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 directors of photography, Janusz Kaminski.

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 filmed many of Spielberg’s films, including Catch Me if You Can, Munich, Amistad, Minority Report, and Ready Player One, and is currently working on the upcoming remake of West Side Story. Other notable credits include Jerry Maguire and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Kaminski previously spoke with NYFA students at our Burbank-based campus.

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.

Much of what he covered included the thought process of a professional director of photography, which remains consistent no matter how much success or accolades one acquires in their career.

“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.”

Kaminski also talked to students about taking risks and working hard, especially in finding the proper visual language for each film. He 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.

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.

All in all, the discussion was very congenial and lasted nearly 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.

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!

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.

On Wednesday, June 24, New York Film Academy (NYFA) had the pleasure of hosting founder and CEO of Indochina Productions NICHOLAS SIMON as part of The 20/20 Series, created by NYFA’s Creative Director of Filmmaking and Cinematography, Liz Hinlein. The conversation was moderated by Hinlein and was held virtually, allowing individuals to join NYFA and the special guests from all over the world.

The 20/20 Series, created by Hinlein, is a virtual pop-up event that takes us into the homes, hubs, and workspaces of an array of dynamic creative visionaries to allow for relaxed, engaging conversations on craft, creation and artistic vision.

Nicholas Simon is an American-Hungarian citizen living in Bangkok, Thailand and he is the Founder and CEO of Indochina Productions. His vast Asian filmmaking experience dates back to the early ‘90s, with Indochina Productions being the only company in South East Asia to produce and service big-budget Hollywood studio films and Fortune 500 advertising commercial needs. Indochina Productions operates throughout Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Japan, The Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, The Maldives, Singapore, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.

Simon pioneered big-budget filmmaking in Vietnam with Warner Brothers/Legendary Films’ Kong: Skull Island starring Samuel L. Jackson and in Bangladesh with Netflix’s Extraction, starring Chris Hemsworth. His recent productions include Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods starring Chadwick Boseman and A24’s A Prayer Before Dawn, starring Peaky Blinders’ Joe Cole. Indochina’s TV commercial resume includes award-winning spots for Apple, Toyota, and Samsung among others.

Hinlein began the conversation by asking Simon about the differences between shooting a film in the U.S versus Asia. “In some ways it’s very similar with different levels of productions being present,” he replied. “However, there are no union rules like you would find in the U.S on studio productions, so, in a sense, it’s more old school, but we do still follow similar standards that you would find on-set in the U.S in order to protect local crews.”

Simon explained that on Indochina Productions’ films his role as a line producer is also that of a production partner for studios. “We’re essentially glorified travel agents,” he jokes. “But there is a much more creative element to it too in order to find the right crew that suits the personality of the production.”

“Each country has its own personality, with Thailand having the most international experience,” says Simon. Hinlein, who has also shot in Thailand, agreed and observed how members of the Thai film industry tend to wear matching team shirts and also remarked on the sense of unity and shorthand among Thai crew members on set.

Hinlein then pivoted the conversation to discuss Simon’s work on the critically acclaimed A24 film, A Prayer Before Dawn, which she describes as “emotionally wrenching but visually fantastic.” Simon, who was a producer for the film, remembered: “We had well below $2 million dollars, but for the small budget we had, we were able to successfully stretch it to work with the director’s vision.”

When asked more on the role of key learnings as a producer, Simon shared that being a producer “is to have the ability to see ‘what’s possible and what’s not possible,” like Simon successfully did as a producer for A Prayer Before Dawn.

Simon also encouraged the audience to make mistakes but “never make the same mistake twice,” he jokes. “I wish at a younger age I had the knowledge I do now, but that’s how it goes.” Hinlein agreed and added, “you’re always going to be smarter at the end of the day than the beginning of the day.”

New York Film Academy would like to thank Nicholas Simon for taking the time to speak with the NYFA global community on his producing career and for sharing his insight into South East Asian film market for The 20/20 Series, created by and moderated by Liz Hinlein.

To watch the full conversation, view the video below or watch on our Youtube channel.

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.

It’s not just the voters of the Oscars and the Golden Globes that appreciate the work of the New York Film Academy (NYFA) community— if this year’s Teen Choice Awards nominees are any indication, NYFA alumni and guest speakers are also being recognized by younger audiences as well.

The Teen Choice Awards don’t just honor filmmakers and actors—they cover a wide variety of talents including musicians, athletes, and fashionistas. Winners of the Teen Choice Awards receive a full-sized surfboard as their prize.

The ceremony for the Teen Choice Awards has been held annually since 1999. This year, the awards show will take place in Hermosa Beach, California, though the host and performers have not been finalized yet. The ceremony will be held on August 11, 2019, with the late summer being the typical time of year winners receive their surfboards.

This year’s nominations were recently announced, with “Old Town Road” breakthrough artist Lil Nas X topping the list with five nominations and Post Malone right behind him with four.

New York Film Academy alum Lana Condor scored a nomination for Choice Drama Movie Actress for her role in Netflix original film To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The film is also up for Choice Drama Movie. Additionally, Condor is up for Choice Ship with romantic co-lead Noah Centineo; the two recently won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie & TV Awards.

Among the nominees for Choice Comedy Movie were Little, starring NYFA alum Issa Rae, and Crazy Rich Asians. The cast of Crazy Rich Asians were photographed by NYFA Filmmaking Workshop alum Rozette Rago while the film was at its buzziest.

Underwater superhero flick Aquaman was also nominated as a Choice Movie in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category. Much of the film was shot at Village Roadshow Studios, where NYFA Gold Coast students can film their projects.

Along with our alumni, NYFA guest speakers had cause to celebrate when the nominations were announced. Archie update Riverdale was nominated for Choice Drama TV Show. Riverdale stars Ashleigh Murray and Casey Cott spoke at our New York campus last year.

The final season of Batman-prequel Gotham earned a nod for Choice Action TV Show. One of the castmembers, film and television star Michael Chiklis, was recently a guest speaker at NYFA’s Burbank-based campus. Dr. Spiros Michalakis, another recent NYFA-LA guest speaker, is the science consultant for several Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters, including Ant-Man and the Wasp, which was nominated for Choice Action Movie. NYFA 3D Animation & VFX alum Francesco Panzieri has worked on multiple MCU films as well, in the special effects department.

New York Film Academy congratulates the nominees of this year’s Teen Choice Awards and looks forward to seeing who brings home a surfboard later this summer!

Here is the full list of nominees:

CHOICE ACTION MOVIE
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Endgame
Bumblebee
Captain Marvel
Men in Black: International
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

CHOICE ACTION MOVIE ACTOR
Chris Evans, Avengers: Endgame
Chris Hemsworth, Avengers: Endgame, Men in Black: International
John Cena, Bumblebee
Paul Rudd, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame
Robert Downey Jr., Avengers: Endgame
Samuel L. Jackson, Captain Marvel

CHOICE ACTION MOVIE ACTRESS
Brie Larson, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame
Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp
Hailee Steinfeld, Bumblebee
Scarlett Johansson, Avengers: Endgame
Tessa Thompson, Men in Black: International
Zoe Saldana, Avengers: Endgame

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY MOVIE
Aladdin
Aquaman
Dark Phoenix
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Mary Poppins Returns
Shazam!

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY MOVIE ACTOR
James McAvoy, Dark Phoenix
Jason Momoa, Aquaman
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Poppins Returns
Mena Massoud, Aladdin
Will Smith, Aladdin
Zachary Levi, Shazam!

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY MOVIE ACTRESS
Amber Heard, Aquaman
Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns
Katherine Waterston, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Keira Knightley, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Naomi Scott, Aladdin
Sophie Turner, Dark Phoenix

CHOICE DRAMA MOVIE
After
Bohemian Rhapsody
Breakthrough
Five Feet Apart
The Hate U Give
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

CHOICE DRAMA MOVIE ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Cole Sprouse, Five Feet Apart
Hero Fiennes Tiffin, After
Noah Centineo, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Taron Egerton, Rocketman

CHOICE DRAMA MOVIE ACTRESS
Amandla Stenberg, The Hate U Give
Chrissy Metz, Breakthrough
Haley Lu Richardson, Five Feet Apart
Josephine Langford, After
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Lana Condor, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

CHOICE COMEDY MOVIE
Crazy Rich Asians
Instant Family
Isn’t It Romantic
Little
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
The Perfect Date

CHOICE COMEDY MOVIE ACTOR
Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians
Kevin Hart, Night School
Liam Hemsworth, Isn’t It Romantic
Mark Wahlberg, Instant Family
Noah Centineo, The Perfect Date
Ryan Reynolds, Pokémon Detective Pikachu

CHOICE COMEDY MOVIE ACTRESS
Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians
Constance Wu, Crazy Rich Asians
Laura Marano, The Perfect Date
Marsai Martin, Little
Rebel Wilson, Isn’t It Romantic
Tiffany Haddish, Night School

CHOICE MOVIE VILLAIN
Johnny Depp, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Josh Brolin, Avengers: Endgame
Jude Law, Captain Marvel
Mark Strong, Shazam!
Marwan Kenzari, Aladdin
Patrick Wilson, Aquaman

CHOICE DRAMA TV SHOW
Good Trouble
Marvel’s Runaways
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists
Riverdale
Star
The Resident

CHOICE DRAMA TV ACTOR
Adam Huber, Dynasty
Cole Sprouse, Riverdale
Justin Hartley, This Is Us
K.J. Apa, Riverdale
Oliver Stark, 9-1-1
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

CHOICE DRAMA TV ACTRESS
Camila Mendes, Riverdale
Cierra Ramirez, Good Trouble
Lili Reinhart, Riverdale
Maia Mitchell, Good Trouble
Ryan Destiny, Star
Sofia Carson, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY TV SHOW
Charmed
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Legacies
Shadowhunters
Supernatural
The 100

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY TV ACTOR
Aubrey Joseph, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger
Bob Morley, The 100
Dominic Sherwood, Shadowhunters
Harry Shum Jr., Shadowhunters
Jared Padalecki, Supernatural
Ross Lynch, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

CHOICE SCI-FI/FANTASY TV ACTRESS
Danielle Rose Russell, Legacies
Ellen Page, The Umbrella Academy
Katherine McNamara, Shadowhunters
Kiernan Shipka, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Melonie Diaz, Charmed
Olivia Holt, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger

CHOICE ACTION TV SHOW
Arrow
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Gotham
MacGyver
Supergirl
The Flash

CHOICE ACTION TV ACTOR
Ben McKenzie, Gotham
Brandon Routh, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Brenton Thwaites, Titans
Grant Gustin, The Flash
Lucas Till, MacGyver
Stephen Amell, Arrow

CHOICE ACTION TV ACTRESS
Candice Patton, The Flash
Danielle Panabaker, The Flash
Emily Bett Rickards, Arrow
Gabrielle Union, L.A.’s Finest
Jessica Alba, L.A.’s Finest
Melissa Benoist, Supergirl

CHOICE COMEDY TV SHOW
Black-ish
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Fuller House
Jane the Virgin
One Day at a Time
The Big Bang Theory

CHOICE COMEDY TV ACTOR
Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Daniel Radcliffe, Miracle Workers
Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Marcel Ruiz, One Day at a Time

CHOICE COMEDY TV ACTRESS
Candace Cameron Bure, Fuller House
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory
Nina Dobrev, Fam
Sarah Hyland, Modern Family
Yara Shahidi, black-ish

CHOICE TV VILLAIN
Adam Scott, The Good Place
Cameron Monaghan, Gotham
Jon Cryer, Supergirl
Luke Baines, Shadowhunters
Sarah Carter, The Flash
Sea Shimooka, Arrow

CHOICE REALITY TV SHOW
America’s Got Talent
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Lip Sync Battle
Queer Eye
The Masked Singer
The Voice

CHOICE THROWBACK TV SHOW
All That
Beverly Hills, 90210
Friends
Moesha
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Office

CHOICE SHIP
Katherine McNamara & Dominic Sherwood, Shadowhunters
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Lana Condor & Noah Centineo, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Laura Marano & Noah Centineo, The Perfect Date
Lili Reinhart & Cole Sprouse, Riverdale
Madelaine Petsch & Vanessa Morgan, Riverdale

CHOICE COMEDIAN
Ellen DeGeneres
Ethan & Grayson Dolan
James Corden
Kevin Hart
Lilly Singh
Tiffany Haddish

CHOICE MALE ARTIST
Ed Sheeran
Khalid
Lil Nas X
Post Malone
Shawn Mendes

CHOICE FEMALE ARTIST
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Cardi B
Halsey
Lauren Jauregui
Taylor Swift

CHOICE MUSIC GROUP
5 Seconds of Summer
Jonas Brothers
Panic! At The Disco
PRETTYMUCH
The Chainsmokers
Why Don’t We

CHOICE COUNTRY ARTIST
Brett Young
Dan + Shay
Kacey Musgraves
Kane Brown
Kelsea Ballerini
Thomas Rhett

CHOICE LATIN ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Becky G.
CNCO
Daddy Yankee
J Balvin
Maluma

CHOICE R&B/HIP-HOP ARTIST
Cardi B
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Normani
Post Malone
Travis Scott

CHOICE ROCK ARTIST
AJR
Cage the Elephant
Imagine Dragons
lovelytheband
Panic! At The Disco
twenty one pilots

CHOICE SONG: FEMALE ARTIST
Ariana Grande, “7 rings”
Billie Eilish, “bad guy”
Lauren Jauregui, “Expectations”
Taylor Swift (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco), “ME!”
Katy Perry, “Never Really Over”
Halsey, “Nightmare”

CHOICE SONG: MALE ARTIST
Khalid, “Better”
Shawn Mendes, “If I Can’t Have You”
Lil Nas X, “Old Town Road”
Travis Scott, “SICKO MODE”
Louis Tomlinson, “Two of Us”
Post Malone, “Wow”

CHOICE SONG: GROUP
Imagine Dragons, “Bad Liar”
Blackpink, “DDU-DU DDU-DU”
5 Seconds of Summer, “Easier”
Panic! At The Disco, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”
Jonas Brothers, “Sucker”
Why Don’t We, “8 Letters”

CHOICE POP SONG
Sam Smith & Normani, “Dancing With A Stranger”
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber, “I Don’t Care”
Taylor Swift (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco), “ME!”
Jonas Brothers, “Sucker”
Ava Max, “Sweet but Psycho”
Ariana Grande, “thank u, next”

CHOICE COUNTRY SONG
Maren Morris, “Girl”
Kane Brown, “Good as You”
Thomas Rhett, “Look What God Gave Her”
Kelsea Ballerini, “Miss Me More”
Kacey Musgraves, “Rainbow”
Dan + Shay, “Speechless”

CHOICE ELECTRONIC/DANCE SONG
Zedd & Katy Perry, “365”
The Chainsmokers & Bebe Rexha, “Call You Mine”
Ellie Goulding, Diplo, & Red Velvet, “Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)”
Mark Ronson (feat. Camila Cabello), “Find U Again”
Marshmello & Bastille, “Happier”
The Chainsmokers & 5 Seconds of Summer, “Who Do You Love”

CHOICE LATIN SONG
Ozuna, Daddy Yankee & J Balvin (feat. Farruko, Anuel AA) [Remix], “Baila Baila Baila”
ROSALÍA, J Balvin & El Guincho, “Con Altura”
Daddy Yankee & Katy Perry, “Con Calma (feat. Snow)”
Bad Bunny (feat. Drake), “MIA”
CNCO, “Pretend”
Nicky Jam & Ozuna, “Te Robaré”

CHOICE R&B/HIP-HOP SONG
Meek Mill (feat. Drake), “Going Bad”
Lil Nas X (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus), “Old Town Road [Remix]”
Mustard & Migos, “Pure Water”
Post Malone & Swae Lee, “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)”
Khalid, “Talk”
Post Malone, “Wow”

CHOICE ROCK SONG
AJR, “100 Bad Days”
Panic! At The Disco, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”
Bastille, “Joy”
Imagine Dragons, “Natural”
Cage The Elephan, “Ready To Let Go”
lovelytheband, “These Are My Friends”

CHOICE BREAKOUT ARTIST
Billie Eilish
HRVY
Juice WRLD
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
ROSALÍA

CHOICE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST
Blackpink
BTS
CNCO
EXO
Little Mix
NCT 127

CHOICE COLLABORATION
BTS (feat. Halsey), “Boy With Luv”
Sam Smith & Normani, “Dancing With A Stranger”
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber, “I Don’t Care”
Lil Nas X (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus), “Old Town Road [Remix]”
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, “Shallow”
Julia Michaels (feat. Niall Horan), “What A Time”

CHOICE MALE ATHLETE
AJ Styles
James Harden
Lionel Messi
Patrick Mahomes
Stephen Curry
Tiger Woods

CHOICE FEMALE ATHLETE
Katelyn Ohashi
Serena Williams
Simone Biles
Sky Brown
The Bella Twins
Tobin Heath