This spring, the New York Film Academy (NYFA) Photography Department did a fashion collaboration featuring emerging Los Angeles-based fashion designers, sponsored with equipment from two of the biggest equipment brands in the photography industry: ProFoto and PhaseOne. The event was executed like a high-end commercial shoot, and NYFA students were able to experience what it is like to work with art directors, producers, models and designers.
Joe Lavine from ProFoto brought the latest in portable strobes to the set and helped students build flawless fashion lighting, while Scott Nidermaier from PhaseOne brought medium format Diegel cameras, so that the students would be shooting the highest resolution and quality images available.
Faculty Art Director and Lighting Instructor Amanda Rowan said, “It was really important to show the amount of work that goes into big fashion shoots to create the final images for a magazine spread.”
The shoot took place on the Universal Studio Backlot’s Western Set, and the models were all NYFA acting alumni. Working with celebrity stylist team DShaunte Mcknight and Kenee’ Thompson, students produced and shot a 10-page fashion spread that will be featured in our next issue of the NYFA photography magazine FAYN.
“Because of the amazing location we had access to,” said Rowan, “We asked that the stylist curate looks that express the modern spirit of the Wild West in Los Angeles: living your dream an artist.”
This workshop was the first production shoot for students after their semester-long journey into the one-year photography program. It is in their last semester class, called Production Practicum. For the rest of the semester, the students take on the roles that were learned on this big shoot and are able to become their own producers and art directors.
The New York Film Academy would like to thank Universal Studios, our sponsors PhaseOne and Profoto, stylists DShaunte McKnight and Kenee’ Thompson, and all the New York Film Academy students who worked hard to make this day a huge success. We can’t wait to see your photos in the next episode of FAYN.
This spring, the Glee Club at New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles campus held a 1980s music concert — and it was a huge success!
The Glee Clubbers put up seminal hits by Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Smiths, Guns and Roses, and DEVO. Glee Club faculty supervisor Melissa Sullivan said, “It has been an amazing experience to musically direct this multi-talented group the last two years. Throughout the semester, I have seen students flourish and grow through music.”
To create a true pop sound for the music of this semester’s concert, the Glee Club utilized microphones — for some of students, it was their first experience using mics. Sullivan had mics set up in rehearsals so students could learn mic singing technique. The event was also choreographed and staged with the help of students Sunny Amara and Jasmine Mensah. According to Amara, “My experience in Glee Club has been everything I imagined; a group of talented people who just want to have fun, work hard and make beautiful music. I’ve become great friends with these people very quickly and we’ve become a little glee family!”
Sullivan had this to say about NYFA Clubs in general: “What I find amazing about the clubs that NYFA has to offer is that the students involved are usually in more than one club. Some of the Glee Club students are also in the Dance Troupe. I believe these clubs are beneficial to student’s growth. They are collaborating with students outside of their class and have an additional creative outlet. “
NYFA’s Glee Club is usually comprised of four sopranos, four altos, four tenors and four basses, and guided by strong student leadership and collaboration. This semester, the club had BFA student Rachel Gordine as assistant musical director, and the sections’ leaders were BFA student Rachel Gordine (sopranos), BFA student Paige Conroy (altos), AFA student Ethan Williams and BFA student Zackary Nel (tenors), and BFA student Zane Hudson (bass).
Next semester the New York Film Academy Glee Club will be putting up the music of Broadway, and possibly collaborating with the NYFA Dance Troupe. It’s a very exciting time here in Los Angeles, and the Glee Club hopes you can join them at next semester’s show.
It is almost graduation day for the Fall 2017 1-year Broadcast Journalism students. Last week, they were in the studio for the final time, recording special material for their resume reels. This week will be consumed by editing, editing, editing, and editing. Graduation is at 10 a.m.on Friday.
We use a “green screen effect” to create our “virtual” news set. That means the only things that are “real” are the chairs, desk and (of course) air talent…
In the Control Room, and when the show hits “air,” it looks a lot different…
Still, there’s nothing quite as nice as an “anchor” close-up…
Even a few minutes before going “on set,” students are still rehearsing. In this case, in the hall outside the studio. (And if she wants to delete any part of the script, the waste basket is immediately to her left.)
When it all comes together, it is the closest thing to “magic.”
One of the goals of the NYFA Office of Community Outreach and NYFA C.A.R.E.S. (Community of Artists Reaching Enlightenment Through Service) is to participate and support organizations and causes who give back to the community and our world, whether it’s big or small.
Over the holidays NYFA campuses in NYC and LA participated in the first bi-coastal campus-wide fundraiser to raise funds to help countries affected by natural disasters: in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. NYFA students, faculty and staff on both coasts donated items for the countries in need. Items collected in NYC were delivered directly to families in Puerto Rico via The Hispanic Federation (hispanicfederation.org)
“It’s so important that as an international academy with students representing the diverse population of the world, that we support causes that threaten the lives of others, both locally in the US, and abroad. It’s important to give back” states Mason Richards, faculty chair of NYFA Community Outreach who organized the fundraiser along with Carlye Bowers of Student Life in NYFA NYC. “This was the first time we collaborated on something like this, and we hope to do more.”
NYFA also partnered up with Direct Relief (www.directrelief.org) a non-profit organization that works to improve the health of people living in high-need areas by strengthening fragile health systems and increasing access to quality healthcare in 70 countries around the world. In addition to physical non-perishable donations, NYFA made a cash donation to aid with medical supplies in the countries affected by natural disasters.
Samir Rai, Community Engagement Associate at Direct Relief expressed his “Thanks again to the New York Film Academy for all the support and visibility you’ve brought to Direct Relief and the people on Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. We are fortunate to have advocates like you.”
Response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
Response to Hurricanes in the Caribbean
Before making landfall in Florida, Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds as high as 185 mph. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 99 percent of structures were at least partially damaged by the storm in Anguilla, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A Direct Relief team was on the ground in Florida before Irma made landfall, directing the movement and use of 14 pre-positioned Hurricane Preparedness Packs in the areas where they were needed most in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Direct Relief worked closely with health system officials and local partners to overcome persistent power outages and transportation challenges to ship specifically requested medical aid and supplies to Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean nations of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, the Dutch Antilles, Haiti, and Turks and Caicos. To date, Direct Relief has delivered $38.2 million (wholesale) via 177 shipments to 59 partner healthcare facilities to support the health needs of communities directly affected by Hurricane Irma (the data in the graphic above specifically reflects Caribbean nations). Selected community health centers and charitable clinics will also receive cash grants from Direct Relief’s Hurricane Community Health Fund in the coming weeks to help rebuild and stabilize operations to ensure the sustainability of critically important, community-based sources of care. To date, Direct Relief has granted $25,000 from the Fund to partners in Florida.
Response to the Mexico Earthquakes
Direct Relief Mexico staff responded quickly to support communities that sustained massive damage to homes, businesses, schools, health facilities, and critical infrastructure following an 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck off the country’s southern Pacific coast in early September. Just two weeks later, staff would need to respond to a second earthquake, magnitude 7.1, that struck Central Mexico. The death toll between the two earthquakes quickly rose into the hundreds, and many people who sustained injuries were left struggling to find functioning healthcare facilities. In response, Direct Relief Mexico quickly coordinated with in-country emergency operations, government officials, healthcare representatives, and the two largest pharmaceutical trade groups in the country, to identify specific needs in real time, foster new agreements with local medical product manufacturers, ensure capacity for cold-chain medications (which often address chronic conditions that can become deadly when untreated), and provide storage in areas where the earthquakes caused damage to existing facilities. Since the earthquakes struck, Direct Relief has sent $1.9 million (wholesale) of specifically-requested emergency medical resources through seven shipments to healthcare facilities and programs caring for people in affected communities. The organization is currently preparing to deliver an additional $621,322 in medical aid and supplies to partners in Mexico City as well as in the states of Chiapas, Morelos, and Oaxaca, and has committed an initial $160,000 in cash grants to support repairs, warehouse rentals, and the special medical needs of patients already undergoing care at local healthcare facilities.
Also as a part of the NYFA C.A.R.E.S holiday giving, NYFA Community Outreach hosted a NYFA GIVES Comedy Relief showcase to close out the disaster relief campaign as a thank you to all who donated. NYFA welcomed a diverse group of young comedic talents to perform the NYFA theater on both coasts. The talent included:
Los Angeles:
Ehsan Ahmad host (Comedy Central’s Roast Battle)
Aiko Tanaka (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Howard Stern Show)
Fahim Anwar (MTV’s Guy Code, Conan, Comedy Central)
This Spring, NYFA Community Outreach is partnering up once again with NYFA NYC, and this time NYFA Miami will also participate in “NYFA Red Nose Day 2018” for the international campaign to raise funds to end childhood poverty around the world. On May 16th, 2018 NYFA students, faculty and staff on campuses in NYC, LA and Miami can have their photos taken with red noses during lunchtime to show support for the cause.
Today it was announced that Red Nose Day, the national fundraising campaign to end child poverty, will return to NBC with a night of special primetime programming on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Leading up to the star-studded night of programming, celebrations for Red Nose Day engage millions of Americans across the country. The campaign’s iconic “Red Noses” will once again be available exclusively at Walgreens stores around the country. In addition to the support of the official retail and broadcast partners, the charity is proud to once again be working with national partners Mars Wrigley Confectionery with M&M’S® and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to change the lives of millions of children, one nose at a time. Red Nose Day is run by the nonprofit Comic Relief USA, which harnesses the power of entertainment to drive positive change.
For more information on NYFA C.A.R.E.S and NYFA Community outreach events and programs contact [email protected]
Francesco Panzieri is no stranger to big hits, both in television and film. Panzieri’s name has been included in the credits for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Men, True Detective, Westworld, and many others. Still, the New York Film Academy 3D Animation alum’s most recent work on Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War may be the biggest film he has worked on to date.
The superhero blockbuster raked in $630 million during its first weekend, which is the biggest opening of all time. It is also critically acclaimed, boasting an impressive 84 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
The digital effects compositor has said numerous times how his time at NYFA helped prepare him for his career, and his experience on Infinity War was no different.
A shot from Avengers: Infinity War
On Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first Marvel film Panzieri worked on, he worked in-house, focusing on 2D live-action visual effects. He explained, “As such, my work scope was compositing actors from green screen onto photographed backgrounds, monitor insert, wire removal, plate re-timing, repositioning, scale-up and split-screen.”
For the more recent films Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War, Panzieri said, “The visual effects company Digital Domain handled intricate compositing of CG characters onto live-action plates.” He further explained, “I came aboard late in the game on Thor, yet I was still lucky to get some cool looking shots, including the composite of a blue-screen take of Chris Hemsworth over a fully-CG environment in the Sakaar chase sequence, where Thor smashes the engine of a spaceship barehanded.”
Unsurprisingly, stakes were even higher for Avengers: Infinity War. “Almost every one of our shots in the sequence featured Thanos versus an Avenger; I was very lucky to get him in each of my five shots and by getting to work on one of the trailer shots released to the public two months before the movie came out.”
Francesco was responsible for working with some of the film’s most notable characters: “Captain America and Thor were the other two characters in my shots, so I also focused on locking down their hands onto Thanos’ gauntlet and head, to make sure that the audience would really perceive that rock solid hold as the Avengers attempt to save half the universe.”
The high quality Digital Domain was intent on achieving created challenges, but also a polished and impressive final product. Panzieri points out, “The photo-realism that Digital Domain was trying to achieve on this feature definitely pushed the CG characters to be the most-challenging part. The team really cared about giving them a perfect fitting in the scene under every point of view. Ultimately, during every session of dailies, the supervisors kept asking, ‘How can we make the shot look spectacular?’ or ‘What is this shot missing from looking memorable?’ All of the Thanos work you see in the movie, with the exception of the sequence on Titan, belongs to the tireless work of the artists at Digital Domain.”
One reason the Marvel universe has been able to captivate audiences for so long is its dedication to consistency, even across franchises. As Panzieri puts it, “They really care about keeping the continuity with their previous movies, as the Marvel cinematic universe is a big shared playground.”
A shot from Avengers: Infinity War
As far as preparation for such a daunting job, Panzieri says, “NYFA trained me to work very hard and for long hours.” He expounded upon that, explaining, “I was able to grasp a solid knowledge of 2D and 3D during my time there, thanks to a very organic and inclusive approach to the art of filmmaking and storytelling. I was able to develop technical and artistic skills that could help me find a job once I graduated, and I had a fantastic time during my studies.”
Read the full Q&A on our blog. NYFA is excited Francesco’s upcoming work following the tremendous success of Avengers: Infinity War. You can learn more about him and his credits on his website. View the trailer for Infinity War below:
Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.
Francesco Panzieri is no stranger to big hits, both in television and film. Panzieri’s name has been included in the credits for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Men, True Detective, Westworld, and many others.
Still, the New York Film Academy alum’s most recent work on Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War may be the biggest film he has worked on to date. The superhero blockbuster raked in $630 million on its opening weekend, which is the biggest opening of all time.
The digital effects compositor sat down with us to discuss Avengers, his upcoming projects, and how his time at NYFA helped prepare him for career.
NYFA: How did your experience on Infinity War compare to the other Marvel films you’ve worked on? Francesco Panzieri: On my first Marvel movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, I was actually working in-house within Marvel Studios, where I was tasked with 2D live-action visual effects. As such, my work scope was compositing actors from green screen onto photographed backgrounds, monitor insert, wire removal, plate re-timing, re-positioning, scale-up and split-screen.
On Thor: Ragnarok and eventually Avengers: Infinity War, the team at Digital Domain had to deal with some intricate compositing of CG characters onto live-action plates. I came aboard late in the game on Thor, yet I was still lucky to get some cool looking shots, including the composite of a blue-screen take of Chris Hemsworth over a fully-CG environment in the Sakaar chase sequence, where Thor smashes the engine of a spaceship barehanded.
On Avengers, stakes got higher. Almost every one of our shots in the sequence featured Thanos versus an Avenger; I was very lucky to get him in each of my five shots and by getting to work on one of the trailer shots released to the public two months before the movie came out. Captain America and Thor were the other two characters in my shots, so I also focused on locking down their hands onto Thanos’ gauntlet and head, to make sure that the audience would really perceive that rock solid hold as the Avengers attempt to save half the universe.
DD had developed a technique to color-grade Thanos in a photo-realistic yet nonhuman way while adding some splash of purple on selected areas of his face and body. We also made a great use of the subsurface scattering render-layer to fine-tune his color and deep ID’s for his stubble and hair. Thanos was fully rendered in VRay with many proprietary skin shaders that DD has been continually refining for years; all the compositing was done in Nuke.
NYFA: Was it harder to deal with mo-cap and completely CG characters like Thanos, Groot, and Rocket, or easier to incorporate VFX in their scenes? Francesco: The photo-realism that Digital Domain was trying to achieve on this feature definitely pushed the CG characters to be the most-challenging part. The team really cared about giving them a perfect fitting in the scene under every point of view. We made sure that black levels matched accurately to the live-action plate and brainstormed every possible interactive light from the environment onto the characters and vice versa.
Ultimately, during every session of dailies, the supervisors kept asking, “How can we make the shot look spectacular?” or ‘What is this shot missing from looking memorable?” For Thanos, we had some great rigging work done to enhance all the muscle tension from Josh Brolin’s performance onto his digital character to help perceive the struggle during the fight scenes, as well as the weight he is bringing in the game to fight the Avengers.
All of the Thanos work you see in the movie, with the exception of the sequence on Titan, belongs to the tireless work of the artists at Digital Domain.
NYFA: How much direction, or conversely, freedom, are you given by the directors when crafting VFX? Francesco: It can vary. As previously mentioned, with Marvel, if you’re tasked with something that has already been done in their previous movies, you can rest assured that they will ask you to stay on that same beaten path. Of course, your work might exceed their expectations in terms of presentation and integration, but they really care about keeping the continuity with their previous movies as the MCU is a big shared playground.
On another note, if you’re being asked to introduce something new to the visual story, you can really push the limit of your creativity and submit different versions for their review, as long as you also keep in mind what your VFX supervisor asks you to do and that your work must look coherent with the storytelling.
A shot from The Avengers: Infinity War
NYFA: Was it easier creating VFX taking place in NYC and the real world or easier creating them in the totally made-up space fantasy worlds? Francesco: It is always easier to work with a photographed plate as a reference for compositing anything over it. Trying to create a fully CG environment without any real photographic reference can really make things unfriendly, unless you know precisely what you’re aiming at and what you want it to look like. The flexibility that comes with it can very well be a double-edged weapon if you’re on a tight deadline, however it also gives you plenty of creative freedom to fully express the storytelling.
NYFA: How did NYFA prepare you for this particular job? Francesco: NYFA trained me to work very hard and for long hours. I was able to grasp a solid knowledge of 2D and 3D during my time there, thanks to a very organic and inclusive approach to the art of filmmaking and storytelling. I was able to develop technical and artistic skills that could help me find a job once I graduated, and I had a fantastic time during my studies.
NYFA is excited Francesco’s upcoming work following the tremendous success of Avengers: Infinity War. You can learn more about him and his credits on his website.
Our one-year program in animation is designed for students looking to develop their visual effects skills and gain hands-on experience with animation tools and softwares. Visit our 3D Animation One-Year Program page to learn more.
In a watershed year for equality, inclusion, and human rights, with #MeToo and TIME’S UP™ gaining momentum in industries from Hollywood to higher education, The Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at the New York Film Academy (PCMT @ NYFA) has struck the perfect chord with its new original music revue, Reclaiming Our Time: An Empowerment Revue.
Last August, Democratic California Congressional Representative Maxine Waters (“Auntie Maxine” to many of her millennial fans) went viral when, during a House Financial Services Committee meeting, she refused to let the man she was questioning derail her limited time. The moment became a viral video and a battle cry, inspiring a Women’s March theme and, now, PCMT’s original musical revue.
PCMT’s tribute to the power of women working together to make their voices heard celebrates women through a multitude of musical styles, following seven characters as they explore their connections with others, their frustrations with love and heartbreak, and the desire to destroy glass ceilings.
Co-conceived by Johanna Pinzler, who also serves as director, and Joshua Zecher-Ross, who is also music director, Reclaiming Our Time: An Empowerment Revue featured stellar performances from current PCMT students. The cast included Krystal Kane, Elena Lozonschi, Abby Luke, Madeline Mancebo, Catarina Marcato, Carly McClain, Damaris Olivo, and Sarah Venners.
In her director’s statement, Johanna Pinzler said:
“Working with Joshua Zecher-Ross and the 12 women involved with this project both on and offstage has been a real balm for my soul. Our rehearsal room was a safe space for discovery, big emotions, vulnerability, and ultimately, it became a breeding ground for awareness both political and biological. Through music and poetry, we worked together to bridge the history of my mother’s generation with mine and that of these current students.”
Playing to a sold-out weekend at The Theatre @ NYFA (17 Battery Place, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10004), Reclaiming Our Time: An Empowerment Revue delighted with tour de force performances of music, political chants, and poetry repurposed to tell a new story bridging generations of women, all raising their voices to lay claim to their space, their rights, and their time.
Even before the performers took the stage, the revue was reclaiming time for women by running audio recordings of chants from some of the recent Women’s March protests, as well as the Maxine Waters viral video that inspired the title.
Some of the iconic musical covers included Carol King’s Beautiful, I Enjoy Being a Girl (Flower Drum Song), I’m on My Way (Violet), Carli Simon’s Let the River Run (Working Girl), Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors, and The Bear, The Tiger, The Hamster and the Mole (Closer Than Ever). On-stage percussion instruments and live piano had both the cast and audience dancing.
Reclaiming Our Time: An Empowerment Revue is a part of the new works series at the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre. The school was launched at the New York Film Academy in 2009 with nine students. Nine years later, hundreds of students have studied musical theatre at NYFA, and the department now boasts a healthy faculty roster of over 75 working industry professionals. For more information about the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre @ NYFA, please visit: www.nyfa.edu/musical-theatre.
As a result of screening her film at the Marché Du Film at Cannes, NYFA Filmmaking alum Mariana Robles Thome landed her first celebrity interview with rocker Iggy Pop for her upcoming feature documentary Scab Vendor.
Thome graduated with her BFA in filmmaking in 2015 and she’s in the home stretch of her documentary about renowned New York tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw. Thome, originally from Brazil, took some time to chat with the NYFA Blog about her career, her experiences at NYFA and her film.
Photo provided by Mariana Robles Thome.
NYFA: First, can you tell us a bit about Scab Vendor?
MRT: Scab Vendor is a documentary about the life and times of Jonathan Shaw. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth as the son of jazz bandleader Artie Shaw and Hollywood starlet Doris Dowling, Jonathan’s teenage years were marked by rebellion against the glamorous life of his parents and extreme aversion to his mother’s alcoholism.
After almost dying of a heroin overdose in his 20s, hitchhiking from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, and learning from the best old-school American tattoo artists, Jonathan Shaw became the go-to tattoo artist in New York City. The clientele at his shop, Fun City Tattoo, ranged from Johnny Depp to Jim Jarmusch to the Ramones. Scab Vendor explores how a man at the height of his career as a tattoo artist chose to give up on his celebrity lifestyle and find his redemption through writing.
NYFA: How did the project come about?
MRT: I met Jonathan Shaw because he was releasing his novel, Narcisa, at a renowned art gallery in Los Angeles, La Luz de Jesus Gallery. My co-director, Lucas de Barros, told me about it and asked if I could shoot the night, since he lives in Brazil and wanted it documented.
When I met Jonathan, on the front door of his Hollywood penthouse, I was immediately drawn to him as a character. In front of me there was this 62-year-old man puffing on a vape, full of tattoos, chains, dressed like a hobo and speaking perfect Portuguese. Immediately I knew this project was going to be a feature documentary, and Jonathan was more than happy to be a part of it.
In 2016 I was able to go with a few projects to the Cannes Film Festival Market — including the film I made in my first year at NYFA. They were selected by Creative Minds Group, who booked a screening in the Marché du Film at Cannes for eight selected short films. This led to a great coincidence: Jim Jarmusch (who is good friends with Jonathan Shaw) was in the festival with two movies, including a documentary on Iggy Pop (who is also good friends with Jonathan). I immediately contacted Jonathan and we were able to schedule the first interview of the project with Iggy Pop.
NYFA: How did NYFA prepare you for the professional world?
MRT: Well, I must admit that I used my time at NYFA well. I really took advantage of everything that the school has to offer, the professionals, the equipment, the resources, and definitely, the red cards. (A red card allows any student to meet with any instructor at the academy for a consultation on their work.)
I started this project when I was still a student at NYFA. I was actually in the middle of my thesis period, and was already producing three of my classmates’ films. I had the great advantage of having instructors who were willing to prepare me for the giant project that was ahead of me. Moreover, most of my classmates who were my close friends ended up helping me out in this project, and many NYFA alumni are part of my crew.
NYFA: What advice would you give to students — especially those about to graduate?
MRT: Keep doing what you love, work hard, go to festivals, talk to people, get out of your comfort zone. But most importantly, never forget that nobody will ever care more about your project than you do.
NYFA: What’s next for you?
MRT: This year I’m working on a TV series about the 1980s and 1990s in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, with historian and videographer Clayton Patterson (who I met through Scab Vendor) — whose work is currently exhibited, archived, and preserved at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
We’re also in the process of producing a TV Series called Desterro, shot in my hometown in Brazil.
NYFA: How can people get involved with Scab Vendor?
MRT: You can support us by contributing to our crowdfunding campaign at www.seedandspark.com/fund/scabvendor. Even if you don’t have the means to contribute, you can follow us on Seed&Spark and you’ll be helping us get a chance to win an extra 75,000 towards the project when we reach 1000 followers! We are also on facebook @scabvendordoc and Instragram @scabvendor.
The New York Film Academy would like to thank Mariana Robles Thome for her time and for sharing her experiences with us. We wish her the best of luck on Scab Vendor as well as all her other projects, and can’t wait to see it playing on the big screen.
This is a difficult time to be a journalist in the United States. The level of trust in American institutions has declined significantly in recent years, and that includes journalism. So, is it a good time to let people see how the news business actually works? How the process is chaotic, messy and difficult? How sometimes there are fundamental disagreements on the way to cover a story, not because of partisan bias but because of differing perspectives? The New York Times obviously feels it is, and allowed documentary filmmakers unprecedented access to their operation: 150 days of access, to be precise. The result is premiering later this month on the American Pay-TV channel Showtime, in a series called The Fourth Estate.
“You see how much we sweat getting it right, how imperfect it is, too,” media columnist Jim Rutenberg said in an interview with Politico. “I don’t see how you could come away from watching it and not see how much we worry about things people think the media in general is cavalier about.”
You may or may not have heard of Cheddar. It is a business news video service aimed at younger viewers. (With the exception of faculty and administrators who read these NYFA Broadcast Journalism updates, that means you…) It has a very different tone and approach than conventional business news channels like CNBC and Bloomberg. Now, Cheddar is setting up a new distribution platform on Snapchat. (Yes, the same Snapchat I referred to last week.) It’s another example of a programming service affiliating with a popular, well-known app, instead of depending solely on one they developed themselves.
Last week I attended a conference on streaming and other OTT (Over The Top) distribution strategies. As always, these meetings amaze me.
One case in point was a presentation by Google on how it is possible for anyone to to create his/her own personal streaming network — and the ways program suppliers can monetize them. (If you can’t figure out a business model, you can’t stay in business.) One of the biggest challenges is “latency,” the lag time between you clicking an on-screen icon and something actually happening.
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