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Variety’s Best Film Schools 2018, Brazil’s Agency France-Presse, & Shanghai: 1937 With the New York Film Academy Broadcast Journalism School

For those of you who live outside the United States, you may have never heard of Variety. It is the Hollywood-based, leading entertainment industry newspaper/magazine in America. And last week it named the New York Film Academy one of the best film schools in the world. When I read the review, I was amazed to see that Broadcast Journalism was one of the departments they singled out for mention. They’ve done the impossible — they’ve rendered me speechless…

One thing I am never speechless about is the work of our graduates. Yesterday I saw, via LinkedIn, a fabulous story done by NYFA Broadcast Journalism grad Suzane de Oliveira. Suzane works for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Brazil. Here are the credits for the story:

Entrevista exclusiva da Anitta pra AFP.
Reportagem: Daniele Belmiro e Cecília Sorgine
Imagens: Marie Hospital
Edição de texto e vídeo e narração: Suzane de Oliveira
We can’t take credit for Suzane’s wonderful writing and narration skills, but she learned how to edit video at NYFA. And this is a very well-cut story. So good, in fact, that AFP posted it online and on social media!
Now, contrary to what some of you may believe, NYFA grad Gillian Kemmerer does not pay for the frequent mentions she gets in this newsletter — she just keeps accomplishing things! The latest is a scholarship to travel to Moscow for intense Russian language studies, then work there as a correspondent with an international news agency. That means good-bye to Asset-TV and mornings on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. However, if you need help with Russian grammar, Gillian, NYFA instructor Evgenia Vlasova will be happy to help you. (Because “once you are our student, you always are our student.”)
On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of the current and former students and NYFA colleagues who wished me a happy birthday. (If you are adept at investigative reporting, you can figure out just how many birthdays it has been.) One of the nicest “gifts” I got was a lovely preview of my documentary Shanghai: 1937  by the China Global Television Network (CGTN). A special screening of the program is being arranged to take place in conjunction with the Shanghai International Film Festival in June. Negotiations are also underway for American and international broadcast distribution, along with home video and VOD.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Welcomes ‘Riverdale’ Stars Ashleigh Murray and Casey Cott

Two stars of hit CW series Riverdale joined the New York Film Academy (NYFA) for a sneak-peek screening of an upcoming episode and a lively discussion with the students of the Musical Theater and Acting for Film departments. Actors Ashleigh Murray, who plays rocker Josie McCoy, and Casey Cott, who plays groundbreaking character Kevin Keller, shared their insights on the show and the industry.

The episode, entitled “Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember,” adopts a musical format as the characters rehearse and perform Carrie: The Musical at their high school. The musical is the exact show the students are currently rehearsing at the NYFA Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre (PCMT), which was recently profiled in Variety as a leader in preparing professionals for the medium. This gave the stars and the students common ground for a more in-depth and meaningful discussion of acting technique.

 

Ashleigh Murray praised the conservatory model of training, stating that it allowed actors a higher level of concentration on their work. “Sometimes focusing just on what you want is the best way to go,” she said, “Because you can just let your right brain take over.”

 

Casey Cott agreed. “You’re in a unique spot right now to adjust the way you think about art and the way you think about acting,” he told the students, “and to put your bias aside whenever you go see a movie, a TV show, or a play, you can think about it unbiased. Don’t think of it as good or not. Think about what it is, and how you can adjust what you do to fit into the style of what that is.”

 

In addition to her work on Riverdale, Murray has appeared on Younger, WB show The Following, and Netflix original film Deidra & Laney Rob a Train, along with a national commercial campaign for Coca-Cola and Lady Gaga’s 2013 MTV VMA promo video. Cott’s credits include Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, where he played Lucas Hull, and 2019 drama All the Little Things We Kill. He has also appeared in numerous stage productions, including Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Parade, and The Prince of Egypt.

 

After the talk, PCMT Creative Director Kristy Cates said, “We are so lucky to have had Ashleigh and Casey speak to our students after the screening. They gave wonderful advice, were extremely gracious, and provided great insight into the business. As creative director of our program, it is such a thrill to be able to facilitate such unique experiences for my students. Special thanks to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation for making this possible!”

 

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Riverdale and actors Ashleigh Murray and Casey Cott for sharing this special event with our students.

New York Film Academy Hosts Producing Pitchfest For MFA and BFA Students

The recent graduates of New York Film Academy’s MFA and BFA Producing programs got to share their final projects with high-powered industry professionals at this year’s Producing Pitchfest.

A herculean effort went into completing these producing projects. NYFA is known for having classes that are fast-paced and hands-on. Students enter as aspiring creatives and leave with the ability to walk onto a set and make a film. From the producing side, students create a show bible, design a budget, and learn multiple ways to pitch their script to executives, studios, and potential investors.    

The “story pitch” is as much a part of Hollywood movie making as is the script itself. At the Producing Pitchfest, students were given the opportunity to pitch their projects to professional producers, directors, writers and executives. Getting an opportunity to pitch a projects to professionals is incredibly important. Not only did students get the chance to get constructive feedback from the guests, they also had the chance to land a deal!

Student Reginald E. Luck credited NYFA with his ability to look and sound professional in the presence of such incredible talent. “NYFA taught and prepared me by grilling me during thesis committee meetings. They really made me focus on why I was telling this story,” he began. “When my instructors said, ‘Relax, you got this,’ I found they were right. I had made pitching harder in my mind than it turned out to be in reality.”

Luck said his favorite part of the event was meeting and interacting with the writers and producers who attended the festival. “It really made me feel important to have them all listen intently to my story,” Luck confessed. “I was given some tremendous pointers by each person I pitched too.”

At the end of the event, many of the participating judges let our instructors know how impressed they were with the students and their work. The event was a huge success all the way around. Students walked away with encouragement, new ideas, and a lot of real-world contacts.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank the following panelists for taking the time to hear our student’s pitches: writer and director Blake Harris, writer and director Doug Cooney, writer and director Brian Herskowitz, actor and producer John Morrissey, producer Patrick Peach, writer and producer David Rosenberg, writer and producer Arnold Rudnick, attorney and producer Marlon Schulman and filmmaker and festival director Kimberly Browning.

Congratulations to all of our graduates. We look forward to all of the great stories you’ll tell.  

Mayor of Austin Honors NYFA Declaring April 14 “New York Film Academy Day”

Last week, the New York Film Academy (NYFA) proudly teamed up with the Texas Veterans Commission, Texas Film Commission and the City of Austin to facilitate a truly exciting NYFA Filmmaking Master Class, which was provided free for veterans and their dependents.

The Austin Convention Center housed the daylong event and featured a six-hour interactive instructional seminar, titled Anatomy of a Scene, presented by NYFA New York City Chair of Short Term Programs Jonathan Whittaker. The seminar included lecture, screening, and group participation, to coach on writing, breaking down, and directing a scene. The seminar explored all aspects of filmmaking, including cinematography, producing, editing, acting, and screenwriting.

From left to right: Stephanie Whallon, Incentive Program Manager, Texas Film Commission; Cruz Montemayor, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Veterans Commission; Colonel Jack Jacobs, Chair, NYFA Veterans Advancement Program; Allen Bergeron, Veterans Program Administrator, City of Austin; John Powers, Director, NYFA Division of Veterans Services

On hand to greet the nearly 70 military participants were the honorable Colonel Jack Jacobs, Medal of Honor recipient and on-air military strategist for NBC/MSNBC and Chair of the NYFA Veterans Advancement Program; Cruz Montemayor, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Veterans Commission; Allen Bergeron, Military Veterans Program Manager, City of Austin; Minhu Vu, Senior Marketing Coordinator, Texas Film Commission; and Stephanie Whallon, Incentive Program Manager, Texas Film Commission.

A highlight for NYFA was the presentation to Colonel Jacobs of a Special Proclamation by Austin’s Mayor, Steve Adler, declaring April 14 as “NYFA DAY” in the City of Austin!

In part, the Proclamation reads:

Be it known that

Whereas,

The New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts (NYFA) seeks to promote and advance the art of visual storytelling through film and related media including staged performance as a transformational and ennobling vehicle to both the creator and audience; and

Whereas,

This art has a profound impact on the individuals, communities and global society and therefor NYFA seeks to make visual storytelling education accessible to the most diverse, international, and broadest possible spectrum of people from all backgrounds who one day will serve the visual storytelling arts as industry leaders; and

Whereas,

We appreciate NYFA for their innovative efforts in the film and arts industry and for supporting members of the Military who are currently serving and have served our country along with their families. Austin is proud to be called home to many of the brave men and women who serve(d) in the Military and to have the opportunity to explore various aspects of filmmaking through NYFA; and

Now, Therefore,

I, Steve Adler, Mayor of the City of Austin, Texas,

do hereby proclaim

April 14, 2018

as

NYFA Day

NYFA’s President Michael Young expressed gratitude to Mayor Adler, stating, “We are incredibly honored and humbled to receive this proclamation from a city that does so much veterans, for film, and for the arts. The New York Film Academy hopes return to Austin frequently to partner on these efforts.

NYFA’s Division of Veterans Services has been privileged to enroll and support more than 1,500 veteran students and military dependents at its U.S. campuses since 2009. Many NYFA programs are approved for Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits, and the Los Angeles and South Beach campuses also participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Talent Agent Jennifer Boyce Visits New York Film Academy Los Angeles

Talent agent Jennifer Boyce recently dropped by the New York Film Academy (NYFA) Los Angeles for a Q&A with our students and to speak about her many years in Hollywood as an agent, working at both the Savage Agency and KMR Talent. Senior Enrollment Advisor Chris Devane and Associate Chair of Acting for Film Anne Moore hosted the evening.

Students heard Boyce’s perspective on head shots and tips on what to do when meeting with an agent. Most students had never met an agent before, so one of the most common questions of the night was: How, exactly, they should go about working with one in their careers? What information should actors have on hand?

From left to right: NYFA’s Senior Enrollment Advisor Chris Devane, Guest Speaker Jennifer Boyce, and Associate Chair of Acting for Film Anne Moore.

Boyce suggested that students create opportunities to succeed. “If you are an actor, you do not get to sit at home waiting for your agent to call,” Boyce said. “Don’t ask ‘What is my agent doing for me?’ Instead ask, ‘What am I doing for my own career?’”

Boyce reminded students that an agent only makes 10 percent commission from what actors make, and cautioned them not to expect agents to do more than 10 percent of the work. She echoed the great advice that actors’ minds and bodies are an instrument, and they need to keep their instrument in tune. She hammered home an old truth: actors have to act. Talking about acting is not acting. Thinking about acting is not acting.

“It takes a lifetime of commitment to have any success in this business,” Boyce warned. “If you’re not willing to put in the work, then you may not be suited for this business.”

During the Q&A, one NYFA student asked, “For an agent, what is the most important part of an actor’s resume?”

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Boyce’s explained that, first, acting students should focus on the special skills portion of their resumes. This section is often overlooked, but it is often the difference between a callback and never hearing about a particular job again. Special skills include horseback riding, swimming, sewing, or driving a car. It is in this section where casting directors might think of additional roles for which actors may be the right fit. Secondly, while special skills are important, the best thing an actor can do to improve their chances of securing an agent is to train in their field. This is why even professional actors still take acting classes well into an established career.

Boyce shared that, from an agent’s point of view, actors who continue to take classes and train demonstrate a work ethic and dedication to their craft. Additionally, many casting directors have established relationships with acting coaches. When they spot a familiar name, casting directors can reach out and learn more about an actor, their abilities, and personality.  

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Jennifer Boyce for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with our students.

The Getty’s College Night Features New York Film Academy’s Wish Lantern Lounge

This year, NYFA was invited to participate in the Getty Center’s annual College Night. The event attracts 2,500 college students from all over Los Angeles and is designed by college students, for college students — with a little help from Getty curators, education specialists, and faculty at participating universities.

This year’s College Night celebrated the diverse and unique qualities that make up the city of Los Angeles. The call was to showcase Los Angeles as a city of artists, to inspire students to re-think their ideas about what art can be, and show them that art is for everyone.

NYFA Instructor Jennifer Penton and Co-Associate Chair of Photography Naomi White formed a class dedicated to Getty College Night with 11 photography students. Together, they created and pitched interactive programming ideas.

One of NYFA’s MFA in Photography candidates, Juan Sebastian Echeverri, was chosen to be on the prestigious Getty Advisory Board, along with students from these participating schools: 

  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of Southern California
  • Santa Monica College
  • California State University, Los Angeles
  • California Institute of the Arts
  • College of the Canyons
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • California State University, Long Beach
  • California Lutheran University

Working with the local, non-profit group Welcome to Junior High, who promote the artistic pursuits of marginalized voices, NYFA students envisioned a Wish Lantern Lounge, where participants were invited to write their wishes on one side of a tag, and the part of their identity that they would like to see better represented in the world, on the other. Once their tag was made, students chose a lantern from an array of colors and hung it up. Over the course of the evening a “grove of light” was created by the hanging of hundreds of lanterns, each sending a message.

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Participants could walk under the lanterns and read the wishes and identities, which ranged from “Angry Intersectional Feminist” to “Cat Lover,” and from “Tolerance for Immigrants” to “More Opportunities.” It was an emotionally moving experience to walk amongst these fervent desires, and to see the lanterns enliven the space with their joyful spring colors and flickering lights.

“Being part of the Getty Collaboration was a rewarding experience,” said NYFA BFA Photography student Edolia Stroud. “It was so cool to collaborate with my peers, and have our installation displayed at the Getty.”

Fellow BFA Photography student Jennifer Siemsen agreed. “I think that with the collaboration of all the attendees, we ended up creating something really beautiful.”

The New York Film Academy would like to thank the Getty Center for their inspiring College Night event and for honoring us by including our students’ exhibit in it. We would also like to thank our staff and students for their incredible work in making the exhibit such a success.

RIVERDALE SNEAK-PEEK AND Q&A WITH ASHLEIGH MURRAY (JOSIE MCCOY) AND CASEY COTT (KEVIN KELLER) AT NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY

This week, the New York Film Academy (NYFA) was delighted to host a special sneak-peek screening of hit series Riverdale at its New York City campus, featuring a lively Q&A with series leads Ashleigh Murray (Josie McCoy) and Casey Cott (Kevin Keller). NYFA New York Chair of Acting for Film Peter Allen Stone moderated the event for a packed house of Musical Theatre and Acting for Film students.

“The extraordinary conversation with Ashleigh Murray and Casey Cott of the CW’s Riverdale discussing their work on the television series was vital insight for our conservatory students,” said Stone.

NYFA students were treated to a special premier of the new Riverdale episode Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember, a day before it aired on the CW. Directed by Jason Stone and written by Arabella Anderson and Tessa Leigh Williams, this special episode adopts a musical format as the Riverdale characters rehearse and perform Carrie: The Musical at their high school — the very same musical that NYFA Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre (PCMT) students are currently rehearsing!

Carrie was a very thoughtful choice for this season of Riverdale, as the series executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (co-writer of 2013’s Carrie film remake) told the The New York Times: “It felt as though the songwriters had written songs for the same set of characters.”

Our special guests, students, and faculty alike found the in-depth discussion of acting technique especially meaningful, with the common ground of working on Carrie: The Musical.

Ashleigh Murray praised the conservatory model of training. “Sometimes focusing just on what you want is the best way to go,” she said, “Because you can just let your right brain take over.”

“You’re in a unique spot right now to adjust the way you think about art and the way you think about acting,” Casey Cott told the audience of students, “And to put your bias aside whenever you go see a movie, a TV show, or a play, you can think about it unbiased. Don’t think of it as good or not. Think about what it is, and how you can adjust what you do to fit into the style of what that is.”

NYFA Instructor Stephen Nachamie, who directs the PCMT version of Carrie: The Musical, said of the event: “It was phenomenal for the students to see what a pop-culture icon Carrie is — and how exciting to see selections performed by the Riverdale cast! It stoked our students’ energy, commitment, and passion!”

Following a wonderful evening with Riverdale, PCMT Creative Director Kristy Cates said, “We are so lucky to have had Ashleigh and Corey speak to our students after the screening. They gave wonderful advice, were extremely gracious, and provided great insight into the business. As creative director of our program, it is such a thrill to be able to facilitate such unique experiences for my students. Special thanks to the Rodgers and Hammerstein foundation for making this possible!”

In Riverdale and beyond, musicals are enjoying a revival in film and television. PCMT at NYFA was recently profiled in Variety as a leader in preparing professionals for the mediumas a part of its two-year conservatory since 2012. Each PCMT movie musical features original music and stories, as well as collaborations with industry professionals — such as Tony Award-winner James Monroe Iglehart and Tony Award-nominee Charlotte D’amboise.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Riverdale and actors Ashleigh Murray and Casey Cott for sharing this special event with our students.

Nova Fest Awards Best Musical & Best LGBT Film to New York Film Academy’s Plus One

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre (PCMT) has snagged two film festival wins for its original movie musical Plus One. The epic short film utilizes original music as it follows three generations of women, two unexpected pregnancies, and a time-traveling secretary with the key to their futures.

After a successful run at the NOVA Fest, Plus One went home with the top trophies for Best Musical and Best LGBT Film.

Plus One’s trophies will be proudly displayed in the Musical Theatre office at the NYFA New York City campus. Stop by and check them out, and learn more about PCMT’s work!

PLUS ONE – trailer from SEAN ROBINSON on Vimeo.

Two-Year Conservatory students at PCMT have had the opportunity to perform in original movie musicals since the program began in 2012. The unique experience allows conservatory students to prepare for the film and television industry as well as the stage. Each PCMT original movie musical is created from scratch with original stories and scores, and executed through collaborations with working industry professionals. Past films have featured collaborators such as Tony Award-winner James Monroe Iglehart and Tony Award-nominee Charlotte D’amboise. Yet each PCMT movie musical maintains its focus on its student performers, allowing the next generation of artists to truly shine.

Episodic Instagram, Austin Veterans, Copenhagen TV2, and More From New York Film Academy’s Broadcast Journalism School

Digiday posted a fascinating article last week about storytelling in the digital age. The premise was that “publishers” (the online sort) are treating Instagram stories like episodic television. It’s really a brilliant innovation. The way people process information is changing (or should that be “has changed?”). People react less to words and more to images. So how do you take what would otherwise be disjointed arrays of pixels and give them staying power? You tell a story — and episodic television has been telling stories since the dawn of the TV era. By creating basic storylines, that carry over from “episode” to “episode,” you create anticipation, tension, interest and (most importantly) audiences!
The same is true in nonfiction video too.
NYFA grad Melissa Aleman is back in the Weekly Update again, this time with Col. Jack Jacobs, the chair of the NYFA Veterans Advancement Program. Melissa was the videographer at a special veterans event that NYFA held in Austin, Texas. It is wonderful to see how Melissa is using the skills she learned as a Broadcast Journalism student not just to build a career, but to “give back” as well. Meanwhile, Col. Jack Jacoba is the heart and soul of our veterans’ activities here at NYFA.
So how do you produce news stories in the digital era? Well, you can learn a lot from NYFA grad Celina Liv Danielsen. She works in the news department at TV2, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Look carefully at the picture below — Liv is using three microphones. Two are wireless lavalier mics (see the antennae on the back of the camera?), and one is a mini-shotgun mounted on the front of the camera. Just like she learned to do here at NYFA!
The skills students learn in the NYFA Broadcast Journalism program can be used in a number of different ways. Recently I heard from graduate Karina Gaudereto. She is working for a company called SEVEN PR, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She wrote:
This is a PR Agency for techlology startups, and I am a press agent for some companies in this area … There is one TV production called Floresta Produções which is a joint venture with Sony Entertainment. They make one of the most famous reality shows here like Lady Night at Multishow, and also UFC, Shark Tank, and shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. They called out our help because they want to expand their productions for branded content and TV premium. It’s been cool but tough!

Here is a screen grab from one of Karina’s student projects. I know for a fact she misses New York … if not the winter weather.