New York Film Academy Acting students recently had the rare opportunity of stepping onto one of the busiest sets in television, NCIS: Los Angeles as well as visiting their post production facilities on the Paramount Studios lot with Acting for Film Instructor, Melissa Sullivan.
Paramount set
Our gracious host, Eric Whitmyre, Producer and head of the Editorial Department, discussed the show’s processes for each episode from production to post-production. Students got a first hand look of the editorial facilities, meeting editor Ed Sailor and the assistant editor Eric Lucas, before touring the sound stages that include a massive two-story set piece of the main headquarters in the show.
Eric Olsen
Eric Christian Olsen, who plays ‘Detective Marty Deeks’ in the show, gave us a few minutes of his time and kind words about his life experiences as an actor.
Students were also greeted whole-heartedly by LL Cool J, who plays ‘Special Agent Sam Hanna.’
A big thanks to Eric Whitmyre and the NCIS: Los Angeles family for the visit and their time.
The tools that are used to make the 3D worlds of video games are largely the same as the tools used to make 3D effects in feature films. So from a production standpoint, the people making both games and movies are overlapping more and more.
Also, the aesthetics of both games and movies influence one another more than ever. For example, the camera placement in The Fast and Furious movies evoke racing games, and at the same time the cinematics in the racing game Gran Turismo 5 evoke racing movies.
The movie Sucker Punch looks like a modern video game and utilizes visual techniques from games throughout. This type of stylization was a design choice by the director, Zack Snyder, and his production designer, Rick Carter.
Another extreme example is the movie Crank. It borrows from the aesthetics of the Grand Theft Auto series throughout including multiple GTA-like sequences utilizing the same 3rd person camera perspective.
It goes without saying that film aesthetics are used in video games. Game makers want to make their stories as immersive as possible. In recent years, the processing power of PC and consoles (Xbox and PlayStation) allows game makers to use the same sophisticated cinematic techniques as filmmakers. Great examples of cinematic games are:
Grand Theft Auto 5
Skyrim
Batman: Arkham City
Bioshock: Infinite
Heavy Rain
The bottom line is: movies and games continue to influence one another and blend into a modern visual aesthetic.
If you’re interested in learning more about New York Film Academy‘s Game Design Program, click HERE.
As the drummer of the legendary New York punk rock group, The Ramones, Richie Ramone channels his experiences to perform in the short film/music video, Criminal, directed by Steven Hanft.
“Ramone came to me with a limited video budget and asked if I could make him a music video that was a full on psycho thriller with a plot,” said Steven Hanft. “Something with suspense, like a Hitchcock TV show, or like Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers. I said yeah, I could try. I penned the script going with the idea of a short suspense film about two desperate bank robbers hiding out on the outskirts of Los Angeles.”
Through the help of New York Film AcademyActing for Film Instructor, Melissa Sullivan, Steven was able to cast two of her student actors, Bonnie Lawrence and Nikita Tserev, to play the young outlaw lead parts in the short.
The video is slated to premiere on Billboard.com in early January 2014 and will coincide with the release of Richie Ramone’s single Criminal.
Here is a festival we came across that is a wonderful opportunity for New York Film Academy documentary students. Established by Jeff Ross in 2001, the San Francisco DocFest is an annual two week-long event that brings all aspects of real life to the big screen and is entirely devoted to documentary cinema. Last year’s SF Indiefest events brought in over 21,000 film and event goers. The 2014 festival will run from June 15-19th.
“Docfest offers a zippy blend of politics, music, social issues and youth-oriented subcultures. The good news is that DocFest promotes documentaries as a vibrant, irreverent form of entertainment to a younger demographic, blasting the notion of educational films to smithereens. There’s no room for anything approximating — watch it, I’m about to blaspheme – the obsessively measured and utterly somnambulant musings of Ken Burns.”– Michael Fox, KQED
The SF DocFest is now accepting submissions — Regular Deadline is March 15th.
Glavpitching is the first all-Russian screenwriting contest that was initiated by the major Russian Film production company Glavkino and the New York Film Academy in the Autumn of 2013. The contest is a platform where novice writers and producers can meet key players in the Russian film industry to pitch their projects, or sell the story or launch the project into production.
1,930 authors from all over Russia and CIS countries submitted more than 2,500 scripts for assessment.
The jury consisted of leading television and film professionals: Fyodor Bondarchuk (Art Pictures Studio, Glavkino), Roman Borisevich (Koktebel Film Company), Michael Galustjan (Fresh Film), Sergey Selyanov (STV Film Company), Igor Tolstunov (Film Profit), Ilya Bachurin (Glavkino) and CEO of TV Channel One Konstantin Ernst.
Final Event and Award Ceremony took place at Glavkino soundstage on November 27th, 2013.
The absolute winner of GLAVPITCHING is Alexander Yaropolsky, 16 year-old Journalism student of Moscow State University. He pitched a script of the feature thriller “Virus” about three teenagers who shoot violent viral videos for YouTube, and even though their videos have the fantastic popularity and thousands of hits, they inevitably lose something much more important – humanity.
Alexander won the main award of the contest: the certificate for the services of the Glavkino in equivalent of 1,000,000 Rubles, Special prize from ROSKINO: Trip to the Cannes Film Festival and participation in the training program Producers Workshop and Bondarchuk’s Grant from NYFA for a 2-week Screenwriting Workshop in Moscow in Spring 2014.
Next GLAVPITCHING contest will take place in the Autumn 2014.
If you’re interested in enrolling at New York Film Academy in Moscow, Russia, click HERE for more information.
In their second year of study, students in New York Film Academy’s MFA Screenwriting program choose to write either a feature film or a television pilot for their thesis project. While every student hopes to launch their career with a great writing sample, recent graduate Angela Ruhinda (Jan 2011 Screenwriting) took it one step further. Last week, Angela’s thesis pilot, Iman & Andy, sold to ABC with Whoopi Goldberg and Ben Silverman attached as producers.
Angela Ruhinda
The sitcom is about an interracial couple who are forced to team up on a relationship advice vlog, with their whole office and millions of viewers following their relationship.
NYFA Associate Screenwriting Chair, Adam Moore caught up with Angela, who is back home in her native Tanzania at the moment, to ask her about the experience.
Where did the idea for ‘Iman & Andy’ come from?
Iman & Andy was an idea I came up with during my second and final year at NYFA. I chose the TV option for my thesis because I’ve always wanted to create my own sitcom. I love romantic comedies but it’s not very often that you see a really good one on television anymore. I wanted a really fun couple that people could relate to. I was a big fan of the show ‘Dharma & Greg’ and love the Yin and Yang dynamic of their relationship. I wanted to update the concept by making them inter-racial and involving social media. The main statement I want to make is that online dating in the social media age is awkward, crazy and stressful no matter what color you are.
How did the script get from your thesis workshop to Electus?
I entered the Storyboard TV screenwriting contest in October 2012 and became a finalist by January 2013. I lost the competition by just a few votes but Amanda Krentzman, one of the judges on the panel who happens to work at Electus Productions, loved my script so much she contacted me after the contest was over and expressed interest in selling it to a major network.
Did the script change from your thesis draft to the one that eventually sold?
I sat down with Electus…and I just talked to them about season arcs and characters. They already understood the concept. Pitch workshop [part of Business of Screenwriting 3, a second-year screenwriting course taught by Adam Moore] did help me with my nerves in the room. I was able to speak clearly about my ideas and charm the crap out of them. Electus gave me a few notes on characters and one or two scenes before we decided to send out the script to networks. Thankfully, I only did two re-writes and ABC liked the concept and script enough to buy it as soon as they read it.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to current students?
Don’t knock screenwriting competitions! They can change your life and kickstart your career!
How excited are you right now?
They haven’t created a word yet that describes how I’m feeling!
Well, there is a word for how we at NYFA are feeling – PROUD. Speaking about their former student, Thesis Advisor Jerry Shandy and Thesis Instructor Eric Nelson had this to say:
We’re proud of Angela because she worked really hard on this pilot in the Thesis Workshop class. With her workshop mates’ support, she continued to develop her idea, writing and rewriting until it was singing. That’s what we strive to do in screenwriting workshop classes here at NYFA: take a good idea and refine it until it’s a piece of material the writer is proud to take out into the world.
Students (from L to R) Chris Tandoc (Jan 2013 2YR), Liam Hayes (Jan 2013 2YR), Patrick Owens (Jan 2013 2YR), Joseph Bornilla (Jan 2013 MFA), Walla Jarallah (Sep 2013 MFA) and Sharman Neilson (Sep 2013 1YR) were on hand as event photographers last Thursday at the 4th Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in downtown Burbank.
The annual event is organized by the Burbank YMCA and New York Film Academy photography students volunteered their time to record the event with funds raised making it possible for area families to join the Y. There was a record turn out for the event.
The Broadcast Journalism program at New York Film Academy attracts students from across the United States and around the world. Some are practicing journalists in their home countries, others recent college graduates looking for the digital production skills necessary to stand out in a competitive job market.
But some students come to NYFA in preparation for a total career change. One of those students was Dr. Nicole Cross, a practicing psychologist from Texas. Having gained initial media experience as a guest and host on programs in her hometown of Houston, Nicole decided the time was right to change careers. Her goal was to become nothing less than an outstanding digital journalist.
NYFA’s 8-Week Broadcast Journalism program offered exactly the kind of intensive training Nicole was looking for. Our “hands-on” emphasis gave her a chance to first learn, and then practice skills essential for success.
At first her news stories were a bit rough, as was her on-camera reporting. Still, that’s to be expected of someone just starting out. Over the following weeks, we gave her guidance and support. Eventually she became not only a proficient reporter, but was comfortable both shooting and editing her own stories.
Nicole used world famous New York City landmarks as backdrops for her stand-ups. As a result, her stories looked like they were shot for a major market newscast. Times Square, the United Nations, Central Park, Manhattan’s fashionable Soho district… They are all included on her resume reel. She even took a day trip to Washington, DC where she assembled with other news crews to cover President Barack Obama’s Veteran’s Day address at Arlington National Cemetery.
Nicole’s determination, mixed with the NYFA Broadcast Journalism curriculum, has given her a shot at success as a digital journalist. One veteran network news producer looked at her reel and concluded it could immediately get her a job in a small to medium TV market.
We are proud to help our students acquire and sharpen the skills that will help them reach their career goals. Whether those goals encompass hard news, sports, entertainment or fashion, the abilities they learn at NYFA will make them and their work distinctive.
-Bill Einreinhofer, Chair of Broadcast Journalism
For more information on NYFA’s Broadcast Journalism Programs, visit here.
The month of December brings about the holiday season for many cultures around the world and gives us a chance to reflect on 2013. For the rest of the month, the New York Film Academy wants to see how you celebrate this holiday season with friends and family. Whether it’s around the fireplace or congested in a massive Times Square crowd, we want to see!
To enter this month’s “Holiday” contest, follow us on Instagram and add #NYFAHoliday to your photo or send to [email protected] by Tuesday 12/31 at 12:00pm EST.
The winner will be mailed a NYFA T-Shirt and have his or her photo posted on NYFA Instagram and Facebook!
Also, congratulations to last week’s winner, DongBo, who sent us this incredible photo below from Beijing, China.
photo by DongBo
Manage Cookie Consent
This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website, you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
