New York Film Academy (NYFA) recently completed its 8-Week Digital Storytelling workshop for students from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx.
Participants screened their completed short films to a (socially-distanced) group of friends, family, and well-wishers at NYFA’s Battery Park campus. The final films were written, directed, and edited by each of the students with assistance from their colleagues in a collaborative group effort. The workshop was made possible with the generous support of the 10 ARTS Foundation.
Over the course of eight Saturdays, students learned basic skills of filmmaking: directing, screenwriting, camera, lighting, producing, and editing. Under the expert guidance of various New York Film Academy instructors, and the use of state-of-the-art equipment, students were shooting test sequences on their very first day. The finished films showed a high degree of proficiency, especially considering the short timeframe.
This was the fourth annual NYFA Digital Storytelling Workshop in partnership with DeWitt Clinton High School. The storied academic institution boasts an impressive list of alumni, including such luminaries as James Baldwin and Stan Lee, as well as BAFTA, International Emmy and Peabody award-winner and Chair of NYFA-NY Producing Department, Neal Weisman.
“The NYFA/DeWitt Clinton High School Digital Storytelling Workshop is a wonderful opportunity for industry professionals and film educators to share resources, skills, and expertise with a group of young people from the Bronx,” says Weisman. “The enthusiasm and talent displayed by the students has been thrilling to observe. This program is an intervention; it opens up the minds of the participants to the possibilities of a career, and a life, telling stories that can impact millions.”
NYFA looks forward to continuing this workshop program, helping to give voice and digital storytelling skills to some of New York City’s most diverse public school population.
New York Film Academy and the 10 ARTS Foundation congratulates the DeWitt Clinton High School students on their impressive work!