Page 97 – NYFA

New York Film Academy Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) Celebrates Pride Month

The New York Film Academy Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) campus had a lively Pride Month with six opportunities for engagement, including two socials, a trivia night, a film screening, a workshop, and a raffle. Many of the events were hosted by the LGBTQI+ club as well as Student Life.

Pride Month kicked off with a lunchtime social with doughnuts, a photo booth, and a music playlist with all LGBTQI+ artists curated by the LGBTQI+ club. Students, faculty, and staff all came together to meet each other and show their pride with custom photo booth props designed by LGBTQI+ club.

LGBTQI+ Club president Hakam Kharraz shared, “Everyone was happy and proud. I wanted people to socialize with others that they don’t know, and for them to be able to celebrate themselves with others that don’t identify as LGBTQIA+, and I think that was successful. The event promoted acceptance and safety, and was networking for people which is good for this industry.” A closing social was also held so that community members in both buildings, Riverside and Barham, can participate in Pride Month.

LGBTQI+ club also hosted a trivia night, where students competed for prizes donated by Hamburger Mary’s. The trivia questions ranged from LGBTQI+ history, to films and pop culture. “It was educational in a fun way. Everyone said they learned a lot, whether about Queer history or Queer representation in media, said a student.

The learning continued at the Why It Matters: Gender & Sexuality workshop led by Director of Student Life Missy Dominguez. Students, staff, and faculty came together during lunch to learn about the difference between gender and sexuality, transgender and gender non-conforming inclusion, pronouns, and all-gender restrooms. “It was one of, if not the most, informative, insightful, and organized NYFA presentations I’ve been to,” expressed NYFA faculty Terah Jackson. Due to its success and popularity, another workshop will be held August 1st in Barham.

Pride Month ended with a screening of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a film about a teen sent to gay conversion therapy. LGBTQI+ president Hakam Kharraz expressed, “It was very important to show a movie about such an important topic, because this topic is relevant all around the world.” After the film, students had a discussion both about the topic at hand, gay conversion therapy, and the technical filmmaking. “Cinematically it’s beautiful. The story is relevant,” expressed a student.

At the end of the screening, the Pride Raffle winners were announced. New York Film Academy held a Pride Raffle at all campuses where $1 raffle tickets could be purchased for a chance to win a special edition NYFA Pride shirt and bag. Each dollar is matched by New York Film Academy and all proceeds donated to GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network). As a result, the Los Angeles campus will be contributing a $254 donation to support LGBTQ youth and foster safe schools.

If you did not get to participate in Pride Month, Kharraz has a message: “If I could reach people who didn’t come, I’d say NYFA itself is a safe environment for everyone and our LGBTQI+ club is very inclusive of people both who identify as LGBT and who do not. We are all friends. We don’t judge. We’re our own community within a community.”

“If you are not out, you can always anonymously send a message to the club at [email protected] or request a meeting with the president. There is also Jackie ([email protected]) and Kathia ([email protected]), the therapists on campus, who have an LGBTQ support group every week to create a safe space for students to talk.”

LGBTQI+ Club can be reached at [email protected]. Staff and faculty interested in forming an LGBTQI+ faculty and staff affinity group can contact any member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming committee, including Susan Ashe, Christine Daniels, Missy Dominguez, Art Helterbran Jr., Prarthana Mohan, Jenni Powell, and Barbara Weintraub.

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New York Film Academy (NYFA) Photography Students Photograph Animals at East Valley Animal Shelter

Each semester a group of New York Film Academy (NYFA) Photography students spend a day photographing animals at East Valley Animal Shelter, one of Los Angeles’s many animal shelters.

Historically, the animals who are less likely to get adopted such as older dogs and bigger dogs have a higher chance of finding homes when they have photos with good lighting that help make them look friendly and cute!

NYFA Photography students work incredibly hard on producing the lighting on set to create iconic images of each animal. These images are then used for social media posts to get these cuties homes!

It is truly an amazing event that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming! This semester, NYFA Photography students were at East Valley Animal Shelter. Please check out their Instagram if you are interested in adopting or fostering a new furry friend!

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New York Film Academy Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) Kicks Off 2019 Summer Series of Student Directed Plays

The New York Film Academy-Los Angeles (NYFA-LA) Acting for Film department kicked off their Summer Series of Student Directed Plays with three amazing productions: Us & Them by David Campton, directed by Janey Nel (NYFA 1-Year Acting for Film) and mentored by instructor Mary Sala; In Love and Warcraft by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Elisa Nanty (NYFA alum) and mentored by Associate Chair of Acting, Anne Moore; and Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel, directed by Bita Arefnia (NYFA BFA Acting for Film) and mentored by instructor Cathy Giannone.

Us and Them is meaningful play that begins with two groups of wanderers looking for a place to settle. They agree to share and mark the line between their territories, then build a small wall. The wall is built higher and then still higher. Suspicion and mistrust grow to the point where the groups must inevitably explode in conflict. “I have learned so much about acting through this process,” says student director Janey Nel. “The message of the play was very important to me as I grew up in South Africa where racism is still very much an issue.”

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In Love and Warcraft follows Evie Malone—gamer girl, college senior, and confirmed virgin—who has it all figured out. She not only does she command a top-ranked guild in Warcraft with her online boyfriend but also makes a little cash on the side writing love letters for people who’ve screwed up their relationships. Love is like Warcraft, after all—it’s all about strategies, game plans, and not taking stupid risks. “Wanting to put up a cheerful play for people to just unwind and laugh still came with its challenges,” says student director and NYFA alum Elisa Nanty about her experience. “But what got the team and I through it was learning to trust in ourselves, each other, and the process.

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Dry Land is a play about unwanted pregnancy, female friendship, resiliency, and what happens in one high school locker room after everybody’s left. “I wanted to tell this story now because I believe it speaks to the time we’re living in,” says student director Bita Arefnia.

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NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY (NYFA) WELCOMES EMMY-WINNING ACTOR MATTHEW RHYS

New York Film Academy (NYFA) was honored to welcome Emmy-winning actor Matthew Rhys to our New York City campus for an insightful, passionate, and jovial Q&A session with NYFA students. The event was moderated by Amy Van Horne, actress and Creative Director of Acting for Film at NYFA-New York.

The Q&A followed the screening of a reel produced by NYFA featuring Rhys’ well-known and applauded work in the stage play, Look Back in Anger (with co-star and previous NYFA guest speaker Adam Driver); films The Edge of Love, Burnt, and Steven Spielberg’s The Post; and television shows Brothers and Sisters and The Americans.

Rhys won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his incredible work on The Americans, the FX series about undercover Soviet spies living in the 1980s Virginia suburbs. He was previously nominated twice for the role, as well as a third time for his work on HBO’s Girls. Additionally, he received two Golden Globe nominations as well as a plethora of other awards and nominations for both his work on The Americans and other projects.

The actor was more than happy to take multiple questions from students, both in the theater audience and from our South Beach campus, where the event was livestreamed.

Among other topics, Rhys discussed the grueling process of acting with an American accent (Rhys is native to Wales), and said that there are always two things that happen before he recites a line: first, he has to decide if the sound will come out right, and then he has to act the part as he speaks.

Rhys has also directed several television episodes as well as a documentary short. When asked about his role as a director, he responded, “When I started directing, someone said, ‘Look, everyone on a film and TV set is obsessed by their tree, and it’s only the directors and the actors that will usually have to work with the forest.”

“Everyone’s obsessed with their tree,” Rhys elaborated, “and when you direct, you have to manage the forest and you have the idea alone of what the forest looks like.”

When asked about his favorite director to work with, he said of course that it was the director of The Americans, but also elaborated on his experience working with Steven Spielberg on The Post. “It was like working with God,” Rhys told the audience, “and everyone in the room knew it.”

The actor was also asked which was his favorite character to play, and he replied that The Americans’ Philip Jennings is definitely his favorite, given the complexity of the show and the intricacies of the character. When asked about how he prepares emotionally to get into character—since undercover spy Philip Jennings has so many false identities—Rhys said that he always tries to identify parts of the characters that he shares a truth with to lend a sense of authenticity to each part.

One student asked for advice on auditioning. Rhys advised students not to try and show off in an effort to differentiate themselves. Now that he’s on the other side of the casting table as a producer on the new Perry Mason, he’s noted that in auditions that “those who serve the script more than they serve themselves” always stand out.

“Turn up on time, know your lines, be bold, and great gods will come to your aid,” Rhys told the captivated audience, sharing the advice once given to him by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

New York Film Academy thanks Emmy-winning actor Matthew Rhys for taking the time to share his advice and experiences with our New York and South Beach students.

These guests are not faculty and do not teach at NYFA, but they have appeared to share their stories and experience with our students. As guest speakers are scheduled based on their availability, NYFA cannot guarantee whether a guest speaker will visit during a student’s attendance or who that guest speaker may be. This guest speaker forum is not part of any NYFA curriculum and attendance at guest speaker events is purely voluntary. Students should be aware that guest speaker events do not represent a job opportunity nor are they intended to provide industry connections.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Graphic Design and Photography Students Team Up to Design Delicious Food Editorials

Students from both the New York Film Academy (NYFA) 1-year Graphic Design conservatory and the 1-year Photography conservatory teamed up to conceptualize, art direct, style, shoot, and design magazine editorials featuring fabulous foods.

Working in teams of three—one graphic designer, two photographers—students explored different conceptual ideas about food, from imperfect, perfect sandwiches to decadent doughnuts, to marvelous macarons. Teams sourced inspirational photography as a departure point, defined themes, selected colors, objects (food items and props), sketched editorial magazine layouts, and wrote editorial copy to guide them during the shoot.

During a day of shooting in the NYFA Photography studio, students worked diligently to realize their ideas and see them take shape. Multiple shots were taken for each still-life set up to ensure that layout, color, and composition all worked harmoniously.

Once the day of shooting was complete, the post-production work began. The teams reviewed and selected finals. Images were worked on in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and then taken into Adobe InDesign for preliminary design. Layouts were finalized and magazine covers were created.

All in all, the project was a wonderful collaboration and exactly mirrored professional practices, emphasizing the collaborative team aspect of graphic design and photography.

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NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY (NYFA) WELCOMES ‘VEEP’ AND ‘ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT’ STAR TONY HALE

On Wednesday June 26, New York Film Academy held a Q&A with film and television star Tony Hale, following a screening of HBO’s Veep—the award-winning comedy series that skewers American politics. The event was held at NYFA’s Los Angeles campus and moderated by NYFA-LA Acting for Film Associate Chair, Anne Moore.

Tony Hale is best-known for his work as Gary Walsh on HBO’s Veep (for which he won two Emmys) and as youngest sibling Buster Bluth on the critically-acclaimed Fox sitcom Arrested Development. Hale recently starred in Toy Story 4 as beloved new character, Forky.

Hale began the Q&A by discussing his start in acting. “I was not a kid who was into sports, and so my parents just didn’t know what to do with me,” he told a captivated audience of NYFA students. “And they found this children’s theatre, called Young Actors Theatre … I’m such an advocate for arts in schools just because—even if you don’t make it a career, like I did—certain personalities need that environment to thrive.” Moore and Hale then discussed how they met, at one of Hale’s first productions in New York City.

The actor went on to discuss how he got his start in the business. He acquired his first agent and did a lot of commercial work and theatre before the audition for Arrested Development in 2003. A casting director remembered him from a previous audition and called him in for Buster Bluth. “I don’t know what that’s saying [about me] … he’s just kind of a man-child,” Hale joked about the casting director thinking of him for Buster.

Moore asked Hale about how he approaches his characters. Hale remembered a film he was working on in the mid-2000s, and he really didn’t like the character. “The character I was playing—I didn’t like the guy, ‘cause he was kind of a player, he was manipulative … And I was just like, ugh, I know people like this … I just didn’t like this character.”

Someone advised him that “Tony, you have to realize that these characteristics are inside of you.” Hale said it was a wake-up call: “It’s so refreshing … the fact is I would be lying if I said I never had moments where I’ve been manipulative … you have to find those places in them that are inside of you.”

Tony Hale wanted to leave the students with a bit of advice from his most recent film, Pixar hit sequel Toy Story 4: “One thing that Forky said in Toy Story that I love [was] ‘It’s gonna be okay.’ Because it really is. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster—like life!—but just coming back to the space of like, it’s alright, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to unfold in time.”

New York Film Academy would like to thank Emmy-winning actor Tony Hale for speaking to our students and sharing his experiences and insight.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Welcomes Oscar-Winning Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to New York City Campus

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Cinematography students recently had the chance to meet and speak with one of the industry’s most renowned and well-known cinematographers, Janusz Kaminski. Kaminski previously spoke with NYFA students at our Burbank-based campus.

Kaminski originally hails from Poland and only had a handful of cinematography credits to his name when Steven Spielberg chose him to shoot his passion project, Schindler’s List. Kaminski’s beautiful, mostly black-and-white photography earned him his first Academy Award. To date, he has been nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar six times, winning again for Saving Private Ryan.

Since Schindler’s List, Kaminski has shot many of Spielberg’s films, including Amistad, Minority Report, Catch Me if You Can, Munich, and Ready Player One, and is currently working on the upcoming remake of West Side Story. Other notable credits include The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Jerry Maguire.

Last month, Kaminski spoke at length with NYFA Cinematography students at our New York campus in an intimate setting. He began by sitting down with little fanfare, just inches from the students, and telling them, “I’m here for you, what would you like to talk about?” followed by several questions both technical and related to the profession. All in all, the discussion was very congenial and lasted nearly three hours. The class was extremely friendly, and lasted almost three hours.

Kaminski stressed to the students the importance of experience and working as much as possible, even if certain projects are low budget and are not going to earn much recognition. He also shared some personal details, including that the work he is most proud of is the film Munich, a difficult film that explores complex themes. Much of what he covered included the thought process of a professional cinematographer, which remains consistent no matter how much success or accolades one acquires in their career.

Kaminski also talked to students about taking risks and working hard, especially in finding the proper visual language for each film. He also focused extensively on how important it is for students to own their images, to find a language and style that is appropriate for the film they are doing, while always remembering that working fast is absolutely fundamental as well as keeping an eye on the production aspects of the job.

“The meeting with Janusz Kaminski was an incredible experience for the students and for the instructors that have been able to participate,” says Piero Basso, NYFA-NY Chair of Cinematography.

Basso adds, “Apart from the obvious knowledge and life experiences he has shared with us, the key element of his visit was that even a superstar DP like him, on the verge of shooting again with Steven Spielberg, hasn’t lost his connection to real life and to feelings that are common to every DP before starting a new job.

“To hear him explaining that less than a week away from starting his new movie (nothing less than the remake of West Side Story) he is still thinking on how to approach it—and that he has a dose of healthy tension and worries about how it will turn out—is refreshing in a world where you are always wondering if your own choices are right, and often you don’t know it until later into the movie when turning back is virtually impossible.”

Since he was speaking with NYFA’s highly-trained cinematography students, he wasn’t afraid to get into the weeds and talk about very technical aspects of his artistic choices. Kaminski brought up the importance of filtration and the necessity of modifying the images while creating them to match the look and tone the filmmakers are exploring for their movie.

Kaminski also discussed how sometimes lighting is done very simply and almost without any intervention, like in several sections of Saving Private Ryan, but how in other situations it becomes very important to use artificial light even in daytime exteriors—for example in War Horse, which was often lit in daytime to be able to save the beauty of the light in the background of the characters.

New York Film Academy thanks legendary and Oscar-winning director of photography Janusz Kaminski for taking the time to share his expertise and experiences with our NYFA Cinematography students!

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Welcomes Emmy-Award Winning ‘Veep’ and ‘Arrested Development’ Star Tony Hale

New York Film Academy held a Q&A on June 26 with film and television star Tony Hale, following a screening of HBO’s Veep—the award-winning comedy series that skewers American politics. The event was moderated by NYFA-LA Acting for Film Associate Chair, Anne Moore, and held at NYFA’s Burbank-based campus.

Tony Hale is best-known for his work as youngest sibling Buster Bluth on the critically-acclaimed Fox sitcom Arrested Development, and as Gary Walsh on HBO’s Veep, which he won twoEmmys for. Recently, Hale starred in Toy Story 4 as Forky, a beloved new character.

Hale discussed his start in acting to begin the Q&A. “I was not a kid who was into sports, and so my parents just didn’t know what to do with me,” he told a captivated audience of NYFA students. “And they found this children’s theatre, called Young Actors Theatre … I’m such an advocate for arts in schools just because—even if you don’t make it a career, like I did—certain personalities need that environment to thrive.” Moore and Hale then discussed how they met, at one of Hale’s first productions in New York City.

Tony Hale wanted to leave the students with a bit of advice from his most recent film, Pixar hit sequel Toy Story 4: “One thing that Forky said in Toy Story that I love [was] ‘It’s gonna be okay.’ Because it really is. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster—like life!—but just coming back to the space of like, it’s alright, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to unfold in time.”

New York Film Academy would like to thank Emmy-winning actor Tony Hale for speaking to our students and sharing his experiences and insight.

New York Film Academy (NYFA) Filmmaking & Cinematography Alum Jean de Meuron Invited to Join Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)

Earlier this month the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invited 842 new members to join its rankings, including Oscar-nominated New York Film Academy (NYFA) Filmmaking & Cinematography alum Jean de Meuron.

de Meuron was previously nominated in 2017 for an Academy Award for the short film he executive-produced, La femme et le TGV. de Meuron hails from Switzerland and first enrolled at New York Film Academy in 2009, taking several workshops, including in Filmmaking. He followed his short-term studies with NYFA’s 1-year Conservatory in Cinematography. His latest project, sci-fi epic Megan (co-produced with Giuseppe Mercadante and Olcun Tan and directed by Greg Strasz), recently won a Telly Award for its proof-of-concept short. It’s no surprise the highly talented filmmaker has been tapped to join AMPAS.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the body of producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, and other filmmaking industry leaders. Every year, AMPAS members vote on the Academy Awards embodied by the iconic golden statuette, Oscar.

Over the past few years, due to a demand from the public to catch up to to the current cultural landscape, AMPAS has been inviting more women and people of color to diversify its body, which has been historically dominated by white men. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this year’s 842 invitees include members from 59 countries, half of whom are female and 29 percent of whom are people of color.

Invitees often include previous Oscar winners and nominees, as well as up-and-coming Hollywood stars. The 2019 list of invitees includes directors Jonathan M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and performers Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Sterling K. Brown, Gemma Chan, Tom Holland, Claire Foy, Will Poulter, Lady Gaga, and Adele.

“I am incredibly humbled and grateful to have been invited to join the Academy as a member of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch,” de Meuron tells NYFA. “It is such an honor and privilege to be a part of this organization of which many filmmakers, creatives, and executives belong to that have influenced as well as inspired me—and continue to do so.”

New York Film Academy is incredibly excited for Filmmaking & Cinematography alum Jean de Meuron and congratulates him on his invitation to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.