The New York Film Academy‘s Photography School in Los Angeles was honored to host a guest lecture by renowned photographer, Robert Trachtenberg, last week. Robert talked students through his work, describing his shoots in detail from conception through execution. Students were encouraged to ask questions which Robert answered with humor and wit. He discussed the role of the publicist in celebrity shoots and how he works with actors from commissioned magazine shoots to off-the-cuff moments he’s captured.
Robert also described his transition to the moving image. His response to an art director who doubted his ability to shoot a commercial – “I have to tell a story in one frame so 30 seconds is a huge luxury for me!” Robert is the winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction for his latest production, the American Masters film, Mel Brooks: Make a Noise.
Robert Trachtenberg’s photographs have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone among other publications. Advertising clients include NBC, CBS, ABC, TNT, TBS, Disney, MGM and HBO. The work can be viewed at www.roberttrachtenberg.com.
-Bobbi Fabian, Chair of NYFA Photography LA
For more information on NYFA’s Photography Programs, visit here.
Congratulations to our two Emirati graduates, Ibrahim Al Khemeiri and Fatima Al Taei, who played the lead acting roles in three films were selected in the Dubai International Film Festival 2013.
Ibrahim Al Khemeiri studied his first year at the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi and moved to the L.A. campus for his second year to complete his Associate in Fine Art degree in Acting for Film. Ibrahim is playing one of two lead roles in the film, Sunset State, a film that was selected in the Dubai International Film Festival 2013.
Sunset State explores the fantasies, dreams and memories of two men: an American novelist and an Emirati college student. The nostalgic tale reveals that people are not creatures of logic, but rather emotion.
Fatima Al Taei graduated from the One Year Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi. She played the lead roles in two short films: Don’t Leave Me, directed by Khalid Al Mahmood, who received many awards on his films and 13:37, directed by Eisa Al Sabousi.
The New York Film Academy recently discovered a wonderful film festival, exclusively for our talented female students, called The Girls Impact the World Film Festival. The film festival and scholarship program is open to high school and undergraduate students to submit 3-5 minute short films and focuses on a variety of international women’s issues.
Winners will receive a monetary prize, film distribution channels via SIC, Connecther and Creative Visions networks, as well as an internship opportunity at Creative Visions in Los Angeles. An official screening and red carpet will take place at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA on February 22, 2014.
Not only that, confirmed judges include Ian Somerhalder, Christy Turlington Burns (founder of Every Mother Counts), Jeff Skoll (founder of Participant Media, responsible for films such as An Inconvenient Truth, Syriana, North Country, etc), Jean Oelwang (CEO of Virgin Unite), and Zainab Salbi (Founder of Women for Women International).
Submission deadline is December 31, 2013.
For more information and details about The Girls Impact the World Film Festival, visit HERE.
Two New York Film Academy graduates, Daniel Zagaevsky and Xiaolong Liu, teamed up and set out on a mission to film an ambitious project in Alaska. The short, Deep Water, was written and directed by Daniel Zagaevsky with Xiaolong on board as cinematographer. The film juxtaposes two completely different locations, New York City and the vast wilderness of Alaska.
“Deep Water was a big challenge; something that a lot of people thought would never happen,” said Daniel. “I had a chance to do something different for my film and I chose ‘The Last Frontier’ as a set for my story – Alaska”
Daniel contacted Xiaolong Liu three weeks before the first day of shooting Deep Water. He felt Liu was unafraid to stretch his creativity to make this film happen and that he had the right vision. Given the small crew size, a student budget, and the frigid cold environment, the two were in for quite a challenge.
“Xiaolong is a very talented Director of Photography – full of resources and ideas – a hard-worker. Through technique and skill, he was capable of capturing the best images for the story.”
The crew had to shoot in close quarters with an actual grizzly bear, on a fishing boat in the middle of rough seas, and with a crane in the middle of a glacier. Not exactly your typical student film set. Nevertheless, the crew triumphed through adversity to make this film a reality.
Xiaolong Liu was also nominated for Best Cinematography at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival and International Fashion Film Awards for his work on Anatomy of Gravity. Check it out!
Avedon: Women is an exhibition that spans six decades of Richard Avedon’s photography. This is the first solo exhibition of Avedon’s work in the Los Angeles area since 1976.
More than 100 silver gelatin photographs form the core of the exhibition. Ranging from oversized exhibition prints dating from the artist’s 1978 showing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, to more intimately scaled photographs that he printed and editioned throughout his lifetime. Approximately 300 contact prints, drawn from the Foundation’s extensive archive of sittings, reveal the tremendous range of subjects that Avedon photographed: musician Ella Fitzgerald; Avedon’s adored sister, Louise; and the young actress Elizabeth Taylor, among many. An additional room is devoted to his unprinted color work, with dozens of transparencies displayed in wall-mounted light boxes. Subjects range from 1958–59 advertisements featuring Carmen Dell’Orefice to supermodels Stephanie Seymour and Christy Turlington.
New York Film Academy students were excited to experience this rare opportunity to see some of Avedon’s original prints and to view iconic images from a master of the medium.
To view the updated Gender Inequality in Film infographic released in 2018, click the banner above.
In light of the record-breaking opening of the female-led action film Hunger Games: Catching Fire this past weekend, the New York Film Academy decided to take a closer look at women in film and what, if any, advancements women are making. After reviewing the data, it is clear that Hollywood remains stuck in its gender bias. Of course, it’s not all disparaging news and there are a number of female filmmakers, characters, and emerging talent challenging the status quo. In addition, in the independent sphere, women made up roughly half of the directors at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, yet still struggle when it comes to films receiving a wide release. By shedding light on gender inequality in film, we hope to start a discussion about what can be done to increase women’s exposure and power in big-budget films.
As the year comes to a close and many cultures celebrate their own unique holidays, we are reminded of the people and aspects of life we appreciate the most. In the United States, people celebrate this tradition with friends and family during Thanksgiving. Given this feeling of gratitude and thankfulness that us upon us, the New York Film Academy is opening up this week’s Instagram contest to the theme of “being thankful.”
To enter this week’s “Thankfulness” contest, follow us on Instagram and send us a photo of what you’re thankful the most to [email protected] by Friday 11/29 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!
We’d also like to congratulate last week’s winner, Kaira Karnad, who sent us this photo from India.
Acting students and True Blood fans were treated to an exclusive event at the New York Film Academy in Union Square. Stephen Moyer, who plays Bill Compton on HBO’s True Blood, introduced and screened an episode he directed entitled, Somebody That I Used to Know. Stephen was so excited to speak to the students, he grabbed the microphone before the screening to introduce himself and the episode. Incorporated into his introduction were his charm and sense and humor.
Stephen has recently been living in New York City as he prepares for his role of Captain Von Trapp on The Sound of Music, which will be a live 3-hour broadcast of the original 1959 Broadway production, executive produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan. He will star alongside Carrie Underwood, Laura Benanti, Audra McDonald and Christian Borle, which airs on NBC on December 5th.
During the Q&A with NYFA Acting Chair, Glynis Rigsby, Stephen recalled his hard work and dedication to his craft that led him to his current status in the business. He even broke down scenes for the audience to get a sense of his directing style in this specific episode on season 5. Through entertaining anecdotes and insightful industry knowledge, Stephen had the entire house engaged and entertained. It’s no wonder he’s an A-class talent on the screen.
Even after the event, Stephen took the time out to speak personally with several students, including signing autographs and taking photos with hardcore fans.
Michelle Best, who teaches acting classes at the New York Film Academy, will be appearing in the new Amazon original series Alpha House starring John Goodman. Michelle is playing the role of Constance. The series is Amazon’s first major attempt to break into the world of original streaming content, much like its competitors Hulu and Netflix. So far the reviews have been positive and a second season is looking very promising, especially considering it’s Amazon’s number one watched show.
“Writing and acting are the strengths of Alpha House, with Trudeau’s keen satiric sensibility brought to life through engaging performances from a veteran cast led by Goodman and Johnson.” – David Zurawick, Baltimore Sun
Be sure to look for Michelle toward the tail end of the first season and hopefully in a second season!
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