Page 309 – NYFA

SHOOTING FOR SPACE: NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY’S STEAM INITIATIVE HIGHLIGHTED IN “POPULAR ASTRONOMY”

NYFA continues to aim for the stars as the Academy is featured in the November-December issue of Popular Astronomy. While astrophysics and acting are not generally related in most peoples’ minds, the magazine highlighted NYFA’s STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) Education Initiatives, which emphasize students practicing science rather than just simply learning it. As a result, students at the Academy’s Los Angeles campus got a unique look into space that few other actors and filmmakers ever get to experience.

While our BFA acting and BFA filmmaking students are used to the Academy’s commitment to learning by doing, they were understandably confused as to how the sciences relate to their arts education. New York Film Academy’s Director of STEAM Education Initiatives Rajiv Uttamchandani has taken the role of engaging acting and film students in the sciences through incorporating the arts as an active component in the students’ education.

This fusion of arts and science was realized through a STEAM astronomy class project, led by Professor Uttamchandani, in which students launched high altitude weather balloons into near-space that were armed with ultra-high resolution cameras, instruments to gauge temperature, pressure, and humidity, and tracking devices. The purpose of this singular experiment was to record the natural vegetation of Southern California’s central-desert regions that lie in the Tehachapi mountain range.

“It is thrilling to see our faculty and students explore this intersection of art and science. Rajiv Uttamchandani is leading NYFA’s effort to team filmmakers up with scientists to explore our physical and natural world and tell the stories that illuminate it,” says NYFA Provost Michael J. Young.

The connection to the visual arts did not just end there. Throughout the course of the experiment—from preparation to launch to analysis—students were recording the action as students tracked the equipment 30 kilometers into near-space and over dozen of kilometers of southern California desert, finally retrieving the balloons and their footage. The experiment resulted in an emotionally charged short documentary that captured the students’ exposure to the practical realities of scientific study and the very real human reactions to capturing a glimpse into territory these students never dreamed of exploring.

The ingenuity and inter-disciplinary focus of STEAM has now landed the initiative into the heart of NASA. Actors, filmmakers, and other visual arts students are currently working with leading scientists on the development of the James Webb Space Telescope to create visual materials that will raise public excitement and awareness about the project. The NYFA community and general public are eagerly anticipating the first products of this collaboration, along with other STEAM initiatives, to debut at the end of this year. You can learn more about the STEAM Education Initiatives in the November-December issue of Popular Astronomy, which is currently available.

Director Jeff Preiss Discusses Sundance Award-Winning ‘Low Down’

This past Wednesday night, the New York Film Academy in Union Square held a special screening of the star-studded film, Low Down. The emotional drama is based on Amy-Jo Albany’s powerful memoir of growing up in the care of her gifted, tormented and frequently absent musician father — a bebop jazz pianist named Joe Albany. The film focuses on the years 1974 to 1976, when Amy (Elle Fanning) had few resources other than the love of her aging grandmother (Glenn Close) and a ragtag bunch of Hollywood outcasts and eccentrics that were her friends.

Joining us after the Sundance award-winning film was director Jeff Preiss. Jeff emerged as a professional filmmaker in the eighties, through his involvement in the production of experimental cinema. He was co-director of the pioneering Lower East Side Film venue, Films Charas, and a board member of The Collective For Living Cinema. In 1984, he traveled to Berlin to shoot the Rosa Von Praunheim produced Punk Vampire Film, Der Bis.

In 1987, he was invited by photographer Bruce Weber to be Director of Photography on a series of short films and two feature documentaries, Broken Noses and Let’s Get Lost — the latter winning the Venice Film Festival Critics Award and an Academy Award nomination for best documentary. After three years of collaborating with Weber, Preiss’ film career began to include directing commercials and music videos (clips for Iggy Pop, Malcolm McLaren, REM, B52s, Mariah Carey / Apple, Nike, Coke, American Express among others).

In 1995, Jeff became a partner with Mindy Goldberg at Epoch Films. Preissʼs experimental projects include video installations in venues including The Whitney Museum of American Art, MOCA, The Wexner Center for the Arts, Musée d’art Moderne de la Ville Paris, Museum and the Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam.

He has collaborated with artists including Rem Koolhass, Joan Jonas, Andrea Fraser and Anthony McCall. His work is in the collection of MoMA, New York and The Reina Sofia, Madrid.

In 2005, Preiss cofounded the artist run gallery, ORCHARD, in New York. He currently sits on the board of Light Industry, a venue for film and electronic art in Brooklyn. His 2012 experimental feature film, Stop, was a selection of the 50th New York Film Festival.

During the Q&A, moderated by NYFA Instructor Ben Cohen, Jeff recounted how his nine year passion project came to be after an encounter with Amy-Jo Albany. He elaborately delved into the process of working with his superb cinematographer and all-star cast. Jeff compared working with his camera team to that of falling in love with a spouse. As for his cast, which consisted of John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Lena Heady and others, Preiss said, “I could not have picked a better actor to have suited each part.”

Jeff had a bit of anxiety in his approach toward directing, considering the stature of talent he was working with. Once he discovered how powerful just knowing the story was, his confidence grew. “All I’m doing is getting everyone in sync, telling the story,” said Preiss. “I would tell them the story like it happened to me. Then, everything is in service to them.”

From there on out, Jeff’s mastery of the story and keeping everyone on the same page was what guided the performances. Though, he admits, Glenn Close was in character from the moment she arrived on set and never broke. As always, her commitment to her craft shined on the big screen.

The twenty-two day shoot came together through moments of serendipity and perseverance. With a bit of luck and having Jeff behind the wheel, we’re fortunate to have this truly emotional piece that captures Amy-Jo’s story. If you weren’t able to join us for the screening, be sure to check out Low Down when it’s in theaters or On Demand.

NYFA Basketball Kicks off in NYC

Due to the success of our basketball team in Los Angeles, the New York Film Academy in New York City started a league of its own. The league was established to promote healthiness and well-being, as well as growing teamwork that is necessary in filmmaking, and socializing with students from other departments. We thought, why not network on the court as well!

This past Friday night was the first intramural New York Film Academy NYC basketball game at Dwight School on Central Park West. We kicked off the season with three half-court games and one 15 minute 5-on-5 full court exhibition game. Thus far, we have four teams from all different departments playing the league. The program is being run by NYFA faculty members, Sarah Choi and Jack Picone.

The next game is at Dwight School this Friday at 8pm. If you’re late you won’t be guaranteed to play — so be on time!

Any current students and faculty can sign up with their own team or request to be added to one. If we continue to have a positive response to our games, we will be setting up playoffs or a tournament after the first few weeks. Please email Sarah Choi if you’d like to join as a player or start your own team.

The Teams and their Rosters:

basketball game nyc — photo by Paola Nazario

Gucci: – Acting for Film
Deshpyar Jasuja
Steven Erazo
Elijah Leighty

October’s Very Own – Game Design & 3D Animation
Carlos Lopez
Tony Pommells
Joshua Wong
Matt Plotecher

Cavs – Acting for Film
Jay Cailos
Avi Agarwal
Marvin Scott III

Legends – Acting for Film
Brandon Williams
Nate Steinburg
Jonathan Tannehill

Producer Bobby Sabelhaus Sits Down with NYFA Screenwriting Students

On November 3rd, 2014, Bobby Sabelhaus sat down with New York Film Academy’s Business of Screenwriting class, regaling his unique story of how this one-time #1 national high school quarterback wound up becoming a rising Hollywood producer.

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Sabelhaus initially focused on a career in football, but after struggles with the game during his time at the University of Florida, he transferred to University of Maryland and began to shift gears. By the time he graduated, he’d put his football aspirations behind him, and found himself at a crossroads between embarking into the world of finance or doing something more creative…

“I’ve always loved movies and storytelling,” Sabelhaus told a classroom of students, “and thought I might find my niche in that world.” Sabelhaus, like so many of us, hesitated with the move out west initially. He took a week of “informationals”, including a very lucky one he landed with then Warner Bros. President Alan Horn on a visit to Los Angeles.

“I knew enough not to ask for a job, but I was hoping he might be able to help me land an internship.” Help he did, connecting Sabelhaus with frequent collaborator Village Roadshow Pictures, where Sabelhaus soon interviewed and landed a development internship, something he adamantly recommends to NYFA’s students. “If you’re fortunate enough to get an internship, seize on the opportunity. Read everything you can, and grow your network. The more people you know, the more options you’ll have one day. But you need a foot in the door… so start now.”

After interning at Village Roadshow, Sabelhaus went to work for uber-producer Lauren Schuler Donner, producer of everything from ST. ELMO’S FIRE to ANY GIVEN SUNDAY to the X-MEN franchise. Sabelhaus was fortunate enough to work for Mrs. Donner over four movies, including CONSTANTINE, SHE’S THE MAN, X-MEN 2 and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND. He learnt first-hand about moviemaking on and off the set as her development and production assistant. “It was demanding, but an amazing experience.”

Soon after this, Sabelhaus launched his own production company, FilmHaus. At FilmHaus, Sabelhaus develops new material from the ground up with writers, and has set up a variety of spec scripts he’s developed, including CRISTO at Warner Bros., SNATCHBACK at Voltage, and WARDEN at New Line, as well packages he’s helped put together, such as MY BEAUTIFUL COMA, with AMERICAN SPLENDOR writer-directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini with Mandalay Vision.

Sabelhaus also bridges the world between film development and packaging, helping raise development equity, by collaborating with producers and filmmakers on projects that have a good chance of going into production. In many ways, Sabelhaus has come full circle, combining his passion for film with his financing know-how.

In explaining his project selection process, Sabelhaus admitted, “I have to love it. Because I have to be able to answer the question honestly of do I want to spend the next 3-5 years of my life on this story. The good news,” he went onto say, “is that this story can come from any writer, anywhere, at virtually any experience level.”

Sabelhaus went onto shed light on the different types of film financing that exists — everything from ‘angel investors’, to equity financing and foreign sales, to a slate financing deal. He reminded his students that “no story pleases everyone” and that filmmaking is a collaborative process. “It sounds cliché, I know, but it really takes a village.”

Sabelhaus closed out with an insightful response to a student question raised about why, after already struggling with the harsh pressures of the nationally-viewed college football scene, Sabelhaus would choose to pursue a career path that’s equally ambitious and grueling. “Look, I failed early, and this is a business where you will fail,”

Sabelhaus explained. “You’ll be rejected far more than you will be accepted; it’s a tough, thick-skinned business, no doubt about it. But I guess, having already been through it at such a young age, failure doesn’t really scare me anymore. Because on the other side of that mountain is the success we all seek just waiting to be grasped.”

Sabelhaus currently works out of his FilmHaus offices in Beverly Hills, CA.

Watch MFA Filmmaking Grad’s Award-Winning Film

MFA Filmmaking graduate Farah Fuad ALHashem has been making waves with her short film, Seven Hours. The film won two awards at the Women’s Independent Film Festival in Santa Monica — one for Best Screenplay and one for Best Actress. Since then, Farah has won Best Short Arab Film in The Independent European Film Festival 2014. The film is scheduled to screen in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, as well as China, Nepal, India, Romania. Because of its appeal, the award-winning short has screened in over 31 festivals around the world, including Cannes Film Festival Court Métrage.

The seven minute short, filmed entirely on her iPhone, came from a personal love story. At the time, Farah had been dealing with a long distance relationship — she was living in New York and her partner was in Beirut. The seven hour time difference between those two cities actually had a profound affect on her emotions, changing the strength of her relationship.

Like so many of our degree students, Farah took advantage of NYFA’s opportunity to study at both our main campuses. She began her studies at our New York campus and finalized her MFA in Los Angeles.

Originally, Farah graduated from Lebanese American University with a BA in Journalism in 2009, but was quickly looking for a change or new perspective on her career. She felt that getting an education at NYFA was the perfect solution. “There is nothing more groundbreaking than starting a new phase in New York City,” said Farah. “NYFA helped me understand myself, and shaped my style of cinema and who I want to be.”

Farah had a rather comical analogy in describing her time at NYFA. “It’s like the Italian mother I never had — pushy, loud and tough on me. NYFA taught me to work on myself on a daily basis. It was like boot camp for cinema. It made me understand everything I needed to know and gave me the tools to look for knowledge in the right places.”

In addition to promoting and touring with Seven Hours, Farah has been in production on a feature film, Breakfast in Beirut, that she began developing at NYFA Los Angeles. Production on the feature is scheduled to wrap this Fall.

If you’re anxious as us about watching Farah’s award-winning short film, have a look below!

7Hours from farah alhashim on Vimeo.

NYFA Teams Up with R&B Star Banky W.

The New York Film Academy has recently collaborated with R&B sensation, Banky W, on his latest music video for the upcoming single, “Unborn Child” featuring hip hop artist, Lynxxx.

Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Banky enrolled in NYFA’s Union Square campus to study an 8-week Filmmaking course where he was able to develop his skills to co-produce and co-direct his largest music video to date alongside Jonathan Whittaker, Chair of Short-Term Filmmaking Program at The New York Film Academy. With a NYFA crew comprised of former students, assistants, and faculty, “Unborn Child” was shot on the stellar Red Epic at Gary’s Loft in Midtown and just off Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx in only 2 days. The video stars Banky, Lynxxx, and 8-week Acting for Film student Aminat Ayinde.

Banky plays the role of an NYPD officer that finds out the unexpected news that his girlfriend, Ayinde, is now pregnant. As he departs for what he thinks will be just another day on the job, the mother of his unborn child will soon find out that Banky is injured in the line of duty and leaves Lynxxx, his fellow NYPD partner, to deliver an important letter of heartfelt words and lessons for his child to live by in this emotional song and video.

The video is currently in post-production at the New York Film Academy and is pending information on the premiere. One thing we know for sure is that we are extremely proud to have had Banky join us as a student and collaborator on this project. Working with Banky firsthand, Jonathan Whittaker says, “For someone of Banky’s stature to trust me with their vision is a tremendous honor. There is no higher sense of accomplishment than collaborating with students who are putting into practice what they have learned in my classroom.”

‘Bad Turn Worse’ Filmmaker Returns to NYFA

The New York Film Academy’s Producing Program Industry Speaker series hosted an exclusive screening of the new film Bad Turn Worse this week at the Union Square Screening Room. Opening this weekend in New York, and then fifteen cities across the United States (as well as Video On Demand), NYFA students participated in a post-screening Q&A session with filmmakers Zeke and Simon Hawkins, moderated by Producing Department Co-Chair Neal Weisman.

The story revolves around three Texas teens who hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.

Having premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, and picked up for distribution by Starz, the movie is a thriller set in rural contemporary Texas. The directors, who are brothers, cited various influences in making this first feature film including Terence Malick’s Badlands, Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express, and James Foley’s At Close Range. Made on a low budget, the film shot over forty days, and stars a host of emerging young actors, as well as William Devane (currently appearing in Interstellar). The directors shared their experiences working with L.A. based producers Justin Duprie and Brian Udovich, as well as heads of departments Cinematographer Jeff Bierman and Production Designer Seong-Jin Moon. Director Simon Hawkins also served as Editor on the film. The filmmakers explained their work process, what it’s like to direct as a team – who also happen to be brothers.

NYFA students were pleasantly surprised to hear that director Simon Hawkins took his very first film course at the New York Film Academy twelve years ago. Screening his first feature film on campus was an exciting homecoming for this NYFA graduate!

A Memorable Evening with Unforgettable Actor James Karen

New York Film Academy Los Angeles MFA Acting, BFA Acting, BFA Filmmaking and a mixture of other students had a special treat on November 4th when James Karen, a prolific stage and screen performer with over 200 feature film credits, graced our stage. Mark Sawicki, chair of the animation department, invited Karen to speak and had the pleasure and challenge of interviewing this amazing actor who has worked steadily in the industry for an incredible seven decades. The evening began with a screening of a Buster Keaton short Cops, a silent film directed by Keaton in 1922. The screening of a Keaton film may seem out of place except for the fact that James was a close friend of the legendary filmmaker, and played alongside of him as a stage actor in the 50’s. This made the event so special, as the students were able to span the years from silent cinema on up to today. James told of how Buster started by being a child actor thrown about the stage in his youth in a “rough” act. James said Buster worked every day of his life and enjoyed every moment, even though the MGM student wasted this great talent by forcing the actor to perform in the highly regimented studio system as a contract player. Karen shared that the documentary, Buster Keaton: A hard act to follow by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow, was an excellent snapshot of Keaton’s astounding career. James related that he wished he could have worked in the early silent era as performances were universal and creativity flourished.

The second screening was the Zombie comedy classic Return of the Living Dead, starring James Karen and directed by Dan O’Bannon. At the conclusion of the film, James spoke of his career and his Broadway debut alongside Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. From there, Karen became a longtime stage actor throughout the 50’s and began his film career in 1965 in the low budget film Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster. James went on to act in many landmark films such as Poltergeist, Wall Street, The Pursuit of Happyness and many others.

karen and sawicki — Animation Chair, Mark Sawicki with actor, James Karen

He related his experience working on the zombie film saying that much of the film was ad lib and the film was first performed in rehearsal in linear form as a stage play. As a stage play, both seasoned and first time actors in the film worked with the director and learned and memorized their emotional states throughout the script, so that when scenes were shot out of sequence the performances held together perfectly.

By the end of the evening, questions were turned over to the audience and James gladly shared insights into working with Brando, surviving the business and encouraging young actors to persevere — and first and foremost to get experience on the stage.

We’d like to thank James for spanning the ages and giving us a great sense of continuity and understanding of the craft — reaching back to the silent era that started it all.

Attend the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Animation Festival at NYFA

The New York Film Academy Animation School is proud to team up with the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH to present the SIGGRAPH 2014 Computer Animation Festival “Electronic Theater” this Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 7:00pm in the 4th Floor Screening Room at NYFA’s Union Square location.
ACM SIGGRAPH is an international organization of artists, filmmakers, developers, and scientists sharing a love of computer graphics and interactive technology. The New York City chapter hosts events such as screenings, lectures, BYOA (Bring Your Own Animation), and MetroCAF, an annual student film festival. The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious film and video extravaganzas, showcasing 30 out of over 500 entries from around the world.

Thursday’s event is an extraordinary opportunity for those interested in computer animation that were unable to attend the actual SIGGRAPH Festival 2014 in Vancouver this past August. The over two hour showcase will present dozens of the best computer animated films culled from around the world with submissions from eight categories: Computer Animation Shorts, Games, Animated Feature Films, Visual Effects for Live-Action Feature Films, Real-Time Graphics, Student Projects, TV/Web Commercials, Animation, Visual Effects & Music Videos, and Visualizations and Simulations.

Please join us at 7:00pm sharp! Admission is free for this event but donations will be accepted. NYC AM SIGGRAPH is a non-profit organization so typical event fees and your donations allow them to continue producing activities such as these.