Event Television” on November 3 and on Thursday November 17 with a presentation by Alisa Ben, Adina Friedman, & Aimee Chen titled “Female Voices in the Music Business."

Both events take place at 11:15 a.m. in the Humanities & Social Science Lecture Hall 165.

The series, which is sponsored by the SMC Associates and the SMC Communication & Media Studies Department, concludes Tuesday, December 6 at the same time and venue with a presentation by award-winning independent filmmaker/producer Andre Gordon titled “Making It in the Entertainment Business.”

All events in the series are free. Seating is on a first-arrival basis.

For information, call the SMC Office of Public Programs at (310) 434-4100.