Page 338 – NYFA

Win a 4 Week Musical Theatre Scholarship to NYFA!

Do you believe you have what it takes to enter the competitive, but rewarding career of Musical Theatre? The New York Film Academy School of Musical Theatre, consisting of Broadway professional instructors, is inviting high school students from around the world to participate in a unique competition to Win a 4-Week Musical Theatre Scholarship at our Battery Park, New York City location in Summer 2014! Just like performing on the center stage, you should not be shy in this contest.

TO ENTER: Interested students must prepare a 60-90 second monologue from a published contemporary American play or screenplay and one short musical theatre song.

Participants must post their monologue and song on NYFA Musical Theatre Facebook Page by Friday, January 31st

When submitting your performance piece, please include your full name, phone number and name of the high school you are currently attending.
To be eligible, entrants are required to be 14-17 years of age as of June 29, 2014.
Must be proficient in English.
Winners Announcement: by March 3rd, 2014
Designated winners will be asked to provide proof of age before the dispensation of prizes.

Please address any questions regarding the competition to Marissa Lieberman at [email protected] or call +1 (212) 674-4300.

We look forward to viewing performances from high school talents from all around the world. Break a leg!

PLEASE NOTE: Travel and housing expenses are not included. Dorm facilities are available. Our NYC housing coordinator is available to help students find safe and convenient accommodations and flights to New York City.

What Software Does NYFA’s Animation School Teach?

robert appleton — Animation Chair Robert Appleton

The New York Film Academy is bringing its hands-on intensive Animation School to the brand new Battery Park campus. Headed up by Chair Robert Appleton, NYFA’s Animation School is one of the premier facilities to learn the art of 3D Animation.

The curriculum provides lessons which incorporate widely used, industry-standard software. During the first semester, the primary program used is Autodesk Maya which focuses on 3D modeling and animation. Although, students also work with Adobe Photoshop and After Effects.

In the second semester, students begin using Pixologic’s ZBrush for high-poly (extremely detailed) modeling. Working with ZBrush is like working with digital clay, and is often very intuitive for fine artists. Students also learn how to composite using The Foundry’s Nuke industry standard software. Compositing is “putting the pieces together” for a shot. This includes working with green screen footage so live actors can be relocated to CG environments, and in our case culminate in the student integrating a CG character into live action footage. Something we take for granted these days on the big screen. Furthermore, this character will be animated using motion capture, so the students even get a chance to go to a Mo-cap studio and hop around on a stage, getting in touch with their inner actor.

In addition, the animation program introduces students to scripting— programming specialized for use with CG — using the languages MEL script (a proprietary Maya scripting language) and Python, which is widely used for all sorts of applications.

NYFA’s classroom computers are fully loaded with the software needed; however, students can frequently benefit from educational discounts that can be found for many programs when working outside of the school. In fact, Autodesk makes most of its programs available in educational, yet fully-functional versions free of cost. After completion of the course, the student will graduate quite the software polyglot and be well prepared for the professional world of animation!

Hollywood Stunt-Coordinator and AD Discusses His Craft at NYFA

Last week, the New York Film Academy welcomed seasoned Hollywood stunt-coordinator and Assistant Director, Andy Armstrong. The night began with a screening of Andy’s reel, which included clips of epic action scenes from Season of the Witch, The Amazing Spiderman, Thor, The Green Hornet, the remake of Planet of the Apes, Galaxy Quest, Stargate, and Hoffa to name just a few.

Andy began his film career in 1972, in England and France, as a vehicle stunt performer. Andy’s time was primarily focused on vehicles stunts. In 1973, Andy decided to make use of his organizational skills and become an assistant film director. This proved extremely successful and Andy enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of third, second and eventually first AD to become one of the world’s most highly paid AD’s. This work took him all over the world. Specializing particularly in very large international productions that involved complex, dangerous and logistically difficult stunts and action sequences. From 1973 to 1987, Andy worked as an Assistant Director on more than 70 International Movies. As First Assistant Director, Andy has coordinated and directed some of the largest action sequences ever achieved on many international productions. Andy even directed, wrote and produced his own TV movie, Moonshine Highway (1996).

As Andy spoke to the students, what quickly became apparent was how incredibly diverse his stunt-coordinating career has been. In Season of the Witch he replicated large-scale battles from the Crusades using only thirty stunt men and CGI techniques. In The Green Hornet he supervised the building of stunt vehicles that would make any car enthusiast’s jaw drop. In The Amazing Spiderman he designed unprecedented aerial stunts, including intricate cable systems strung over New York City streets. One would assume that different stunt coordinators, each with their own specialty, would have been hired to execute such assorted undertakings. However, Andy has proven to be quite the Jack-of-all-trades in the stunt world.

What was also impressive was the degree of creative input Andy has had with acclaimed directors. During the making of Hoffa, Andy worked closely with director Danny DeVito to design the Teamster riot scenes. They studied the behavior of individuals in a riot and replicated these historic uprisings with twelve hundred extras on set. Andy noted that someone is more likely to sneak up behind you and hit you over the head with a bottle, then they are to duke it out with you face-to-face in a riot. It was this attention to detail that made the teamster riot scenes in Hoffa feel so real.

Many of the students in attendance that night were actors interested in stunts. Andy’s advice to these students was to become an apprentice to a stunt man/woman or coordinator as soon as possible. He said stunt work is one of those old-fashioned professions for which there is no substitute for real world experience.

With an action-packed career covering five decades, Andy Armstrong is the definition of a stunt coordinator with real world experience. The kinds of stunts he can create on screen seem to only be limited by his imagination. We can’t wait to see what Andy Armstrong thinks up next.

Understanding the World through Film: Tiburon International Film Festival

Tiburon International Film Festival is a platform for independent filmmakers from around the world, which certainly fits the mold of New York Film Academy’s student body. For students and alumni interested, the 13th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (TIFF) will be held April 2014 in Tiburon, California and will showcase independent features and short films from around the world.

Submissions are open to all genres: Fiction, documentary, short, animation, experimental, student, children, sports, music video…..from any nation in the world.

TIFF has screened over 2000 independent films from more than 100 countries since its inception.

The festival has also honored and hosted many great filmmakers such as: Oscar winning director and cinematographer Haskell Wexler [Medium Cool], George Lucas [Star Wars], Blake Edwards [Pink Panthers], Santiago Alvarez [Hanoi Martes 13], John Frankenheimer [Manchurian Candidate],George Stevens [Shane], Malcolm McDowell [A Clockwork Orange], Saul Zaentz [One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest], Mark Rydell [On Golden Pond], Irving Saraf [The Sermons of Sister Jane], Robert Snyder [Pablo Casals: A Cry for Peace], Paul Mazursky [Down & Out in Beverly Hills], Bob Rafelson [Five Easy Pieces], Brad Bird [Toy Story], Luchino Visconti [Death in Venice], Hal Hickel [Pirates of the Caribbean] among many others.

Golden Reel Awards:

The films submitted to the Tiburon International Film Festival are eligible to win the “Golden Reel Award” in several categories: Best Fiction, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Short, Best Animation, Best Children’s Film, Best Student Film, Best Music Video, Best Sport Film. The winners of all categories will be announced during a ceremony at the end of the Festival.

Entry Information:
Entry form and eligibility guidelines are available by clicking here and filling out the necessary information.

The Early Bird Deadline on December 1, 2013 is fast approaching while the final deadline falls on January 15, 2014.

Hidden Film Festivals

The summer seems to be the time of year that film festivals are in full swing around the world. This goes for the ambitious Hidden Film Festivals as well. This unique series of festivals is commonly referred to in the plural sense due to the intense travel schedule it adheres to in the heart of summer.

The festival is coming off of a sold-out debut year in 2013, which included 4 countries, 2 continents, and hundreds of attendees over the course of only 4 weeks in the month of July. The cities of Dublin, London, Paris, and Toronto had the pleasure of hosting the event who differentiates itself to many other festivals by announcing the film line-up..well..never. The platform not only keeps the audience in the dark about the films that they are about to watch, but creates an environment that showcases their thoughts on each film.

Going into its second year, the call for submissions has already started. Submissions can fall into any of these expansive film categories:

Features
Documentaries
Music Videos
Student Films
Shorts
Experimental films
Unproduced Screenplays

They are looking for never before screened gems that can create buzz in an environment that does not invite industry press. The philosophy at the HFF is to encourage attendees to write, tweet, blog, and post online about the films that have yet to be seen by press, thus stripping them of their eligibility to premiere at the more exclusive events.

Many festivals are quickly realizing the power of social media to not only help promote their own festival, but the talent that are on display. The HFF takes this notion a bit further with instilling platforms that maximize exposure by putting the audience on the digital stage. Flipping the spotlight creates a healthy launching pad for these amateur filmmakers. If you are planning on being in one of these cultural hubs next summer, we recommend seeking out the Hidden Film Festival and finding an undiscovered gem.

Mad Men’s Harry Hamlin Teaches NYFA Students the Power of ‘No’

One of the shows that put AMC on the map was Mad Men. The 1960’s period piece captures the life of a prestigious ad agency and its mysteriously talented leading man, Don Draper. Coming aboard the popular drama this past season as ‘Jim Cutler,’ was venerable actor, Harry Hamlin. Last week, Harry was a special guest to an audience of New York Film Academy students. Many acting students were thrilled to greet Hamlin after a screening of an extremely entertaining episode of Mad Men, starring the actor. Hamlin was originally up for a bit part as a swinger who attempts to seduce Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) and his wife. He didn’t get the role, but Harry didn’t exactly want to play a swinger anyway. Three months later, they offered him a part that was supposed to be only one day of work, but ended up being a reoccurring character on the show this past season.

Harry originally took up acting through a series of rather bizarre circumstances. Originally, he set out to study architecture, but he was late for registration and enrolled in acting school (imagining that he would enroll in classes at the architecture school next quarter). One of the requirements for the acting school was that he audition for a play. He ended up landing his first role, and was cast afterwards in every play that performed at Berkley. Needless to say, architecture school was no longer on the forefront of his mind.

Harry went on to finish his bachelor’s degree at Yale. At the time, Yale did not allow an exclusive degree in acting, so he had to double major in psychology.

After Yale, he was offered a scholarship to ACT (the American Conservatory Theater) in San Francisco. His parents were so against him attending the program that Harry’s father had removed the timing mechanism from his car so that it wouldn’t run. That didn’t stop him. Harry intentionally bounced a check to fly to ACT and register.

He received an MFA at ACT. He applied for a Fulbright scholarship and got it. A casting director at Warner Bros., who saw him preform in a play in San Francisco called Equus, asked him to come into the studio for a meeting. Harry had no desire to do film; he considered himself a theater actor. He reluctantly agreed to see her and she immediately offered him a part in a television mini-series. Harry turned down the role, because he wanted to continue studying with his Fulbright scholarship. The studio was amazed that Harry turned down his first job offer, much less the starring role in a big television series! That stirred everyone up and only increased interest in him. The studio kept offering him bigger parts and more money, and he kept saying NO. “The power of ‘no’ caused Warner Bros. to stand up and say, ‘who is this guy?’” said Hamlin. “They ended up offering me a huge three picture deal – the same deal that Clint Eastwood had been given – it was called the ‘Clint Deal.’”

On the day Hamlin was supposed to sign the contract, he told Robert Shapiro, the president of Warner Bros. at the time, that he wanted it to be written into his contract that he would have some say in the movies that he does. They wouldn’t give him that degree of freedom, so he didn’t sign the contract. Warner Bros. was stunned. Harry knew it was the right decision for him at the time, because he knew the movies that they had in mind for him and he didn’t like them.

At the very same time Warner Bros. was talking to Harry about signing this contract, MGM wanted him to do Clash of the Titans, which he ended up doing. Obviously he wouldn’t have been able to star in it if he had taken the Warner Bros. deal.

Afterwards, 20th Century Fox approached him to star in Making Love, which was the very first studio picture involving a gay love story. Harry took the role because he loved the script and felt it would have a great social impact. While it was a great artistic decision, it was a terrible career move. After playing a gay character, nobody wanted to cast him. Harry didn’t work for the next two years.

Finally, 20th Century Fox came to Harry with the pilot script for L.A. Law. The script sat on Harry’s coffee table for a month, because he didn’t think he was interested in TV. His friend convinced him to read it, because it was the “hottest script in town.” Harry read the pilot, and to this day it is the best thing he has read. He worked on the show for the next five years.

On the whole, it was refreshing to hear how an actor can stay true to his artistic integrity and still find a path to success in an extremely cutthroat business. The New York Film Academy truly enjoyed Hamlin’s story and advice, and wish to thank him for joining us!

Hamlin and Tova — Producer Tova Laiter with Harry Hamlin

Kristy Cates in London

Our very own Kristy Cates who is the Director of Student Outreach and the Head of Voice for the Musical Theatre Programs, traveled to London to present the workshop “Broadway Musical Theatre Workshop.” On Saturday, October 19^th she presented her exciting workshop where she coached talented and highly motivated participants.

This is part of our ongoing initiative to reach out to and find those special talents who we know will thrive under our extraordinary training. We look forward to her return and hearing about her workshop and about the fine talent she auditioned.

Most recently, Kristy was the featured soloist with the Oklahoma symphony, singing in front of approximately 20,000 people! Prior to that she created the role of Mary Hawkins in the world premier of Treasure Island at the Arkansas Rep Theatre. In addition to her popular classes at the New York Film Academy, she maintains her own voice studio and is a successful voice over artist.

-Mark Olsen

NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY EXPANDS TO SOUTH BEACH, FLORIDA

The New York Film Academy is proud to announce its new, exciting location in South Beach, Florida. The 3,500 square feet campus, located at 420 Lincoln Road, is located in the heart of the colorful city known for its glamour and culture.

To kick off the opening of the new location, NYFA will be holding an open house on Saturday, November 2nd from 12:00-2:00pm. Those interested in applying for workshops in Filmmaking, Photography, and Acting, at the Miami location, are encouraged to attend. The first classes will begin this upcoming January, 2014.

Miami has recently become a hub for the entertainment industry, partially given to the fact that the The Miami-Dade Office of Film, Print and Television encourages local productions and supplies the filmmakers with no-cost location scouting and permits. These incentives are a major plus for NYFA students and a key factor for NYFA’s expansion to Miami. Film and TV productions such as Magic City, Casino Royale, and Pain & Gain were shot in Miami, as well as a number of television commercials and music videos. Not only that, there is a popular film festival held every year called the Miami International Film Festival.

The Academy is also known for its diverse population of students from all over the globe. “We hope to attract not only students from the United States, but also international students from Europe, South America and elsewhere,” said executive vice president, Jeremy Snepar. “South Beach is a very attractive location. It’s very international, and we think these students will be interested in taking our classes.”

Miami is often nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America,” given its population of Latin Americans coming from regions like Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico. The city has also played host to the Latin Grammy Awards Show and is home to a number of Spanish productions, like Las dos caras de Ana (FV Productions), Mega Street Packages (Spanish Broadcasting System), Escandalo TV de Ano Nuevo (Telefutura Network) and numerous Telemundo programs.

In addition, NYFA frequently invites guest speakers from the entertainment industry to speak to students, like Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard, who happens to be a Miami native. The goal is to continue this model and invite local industry leaders to speak at the new Miami location.

“We’re very excited to be in Miami,” said Mr. Snepar. “Our goal is to come in and offer a very high-quality education. We focus on hands-on learning. Our students get cameras in their hands the very first week.”

The New York Film Academy looks forward to working with a new crop of talent and encourages those interested in honing their creative crafts in the culturally rich city to drop by and see exactly what NYFA has to offer.

Abe Altman: Accountant to the Stars

As Abe Altman greeted a packed house at the New York Film Academy’s Union Square screening room, he humbly admitted, “I’m an accountant, and usually the conversation ends there.” While the ice breaker may not work in most social settings, Abe assured the audience that his profession was much more exciting than it sounds. Abe was right.

Having started out as a typical accountant, making a decent salary and supporting a family, Abe yearned for more in life. After several years of establishing himself as a reputable accountant at a standard firm, he thought it was time to branch out into something more exciting. Abe ended up landing a job with an accounting company that focused on entertainment clients. This provided a needed fulfillment, and Abe never looked back.

After several years of working with clients from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and even Tom Cruise, Abe started his own firm. Now his company, “Altman, Greenfield, and Selvaggi,” is one of the most prominent entertainment accounting firms in New York City, with a branch in Los Angeles. His roster of clients include major talents like Sarah Jessica Parker, John Goodman, John Turturro, and many more. Abe understands the struggles of an actor and says, “As long as you’re an actor, I’ll take you on as a client.” Having witnessed firsthand the blossoming careers of many A-list actors, Abe understands the value of a struggling actor who is genuinely motivated.

A rather interesting story that Abe shared with us, was when he offered his support for John Turturro, who finally raised funds to film a personal project called Mac. Abe was so excited for John, he was willing to help out on set in any fashion. He told John he would leave work at 3:00PM everyday, even if it meant serving coffee for his crew. A few weeks later, John reached out to Abe, only it wasn’t to serve coffee. Turturro felt Abe could play a small part in his film as a hardware store owner. Considering Abe was a business owner, John felt he was the only one who could truly grasp the role. And so Abe was cast in his first film. It didn’t stop there, however. Abe was recently cast as a rabbi in John Turturro’s upcoming film, Fading Gigolo, which stars Woody Allen, Liev Schreiber, and Sofia Vergara. Indeed his world of accounting was much more thrilling than the norm.

Abe was a gracious host with an abundance of insightful “Hollywood business” knowledge. His advice for actors, and any person pursuing a career for that matter, was to “Keep moving forward and keep plugging away.” Abe is a true believer in the notion that if you know what you want to do in life, you can achieve that goal through patience and persistence.