Page 320 – NYFA

NYFA Meets the Hollywood Monster Makers

On June 11th, the New York Film Academy Animation department hosted an anniversary screening of The Terminator (1984) to a full house. The film remains exciting as ever as evidenced by the thunderous applause during the end credits. After the film, co-chair of animation Mark Sawicki moderated a panel of artists who created the amazing effects for the film. Guest artists and Oscar nominees Shane Mahan and John Rosengrant were character creators and puppeteers of the Terminator robot for the film. The Terminator was the first film they worked on with the legendary Stan Winston. Upon Winston’s passing in 2008, Shane and John co-founded the Legacy studio to carry on the tradition of excellent character creation and practical effects work on such films as Aliens, Predator, Jurassic Park and Iron Man. Also joining the event was guest artist Ernest Farino who was responsible for the main title and graphics work on the picture. Mark Sawicki worked with Ernest as an optical consultant to help devise the look and procedures to generate the robot’s eye view or Termovision. Ernest is a two time Emmy winner for visual effects and is now directing.

The group shared marvelous stories from the movie such as rubbing honey into the make up of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s face to attract a freshly refrigerated fly as it woke from its frozen slumber. Another trick shared by Ernest was a shot of Arnold pushing his fist through the windshield of a moving car. This was accomplished with a stationary car with a mechanical battering ram in the shape of Arnold’s fist. The illusion of movement was created by having a truck drive by with a fake wall of plastic bricks attached to its side. The bricks moving quickly behind the stationary car made it appear that the car was moving quickly past a static wall as the fake hand shattered the windshield.

Both Shane and John emphasized the importance of story and sticking to reality to create believable effects. John said that to make a believable dinosaur you have to obey the laws of physics and have a two-ton dinosaur move with heft and weight and not fly around like a bumblebee.

After an engaging discussion of trends and techniques, the panel was open to questions from the audience. Many students asked what it was that made older practical effects more appealing than today’s CGI. Shane suggested that in the past horror and fantasy films were overlooked as small pictures and the filmmakers had much more freedom to entertain happy accidents or try bold lighting and other techniques. Today’s multi million dollar blockbusters have a great deal at stake and much more input is given from not only the studios but other large franchises like McDonald’s who use movies as cross promotional vehicles. One student compared older effects to gleaming silver while CGI was more like polished steel. Mark mentioned that lighting is very difficult to mimic in a virtual environment and can create the impression the student mentioned but there are ways to improve upon it such as the use of HDRI imagery to light the CGI characters. John pointed out that CGI could be exceptional if done well with attention to detail and dedication to realism as exampled by Jurassic Park.

There was a great deal of interest among students to either pursue the field as artists or make use of these tried and true techniques as directors in their own right.
The event wrapped up with our guests receiving complimentary gift bags from NYFA as they graciously autographed their names to The Terminator poster that will soon adorn the halls of our school.

Thank you Shane, John and Ernest for inspiring us all and reminding us all about the importance of story and characters!

NYFA LA Cinematography Students Conduct Ultimate Camera Shoot-Out with Arriflex Alexa

By their 4th semester, the MFA Cinematography students at New York Film Academy Los Angeles have worked with a wide variety of film and digital cameras including 35mm, Super 16mm, Red Epic and Scarlet to name only a few. With the Master’s Camera Technique class now underway, they can add the Arriflex Alexa to that list. LA Cinematography Chair Michael Pessah has been teaching them the in’s and out’s of this cutting edge camera, taking a hands-on approach by shooting tests and scenes throughout the class.

In addition to working with the Alexa, the class is also conducting the “Ultimate Camera Shoot-Out”. Under the guidance of instructors Michael Pessah and Rick Greenwood, the cinematographers will shoot tests to evaluate the best of the best cameras, gaining an understanding of the strengths of each format. The test will examine the following nine cameras:

Arriflex 535 (35mm)
Arriflex SR3 (Super 16mm)
Arriflex Alexa
Red Epic
Red Scarlet
Sony F65
Canon C300
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
Canon 5D mk3

The class will view the footage in a high-end color correction room at Fotokem in Burbank, allowing the students to see critical differences in a professional screening environment. The students are excited about this unique opportunity to compare the various state-of-the-art formats and look forward to viewing the results. We are confident this will give them the knowledge to pick the right camera for each project as they start their careers the film industry.

NYFA LA LAUNCHES WEATHER BALLOONS TO DETECT CLIMATE CHANGE IN SOCAL

Despite some of the obvious changes in climate, unanimously being documented by scientists across the globe, the issue of climate change has yet to become a truly global concern. This is primarily why the New York Film Academy has recently set forth on a new venture, stemming from its S.T.E.A.M. initiative headed up by Rajiv Uttamchandani, Director of S.T.E.A.M. Education Initiatives at NYFA.

Harnessing the power of visual storytelling, NYFA placed forward a brave new effort in increasing awareness of the effects of climate change on our environment. Students experience first hand the reward of capturing images of the Earth at increasing altitudes with state-of-the-art, ultra high-resolution cameras. From this, they are able to appreciate the beauty of our planet and its sensitivity in a way that can never be obtained in a classroom.

“At the New York Film Academy, we place emphasis on giving our students the best possible educational experience possible – by providing students with the hands-on opportunity to physically apply what they learn in class,” says Rajiv Uttamchandani. “They use the scientific method to solve problems and come up with solutions.”

Recently, visual artists from the New York Film Academy teamed with physicists from California State University, Northridge, to investigate the effects of global warming on the health of Southern California’s natural vegetation.

In collaboration with Cal State Northridge, BFA Acting students launched two weather balloons from Tehachapi, California that were able to capture these vast images of vegetation. The balloons also carried with them special instruments to measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind direction. Reaching altitudes of approximately 90,000 feet, the balloons traveled a linear distance of 35 miles, eventually landing in the Mojave Desert.

Through the launch, students were able to complete two missions:

Mission (1) – investigate vegetation in southern California, compare with past images taken from satellites as part of the US Geological Survey, which contains satellite images of locations throughout the U.S. and investigate any visible change in pattern of growth of natural vegetation due to warming climates.

Mission (2) – use IR images and compare with visible light images to obtain a relative index of moisture content in soil. Compare with past data.

See for yourself these incredible images and watch the experiment played out in this wonderful piece put together by the NYFA Media Content Department.

Credits:

Creative Director and Producer: David Nelson
Director: Ty Greene
Editor: Vinny Sisson

Master Class with Award-Winning Filmmaker & NYFA Grad Rob Hardy

As part of the African Black Film Festival 2014, New York Film Academy graduate and highly successful filmmaker, Rob Hardy, will be holding a Master Class at the SVA Theatre in New York City on Saturday, June 21st from 4:30pm- 6:30pm.

Rob Hardy, who is a 2014 NAACP Image Award nominee, broke into network television with his January 2007 directorial debut of the Emmy Award winning show ER. Soon after, Black Enterprise Magazine listed him among the Top 40 Entertainers under 40 for the year 2008. Since recently Executive Producing on Think Like A Man Too for Sony Pictures, Hardy has returned to television with directing stints on several shows including: Criminal Minds, Arrow, Castle, The Vampire Diaries, Bones, 90210, The Game, The Originals, Grey’s Anatomy, Being Mary Jane, Single Ladies, and Ravenswood.

Hardy began his career as a high school Senior, with the camcorder-shot movie G-Man. While pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Florida A & M University, he made the leap to film with the low-budget motion picture Chocolate City. This experience earned him the institution’s highest honor, the Bernard Hendricks Student Leadership Award, and launched his company Rainforest Films. The underground buzz on the project soon led to his controversial film Trois. Hardy not only directed and co-wrote the thriller, he was also instrumental in self-distributing the project to be the fastest Independent African American film to pass the $1 million dollar mark. In 2003, after directing the critically acclaimed thriller Pandora’s Box, he added the role of “Producer” to his credits by collaborating with business partner Will Packer, to produce several movies including: Three Can Play that Game, Puff Puff Pass and Motives. 2004 saw penning an “untitled Usher” project for MTV Films. Hardy then wrote and directed the spiritually themed drama entitled The Gospel, and produced the companion Gospel Live!. His hard-earned success has garnered a 2006 “Best Screenplay” (Black Movie Awards) nomination. He then Executive Produced Stomp The Yard, which held the #1 position at the box office for two weekends in January of 2007 and received the 2007 Movie of the Year Award from the BET Hip Hop awards and later directed it’s sequel Stomp the Yard: Homecoming. Later, he created the Sprite Step off TV series for MTV 2 that placed a fraternity step competition into the reality TV space. A documentary about Martin Luther King, Jr’s life as a fraternity member called AlphaMan: The Brotherhood of MLK, soon aired.

The Hollywood Reporter (December 2002) listed him amongst the New Establishment of Black Power Brokers. Florida A&M University awarded him with the Meritorious Achievement Award, which is the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus. After which he received the inaugural Woody Strode / Paul Robeson Award of Excellence from his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

His company Rainforest Films, was listed as one of the Top 25 Money Makers in Entertainment (2007) by Black Enterprise Magazine and has gone on to produce feature films including: Ride Along, No Good Deed, This Christmas, Obsessed and Takers.

Additionally, Hardy has directed commercial projects for clients, including: CNN, TBS (Turner Broadcasting), American Honda, Coca-Cola, Georgia Lottery and The National Cancer Institute. He serves on the Advisory Board for the International Feature Project (IFP) Film Lab series. He resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two sons.

Matthew Modine Guest Lectures at First Acting for Directors Class

Acclaimed, veteran actor, Matthew Modine paid a visit to the New York Film Academy’s first Acting for Directors class in Los Angeles, where he was able to elaborate on being an actor as well as a director. Modine, known for his role as “Joker” in Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece Full Metal Jacket, has directed a number of short films and is currently in pre-production on a feature called The Rocking Horseman. In addition to Kubrick, he has also worked with Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Demme, and countless others.

“He was very approachable and casual, and discussed the importance of being prepared before going on set and how an actor has to do his work beforehand,” said NYFA LA Acting Instructor, Paz Leon. “He also told us that when he worked with Christopher Nolan, he noticed that he never looks at the monitor and always stays close to the actors. This made the actors feel safe and protected by him. So he advised the students to try that instead of being so close to the monitor.”

Students were thrilled with the experience, one student said, “It was really great to meet an actor of his stature, yet see how down to earth he is.” While another added, “It was obvious from his energy that he’s passionate not only about acting, but also directing. I was really inspired.”

The New York Film Academy is grateful for having such a prominent actor like Matthew Modine come in to provide insight and encouragement to our students. Once again, we’d like to thank Matthew for his time at NYFA!

NYFA Collaborates with Free Arts for Abused Children

On June 1st, at the luxurious Fairmont Mirmar Hotel in Santa Monica, Free Arts for Abused Children held an Art Works! celebratory brunch in order to bring awareness to their programs, as well as to raise funds for the amazing services and programs that Free Arts provides for Los Angeles communities. Having a cinematic theme, the event featured the collaboration between Free Arts and the New York Film Academy.

Over the winter, the two organizations worked closely together to teach video productions to Los Angeles County youth at the New Economics for Women facilities in Van Nuys. The Art Works! event featured a 5 minute documentary put together by David Nelson and the New York Film Academy Staff. Art Helterbran, Jr., Chair of Filmmaking at the Los Angeles school, also addressed the crowd: chronicling his experiences working for over 3 months with Free Arts and the wonderful time he had working with the Los Angeles’ youth. Art also awarded one of the exemplary students, Christina Thompson, with a one-week scholarship to NYFA’s teen film summer camp.

NYFA LA Screens “The Skeleton Twins” with SVP of Acquisitions at Sony

This week New York Film Academy students in Los Angeles were treated to a special sneak preview screening of the hit Sundance award-winning comedy The Skeleton Twins followed by a Q&A, moderated by Tova Laiter, with the SVP of Acquisitions at Sony, Joe Matukewicz. The film, which won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award this past Sundance Film Festival and currently has a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, delighted students with its offbeat comedy and surprisingly profound performances by NYFA alum Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig. The discussion that followed with Joe Matukewicz shed light on the less known world of film acquisitions.

Joe Matukewicz is the current Senior Vice President of Worldwide Acquisition for Sony Pictures. His past positions include SVP and Head of Worldwide Acquisitions at Relativity Media, VP Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Paramount Vantage, and Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Paramount Classics. Among the many films with which he was involved with were Act of Valor, House at the End of the Street, Hustle and Flow (2005 Oscar Winner for Best Original Song), The Machinist, and An Inconvenient Truth (2006 double-Oscar winner for Best Documentary and Best Original Song).

Skelton Twins — Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader in ‘The Skeleton Twins’

At Sony, Joe acquires forty movies a year of all genres, some of which are distributed by Sony and others with indie labels. Some movies can be bought at script stage, if there is a package attached, while others can be very execution depended — distributors may wait to see the movie, even though it can be more competitive.

When Joe first began in the acquisitions world as an assistant, he didn’t even know what “acquisitions” was. He soon discovered that the purchasing of film properties was an art form and one for which he had a knack. Deciding what to buy and when to buy it is a game for which there is no definitive strategy. Joe Matukewicz considers many factors including cast, execution, genre, social/political climate at the time and, of course, story. The one thing he doesn’t care about is the film’s budget. The producers are never obligated to reveal the true budget of the film. However, Joe will ask as many people involved with the film as he can what the budget is, but mainly to see how many different answers he can get. This will reveal the filmmakers’ expectation of how much they can sell it for, which is a more important factor in how much the film will end up costing him than the budget itself.

Mr. Matukewicz acquired The Skeleton Twins at this past Sundance Film Festival. His yearly schedule is jam-packed with film festival appearances. Although his job is exhausting, traveling around the world, watching films and making big picture deals is an exciting gig that Joe is very grateful to have. We wish Joe Matukewicz continued success in the world of acquisitions and hope that his next purchase makes a huge splash in a theater near you.

Catching up with NYFA’s Musical Theatre Department

The New York Film Academy Musical Theatre Department had an excellent winter season in New York City. Some of our faculty went on national tours, some continued in current shows, and others moved to new productions with great promise, such as Kevin Duda who was in Book of Mormon and currently in the new musical Beautiful.

The second year group completed their movie musical titled, Walk the Walk, a comic adventure where six guys awaken the morning after a night out to discover they are now women. Final edit is now complete, those actors have graduated, and excerpts of the film will soon to be available on the website.

I should also mention that our wonderful Performance Lab teacher Mark Price visited Korea to teach master classes at schools and art academies. His work was very well received and this summer five students from Korea will join us for our four-week summer intensive.

Our main attraction, however, and the event that occurred that has everyone in the program really beaming, was our first full-length production. Yes, indeed! Emerging New York director Nathan Brewer (assistant director for Disney’s Aladdin) led a strong team of NYFA staff, including the highly talented choreographer Chad Austin and musical director Anna Ebbesen, and a hugely talented and energized cast of Musical Theatre students to launch on May 1st, an effective production of Spring Awakening. The production was installed at the American Theatre of Actors on 54th street in Manhattan, which proved to be the perfect venue.

This is the beginning of a new initiative where NYFA will be producing new original musical readings and launching full-scale productions several times a year. Following the close of Spring Awakening, we were given the thrill of seeing a lovely first semester showcase and a very rousing, double bill, end of year showcase. Here’s a photo of the end of year showcase cast rehearsing a number just days before their performance.

We are in the midst of shooting yet another movie musical, the next second year class finished their final films and presented a terrific final showcase event, other classes in residence are staying busy with dancing, singing, and acting classes. And everyone is excited in anticipation of what looks to be a record-breaking summer attendance for our four-week July intensives and the start of a new second year and one-year class.

We had the good fortune of having Tony award winning actress and one of America’s artistic treasures, Tonya Pinkins, come in and present a fabulous master class for our students. Her teaching, like her performing, was generous, specific, bold, healing, and extraordinarily humane. In addition to working with a number of students, she spoke to everyone and gave expert advice about the profession.

Lots of good work is happening here in our program in New York. Join us and come to know the best of what musical theatre at NYFA has to offer!

Welcome Aboard NYFA Los Angeles Photography Students!

Last week, new students enrolled in New York Film Academy photography courses at the Los Angeles campus attended a Shooting Lab on Hollywood Boulevard. Weekly shooting labs involve a roster of rotating instructors and students are able to further explore what they learned in class. Elements of composition and lighting such as using portable flash on location are just some examples. Shooting Labs are just one of many courses which include visits to exciting Los Angeles locations (Santa Monica Pier, Getty Center, Griffith Park, Hollywood), world-class museums, galleries – AND the Universal studios backlot – as well as guest lectures and portfolio reviews by leading photojournalists, artists, and curators.

New NYFA photography students come from every part of the world. Right now, we not only have students from the US, but also from Paraguay, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Vietnam, Bolivia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia! Welcome everyone!