The awesome, majestic beauty of nature has given inspiration to photographers since the very beginning of the artform, no doubt evolved from centuries of paintings and drawings that drew upon similar landscapes.
Photo: Ansel Adams
Some photographers have made careers out of focusing on nature. Even if your focus is more on portraiture, fashion, or urbanscapes, there is still plenty to learn from the images of these incredibly talented nature photographers:
Gene Stratton-Porter
Born in the late 19th century, Stratton-Porter grew up in Indiana and was an active nature photographer, as well as a novelist and silent-film producer. She was a vocal and strident conservationist, passionate about protecting the vulnerable environments she so lovingly captured in her work.
Ansel Adams
Born in San Francisco, Adams had the chance to live in one of the most naturally diverse states in America, photographing desert, nature, and the ocean scenes in his unique style. Like Stratton-Porter, he was a lifelong environmentalist, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980 for his work shooting national parks for the United States Department of the Interior.
Karen Lunney
Lunney is a Brisbane-born, contemporary photographer whose work explores transition, liminal space, and where one thing has ceased and another not yet started. She has won multiple awards for her work, many of which use stark black-and-white photography to capture animals and their migration, as well as ocean shores and the light of sunrise and sunset.
Oriana Koren
Los Angeles-based artist Oriana Koren has exhibited their work in several major publications, and is known for both photographs of food and celebrity portraits, among others; their nature photography however is some of the best in the contemporary scene. Koren uses their background in documentary photography to create embodied, attentive, and lucid imagery from around the world, making for incredible, fully-realized images of nature.
Eliot Porter
Eliot Porter is best known for his vibrant color photographs of nature, but it was birds specifically that first captured his eye as a young, amateur artist. Porter wasn’t just interested in imagery, he also delved deeply into cultural studies of many of the locations he’d capture on film. Porter traveled around the world to photograph ecologically important and culturally significant places, including Utah, Maine, Baja California, the Galápagos Islands, East Africa, Iceland, Mexico, Egypt, China, Czechoslovakia, Antarctica, and ancient Greek sites.
Schools make for dynamic and popular settings for television series, but perhaps even more so for animated shows since the target audience is usually children. Here is a look at some of the best animated school television series:
Hey Arnold!
Welcome to the life of fourth grader Arnold and the working class problems he, his family, and his neighbors all face while living in the city. The basis for the character was created by Craig Bartlett while he worked on Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and drew heavily from his own childhood. The show lasted for five seasons and produced two movies and is still regarded as one of Nickelodeon’s all-time great animated series.
Clone High
Clone High was created by Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Spin City) and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have since gone on to write and direct hits like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The goofy, slapstick series saw a high school filled with clones of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, JFK, and Gandhi, who, despite their DNA, were modern awkward teenagers. The show featured a stellar voice cast and quickly earned a devout cult following despite only airing for 13 episodes on MTV.
Doug
Winner of four Kids’ Choice Awards, Doug first began on Nickelodeon as one of its original animated series, before getting retooled and moving to Disney’s ABC. The show was a kinder, gentler cartoon compared to other Nickelodeon launch shows like Ren & Stimpy, but gathered a strong, loyal fanbase over time. Doug was eventually adapted into live stage musical as well as an animated feature titled Doug’s 1st Movie in 1999.
Recess
Created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere at Walt Disney Television Animation, this fun and friendly series eventually aired for 126 episodes. The show treated school as a pure microcosm of society, complete with sixth grader King Bob, who demands conformity above all else. The six fourth graders who made up the core ensemble managed to transcend their cliches and make for a fleshed out run that produced one animated feature, Recess: School’s Out, and three direct-to-video sequels: Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street, Recess: All Growed Down and Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade.
Daria
Daria has since gone on to become an icon of 1990s alt culture–clever, sarcastic, and acerbic. Daria centered mainly on the personal relationships between Daria and her family, friends, and classmates, with a focus on the juxtaposition between the central character’s jaded, sardonic cynicism and the values/preoccupations of American suburban life. The show’s popularity has endured over time; earlier this year, MTV announced plans to produce multiple spin-offs and sequels of the series.
Magic School Bus
A Canadian-American children animated series based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degren, this vibrant and colorful show fused talented voices led by Lily Tomlin with a fantastical premise to help educate kids through the craziest field trips students could ever imagine. By turning a school staple into a whimsical adventure each week, the show earned a place in the hearts of many young children.
Kim Possible
Annie and Primetime Emmy Award nominated, this Walt Disney Animation series was a critical and commercial hit with a brilliant premise that combined the everyday drama of being a high school student with crime-fighting spy heroics. The show was created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle and employed several staff writers and freelancers over its four seasons, including New York Film Academy Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) Screenwriting Chair Nunzio DeFilippis and NYFA-LA Screenwriting instructor Christina Weir.
Sit Down, Shut Up
One of the few animated school series to focus on the faculty rather than the students, Sit Down, Shut Up was Mitch Hurtwitz’s follow up series after the initial cancellation of his award-winning Arrested Development. The voice cast included three alumni from the latter–Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler–as well as other big names like Kristin Chenowith, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Cheri Oteri, Nick Kroll, and Kenan Thompson. The show stood out for using live action high school backgrounds as well as rapid-fire, fourth wall-breaking jokes that came as such an incredible pace that it made it hard for the Fox Primetime show to find an audience–it was quickly cancelled early in its first season.
The internet and social media have made the world of photography simultaneously a smaller and a much larger place, creating countless online communities of visual artists who may have never been able to share their work or even collaborate before the digital age.
Online photo magazines have no doubt sprung up, giving the world no shortage of places to find the work of amateurs and professionals alike. Some are extremely niche; while others are content to showcase the wide spectrum of the genres the medium provides. Here are six of the best photo magazines you can find online:
Founded by Christy Karpinski in 2003, this bi-monthly publication features contemporary photography from established and emerging photographers from around the world, with each issue having a theme or idea that unites the work presented to create a dynamic dialogue among the artists.
Launched in 2008, Social Documentary Network (SDN) is for documentary photographers, editors, journalists, NGOs, lovers of photography and focuses on photography that plays an important role in educating people about the world and those curious of the human condition. SDN encourages work about joy, love, happiness, and ordinary life anywhere, as well as both societal problems and their solutions, recovery, peace, reconciliation, and rebuilding–provided the work is authentic, even if that means messy, awkward, filled with contradictions, or lacking answers.
Founded in 2008 by Tim Clark and nominated as Photography Magazine of the Year at the Lucie Awards in 2014 and 2016, this online contemporary photography publication looks to prove the age-old maxim, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The magazine publishes photo book reviews, essays, exhibitions, and interviews that encompass every aspect of the photography world.
Bokeh Bokeh
Bokeh Bokeh was founded by David Garnick and is named after bokeh, the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens that helps separate the subject from the background in photographic works. The online mag features all photographic genres, including fine art, documentary, portraiture, and street, with an emphasis on work that is original, beautiful, and startling.
Launched in 2008, Burn is an evolving journal for emerging photographers that is curated by founder and Magnum co-operative member David Alan Harvey. This uplifting artistic magazine showcases photos full of hope, eagerness, and a desire to share in one another’s experience, publishing new stories or singles at least two times per week.
LensCulture has a simple, self-described mission: to discover the best of contemporary photography and share it with the largest audience possible. For over fifteen years, this magazine has been highlighting creatives and professionals in the industry, from over 160 countries, seeking to boost their exposure to the larger community through awards, exhibitions in major cities, festival screenings, and books.
Philippines native Gino M. Santos only attended New York Film Academy (NYFA) for one week, at the Digital Filmmaking workshop in Kyoto, Japan in the summer of 2010, but his short time at the Academy has left a lasting impression.
Since graduating the 1-Week workshop, Santos has returned to the Philippines and built a successful career as a professional filmmaker, working on numerous commercials and feature films. New York Film Academy spoke with Gino M. Santos soon after he attended an alumni reunion in Manila.
New York Film Academy (NYFA): First, can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from, and what brought you to New York Film Academy?
Gino M. Santos (GS): My name is Gino Santos and I’m a filmmaker here in the Philippines. I’ve been in the industry for almost eight years now, directing mainstream films and TV commercials.
I first found out about NYFA through my college friends who were planning a trip to Kyoto to take the 2-Week workshop—we were all film majors in our sophomore year at that time. I told my folks about it and they asked me, “Aren’t you going?” I was surprised! So I packed my bags end embarked on a fun learning adventure with my friends in Kyoto, Japan.
NYFA: Why have you decided to focus on filmmaking?
GS: As a kid I’ve always been a moviegoer, and when I was growing up I used to play with my dad’s video camera and cameraphones, while making my brothers act for me. I didn’t know I was already directing. When I was 15, my mom introduced me to a local basic film workshop which sparked my interest and soon made it my college course and my NYFA adventure.
NYFA: What has been the most challenging film you’ve worked on so far, and why?
GS: I did a movie for Star Cinema, the biggest film studio in the Philippines, called Love Me Tomorrow. It was about a DJ in his 30s who fell in love with a woman turning 50. It was a coming-of-age love story filled with club scenes and music festivals. I had to recreate and make my own outdoor music festival, including hundreds of background talents. It wad pretty epic! Until now, I look back at it and wonder how I was able to get everyone grooving in the shot. We shot that scene for three days.
NYFA: What other projects are you working on or do you plan to work on?
GS: I’m doing an international project with Black Sheep and ABS-CBN this January. I cannot disclose the details yet, but it will be a period piece focused on the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
NYFA: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to your work on filmmaking, or your work in general?
GS: When I went to NYFA, it was a different kind of learning for me, which was the standard Hollywood knowledge elevating my prior knowledge from here. I got used to the particular film terms from foreign production houses and agencies. Also the learning process of working with your peers and friends.
Until today, I still work on projects with the same people I went to NYFA with.
NYFA: What advice would you give to students just starting out at NYFA?
GS: Maybe more to the parents who are scared of sending their kids to another country for a workshop, I say just do it! My time at NYFA was one of the most memorable moments of my life—I got to meet people who are just like me, and passionate about film from all parts of the world. We all learned together and experienced new things in the classroom and in a foreign country. It was worth every penny.
New York Film Academy thanks Filmmaking alum Gino M. Santos for taking the time to speak with us and looks forward to following his continued success as a filmmaker!
If you want to make video games, you need to be playing video games. But while the latest and greatest AAA console games are a great place to start, they often aren’t very innovative. Big publishers typically aren’t willing to take risks with their game designs (there’s too much at risk) and instead tend to concentrate on sequels or games based on established intellectual properties known to sell well. If you want to find truly unique and innovative games, you usually need to go indie.
Indie (independent) games are developed by game developers who work “independent” of the big game publishers and hardware manufacturers, usually with much smaller budgets. Their creators are driven by innovation, creativity, and passion rather than the “bottom line,” often resulting in gameplay and game stories that are more quirky, unusual or even bizarre than their big-budget competitors.
Many of the hit games of tomorrow will be created by these maverick creators, so let’s get to know some of their games:
Inside
Developed by Limbo’s Playdead, this puzzle-platformer lets the player swap bodies as they make their way through a surreal, dark environment. Mind control, a mysterious laboratory, and a sinister conspiracy are just part of the mysteries the player has to reveal in Inside. You can play Inside on Xbox One, PS4, Apple TV, iOS, and Nintendo Switch
Slay The Spire
Part deck-builder, part roguelike; Slay the Spire has players use card combinations to fight their way up a spire in a fantasy world, while collecting treasure and magic relics. It has all the fun of a card game like Dominion with all of the action of a video game. Developed by MegaCrit, you can play Slay The Spire on Windows, Linux, MacOS, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
Enter the Gungeon
What do you get when you mix a dungeon crawler with a bullet hell shooter? Boasting more gun-themed puns than you can shake a revolver at, Enter the Gungeon lets players shoot, loot, and dodge roll their way through this clever roguelike game from Devolver Digital. You can play Enter the Gungeon on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
My Friend Pedro
This action platformer by DeadToast Entertainment has you playing as an acrobatic amnesiac who, with the help of a talking banana, has to take out the criminal underworld. Originally based on an Adobe Flash game, My Friend Pedro is available on Windows and the Nintendo Switch. If you are a fan of the action and humor of the Deadpool movies, then this is the game for you.
AfterParty
When two best buds end up in Hell, they learn they can get out if they out-party Satan. This upcoming, humorous adventure game is created by Night School Studios, the same team that created Oxenfree, and has a real “classic LucasArts adventure game” vibe. You can play AfterParty later this year.
Untitled Goose Game
This stealth game, developed by House House, allows players to control a goose who goes around bothering the inhabitants of an English village. Honk, flap, and steal items to both help and annoy the villagers and complete puzzle-like objectives. The game has become a critical and commercial hit; you can play the Untitled Goose Game on MacOS, Windows and Nintendo Switch.
Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application and is used in the post-production process of both filmmaking and television production, in live action and animation alike, with a wide variety of different uses.
Artists who create title sequence designs that begin almost every movie or television show you’ve ever seen, as well as animators will need to know After Effects. Similarly, artists who create informational graphics that explain complex circumstances visually can utilize the program. In the commercial world, motion graphic designers are tasked with animating logos for companies or creating stylistic lower thirds to introduce speakers in interviews.
In contrast, visual effects artists use After Effects to mix computer generated elements with live action footage. This is known as compositing. Artists use After Effects to track, rotoscope, and key footage to create otherworldly environments that one might see in fantasy and science fiction films such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Captain Marvel. After Effects can also be used to create stunning visual effects seen in films such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well as Avengers: Infinity War.
After Effects has dramatically affected the digital editing industry by increasing the quality and frequency of visual effects in entertainment. What used to require expensive and dangerous practical effects such as puppetry and pyrotechnics is now typically done by visual effects artists.
Digital visual effects can be done cheaper and safer and can be integrated into any scale of project. There’s nothing that can’t be visualized on screen now–the only limitation is one’s imagination and knowledge of software such as After Effects.
Examples of television shows and movies that have utilized skills that will be taught in the After Effects workshop at New York Film Academy (NYFA) include the title sequences for Stranger Things, The Leftovers, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and American Horror Story. Similarly, we will explore and mimic the compositing seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the visual effects seen in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well as the visual effects seen in Captain Marvel.
New York Film Academy’s Digital Editing school offers workshops that provide students with hands-on instruction in editing theory, techniques, and the fundamentals of digital editing, as well as hands-on experience by editing various projects with footage provided to them in class. Apply today to upcoming workshops in 2020 to learn and strengthen your digital editing skills!
Our 4-Week After Effects Workshop is a full-time, intensive workshop that teaches students how to animate in 2D and 3D and gain an understanding of post-production visual effects. Visit our 4-Week After Effects Workshop page to learn more and apply.
Written by Nate Garcia Digital Editing, NYFA After Effects Instructor
Whether on stage, television, or film, a great monologue is one of the best gifts a performer can be given. It allows the performer to showcase themselves and focus all their talent and stamina into a page or more of lines and emotion. Many techniques can be used depending on the material and scene, as well as the direction given prior to the take. One thing is for sure, having an objective is key for making your monologue stand out (An action verb or adverb can be helpful, for example).
Great inspiration can be found in some of the best-acted monologues ever recorded on film, including the following:
Katharine Hepburn in Adam’s Rib Director George Cukor directs this classic poignant romantic comedy, released in 1949, which tells the story of Amanda and Adam Bonner (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) working as opposite lawyers on the case of a woman who shot her husband. Every word in this key monologue delivered by Hepburn is imbued with meaning, leaving audiences stunned even after the scene has moved on. The adverbs could be: to advise, to enlighten, to educate, to guide.
Cate Blanchett in The Lords of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Enter Middle-earth with Galadriel’s intriguing voice-over monologue. In The Lords of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, this installment speech sets the tone of the adventurous trilogy. Versatile actress Cate Blanchett both wears the hats of the character elf and narrator with brio. All done with regality, the lecture of the premises of the story is told with empowerment and voice specificity. Here, Blanchettengages, hypnotizes, spellbinds, and entrances.
Peter Finch in Network Winner of four Oscars in 1977, Sydney Lumet’s Network is regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest films, and contains the memorable line, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this anymore!” Peter Finch’s character Howard Beale is a mentally ill network TV anchor who, instead of struggling privately, is doing so on camera for all the world to see. As a performer, Finch needed to make sure his character’s monologues would move audiences within the movie, so it’s no surprise the audiences watching were moved and riveted. Here, Finch provokes, activates, incites, and triggers the audience.
Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator Charlie Chaplin is best known as a silent film star, but in 1940, Chaplin gave a powerful spoken performance in The Great Dictator, a dramatic comedy that takes on the Nazi government in the midst of the Second World War. The film ends with an incredibly written and gripping speech, where Chaplin’s Jewish Barber speaks in front of national television with tremendous passion and truth that was clearly being directed not just to the audience within the film, but also the one watching it from without. To awaken, to push, to fire, to motivate are some of the many striking verbs used by the unique actor. The following link showcases the clip and its script below.
Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road Exactly ten years after Titanic, star duo Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were back together as a couple aspiring for a better life in this mid-50s drama from visionary director Sam Mendes. Their chemistry was as strong as ever, despite being a totally different beast from the melodramatic blockbuster. Winslet is a bundle of raw nerves in a powerful monologue where her vulnerability works not just as a shield but as a weapon. The film earned five nominations at the Academy Awards including ‘Best Screenplay’ and ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role.’ Here, Winslet seeks to awaken, to push, to fire, to motivate are some of many striking verbs used by the unique actor.
Viola Davis in Fences The adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning Fences directed by and starring Denzel Washington showed movie audiences that theatre-goers had already known when they saw Washington and Davis play the lead couple on Broadway. Both won Tony Awards for their performance, and Davis won the Academy Award for the film adaptation. Her character Rose Maxson is both a specific person and the embodiment of an entire generation of women of color struggling to take care of their families in the mid-20th century. Listen up to what Rose Maxson has to uncover, unleash, liberate, unchain in this monologue.
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight Ledger famously won an Academy Award posthumously for his iconic performance as Batman’s arch-nemesis, The Joker. Ledger embodied the role like no other, with even the most subtle facial expressions speaking a thousand words. However, when he was given time to give full speeches, Ledger really shines, especially in his final monologue delivered upside down; his grand scheme may have been thwarted but Ledger’s Joker doesn’t feel like he’s lost–he’s merely playing his part in an eternal struggle between good and evil, reveling in the chaos as he hangs helplessly stories above the ground. See how Ledger frightens, bullies, terrorizes or savors.
Glenn Close in Les Liaisons Dangereuses Glenn Close is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation, if not ever, and that talent is on full display in a monologue delivered in Stephen Frears’s adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, co-starring John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, and Keanu Reeves. Close’s mastery of vulnerability, femininity, sexuality, and emotional manipulation makes for one of the most incredible monologues ever delivered. Here, Close wants to strip, to eradicate, and to abolish.
Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting made a star out of writer and actor Matt Damon, who plays an emotionally tortured, working-class genius alongside a career-defining performance from Robin Williams. Damon. His “NSA” monologue is a smooth piece of editing as it continues from one scene to another, and showed movie audiences just how talented a performer Matt Damon truly was and continues to be today. In this scene, Damon wants to release, to unfasten, to relieve, and to free.
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson gave the performance of a lifetime in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, playing a faded silent movie star in the Golden Era of Hollywood sound films. Swanson herself was a silent film star, nominated for Best Actress at the very first Academy Awards, and had a lot of real-life experience to draw upon for the role. While on its surface her character can be seen as a cartoonish version of her real-life self, there is a great deal of dimension and subtlety to the performance, all on display in her final monologue near the end of the film. Now, gather around to enter the captivating world of Norma Desmond as she venerates, denies, favors, and reveres.
At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), internet behemoth Google announced their bid into the streaming gaming market: the Google Stadia. The Stadia (plural for “Stadium”) is a console-less, cloud-based, online streaming game service. Google claims that if you have a device that can run a Chrome browser, you can play any Stadia game on it. The Stadia will launch in November of 2019 and a free version will be available in February of 2020.
Streaming services are all the rage these days and with so many other competitors–PlayStation Now, GeForce Now, Blade Shadow, and rumored services from Nintendo and Microsoft on the horizon – how does the Stadia stack up?
The Stadia Founder’s Edition, due out this November, includes a three-month subscription of Stadia Pro, a three-month Buddy Pass, a controller, a Chromecast Ultra and a Founder’s Stadia Name (likely a user account/name) for $129. Stadia is only available through Chrome, Chromecast, and on Android devices.
While this is inexpensive for a console, it’s a bit pricey for just a controller and three-month access to a streaming system. Once the trial ends, players will have to pay $9.99 a month for the Pro subscription price. Add to the cost that Stadia players will have to buy their games, rather than have a selection available a la Netflix, and the Stadia might end up costing users just as much as any other game streaming service.
At first glance, the controller looks very traditional, but it does come with a few surprises. Most interesting is the built-in recording button in the center of the controller that makes a bold statement – your gameplay is meant to be shared. But what does Stadia streaming services offer that Twitch and YouTube doesn’t? Google has yet to say. The controller also sports an in-game help button, which might be useful to novice gamers, but will it turn off experienced ones?
Many of Stadia’s critics are worried about Google’s ability to combat latency. While reports from Gamescom 2019 were positive, others were skeptical about Stadia’s claims. Some previewers have noted that the bandwidth for Stadia – coupled with regular or high usage of internet and cell phone – might overwhelm the average gamer’s data plan. Stadia uses 16gb an hour–which will add up during marathon gaming sessions.
For casual players, a longer latency won’t be an issue, but add to this concerns about image quality due to screen size, connection speeds and compression. These technical issues might be deal breakers for the streaming gaming audience Google is after.
Others are worried about Google’s commitment to the platform if all doesn’t go as planned. Google has a history of launching new services and–when they didn’t work out–then shutting them down, including Google Plus, Google Base, and Picasa, to name a few. That’s fine and understandable and well within their right, but where does that leave users? All of those games that you bought on Stadia would suddenly be gone.
While Stadia has announced a lineup of about 30 games so far, there are very few exclusives. “Big exclusive games win the day, and Stadia does not have any,” DFC Intelligence’s David Cole said in an interview with gamesindustry.biz. “The initial lineup was all over the map, and simply not that compelling.” Stadia’s big titles like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Doom Eternal, and Farming Simulator 19 are all available on other systems and the Stadia’s exclusives right now are the yet-unknown Gylt and Get Packed.
With all this in mind, in the end it’s up to you whether or not the Google Stadia is the right choice for you.
Star Wars has become one of the most iconic cinematic franchises of all time, spawning three hit trilogies to date, as well as two big-budget side adventures. But Star Wars has long since become more than just a movie franchise—it has spawned countless books, comics, toys, merchandise, and more.
But perhaps closest to the film universe of Star Wars is its presence on television, including numerous shows that are now canon. Most of these series were or are animated, however with the dawn of Disney+, live action shows set in the galaxy far, far away will be coming very soon, with budgets and special effects that look like they’d fit just as well on the big screen.
With the first of these shows, the hotly-anticipated bounty hunter series The Mandalorian, about to arrive,New York Film Academy (NYFA) takes a look at the history of Star Wars on TV:
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
The Star Wars Holiday Special has cult status among Star Wars fans—it came right on the heels of the massive success of the first film, included cast members and sets from the film, and was notoriously awful, so bad that it was never released and only exists in bootleg form. Rather than a Christmas special, the television movie is a series of vignettes based around the Wookie holiday Life Day and the family of Chewbacca, and features appearances from cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and James Earl Jones, as well as non-Star Wars stars Bea Arthur, Richard Pryor, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey Korman, and classic rock group Jefferson Starship. While the special is regarded as a silly flop, it did introduce two very important elements to the Star Wars canon—the Wookie planetKashyyyk and the bounty hunter Boba Fett.
The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour (1985)
The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour is mostly held in little regard by Star Wars fans, perhaps because the series revolves around some of the series most controversial characters—but it was the first in a long line of animated series for the franchise. The show was actually two separate prequel series, one based around C-3PO and R2-D2 and one based around the teddy bear like creatures from Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
A series of shortanimated films that fleshed out the massive Clone Wars event that first began in Episode II on the big screen later begot a serialized animated series with the same name. The latter focused on Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, but also gave a ton of time to world building and showing the various Clone Wars battles across the galaxy. Also included was the return of Darth Maul and deep dives into the Mandalorian culture, the Galactic Senate, droids, Count Dooku and the Trade Federation, the Jedi council and Jedi culture, and the Clone troopers themselves, some of whom become fully fleshed-out characters despite being identical copies of the same person–not to mention some of the greatest lightsaber duels in the entire canon.
Star Wars: Rebels (2014)
The follow-up series to The Clone Wars was more focused, centering around a single ship and its crew, that included a former Jedi and his apprentice, years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and only shortly before the events of Rogue One and A New Hope. The series managed to expand the mythology of the Jedi and the Force, and also served as a direct sequel to The Clone Wars, bringing back fan favorite characters like Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul, and Clone trooper Rex. The series also introduced expanded universe villain Grand Admiral Thrawn into the proper canon, which delighted Star Wars fans.
Star Wars: Resistance (2018)
The next animated series switched up its style and shifted towards more anime and cel-shading visuals, and was also the first series to take place after the original trilogy (but before the events of The Force Awakens.) Oscar Isaac reprised his role from the new trilogy as Poe Dameron, and the series, aimed towards younger audiences, follows a young boy named Kazuda Xiono, who finds himself involved in the early days of the Resistance as General Hux and Captain Phasma bring the nefarious First Order closer to the events of Episode VII.
The Mandalorian (2019)
With a pilot directed by NYFA guest speaker Jon Favreau, and a cast boasting the talents of Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Espositio, Werner Herzog, and Nick Nolte, The Mandalorian has a lot to prove as the first serialized live-action Star Wars series. The show will also dive into the state of the galaxy between the original and latest cinematic trilogies as well as shed light on the criminal underworld of the universe, something typically only fleshed out in expanded universe books outside of Han Solo’s storyline.
Untitled Cassian Andor series (upcoming)
Rogue One star Diego Luna will reprise his role as Rebel spy Cassian Andor in this prequel series, one that will show the famous original trilogy’s Rebellion from a different angle—its darker, spy side. Alan Tudyk will also be reprising his role as fan-favorite droid, K-2SO. The show is expected to debut in 2020.
Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series (upcoming)
A Star Wars story film featuring Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi has been rumored for years, but now that Disney and Lucasfilm are shifting from the big screen to the smaller screen, it looks like Obi-Wan’s story will be told on television instead. One of the most famous and important Star Wars characters ever, little is known about what Obi-Wan was up to in the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope—this series will fill some of that in. Presumably, Obi-Wan is dealing with the aftermath of the Jedi’s extinction, as well as his new life as a hermit on the desert planet Tatooine, where he is keeping a close watch on the baby Luke Skywalker. While nearlynothing is known about the series, other than McGregor’s involvement, many fans hope and expect Darth Maul to return for a final showdown with Kenobi, now that Solo has confirmed the Sith warrior is still alive and well.
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