Page 243 – NYFA

NYFA Veteran Orientation

The New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts recently welcomed new veteran students and military dependent students to the Los Angeles and New York campus.

The NYFA Veterans Services staff hosted special orientations for veterans designed to address their unique set of needs and challenges in acclimating to college life. The orientation was an overview of the services that the NYFA Veterans Services team provides and focused on all aspects of a veteran’s transition including, providing information on student life, GI Bill benefits, VA healthcare benefits, and a guide to navigating the numerous veteran service organizations present in the area.

nyfa vets — New veteran students with local community partners and NYFA veteran coordinators at the Los Angeles campus.

The NYFA Veteran Services Office invited representatives from local veteran organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the Vet Center to speak with veterans about the assistance that they provide.

“The orientation provided helped me gain information as to what is available out there to me as a veteran. I was unaware of all of the services that the veteran non-profits provide. Speaking with the NYFA veterans team and the other incoming veteran students made me feel more comfortable with my transition into school,” said BFA Producing student and Navy veteran, Jonathan Garza.

At the New York Campus a representative from the VA healthcare system came to the School to enroll vets in the VA healthcare system right on the spot. Veteran organizations such as Mission Continues, Veterans Integration To Academic Leadership (VITAL), and the Vet Center were also on hand to assist NYFA New York veteran students.

NYFA Veteran Coordinators Eric Brown, Michael Kunselman, Chris Paparis, and work-study student Patrick Stinich, drew on their own personal experiences as veterans of the U.S. Military and GI Bill recipients, to give practical advice and information to the newly separated veterans now embarking on their own college journey.

One-Year Acting student and retired Army veteran, Daniel Phillips said, “I want to extend my thanks to the Veterans Team at NYFA for the work they did coordinating the briefing during Orientation Week. A lot of the Vets, including myself, were made aware of benefits and outreach programs designed to help us along here as NYFA Students. It was very well put together, informative and helpful to the cause.”

Many of the veterans stayed behind after the orientation to network amongst each other and speak with NYFA representatives and veteran community partners. The New York Film Academy would like to welcome all of the new active duty military servicemembers, veterans, and their families to our campus community!

-Written by Michael Kunselman and Christopher Paparis

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY MAY 2016 GRADUATIONS

The month of May celebrated numerous graduations at the New York Film Academy—from Los Angeles to New York and South Beach— in a variety of programs including Filmmaking, Acting for Film, Screenwriting, Musical Theatre, Broadcast Journalism, Game Design, 3D Animation, and Photography. Each department showcased their final projects, which included thesis films, pitches, photography series, games and final projects.

Students tossed their caps and let loose with weeklong celebrations and commencement ceremonies that concluded their intensive hands-on programs that have prepared them for careers in the visual and performing arts.

On behalf of all staff and teachers, the New York Film Academy would like to offer its sincerest congratulations to the students on their completion of a very difficult and rewarding education experience.

NYFA urges all of its graduates to stay connected with their teachers and fellow alumni.

In an effort to stay in touch, the Academy now has its own Alumni Facebook Page and Alumni Facebook Group. We encourage all alumni to join these communities.

For more information or photos from each graduation, click on the specific program below:

Los Angeles

Degree Program Graduates in Los Angeles

Cinematography Los Angeles

Screenwriting Los Angeles

New York

Filmmaking

Acting for Film

Documentary

Game Design and 3D Animation

Broadcast Journalism

Musical Theatre

Photography

Broadcast Journalism Students Cover White House Press Conference

Part of what makes the New York Film Academy’s Broadcast Journalism School one of the leading programs in its field is the hands-on approach to its curriculum. Last Tuesday, May 31, 2016 two Broadcast Journalism students, Alisa Rajkitkul and Urvashi Barua, headed south from New York City to Washington D.C. to cover a press conference at the White House and other Washington D.C. media events as credentialed journalists.

The events in focus were President Barack Obama’s meeting with the NCAA Champion Villanova University Men’s Basketball team and President Obama at the Arlington Cemetery to pay his respects on Memorial Day.

The two esteemed students didn’t just randomly show up. After all, this is the White House. They were required to submit an application which was vetted by the Secret Service and, on Thursday evening, they were notified that they could attend the afternoon press conference in the Palm Room of the White House.

It wasn’t always a glamorous assignment. In fact, the bus they were traveling on from New York to Washington broke down in the middle of the night. The two students and the other passengers had to stand on the side of road waiting for another bus. But they got to Washington, and they got their story!

“This opportunity wasn’t a matter of luck,” said NYFA Broadcast Journalism Chair Bill Einreinhofer. “Rather, it is an example of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills.”

This level of high profile coverage attests to the quality of a NYFA education, as well as the tenacity and determination of our students.

Congratulations to two outstanding students, and now accomplished Broadcast Journalists!

Congratulations MFA, AFA, MA & BFA Graduates in Los Angeles!

It was a beautiful California day on Saturday, May 28^th when New York Film Academy students receiving their MFA, AFA, MA and BFA degrees in Filmmaking, Acting, Producing, Screenwriting, Photography, Game Design, Documentary, Cinematography and Feature Track studies, gathered at the Harmony Gold Preview house in West Hollywood for their degree program commencement ceremonies. Graduations at 10:00am, 2:00pm, and 6:00pm were packed with family and friends of the graduating students showing their support.

Commencement speakers actor Peter Onorati (Goodfellas, Rocketman), director/actor Marty Sader (Monday Nights At Seven, Most High), and producer/writer Jeanette Collins (Big Love, Suddenly Susan) as well as NYFA department chairs and deans gave encouraging words of advice for navigating the entertainment industry and life in general.

Congratulations to all of NYFA Los Angeles 2016 degree program graduates!

10:00am Graduation

MFA in Acting

Amitabh Agarwal

Nicoletta Brunelli

Pablo Castel

Theodore George Crosby

Sebastian Faure

Kyly Hawk

Andrew William Lynton Jackson

Danny Kay

Delon Lyadi

Federico Mallet Flores

Andrea Méndez

Tetiana Mesiura

Matthew Miller

Julia Edith Arteaga Padilla

Wilfredo Ramos Jr.

Katisha Sargeant

BFA in Acting

Joseline Angulo

Roman Arnaize

Melissa Carvajal

Schuyler Dalenberg

Andrea Fernandez Rivera

Robert Fisher

Elizabeth Frohlich

Giulia Giovanetti

Helena Horta

Kardelen Isleyen

Jordan Knapp

Bronson Lassetter

Tracy Lewis

Maria Isabel Luege Marvan

Ali Mahmood

Nicholas Massa

Yang Li

Yu Lin

Valeriya Matveeva

Muhammad Mazhar

Anthon Meyer

Joshua Michael Moore

Meenaz Palsani

Samantha Prevost

Laura Gudiño Rodriguez

Asdis Thula Thorlaksdottir

AFA in Acting

Emily Accattato

Claudia Juliana Arciniegas Rodriguez

Christopher Beech

Ashley Cardenas

Lavelle Clarke

Fany De La Tejera

Hanna Dotevall

Joseph Daniel Equihua

Janet George

Raven Lee Glover

Elizabeth Grimaldo

Vera Veronica Järvi

Joshua Liwosz

Nina Ferreira Lopes

Gaston Alexander Lopez III

Juan Manrique Ugarte

Kamali Martin

Bianca Martins Viegas

Lucia Moerk

Maria de Sa

Peter Wang

Jasmin Kirst

Onur Tekin

Ian Warner

Ronald Watts

Brett Yuille

2:00pm Graduation

MFA in Filmmaking

Nada Al Mojadedi

Sulafa Ibrahim Alasiri

Majid Alsharif

Victoria Nicks

Alexandr Shashenkov

Victor Alberto Velasco

Rodrigo Zanforlin

Kshitij Bal

Anatoliy Kim

Xiongze Ren

Hui Yuan

MFA in Filmmaking (Feature Track)

Keith Anderson

Sonia Bajaj

Li Yuan

MA in Film & Media Production

Oguzhan Akdogan

Denise Alessandra Ambroggio

Chaitanya Kumar Gandikota

Ruchira Janwalikar

Ievegen Khazin

Nency Maisuria

Witawit Rattanathitinun

Andalib Rubayat

Luis Sanchez

Victoria Tapp

BFA in Filmmaking

Jon Beroiz Lopez

Tomas Diaz Gomez

Stephanie Dieter

Brianna Flores-Stanton

Shane Golden Antonucci

Alejandro Kahuam

Haifeng Wang

Xuhan Gao

Aijia Li

Zhong Ren

Sandy Sai

Sixing Su

Li Wei

AFA in Filmmaking

Maans Reimer

MFA in Photography

Amani Alhomeid

Alaa Alrafaihi

Michael Iloba

Lian Liu

Alify Nasution

Nataliya Rudenko

Madawi Zabarmawi

BFA in Photography

Gabriela Azuaje Rodriguez

Casey McGeorge

Colleen Stavrakos

MFA in Cinematography

Rakan Abdullah Aljamie

Jiachen Dong

Dmitry Fursov

Ruixi Gao

Jeremy Harris

Bowen Jiang

Mohammed Khayat

Ji Yoon Kim

Christopher Brendan Kistan

Nattaphon Voranapa

Yuchen Yan

Bo Ye

6:00pm Graduation

MFA in Screenwriting

Charles Ancelle

Jimena Lucia Carias Zuniga

Saanya Dua

Ashley Hargrove

Hyunmin Jun

Jeff Kimball

Robert Thorpe

Bartosz Tomaszewski

Breonna Young

BFA in Screenwriting

Gal Cohen

Dion Moosa

Nuttawuthi Nakong

Adam Teitelbaum

Michael Teitelbaum

AFA in Screenwriting

Allison Catalfumo

Anastasiia Cherkashyna

Joon Sung Seung

MFA in Producing

Dusica Aleksic

Alastair David Boyd

Krystina Olivia Christiansen

Jiyin Hong

Vamsi Jonnalagadda

Yi Ke Kou

Sai Sen Lee

Xiaoxiao Ma

Shane Miller

Julian Molina

Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Musikhin

Annamaria Pupart

Nelson Rivera-Jimenez

Ruben Rueda Valenzuela

Yuxiao Wang

Xiaoshi Zhu

MFA in Producing (Feature Track)

Mohammed Alshoaiby

BFA in Producing

Tom Bateman

Rebecka Kristensson

Milagro Mejia

AFA in Producing

Nyshon Ferrell

Chor Kei Hui

Andreina Perez

Sim Sagiroglu

Jing Shi

Yizhou Su

Huan Yu

Kai Zhao

Joel Seidl

Peijun Zou

BFA in Animation

Mohammed Abuhaimd

Yousef Badeeb

Jessica Chung

Tian Lan

NYFA Filmmaking Graduation and Final Screenings

Filmmaking graduates from New York Film Academy held a final screening at the Edmond J. Safra Hall Screening Room at the Museum of Jewish Heritage located near the New York campus in Battery Park.

Introducing the films and congratulating the graduates prior to the screening was NYFA President Michael Young and Directing Instructor Brad Sample. Both Young and Sample stressed the fact that a key to their future success relies on their networking and collaborations with each other. A large portion of the NYFA success stories have come about from former students teaming up on projects together.

The thirteen films that screened this past Friday, May 27, 2016 were:

filmmaking 2016 — Summer 2015 Section A & B Final Films

“We witnessed firsthand the effort all students collectively put into this program,” said NYFA Filmmaking Chair Claude Kerven. “This isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. Completing this program is a testament to each student’s hard work, commitment, and desire to excel in filmmaking. To master the craft of film directing is a life-long endeavor. We look forward to hearing good things about all of our graduates in the years to come.”

Congratulations to all of our graduates, and best of luck on your future careers in filmmaking!

To view more photos from the graduation, CLICK HERE.

Master Class with Academy Award-Winning Producer James Skotchdopole

Last week, Academy Award-winning producer James Skotchdopole held a Master Class at the New York Film Academy New York with Short-term Filmmaking Chair Jonathan Whittaker. Skotchdopole has worked alongside some of Hollywood’s leading directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Tony Scott, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu, with whom he won Best Picture for Birdman. His filmography includes many memorable and award-winning films like Django Unchained, The Revenant, True Romance, and dozens of others.

Skotchdopole broke down his path to becoming an Academy Award-winning producer, which developed over time from being an Assistant Director to Line Producer. As a Line Producer he is heavily involved with the day-to-day responsibilities of production. His hard work and problem solving skills have been noticed and appreciated in the industry and, due to his integral involvement with each project, he is now well respected in the business.

Since climbing the ranks, Skotchdopole has had the privilege of choosing his own projects wisely. “For me it’s about keeping a connection to the creative process,” said Skotchdopole.

During the Master Class, Skotchdopole went through several of his projects and explained how he and his team overcame some major obstacles to create some of film history’s most memorable scenes. He recalled a time during the middle of production on Django Unchained when Tarantino came to him and said he has an idea for an epic hero moment for his main character, Django, played by Jamie Foxx. Tarantino had hand-written an eleven page scene at the estate where Django blows away dozens of men — a scene that is now a staple in the film. It was up to Skotchdopole and his team to make that scene happen, no matter what. So, he immediately took action calling in favors, extras, special effects teams and, most importantly, more money.

Another incredible scene that required a tremendous amount of preparation and time was the bear attack in The Revenant. The team spent days researching bear attacks and needed the choreography to be perfect between Leo DiCaprio and the stunt man (who is one of the tallest stuntmen in the business). With the choreography between the two perfected and shot over a few weeks, a special effects team was able to come in create the bear, which is practically indiscernible from a real one.

Some final general advice that Skotchdopole provided the NYFA students was to keep their expenses as low as possible, so that they can take risks in life. If you burden yourself with a great deal of overhead, it’s difficult to take on some of the entry level jobs that enable you to break into the business and climb the ranks — just like he was able to do.

Be sure to look out for Skotchdopole’s most recent film with Brad Pitt, War Machine.

BROADCAST JOURNALISM STUDENTS ATTEND WHITE HOUSE NEWS CONFERENCE

Two 1-Year Broadcast Journalism students, Urvashi Barua and Alisa Rajkitkul, from the New York Film Academy had the honor of visiting the White House to cover President Barack Obama’s meeting with the NCAA Champion Villanova University Men’s Basketball Team.

Having previously covered the New York State Presidential Primary as part of their course work, they are now considered-at least for the day-members of the White House press corps.

Urvashi comes from Assam, India, while Alisa most recently lived in San Francisco. The two are regular contributors to NYFA News, a biweekly news magazine produced at NYFA’s 17 Battery Place campus in Manhattan. Initially they planned to go to Washington, DC to cover the national Memorial Day observations. On the off-chance they might also gain admittance to the Tuesday press conference, they approached the White House press office. Submitting an application was no easy task. It all came down to persistence. After being vetted by the Secret Service, on Thursday evening they were notified that they could attend the Tuesday, May 31st afternoon press conference, which took place in the Palm Room of the White House.

“It was always my dream to be a television journalist,” says Alisa Rajkitkul. “I never imagined one day going to the White House.” Alisa and her teenage son left San Francisco, so she could attend NYFA. Urvashi Barua came from halfway around the world. Like her classmate, she chose the New York Film Academy in order to learn the skills essential to being a successful multimedia journalist. “I could not believe it when I got the chance to cover stories involving Bill Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Now, I will attend a Presidential press conference!”

According to Broadcast Journalism Chair Bill Einreinhofer, “This opportunity wasn’t a matter of luck. Rather, it is an example of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills.”

The NYFA Broadcast Journalism program was established in 2009, and has trained multimedia journalists who went on to work as reporters, anchors, producers and editors at television stations and networks, as well as digital news sites, both overseas and throughout the United States.

Photography Grad’s Photo Series Selected by Photo District News

Photography graduate Nicky Wanzi came to the New York Film Academy from Singapore, an island city-state southern Malaysia. She believed if she was going to pursue photography it should be in New York City and NYFA would provide the education and location that she was looking for.

“From theory to the practical lessons, the training at NYFA pushed my skill set to another level — the professional level.”

One of her projects, which was for her NYFA mid-term, was selected by PDN (Photo District News), Student Annual. The PDN Photo Annual is an esteemed accolade for established photographers and a jumping-point for student and emerging photographers breaking into the field. The series of photos focused on her personal life story of coming to New York and chasing the dream of becoming a successful photographer. It documents the snippets of her daily life as an international student living in a shared apartment, and the little things that make her who she is — from the food she eats to the activities she partakes in. However, she executed the series from a different perspective and added another dimension to this otherwise ordinary documentary-style shoot.

“The three young men in the photos represent the strong bonds I share with my good friends from back home in Singapore,” said Wanzi. “Back home we usually operated as a unit, almost like triplets hanging out all the time. Whether it’s having a meal or a game of basketball, we were almost inseparable and had each other’s backs no matter.”

While attending NYFA, Wanzi also worked on a photo series called “Transition,” where she celebrates her newfound love for nature and explores her connectedness with it, gradually becoming more in sync with her surroundings as she captures what’s around her.

Wanzi is currently in the middle of planning another personal project before she heads back to Singapore.

Game Design and 3D Animation Graduation

The New York Film Academy’s 26 Broadway transformed into a miniature arcade last week as Game Design and 3D Animation students showcased their final games and thesis films to peers, friends and family.

“I am immensely proud of our graduates,” said Game Design and 3D Animation Chair Phoebe Elefante. “They have stretched themselves beyond what they thought possible, and they have achieved so much in such a short time.”

Visitors had the chance to play student-made games like Kramacus 2 and Climaniacs while 3D Animation student films were shown both during a screening showcase and on a rear projection at the graduation reception. It was quite remarkable seeing what each student had accomplished in just a year’s time.

“They have acquired all of the skills they will need to pursue their passions in the fields of animation and game design, and they have demonstrated the dedication to succeed,” added Elefante. “It has been my honor to help them on their way, and I wish them all good hunting.”