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NYFA Filmmaking Alumnus Ruchir Garg’s “It’s Gawd” Screens in New York and Amazon

New York Film Academy filmmaking alumnus Ruchir Garg was an executive producer on independent comedy “It’s Gawd!” starring Tommy Chong, Luke Perry and Rebecca Maden. The film has been released on Amazon and is screening August 24 at the AMC in Union Square, New York City.

“It’s Gawd!” follows the creator as he tries to save humanity (and his job) through a late night variety show and a variety of comedic high jinks. We had a chance to catch up with Ruchir and learn more about his journey with “It’s Gawd” from initial script read to Amazon distribution.

For those in the New York City area, further information and tickets for the August 24 screening of “It’s Gawd” can be found here.

NYFA: First, can you tell us a little bit about your journey and what brought you to NYFA?

RG: I have always had great love for stories. While growing up in India, we were surrounded by tales from puranas and jatakas (traditional folk tales). However, engineering and medicine used to be the most desirable professions, and so I studied computer science, and started working as a systems analyst. I came to the U.S. when Merrill Lynch interviewed me on the phone and offered me a job.

At the time I came to NYFA in 2004, I had lived in NYC for 7 years. I was working in the financial services industry. I used to go to the movies a lot. I loved comedies. Most comedies used to be rom-coms, and I wished there was more diversity of themes in comedy. I read a couple of books on screenwriting at first, which piqued my interest in learning filmmaking. I wanted to direct. The 8-Week Filmmaking Workshop at NYFA was perfect because I knew I could convince my employer to let me take eight weeks off work. Anything longer than that would have been difficult.

After the NYFA course I returned to India and participated in the production of a feature film, a family drama. I was mainly observing the process. I then realized that I would have to enter the industry as a writer or a producer. I started writing a comedy on the side. But I was never satisfied with what I wrote. After a couple of years, I put the dream on hold. And then “It’s Gawd” happened.

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NYFA: What inspired “It’s Gawd!”?

RG: “It’s Gawd!” was inspired by the works of Neale Donald Walsch, which I happened to be familiar with. Jerry Brunskill, who had written the script, was crowdfunding for the film on Indiegogo. I came to know of it when Neale wrote a post about it on his Facebook page. I liked what I saw and contacted Jerry. He turned out to be a gem of a guy.

After reading the script, I knew I wanted to do the project. Presenting God as a fun loving being was very original.

NYFA: Would you say your time at NYFA was at all useful in preparing for your experience as executive producer of “It’s Gawd!”?

RG: The NYFA experience turned out to very useful because it was very hands-on. When I came across the script for “It’s Gawd!” I was familiar enough with the filmmaking process so I could ask the right questions to make an informed decision. In fact I am pretty sure that without some prior knowledge of the process, I would not have had the courage to take it up the project.

NYFA: What was the process like for you finding distribution with Amazon?

RG: We submitted the movie originally to several high-profile festivals. It was not accepted. The general feedback was that the movie seemed too commercial. We screened the film for some friends in the business, and received similar response. We were not successful with any major distributors either. They said they looked for critically-acclaimed festival winners.

A friend and industry professional suggested that since our film had the hallmarks of a cult film (such as “Idiocracy” and “The Big Lobowski”), we should promote it as one. Since there are no well-defined avenues to do that, we decided to self-distribute.

We talked to some DVD distributors; but the money offered was very small. We thought we could use Tommy’s growing social media popularity. We started evaluating iTunes, Vimeo, Amazon, etc. and met with their representatives.

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It so happened that Amazon launched its Video Direct platform at this time; It let us present the film to a very large audience and do a bit of revenue sharing. It would take several million views to recoup our cost, but at least the film will be seen by a lot of people. To be accepted, Amazon required a high standard of technical quality, which we did have.

After the invitation-only premiere in LA — which was very successful — we did a screening in Minneapolis, which sold out. Tugg makes it quite easy to do special screenings. Once a filmmaker has uploaded the film to Tugg, anyone can screen it, provided he/she can promote it and sell a minimum number of tickets.

NYFA: What advice can you offer to aspiring NYFA student producers who are navigating the world of distribution?

RG: The distribution industry and marketplace has been changing rapidly. So do your research, investigate options, talk to professionals, follow up. Use your contacts to connect with industry insiders.

NYFA: Is there anything we didn’t ask you’d like to share with our community?

RG: The most important thing is to continue to have enthusiasm, even in the midst of adversity. We had our bit of adversity, in every phase, but it was somehow overcome. There is no formula for success. But if we stay enthusiastic, inspiration will flow and doors will open.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Ruchir Garg for sharing a bit of his story. And don’t forget to check out the August 24 screening of “It’s Gawd.”

NYFA South Beach Attends Supercon in Fort Lauderdale

The Broward Convention Center played host for the 2017 edition of Supercon. Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, it was the ideal midpoint for people from the tri-county area. New York Film Academy South Beach was fortunate to be joined by Adam Nimoy, director, former NYFA Filmmaking instructor, and the son of Leonard Nimoy — AKA Spock from “Star Trek.”

We were honored to be a part of Adam’s promotion for his documentary “For The Love of Spock.” Star Trek fans from all over excitedly came to meet Adam and learn more about his journey as the beloved son of Spock.

During the 4-day event, film buffs, comic book lovers, and anyone who loves a good excuse to play dress-up swarmed the convention center. Our NYFA South Beach booth was located in celebrity row, where fans swarmed Adam’s booth for autographs and personal pictures.

NYFA got a first row seat to see how passionate the Star Trek fanbase is. There were Star Trek tables dedicated to the franchise, which also included a life-size captain’s chair that Adam couldn’t help but sit in and reminisce.

At another end of the convention center, you could find a life-size version of the space station set where all the Star Trek characters would be found in a typical episode. Fans lined up to take photos with their family and friends, pretending to play the role of their favorite Star Trek character.

Adam’s Q&A on Saturday, which was moderated by South Beach Acting for Film Chair Mark Mocahbee, engaged fans that genuinely loved his documentary and were interested to learn his journey and process while making it.

Adam ended his Q&A with a special surprise for everyone by premiering the teaser trailer of his newest project, “What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Deep Space Nine.” The crowd of about 200 people that filled the Q&A room was overwhelmed by excitement to be the very first to see his new trailer.

Moments after the Q&A, the NYFA booth filled with fans that had just been at Adam’s panel hoping to speak to Adam directly and get an autograph.

For particularly impressive costumes, Mr. Nimoy would request photos with fans, which served as memorable moments for Trekkies.

All in all, NYFA South Beach’s takeover at Supercon in Fort Lauderdale was a tremendous success and the Academy hopes to play a part again next year.

Post written by: Sally Nieves

NYFA Gold Coast Hosts Q&A With Filmmaking Alumnus RK Musgrave

Recently, New York Film Academy Australia filmmaking alumnus RK Musgrave returned to give a Q&A at the Gold Coast campus as a part of the Guest Speaker Series.

RK graduated from the Diploma of Filmmaking program in 2013 and has since become a working writer and director in Queensland.

He recently wrote, directed and produced the dark comedy theatre production “The Turn of Winston Haggle,” which ran for three nights at the Gold Coast Arts Centre Independent Season. Joining RK for the Gold Coast Q&A was one of the stars of the production, NYFA Gold Coast Acting Lecturer Dean Mayer.

Students at the Gold Coast campus were given an insight into how RK established a creative relationship with his actors and how he utilized this during rehearsals as they collaborated to develop the characters.

RK explained to the students, “It might be my script but it becomes everyone’s to a point. I’m leading the team, but if Dean comes to me with an idea we test it out to see if it works and if it does, great, we’ll use it … you can’t have an ego about what you’re doing.”

As an actor, Dean Mayer explained what makes a good director: “Good communication makes me strive as an actor. They have to know what they want and know how to communicate it to actors.”

RK also informed the students the importance of networking, as well as how it’s critical to establish long-lasting relationships with both filmmakers and actors. RK stated, “I was originally reluctant towards networking but I had to change my opinion. You’ve got to network. A lot of opportunities I’ve got is through the people I’ve gotten to know … now that I’m out in the industry, I’m meeting people and it’s important to build a team you want to constantly work and bounce ideas with … that’s what Steven Spielberg did, he works with the same people.”

RK further spoke about how he won the 2013 Script-To-Screen longline competition while he was studying at NYFA, which granted him free script coverage. RK was also the winner of the 2016 Australian Commercial Radio Awards for Best Written Commercial.

RK is currently developing a TV series and pitching to production companies Teddy Browne and Can’t Country. He also has written a 30-minute TV pilot that has been shot with Australia actor, Damian Garvey from “The Kettering Incident,” and is now in post-production with a view to pitching ABC later in the year.

May 2017 Acting Diploma student Joshua Mackenzie was enthusiastic about the Q&A event: “It was so amazing to hear about his process of rehearsal, working with actors and how to network and maintain working relationships with filmmakers. I learnt a lot.”

March 2017 Filmmaking Diploma student, Phillip Paton stated, “In one word … inspiring.”

NYFA Broadcast Journalism School Updates August 7

So, who is a journalist? In some countries, you need to take a test and get a government license. Here in the United States, all you have to do is say you are a “journalist” and you are one. Still, typically we think of someone who works on TV or radio, a newspaper or magazine. But how about a guy driving a for-hire car, interviewing customers for a podcast? That’s the theme of a report on the Columbia Journalism Review website. It tells the story of a TV journalist who has reinvented himself as a digital journalist. It is an interesting read, and listen…

These days, if you are looking for a story about “journalism,” you may find yourself scanning an online publication like TechCrunch. That’s because technology is now firmly embedded in journalism. (Or is journalism firmly embedded in technology?)

The latest example is how Time, Inc. is moving all its websites (it has a bunch) to a new, in-house platform that will allow all of them to be the same yet still be different. It’s also a move to get pages to load faster on mobile devices…

On Friday, we said “good-bye” to the Summer Session 4-week Broadcast Journalism students. This year, we had students from South Africa, New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey, Russia and Brazil. They deserve congratulations, given the tough schedule necessary to make sure they get the basic skills necessary to be Multimedia Journalists. And while it isn’t the same as “12 weeks on Paris Island” (any former Marines out there?), I think you still can term it “boot camp.” (But without the drill sergeants…)

NYFA Broadcast Journalism instructor Zack Baddorf continues his “sabbatical” in central Africa. Today The New York Times published his latest report, which examines the recent electoral victory of Rwanda President Paul Kagame.

I always tell our students we offer a skills-based program, and that you can use these skills in any number of ways. NYFA grad Kecia Gayle is a contributor to the digital news site Hollywood Unlocked. She was doing her red carpet thing this past Saturday night, when she covered “Black Girls Rock! 2017,” a leadership awards show sponsored by BET (a cable channel).

Kecia wrote:

“Ok, so I had to pinch myself to see if this was real. Not only did I get to interview some of the most amazing celebrities, but I got to hear some great and powerful messages from black women who truly rock, like Maxine Waters, Yara Shahidi, Solange Knowles, Issa Rae and plenty more. It was definitely a night to remember.”

NYFA Los Angeles Hosts Photography Industry Workshop With Capture One

The New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles hosted a special industry workshop in partnership with Phase One.

Manager of Educational Services Scott Niedermaier brought the Capture One software to the event to share with students. Capture One Pro 10 is a revolutionary piece of image editing software billed as the “professional choice” by Phase One.

Of course, Phase One brought in many of their own cameras for students to use, including one with a 100 Megapixels. This is one of the sharpest images available. This is one step closer to a film look recorded on a digital media.

Students in attendance were given the opportunity to photograph four different set-ups inside the newly acquired studio at Burbank Studios. Each set up was designed after a preferred style of a famous photographer. One such set up was designed after the work of noted head shot photographer Peter Hurley.

Ari Lighting was used during these tests. Shadows and high contrast were the focus of the day. Students were able to learn this latest technology under the advisement of the professionals instrumental in the software’s creation.

“This is just another way students can walk away from NYFA and be prepared to walk on to a set,” Senior Coordinator of Photography Kristine Tomaro said.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Phase One for taking the time to further prepare our students for a career in photography.

NYFA Los Angeles Hosts Special Photography Industry Guest Lecture Series

Over the next three months, the Photography Department at the Los Angeles campus of the New York Film Academy will be hosting a guest lecture series that will welcome some of the most noteworthy houses of representation in the industry.

Jen Jenkins from Giant House, Maren Levinson from the Redeye Reps, and Dara Siegl from iheartreps will each be giving a lecture to NYFA students.

As a part of the New York Film Academy’s continued commitment to hands-on education and industry-centered skill building, topics of the special guest lecture series will include professional topics such as how to find the right representation, how to put together an eye-catching portfolio, and more.

The lecture series began Friday, August 4, and will continue throughout the transition to the fall semester. Giant Artists represents Michael Schmelling and Justin Fantl. RedEye will be at the school on September 8 and iheartreps will be releasing their arrival date shortly.

NYFA Game Students Playtest New Module for Alternate Reality Game Hit – Ingress

NYFA Games promises students hands-on learning from industry masters. To that end, NYFA Instructor and Niantic Labs creative director, John Zuur-Platten, brought his students to get hands on with the innerworking of a AAA studio and provide design feedback on a new module of their alternate reality game Ingress.

If you’re not familiar, Ingress is the pioneering augmented reality game in which you move through the real world with your mobile phone battling and claiming territory for your faction within the game.

The game uses the Google Maps API and challenges factions to capture real world “portals” that are typically places of cultural significance such as public art, landmarks, and monuments. An ongoing mystery story plays out via videos and blog posts posted by Niantic.

Ideas that work in Ingress can sometimes see their way into Niantic Labs more mainstream AR game, Pokemon Go. We caught up with NYFA Games’ MFA student, Fabio Ribak, to get his take on the experience:

“Ingress engages players from around the world in a rich interactive story. Game events attract thousands of players to meet up and collaborate in the real world. There is really nothing else like it. It was amazing to see the process of how the conceive new kinds of game play on the cutting edge of storytelling.”

When asked what he learned that could be applied to his projects:

“I have never done a playtest that long (2 hours) before, and I enjoyed how much detail there was on every quest. I will try to achieve a balance on these aspects that capture the attention of the players throughout the entire playtest.”

NYFA Alumni and Faculty Crew “Dead House” for LionsGate and Laugh Out Loud

The New York Film Academy community played an integral part in the making of “Dead House” (King Bach, Emmanuel Hudson, D.C Young Fly), a new scripted sitcom from one of the world’s top digital comedians, Vine star Andrew Bachelor — also known as “King Bach.”

A LionsGate production, “Dead House” is executive produced by Kevin Hart and, as seen in the Hollywood Reporter, launched on the star’s online comedy network Laugh Out Loud, or LOL.

“Dead House” portrays the complicated living arrangements when a human joins the cast of a reality show where four zombies must live and work together in one house.

“We had almost a full NYFA crew w Alumni and staff,” NYFA Faculty Member and Director of Photography Travis Hoffman. This included NYFA Alumni and Director Andrew Bachelor, and NYFA Faculty Member and Producer Anthony Cook.

Many more from the NYFA community filled out the crew. See a full list below:

NYFA Staff and Alumni who worked on shoot:

Director – Andrew Bachelor (Alumni)

Director of Photography – Travis Hoffman (Faculty)

Producer – Anthony Cook (Faculty)

Casting Director – Alex Perry (Faculty)

Production Designer – Prarthana Joshi (Faculty)

Gaffer and 2nd Unit DP – Richard Greenwood (Faculty)

Best Boy Electric and 2nd unit Gaffer – John Acevedo (Staff)

Key Grip – George Oliver (Staff)

Best Boy Grip – Aaron Pong (Staff)

A Cam Operator – Travis Hoffman (Faculty)

B Cam Operator – Jeremy Harris (Alumni)

A Cam 1st AC – Chris Kistan (Alumni)

B Cam 1st AC – Evan Stulc (Faculty)

DIT – Maram Jaoser (Alumni)

Actress – Natalie Whittle (Alumni)

The New York Film Academy would like to congratulate all our alumni and staff who worked on “Dead House.” The show is released Aug. 3 on Laugh Out Loud.

NYFA Photography Alumna Sinem Yazici Continues Her Meteoric Rise

NYFA photography alumna Sinem Yazici is no stranger to success. As her interview with Asli Pelit illustrates, Sinem was a successful ad agency director before the age of 30 in her homeland of Turkey. This alone is an impressive feat, not least of all because she’s a woman, but more impressive still is her decision to leave her profession and start from scratch as an aspiring photographer.

As a NYFA photography student in New York she was able to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion photographer, proving that it’s truly never too late to pursue your dreams. Her dedication to the craft has quickly made her one of the rising stars in men’s fashion photography and while she has changed careers, her determination and success remains unmuted.

She recently sat down with us to discuss her experience at NYFA, her passion for New York City and men’s fashion photography.

New York Film Academy would like to congratulate Sinem and wish her continued success in her endeavors.

Below you can find her full interview with Asli. Note: the views and opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect those of the New York Film Academy.

New York – Studio Washington

Interviewer: Asli Pelit Guest: Sinem Yazici

Asli: New York is a difficult city to be successful or to live in. To be successful is even more difficult. To leave your life behind you and start over again and even start a totally new career, which is photography that you have never done before also as a woman, how did you decide to come to New York?

Sinem: Of course! I should tell you a little bit about my life before I answer this question. I was in the advertising business. For about 15 years I worked for a big international agency and two of the biggest companies in Turkey. When I became a director at my company I was 29. My goal had been to become a director before I turned 30 years old. After I reached my goal, I started asking myself, “Ok what is going to happen now? What is my next goal or target?” because I always set goals and targets for myself in life. When I started asking myself these questions I realized that I did not want to work in advertising anymore. I was so tired, and felt like I had been working for 30 years: never ending meetings, writing back and forth, working on the weekends. I remember that some days I was working 20 hours a day. At the time that I asked myself these questions, I already had an interest in art and photography. While I had never been the type of person to walk around with a camera everywhere I had been in the photo studio a lot and had worked with photographers because of my job in advertising. So I said to myself, “Why don’t I do this job? I would love to do this! What can I do about it?” One of my clients was a photographer. I called him my brother, Kerim Sandiman. I went to him and said “Kerim can you take me as an assistant to work for you? I don’t want money. I just want to learn what you are doing.” He said, “My dear Sinem, you have to take a class first.” So I said “ok,” and I started going to a class instructed by Muhammer Yatmaz, who is a photography teacher. I loved his classes and I had a great time. I completed two levels. I started taking pictures of my friends and family and I was enjoying it. I told myself I had to educate myself more about photography. I decided to go to NY because Advertising business was almost done for me. When I started doing this, I was up and down and I couldn’t decide what to do but I didn’t stay home and do nothing, I kept learning about photography. I came to NY and took a program at the New York Film Academy. The program was extremely fun and for years I had been dying to live in New York City. This period in my life was fun and I made a lot of good friends. I was stopping people in the street and telling them “ I am sorry, are you a model? Can I take your photograph?”

Asli: Yes, it is a classic NY story.

Sinem: I took a lot of pictures in NYC and then I went back to Turkey. I started working this time with Tamer Yilmaz, who is a professional photographer and my client. I started working as his assistant and editor. I got a chance to see the real fashion world when I worked with him. When I started taking pictures, I knew I wanted to be a fashion photographer, and mostly I wanted to photograph men’s fashion. My advertising background taught me to focus on one thing and do your best. I told myself that this was my goal, and I wanted to focus solely on being a photographer. I am really enjoying what I do. I worked one year with Tamer and slowly, slowly started missing NY and started wondering if I should go back. I decided to go back. It was a really tough decision but I told myself this, “If I do something really good in one year, I will give myself one more year, but if I cannot do anything, at the end of the year I will go back and continue my photography career in Turkey”. I came to NY on a tourist visa and I had to leave the country every six months. After the first six months, everything went very well. I realized that I had not done a portfolio because I was taking pictures of my friends and family. I started working with professional models, and while I was doing this I submitted everything that I had done and sent my photography everywhere. All of a sudden I started seeing my photos all around and set-up two or three photo shoots a week. That was unbelievable and I started to have a good network of models, agents, hair and makeup artists. I saw that everything was going very well and decided to do my own portfolio. When I did the portfolio, I decided to try to get an artist visa and I was able to get it two years ago. Now I am working legally, I have my clients, and everything is going well but NY is a tough city. There are always ups and downs. I have one more year and we will see after that.

Asli: When I look at your industry from the outside, men have all the good positions. Do think that women in this industry are behind men or are they equal?

Sinem: Openly, I cannot say that they are equal. There are a lot of successful women photographers but when I look at the top 10, 70 or 80% are male. As someone who wants to be in the men’s fashion photography business, I’m pushing my luck because the business is already male dominated. There are a lot of gay photographers in this business. As a woman photographer, I am trying to survive. Being a woman, I believe gives me an advantage. The feedback that I am getting from my models and agents is that there is a difference as to how a gay male photographer sees a male model and a woman photographer sees a male model. I believe this minor difference makes my work unique.

Asli: And this gives you an advantage.

Sinem: Yes, yes, yes.

Asli: Generally, when I look at the world and we talk about women’s rights, human rights and women doing two jobs at the same time – on one side they have a family, and at the same time try to have a career – do you think there is anything that has to change or do you believe that this idea gives women a chance at a higher position at work? Do you have any advice that you would give women?

Sinem: Clearly, until this time, I was able to accomplish this as a CEO, but I believe I got tired. That was the reason I stopped my career. When I look at successful women’s lives as a CEO or Executive level, they have a great family life. This shows how strong we are already. You are a mom at home but you are a CEO or boss at work. When I search their personality, the successful ones always listen to their brain, not their heart. We, as women are very emotional and when we leave the emotions on the side we become equal with men. Men do not work with their emotions. I experienced this 15 years and the last six or seven years, I experienced it a different way. I believe that if women leave their emotion on the side there is nothing that can stop them. They can do anything. That is the only advice I can give. Other than that, we are already strong and powerful.

Asli: I know that two years will go by quickly, but I hope that you stay here longer and continue your career here. What is your goal now in your career?

Sinem: Hmm, I want to be in the top ten. You know, there is the top ten in the world. There is already a Turkish photographer in this top ten, Mert. I am very proud of him, he is my idol. I hope to reach his level. This is a big dream for me. If I do reach his level, I will be the happiest person in the world. Even if I cannot, I would be very proud if people are discussing the work of a woman Turkish photographer. I don’t want this just for myself, I want to represent my country. We have a lot of problems in Turkey right now and when people hear this type of story they get happy. This would be my other goal if I cannot be very famous. This is my plan for the next couple of years. I don’t know what I am going to do after that, we will see.

Asli: We will see, thank you very much.

Sinem: I appreciate it

Asli: I wish you success.

Sinem: Thank you very much.