Page 327 – NYFA

NYFA Los Angeles Wraps its Write Start Contest Workshop

Often a writer confines his or herself, staying true to his or her own thoughts. Typically, the writer is stubborn, holding strong to the original idea. However, truly perfecting the craft of screenwriting requires practice, guidance and workshopping with peers. Having an environment with knowledgable professionals and like-minded individuals is imperative to the overall goal of completing an industry standard screenplay that could actually be shopped around Hollywood. This notion is precisely what the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School is built upon.

Two weeks ago, we wrapped up the Write Start Contest Workshop. Launched by The Writers’ Store and co-sponsored by New York Film Academy’s MFA Screenwriting Program, the Write Start Contest invited writers to submit a one-page pitch for a feature screenplay idea. Out of hundreds of applicants, eight winners were chosen. The grand prize was a special 8-week workshop at NYFA Los Angeles. Four of the eight winners elected to come to NYFA Los Angeles in person to participate in the workshop. The others participated in an online workshop. At the end of the program, each student completed a finished feature length screenplay, which we believe has the ability to be shown to industry professionals.

If you have an idea for a screenplay and are looking to hone your craft in a structured environment, be sure to check out NYFA’s Screenwriting Programs!

Broadcast Journalism Students Don’t Just Cover The News At NYFA

Broadcast Journalism students at the New York Film Academy just don’t cover stories, sometimes they get covered in the story. Case in point, two of our evening students, at the Holi (Festival of Colors) Festival in Jersey City recently.

Wenjing Yang and Nyeisha Scott were assigned to shoot a news package about a cultural event. They chose the annual Holi Festival in Jersey City. A celebration by the region’s Indian community of the arrival of Spring, a key component of the festivities involves participants covering anyone and everyone in bright colored powders. By the end of the day, both Wenjing and Nyeisha’s clothing needed a good washing. But they protected the camera!

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY COLLABORATES WITH NASA TO RAISE AWARENESS
FOR THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) is embarking on a unique collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Northrop Grumman to introduce visual storytelling into the development of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The JWST, scheduled for completion and launch in 2018, will be NASA’s successor to the world famous Hubble Space Telescope, and will enable scientists to better understand the deepest mysteries surrounding the birth and evolution of galaxies, the formation of stars and planets, and the potential existence of extraterrestrial life in the universe. To help raise widespread interest in and awareness of this historic endeavor, the New York Film Academy will utilize its extensive production resources to create an array of informative content that includes Public Service Announcements, interactive eBooks, advanced animations of key astronomical phenomena that JWST will observe, and interactive video kiosks to be placed in public places in order to engage and excite the general public.

“The New York Film Academy’s collaboration with NASA and the James Webb Space Telescope presents a unique opportunity for us to implement one of our society’s most significant scientific undertakings directly into the Academy’s curriculum and programs,” says astrophysicist and NYFA Director of STEAM Education Initiatives, Rajiv Uttamchandani. “This will be crucial to the furthering of our efforts to create educational environments that will strongly engage and excite visual arts students in the sciences.”

The New York Film Academy is an international film and performing arts school that prides itself on its hands-on approach to learning. NYFA offers MFA, MA, BFA and AFA degrees, conservatory programs and short-term workshops in filmmaking, acting for film, photography, producing, 3D animation, cinematography, screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, game design, musical theatre, broadcast journalism, dance, music video and digital editing. As such, the Academy possesses the talented and enthusiastic body of visual storytellers necessary to create engaging and interactive visuals. While the effort will be headed up by the Academy’s professional faculty, students will maintain an integral part of the project. Overall, both the Academy and NASA believe the collaboration will enable professionals within the scientific community to improve their abilities in the presentation and communication of complex ideas and concepts, while also providing opportunities to exploit fundamental methodologies in the scientific method to better structure the thinking of traditionally creative minded visual arts students.

MFA Producing Grads’ Feature Horror ‘Rabid Love’ Available On Demand

If you grew up on 80’s horror, slasher films like Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, and American Werewolf in London, you will want to check out the film Rabid Love. Its throwback to the classic slasher genre is both refreshing and entertaining. The film stars Hayley Derryberry, Hannah Landberg, and Paul J. Porter, who is a graduate of the New York Film Academy. Porter is essentially the Woody Allen of Rabid Love as he is not only the lead actor, but also writer, director, and producer of the film.

Porter teamed up with other NYFA alumni including Executive Producer Paul Hutchens and Associate Producer Rob Thorpe. Porter initially met Hutchens online after realizing that both of them were veterans stationed at 29 Palms Marine Base. They officially met, face to face, on the first day of their MFA in Producing class.

“I feel like any school, and especially a film school, it’s going to be what you make of it,” says Porter. “Some of the producing classes I took were especially helpful in being able to work in the industry as a producer, such as the business/contracts, distribution, and budgeting/scheduling courses as well as the producing roundtable and the guidance of Lydia Cedrone. But I wasn’t content to just go to class and try to coast through the projects–I wanted to start my career as a filmmaker. So, the entire time I attended NYFA, I was working full time as a freelance producer, production manager, actor, or whatever else I could do on set–but the most important thing was graduating with my own feature under my belt as a producer/director.”

Porter’s persistence and work ethic has given him a head start on the rest of the pack. His film, Rabid Love, is available on Netflix and many video on demand platforms, or can be purchased as a DVD on Amazon.com.

Congratulations NYFA Los Angeles One Year Photography Students!

Last Saturday night, students from the July 2013 One Year Photography program celebrated their graduation with a final exhibition on the 4th floor of the New York Film Academy Los Angeles building in Burbank. Family, friends and fellow students joined Aric Coppola, Brandon Elonzae, Andrew Linga and Jimmy Rhodes, as they showcased their work at the LA campus’ inaugural event.

The exhibition is open through March 30 with the work on view during school hours, 9am until 9pm, Monday through Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The address is 3300 W. Riverside Drive, 4th Floor, Burbank 91505.

NYFA Alumnus Sergei Ivonin Talks with Students About Covering the 2014 Sochi Olympics

When Sergei Ivonin became a student at the New York Film Academy, he had high career goals but lacked the skills to attain them. Thanks to what he learned at NYFA, he is now a staff producer with NBC News. Recently he returned to NYFA to tell Broadcast Journalism students what it is like to be a Digital Journalist working on Dateline: NBC. He also gave them an insider’s perspective on coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

An eight hour time difference between Sochi and New York meant that the production staff was constantly on-the-go. Whether it was shooting material for Today, working on stories for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, or conducting interviews for prime time Olympic coverage, sleep was in short supply. Work days that could stretch to 18-hours not withstanding, Sergei was thrilled to play a role in covering what is the quintessential global news event.

Acting for Film Graduate Stars in Finnish Comedy ‘Bunny The Killer Thing’

Roope Olenius, who graduated with his BFA-degree in acting for film at the Los Angeles campus last year, has just finished shooting his part for the film Bunny the Killer Thing. Olenius plays a major role in the hilarious feature film that was filmed in the Lapland of Finland. The film, which is produced by Black Lion Pictures and Jo-Jo the Dog Films, will get its premiere on the big screen by the end of 2014.

Bunny the Killer Thing is a feature length comedy-horror in the genres of splatter and camp films. It is made for global distribution with an international cast, which makes it a rare and ambitious production in a country as small as Finland, where independent films have a small footing in the industry. The main language of the film is English.

Olenius will join the rest of the main cast and production team to promote the film at Cannes Marché du Film this spring. In addition, Olenius will be promoting his short film, Dia-cide, at the Cannes Court Metrage, which he produced as his thesis project at the Los Angeles campus last year and is planning to make into a feature film in the near future.

After graduation, Olenius has increasingly gained more exposure in the Finnish film industry and opportunities to work with acclaimed directors like Joonas Makkonen, JP Siili and Samuli Valkama.

3D Animation Grads Selected to NYC SIGGRAPH Board of Directors

Mark Reynolds and Elize Ohira, both June 2013 graduates from New York Film Academy’s one-year 3D Animation Conservatory program, were recently elected to the Board of Directors for NYC ACM SIGGRAPH, New York City’s local ACM SIGGRAPH chapter.

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.

“I’m so excited to serve as part of the Board of Directors of such a great organization!” Elize says. “Mark and I got involved with New York City’s SIGGRAPH chapter while we were students at NYFA. It helped expose us to the city’s larger CG community, and we were able to bring a bit more NYFA to NYC CG.”

Some of Mark’s and Elize’s work, created while they were students at NYFA, can be seen here:

Mark Reynolds

Elize Ohira

Renowned Manager/Producer Ben Press Speaks at NYFA Los Angeles

Students were thrilled to hear renowned manager and producer Ben Press speak this past Monday at New York Film Academy Los Angeles’s School for Acting. Ben’s radiant energy spread through the packed room as he entertained and enlightened students with stories from the Hollywood agency world and solid career advice to those starting out in the industry. Manager/Producer Ben Press started as assistant to legendary ICM agent Ed Limato and his roster of stars: Richard Gere, Denzel Washington, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anthony Hopkins, Steve Martin, Nicolas Cage, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando among others. As Paradigm Talent Department Co-Head, Ben packaged America’s Next Top Model, produced/hosted by Tyra Banks and negotiated the $1.5 million talent holding deal for William Baldwin (one of the industry’s most lucrative). Ben now manages clients Elle Macpherson, Rick Yune, Jennifer Esposito, as well as Taylor Swift’s future feature film acting career.

Ben press never thought he’d work in entertainment. Off a whim and recommendation from a college friend, he landed an interview at ICM, one of the industry’s top agencies. The tradition in Hollywood agencies is to always start from the bottom. After nailing his interview with ICM, Ben did just that; his first job was literally working in the mailroom and pushing a cart. Being accepted into the agent trainee program at top agencies such as ICM, CAA and UTA, however, is a highly sought after position as mailroom workers are likely to be promoted within the company. Whereas the traditional route is to slowly climb the agency ladder, Ben took a different approach. Legendary ICM agent Ed Limato was who Ben wanted to work for and he didn’t want to wait in line to get that job. Ben convinced Mr. Limato’s current assistant to allow him to come into the office early and help him organize and plan for the day. This way Ben would know the ins and out of Ed Limato’s office and be prepared when his opportunity came. The way Ben Press’s opportunity did come is a twist of fate so far-fetched it’s hard to believe even within the context of Hollywood’s crazy world. Because of his determined nature, Ben had already made a name for himself at ICM in the short time he was there and landed an interview for the job of Ed Limato’s assistant when his former assistant was leaving. Ben was wary of his chances of getting the job, because he seemed to be the candidate with the least amount of experience. Soon after his interview, Ben came across a female agent trainee who had collapsed in the mailroom and wasn’t breathing. Luckily he had just learned CPR and immediately began performing it on her as he ordered the other trainee’s to call 911. Ben ended up saving the woman’s life. When Ed Limato got wind of the fact that Ben Press had saved someone’s life in the office he said, “I want THAT guy working for me!”

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