As Black History Month comes to a close, New York Film Academy celebrates the diversity and strength of its community. We had a chance to sit down with a few members of our faculty to hear their insights and inspirations in light of this important month. Joining the discussion are NYFA’s Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department Nancy Kwang Johnson; digital editing instructor and professional Hollywood editor Leander Sales; and film directing instructor and Chair of Community Outreach Mason Richards.

Here is what they had to say:

NYFA: Can you share a little about your career or journey in the entertainment industry, and what has driven your success? What makes you get up in the morning? What are you working for?

Leander Sales: I got into the industry because Spike Lee was determine to see more diversity in the film industry and I was determine to be part of this industry. The joys and duties of being a parent [are what get me up in the morning]. I’m generally a very optimistic person and I look forward to what the future may hold. [I’m working for] My kids and making more movies.

Mason Richards: The film industry is extremely rigorous and challenging because there is no real clear path to success, therefore it takes an extreme amount of tenacity and vigor to navigate. The industry is such that in order to be able to tell your own story, you have to work extremely hard. It’s also a great feeling when you get those opportunities to share your journey and tell the stories that matter most to you.

NYFA: Tell us about the first time you saw a character or story on the big screen that really resonated with you culturally and that you felt you could personally identify with. What was that moment like for you?

Leander Sales: Seeing “Cooley High” and getting a chance to meet the director, Michael Schultz.

Mason Richards: One of my favorite films of all time is “To Sir, With Love” directed by James Clavell — the film tells the story of an idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious high school students from the slums of London’s East End. One of the reasons I love this film is because it stars one of my favorite actors of all time, Sidney Poitier; and this film was the first time I saw someone on the big screen who was from my birth country, Guyana, South America. It was a great feeling then, and it’s always a great feeling when you see strong characters in leading roles that reflect your identity.

Nancy Kwang Johnson: I am Korean and African American.  My great grandmother on my father’s side is full-blooded Cherokee.  As a result, as a teenager, I would empathize and hold onto every word of Cher’s hit song, “Half Breed.”  

As far as languages go, I grew up in a household with two parents who were fluent in Korean.  As a result, my mother tongue is, and will always be Korean; it’s the only language that I can speak without an accent.  I teach in French and English, and I speak basic Albanian and Wolof.

Because of my mixed racial heritage, I always had two types of dolls when I was growing up – an African American doll and a Korean doll adorned in the national costume (hanbok).  As I did not have dolls that actually looked like me, I gravitated towards female role models on the silver screen – tv and film – who were also mixed like me.  

From the onset, I would gravitate towards my namesake, Nancy Kwan (of “The World of Susie Wong”) as she was my mother’s (Kwang’s) favorite actress and [she] had been on the set of “Susie Wong” during her pregnancy.  

As a child, I was a huge fan of the television show called “Zoom,” because one of the cast members was Puerto Rican, also named Nancy, and looked like me (for example, she wore her hair in two braids). As a teenager, I gravitated towards Irene Cara of the hit show, “Fame” (1980) and Tai Babilonia (the 1980s Olympics hopeful). Why? As a Korean and African-American female teenager, it was refreshing to see aspiring actresses and Olympic-calibre figure skaters break the boundaries of race and gender on the silver screen.

Throughout my college years at Vassar, I would have to say that the person who made the most impression on me would have to be Jennifer Beals of “Flashdance” (1983) for a number of reasons. Jennifer Beals, like myself, was bi-racial, had an upbringing in Chicago, and is also a fellow Ivy Leaguer. She attended Yale and I attended Cornell.  

In 2012, I was invited to the first White House Korean-American briefing.  On this momentous occasion, I would have to confess that of the 150 plus Korean-Americans in attendance I was one of two Korean-Americans who had an African-American parent.

The French have a saying, “…bien dans sa eau (to be comfortable within one’s skin).  With respect to images on and off of the silver screen coupled with the absence of images – that look like me – I am comfortable within my skin.

NYFA: Is there a particular film, piece of art, or Black artist that has had a profound impact on your life? Why?

Mason Richards: I’m inspired by the art of Jean Michel Basquiat, not only because of his use of color, form and medium, but also for his ability to tell his personal stories through art – this inspires me as a filmmaker. 

Leander Sales: James Baldwin’s books have been very important to me because while I lived abroad, I often found myself reading his book of essays “Nobody Knows My Name.” Why? His essays gave me deep insight into American and European racism.

NYFA: What stories would you like to see brought to the screen that are yet untold?

Leander Sales: There are many, but I would like to see more movies like “Hidden Figures,” “Malcolm X,” etc. I guess you would say historical which may be movies we may find on Netflix.

NYFA: How have you seen the industry shift or grow over time in terms of diversity in representation?

Leander Sales: Recently, things are getting very interesting after a few years of #OscarsSoWhite. We will see if this is temporary.

NYFA: What is your favorite moment from Black television history?

Leander Sales: I have to say my favorite moment was when I realized we, as a people, have a lot of work ahead of us. Why? We have so much to offer to this world. Our talents and genius has made this world a better place. Can you imagine America without African Americans?

NYFA: How does your culture, environment, and experience inspire your artwork?

Leander Sales: Many things have influence me, but visiting Africa six times really gave me a deeper understanding of who we are as a people and who I am as an individual.

Mason Richards: I like to tell stories that reflect the world we live in. Film is a beautiful medium to inspire, reveal, and share different views and perspectives of the world.

NYFA: Any words of wisdom for aspiring black artists and creators?

Leander Sales: Put in the work. Climb to the top and throw the rope back down.

Mason Richards:  It’s really important for any artist or filmmaker to tell their own personal truths; and although this can be intimidating and challenging at times, it’s an amazing feeling when you get to see your story, your personal truth, and your own narrative on the big screen.

NYFA: Is there anything we’ve missed that you’d like to speak on?

Nancy Kwang Johnson: Having lived abroad (namely, South Korea, France, Senegal, Canada, and Albania), I learned very quickly that the manner in which race is conceptualized in the U.S. differs greatly from its European, Asian, and African counterparts. As a result, I have become accustomed to the social construction of race, and know that in the U.S. people tend to fixate on the one-drop rule (if you have one drop of Black blood then you are black). For example, in the U.S., people tend to categorize me as Black albeit I self-identify as Korean and Black, or I will check the “other” box and list both Korean and Black.

On the other hand, all of the other countries that I have lived in (such as South Korea, France, Senegal, Canada, and Albania), I am deemed as the exotic “other” and racial mixing is more accepted. In South Korea, I have the same racial mixture as Hines Ward. In France, Parisians approach me and greet me in Polynesian. In Senegal, I am called “Madame Chinoise.” In Canada, I am classified as a Francophone and a First Nations member. And in Albania, I am dubbed the Francophone Ivy Leaguer with North Korean ancestry who is also biracial like President Obama.

New York Film Academy would like to thank Nancy Kwang Johnson, Leander Sales, and Mason Richards for taking the time to share a part of their stories with our community.

There’s nothing wrong with studying film all your life in America. After all, cities like Hollywood and New York boast some of the best film schools in the world. But if you’re looking to study abroad and see the world through a different kind of lens, here’s why we recommend NYFA’s Paris location in the City of Lights:

Discover A New Place

There’s something exciting about visiting the set of your favorite film. It’s the reason 2013 marked the 500,000th guest to travel all the way to Wellington, New Zealand, to see Hobbiton. Even if a place looks different in reality than in film, it’s interesting seeing how the filmmakers used the place to tell their stories.

Imagine walking through one of the most famous film locations of all time. The city of Paris is a sight to behold as you marvel in its historical beauty, fine art, and rich culture. Only by visiting yourself can you see why it’s more than a popular tourist location — it’s where movies have been shot since the dawn of filmmaking. You’ll have an opportunity to investigate and understand in new ways the choices of filmmakers who pioneered new styles and forms, including French New Wave.

As a filmmaker, you’ll no doubt gain new ideas and inspiration from a city known for its beauty and style.

Find Inspiration From of the Best Films of all Time

One thing you can expect to do as a filmmaking student in Paris is to watch a lot of films. Like a game developer or musician, you should be studying other people’s work to learn different styles and techniques you may want to know and master. The only thing better than watching excellent films is getting out there and putting your own directing skills to practice. At NYFA Paris, you’ll have the opportunity to do just that, through a hands-on education that encourages you to create your own original work.

Some of the best movies ever made were filmed in Paris. These include recent critical successes like Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amélie,” winner of multiple BAFTA Awards, César Awards, and Best Film at the European Film Awards. “The 400 Blows,” which is considered the best French film ever made, is a 1959 drama film that was also shot in Paris.

Whether you’re exploring the vibrant streets or shooting your own project, there’s something special about knowing you’re in a city where other filmmakers created their masterpieces.

Explore the Top French Film School

La Fémis, where NYFA Paris courses are held, is one of those schools every aspiring filmmaker should attend at least once in their lifetime. Established in 1943, the Paris-based film and television school and gone on to be ranked as one of the top international film institutions in the world. It was listed as third best by The Hollywood Reporter in 2014 and is part of a world-class federal research university named PSL Research University.

Previous alumni have also proven it’s one of the best places to discover your voice and master the art of filmmaking. Graduates have won everything from the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion, Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Palm, and Berlin International Film Festival’s Golden Bear. It is currently the most rewarded film school in the world and follows a curriculum that constantly puts students behind the camera.

Where better to learn and grow as a filmmaker than in the city responsible for some of cinema’s greatest evolutions?

Visit Where New Wave Was Born

In Paris, you’ll be where one of the most important movements in cinema’s history took place. To this day, techniques adopted by New Wave filmmakers continue influencing movies long after they were introduced. What started out in one city in the mid-1950s eventually spread throughout the globe.

A lot of the characteristics that defined New Wave cinema may not have emerged anywhere else. This is because France was in an economic crisis after World War II, and thus filmmakers had to approach their projects differently. New Wave films are recognized by their low budgets, on-location shots and sound, anti-authoritarian heroes, improvised dialogue, and unique Mise-en-shots and editing.

While studying in Paris, you’ll learn about the French New Wave from professors who grew up watching and idolizing these fantastic films.

Interested in studying filmmaking in Paris with NYFA? Learn more here.

All movies aim to grab the viewer right from the start and keep their attention for the next couple of hours, but great title sequences can be the secret weapon to help a filmmaker achieve that goal. Great title sequences help set the scene, give insight into the main character, or set up the emotional tone for the film. The title sequences below are just a handful of the innovative openings great designers have created for films in a variety of genres.

Saul Bass brought his graphic designer’s touch to the opening sequence of Otto Preminger’s “The Man with The Golden Arm” (1955) and helped change title sequences from a simple list of credits to another part of the storytelling. His philosophy was that films should engage the audience from the first frame and “create a climate for the story that was about to unfold.”

https://youtu.be/sS76whmt5Yc

“Catch Me if You Can” (2002) uses a fantastic animated sequence to visually sum up the film’s main character and theme. The bold color block animation by Oliver Kuntzel and Florence Deygas is a loving nod to the work of  Saul Bass, who designed sequences for Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick, and Martin Scorsese, among others.

The beautifully choreographed opening to “Raging Bull” (1980) features the lone figure of Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro) warming up in the ring as flashbulbs pierce the haze of cigar smoke. The viewer has a ringside view and the ropes of the boxing ring give us the sense that LaMotta is a caged animal and we are lucky to be on the opposite side of the ropes from him. Title designer Dan Perri came up with the idea of mashing the two words of the film’s title together on screen to emphasize LaMotta’s driven, angry character.

Iginio Larandi designed the title sequence for “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” (1966), using stills from the film, a Western-style font, high contrast colors, and an animated horse and rider galloping along to Ennio Morricone’s theme that conjures up the sounds of the Wild West.

Disney’s 1991 “Beauty and the Beast” uses a cleverly animated series of stained glass windows and a traditional narrator to explain the curse and open the storybook  world of magic, curses, and princes who need to find the meaning of love.

Hawley Pratt’s opening to Blake Edwards’ “Pink Panther” (1964) was so popular, the cartoon panther was used in theatrical shorts, comic books, and a cartoon series. Henry Mancini’s theme song became instantly tied to the Pink Panther character.

And of course, no discussion of title sequences would be complete without mentioning the iconic James Bond openings. From Maurice Binder and Trevor Bond’s sequence for “Dr. No” (1962) to “Spectre” (2015), the franchise has always combined striking graphics, visual effects, and music that set the tone for the film and immediately engages the audience.

Want to know more about graphic design? Check out NYFA’s article Five Famous Graphic Designers Who Changed the Industry Forever. To learn more about filmmaking, visit New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking School.

Production designers may not be as well-known outside the film industry as directors, writers, and producers, but aspiring filmmakers learn very quickly that movies can never go from idea to the big screen without a talented production designer. If you’re the creative type with sharp visual awareness and great design skills, the role of production designer might be perfect for you. To help you explore this option, here we’ll answer the first important question when considering entering the field: What exactly does a production designer do?

There On Day One

Although some members of the team might not get started until later in the project, the production designer is working on the project from the very beginning.

As the head of the art department, the production designer is in charge of making sure each shooting location is perfect, prepared, and on point with the vision of the film. Film is a language of visual storytelling, and so the visuals captured by the camera matter immensely. Your locations, sets, costumes, lights, etc. all work together to create a world on screen, and this world is a crucial part of telling your film’s story. Having an incredible script and cast of actors onboard won’t be enough if what the audience will be looking at doesn’t tell a cohesive story. That is why the production designer’s job starts during pre-production alongside the director and producer of the project: to take the writer’s work, the director’s vision, and the producer’s plan, and synthesizes them all into a compelling visual story.

Together, the pre-production team formulates ideas and plans for the visual context that will be used to tell a captivating story. This work includes deciding on colors, themes, compositions, and other visual elements that work best to evoke the emotions, themes, and actions of each scene and the project as a whole. With their strong knowledge of art and design, including color theory, lighting, and more, the production designer will have a significant influence on the final look of the movie — and, indeed, on how the audience experiences the story.

Doing the Homework

Once the desired look and feel of the movie has been decided, it is up to the production designer to make it happen. This process begins with research. Production designers help identify which places and assets will be needed to create the right atmosphere for each scene. Whether it’s a sci-fi adventure set in the year 3000 or a story about the conquest of England by Vikings a thousand years ago, the product designer makes sure every detail is considered when crafting a believable set.

Similarly, another big responsibility left in the hands of the product designer is the budget. They play a big hand in calculating the cost of materials and resources needed, including any CGI elements required for the movie. More often than not, the production designer is responsible for helping to steer a production around the common pitfall of a misallocated budget. Many film projects fail to bring a story to life in an enthralling way simply because money was spent unwisely, leaving certain departments with little to work with. Production designers must keep the whole film and the whole budget in mind at all times.

Making the Story Come Alive

After countless design sketches and discussions with art directors, the art team is finally ready to turn all those drawings and ideas into reality. Since the art department is usually the largest on any film set, the production designer must have good management skills to make sure everything is being made with the same creative vision. This includes working with set designers, illustrators, graphic artists, wardrobe supervisors, set decorators, propmasters, makeup artists, special effects supervisors, and more.

Like any creative project, things don’t always go as planned. A production designer is often called upon to come up with quick, effective solutions on set, all while making sure the whole team stays motivated, creative, and productive. The best product designers have enough patience to lead their team amidst script changes or unexpected issues so that each milestone is reached no matter what.

Is Production Designer The Role For You?

As you can see, product designers hold a position of unique and important responsibility within a film. As a production designer, you’ll be expected to be fully present and fully engaged from start to finish, working hard every day in order to make sure the movie looks as intended. Without the production designer’s organization, creativity, and knowledge, every area of the art department would have trouble staying focused and on the same page. And without a cohesive design, the look of a film may not be strong enough to tell its story.

If you’re confident in your artistic abilities and boast a great amount of imagination, then the career path of production design may be just right for you. Even though it’s a demanding and exhausting job, few gigs in the industry offer more creative expression, fulfillment, and control than that of product designer.

Ready to take the next step towards becoming a production designer? Learn more about filmmaking and film production through NYFA’s hands-on film programs.

In the second part of this series, we’re bringing you six more (one is a husband and wife team) industry insiders who are blazing trails in the field.

Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil

Mara Brock Akil and husband Salim are no strangers to television, with each respectively boasting a list of writing credits that include writing credits on ‘90s hit tv shows like “Soul Food,” “The Jamie Foxx Show,” and “Moesha.” This duo has proven to have a winning formula for Hollywood success, having created and written other longstanding hits like “Girlfriends” and “Being Mary Jane,” which stars Gabrielle Union. In fact, their formula is so potent, that the couple most recently inked a multi-year development deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Donald Glover

This multi-hyphenated artist (actor, writer, singer, songwriter, rapper, comedian) who also goes by the stage name Childish Gambino is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a degree in dramatic writing. He has taken the industry by storm.

Early in his career, Glover submitted a spec script for “The Simpsons” which garnered him an invitation to write for “30 Rock,” a gig he held onto for three years while simultaneously working in stand-up comedy, rap albums, and a vigorous touring schedule on top of cameos on “30 Rock.” Later, he secured a series regular role on “Community.”

2016 proved to be a big year for Glover. He was cast in“Spider Man: Homecoming,” and debuted his series “Atlanta,” which follows a Princeton University dropout trying to make a name for himself in the music industry. The show, which he created, stars in, writes, and executive produces, has already met rave reviews in its first season — and was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Music or Comedy TV Series.

Kenya Barris

Writer and producer Kenya Barris is no stranger to television. The creator of several shows including “America’s Next Top Model,” he also co-created and co-produced and “The Game.” His most recent series, “Black-ish,” chronicles a black family living in an upper-class and predominantly white neighborhood, and has received critical acclaim — as well as a Golden Globe win for lead actress Tracee Ellis Ross. Ross was the first black woman to win the award since 1983.

Mr. Barris’ work behind the scenes has been meant working up the ranks from staff writer on shows like “Soul Food,” “Are We There Yet,” and “Girlfriends,” to producing. Now, Barris has added director to his already impressive list of credits, having directed episodes of “Black-ish” just this past year.

Misha Green

Former staff writer for “Heroes” and “Sons of Anarchy” Misha Green, together with fellow “Heroes” writer Joe Pokasky, created the WGN hit “Underground.” This is a true-to-history thriller about a group of slaves planning to escape a Georgia plantation. The show, soon to be in its second season, and for which Green is also executive producer, boasts a score by R&B crooner John Legend, and has been hailed as a harrowing portrayal of plantation life and the journey to freedom for thousands of African-American enslaved people. 

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Screenwriter-turned-director Gina Blythewood has been contributing to great television and film since her days as a staff writer on the show “A Different World,” where she met her husband and sometime partner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, also a screenwriter. Her first film, 2000’s “Love and Basketball” starred Sanaa Lathan and was developed at Sundance Institute’s directing and writing lab. Soon to follow would be “The Secret Life of Bees,” based on the bestselling book by the same name, and “Beyond the Lights.”

In 2016, it was announced that Prince-Bythewood would direct an adaptation of frequent NY Times contributor and author, Roxane Gay’s “An Untamed State,” with whom she would also co-write the script.

Which industry trailblazers have made your list of inspiration during Black History Month? Let us know in the comments below!