Bryan Kong completed his Masters of Fine Arts in Photography at New York Film Academy. His photos have been featured on the Africa Fashion Week Los Angeles and Downtown Los Angeles newspaper.
Bryan’s work can also be seen on fashion blogs and independent magazines such as: The Ben Trovato, C-HEADS Magazine, Tantalum Magazine, Gladys Magazine and Vogue Italia’s Photovogue. His fashion photography has been nominated for The Black & White Spider Awards.
You can view more of Bryan’s work at: http://www.bryankong.com/
Learn photography with the New York Film Academy Photography School. Apply today!
While enrolled in the One Year Documentary Class, Andrea Picco knew she wanted to produce her thesis film on a story related to human trafficking. After filming a promo video for a non-profit in 2008, she met a woman who was a survivor of human trafficking. Andrea shortly became friends with the woman and was soon on her way to Ohio to film what would become her thesis film.
The Girl Next Door is a story of redemption and empowerment.”When you first hear about ‘Human Trafficking’ you usually think it only happens overseas in 3rd world countries, but we don’t usually think about American kids and teens.” The film tells the story of how Theresa survived two years of sex trafficking in the suburbs of Detroit and how she overcame her past to became an abolitionist.
Andrea’s film has been to four film festivals and has won two awards. She plans to turn her short film into a full feature. Andrea is also planning to start filming a documentary about the human trafficking business in Corona, Queens. As Andrea says, “Great stories are easy to find when you keep your heart and eyes open.”
You can become a documentary filmmaker too with NYFA. http://www.nyfa.edu/documentary-school/
Congratulations to Joey Shanks for having his film Sci-Fly selected into this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival and Slamdance! Joey is a graduate of New York Film Academy’s six week filmmaking course at Harvard.
“I had a great experience at NYFA,” says Joey. “Having never been on a real film set, I learned a lot of the basics that you can only learn from being around a film set. What to do and most importantly what not to do. The teachers were great, and I feel proud that I have three 16mm films under my belt. You don’t meet many filmmakers now-a-days who have shot on film.”
Joey launched a KickStarter campaign for Sci-Fly last June and raised over $10,000. The film received attention from PBS, who collaborated with him on a YouTube series called Shanks FX. The series explores the creative process in creating the visuals for his film, Sci-Fly. As of now, there are almost 5,000 followers of the series, and several episodes have been featured by popular web blogs like No Film School and Gizmodo.
New York Film Academy Receives Another Great Review!
A New York Film Academy alum wrote us a great review on Yelp last week! Check it out:
I graduated from NYFA in August of 09. I attended the acting for film program. I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. Most of the NYFA teachers are active in the industry in some way. All of my teachers had on camera, behind camera or theater experience. I think having teachers who are active in the industry is really important. Film is constantly evolving. How could a teacher who hasn’t actually been in the game for years be able to advise you on what has to be done, now? Hands on experience is key. NYFA teachers have that. So unlike other people who complain about teachers who are “trying to make it”, I think it’s an asset to have someone who is active in the industry.
The acting school also worked in conjunction with the film school which allowed acting students to immediately apply what they were learning in classes to films. By the time I graduated from the one year program I had acted in over forty student films. With all the films I did, I was able to put together a solid acting reel. Which, for anyone trying to make it in acting, it’s necessary to have. Upon completion of the program I felt I was ready to attack the industry.
Another reason I enjoyed my experience so much was the fact that I learned so many different aspects of acting and film. We had a Meisner class, taught by James Price, who had actually studied with Meisner. You can’t beat that. Other teachers focused on Adler technique. We even touched on the method. This allowed me to hone in and develop a technique for acting utilizing what I had learned from each class. Lea Brandenburg and Victor Verhaeghe were amazing at teaching simplicity on camera. We even had 8 weeks of Shakespeare. Prior to that class I had some foolish ideas about Shakespeare. After those 8 weeks I had a new found respect. David Vando is one hell of a teacher. If he doesn’t get you excited about acting, then you are probably in the wrong industry. Working on so many student films taught me about what happens behind the camera. I learned how a good director can keep his crew motivated and keep his actors focused. I also learned things that directors should never do. IE; saying… “okay so a good actor should be able to cry right now.” If I had just gone to my classes and done nothing outside of them, I would’ve missed the boat.
Like anything in life, you get in what you put in. Film and acting is WORK. There is no way around it. If you want to be successful you have to bust your ass. I haven’t made it big yet, but I feel that I’m on my way. I developed some great connections at NYFA. I have a few friends who I will gladly work with anytime. If I hadn’t taken full advantage of the student projects that were offered to me by student directors, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now. The thing is, if you want to learn, you have to be a sponge. Soak up EVERYTHING. I honestly felt NYFA did prepare me for the real world because I took advantage of every opportunity. I didn’t turn down ANY student shoots. I bought Final draft and learned how to write scripts. I went to every single talk I could make it to. I had the honor of meeting Christopher Plummer, Melissa Leo, Scott Franklin and numerous other speakers.
Anyway, I hope this helps anyone thinking about going. If you take full advantage of all the opportunities NYFA has to offer, you’ll have a positive review because you’ll be on your way to making it. PERIOD.
Film School Alum Tatsuhiro Kimijima’s ‘The Magic Rabbit’ Wins Awards Around the World
