Category Archives: Film Industry

Jake Simpson doing great work

Posted on by

I didn’t know how to otherwise title this post but Cinema student Jake Simpson has been working on a lot of projects recently to really hone his craft.

As I will tell any of our students, if you are interested in the production side of film, then you really need to get out there and do some real-world work, which is why the new Cinema AFA degree will offer both an internship component but also a portfolio so you can highlight your work, making you more marketable in the film industry and more desirable as a transfer student.

And I am really proud of so many of my students who continue to work in the field and make their dreams come true and Jake is the most recent example with his excellent cinematography on a new feature-length film still in principal photography: “Talons of the Phoenix.”

I do not know the plot of the film except it is a period piece set in WWII but based on Jake’s excellent work, it will be a film we will surely profile and push when it is launched to the public.  In the meantime, check out these wonderful screen grabs and you can already get the emotion of the film, as well as, Jake’s emerging film style:

Great looking shots!

Hopefully we will speak more to Jake in the future and find out more about this production and all the hard work being put into the production by the entire cast and crew.  All my best to all of them.

In addition, a big congratulations to Jake on his recent nomination for best cinematography at the Hollywood Dreams Film Festival in Las Vegas.

Now, if we can get all these talented students working together, there is no end to what they can accomplish.

New equipment awaits our first Cinema degree seekers

Posted on by

The new updated college catalog references the new AFA in Cinema (though it does state “pending” until we get final approval through state accredidation).  With the launch of this new degree, we are also putting some new resources into supporting it, which means some new equipment has been added.

Though we love our RED Epic camera, we also now have a Sony FS7 camera (with lens) for the class to gain exposure (bad pun) on a second cinema camera.

Sony is one of the companies I like and trust almost as well as RED.  In addition, when I took a class of film students on a trip to DC Camera rental house in Fairfax less than two years ago, one of the items we previewed was the FS7 and the students really wanted one – so, I listened.

Speaking of what the students want, I have also heard a lot of chatter about more movement in their productions so we added some nice dolly track and centipede wheels to our already impressive Matthews Round D Round dolly (for that uneven ground), as well as, we now have a Ronin-M gimbal for some fluid and smooth movement (just please don’t overdo it).

And for use with the Ronin-M, we also added a Canon C100 (mark ii) and two new zoom lenses.

Again, we want you to have the best experience possible as a film student at NOVA Woodbridge.

Let us know if you have any questions.

cstallings@nvcc.edu or babrown@nvcc.edu

A Cinema Degree Could Be Coming in Fall 2017

Posted on by
Cameron Pierson Rocks Out

Cameron Pierson Rocks Out

 

Just found this still the other day from the spring music video shoot and thought i would throw it on this post to give it some visual pop.

The exciting news (and the reason there have not been many posts recently – lots of time-consuming work was done) is we passed an AFA in Cinema through Curriculum Committee yesterday afternoon by an unanimous vote.

Though the degree is not completely passed, as there are many more obstacles to come, such as the State college system and accreditation boards but this was a major one and should be celebrated by everyone as this will be a great step forward for our students interested in all things cinema.

Thank you very much to my partners in this, professors Bryan Brown (of Woodbridge campus) and Lucy Gebre-Egziabher (of Alexandria campus).  If things stay on course (no pun intended), students can come to the college in Fall 2017 and earn a degree in Cinema!

So get a head start in the spring semester and take some film classes.  If you have questions, ask me now: cstallings@nvcc.edu

Office Space Spoof

Posted on by

Just some every day fun when you are part of the film classes on the Woodbridge campus of NOVA (consider this when enrolling for classes for the spring).

Just to let off some steam, we decided we would spoof the printer destruction scene from the cult classic movie, Office Space.

Check it out:

(Professor Chris Stallings with Assistant Tutoring Coordinator, Emily Stinson, and SGA President Josh Siegmund)

 

Filming “All By (your)self”

Posted on by

I just ran across this creative little video that, as cheesy as it is, is still a great example of what an individual can do with limited resources but lots of imagination.

Our students are forced to rely more on the visuals to capture the attention of today’s audience but a good/creative story and some interesting shot composition and editing can make the simplest videos still stand out from the pack.

Don’t attempt to compete against Hollywood but simply challenge yourself for your own best work.  I will be excited to see it.

 

NOVA Woodbridge Promotional Video

Posted on by

Here you go…

Here is the promotional video that was created for AMC theaters that debuts today (make sure you chose to watch in HD to take advantage of the intended quality).

Since we also had the actors and equipment and time, we did a quickly shot series of three “behind the scenes” videos of our actors pretending to be characters that were actors.  Do you follow?

It all helps set up the promotional video.

Check back for future versions of the promotional video as we will put at least one extended version of the promo and one special edition version too.  We will be posting them in the video section of this blog too.

We would like to create more of these in the future, so check back to this site often and remember you could be a part of the excitement by taking film classes at community college prices.  Yes, we love an underdog!

Filmmaking Innovations

Posted on by

November 30th at 6:30pm, the Woodbridge campus of NOVA will be hosting a panel forum of four filmmakers, who will share their stories, their creative processes, and answer questions for all those involved.  It is completely free and open to anyone interested in attending.

The event will take place in the Lakeside Theatre on the first floor and it should be a wonderful opportunity to find out what it takes to be a movie director.

We hope you can attend.

It’s Been Awhile

Posted on by

Just an update of the busy semester that has been:

The campus theatre department just wrapped on their production of “Bus Stop.”  It was a fun time with some notable acting talent.  Hats off to Dr. Eric Trumball for his creative direction.

PHT 130 students finished principal photography on their class music video project.  We enter post production now and everyone is anxious to see the final outcome.  Also, these same students are working on their final video projects and their class documentary.  They are keeping busy but, hopefully, getting a great experience in the process.

Kelly Cochran, English faculty, is leading her dramatic writing students through the steps needed to write a script.  One lucky student will have his or her work created into a short movie in the spring by the students in the PHT 131 (Video II) class.  We are excited about this collaborative process.  I will just have to contain my enthusiasm until the semester starts.

The Filmmaking Club has been working on their own projects, both as individuals and an entire group.  They finished auditions this past week for the main roles of their group project.  I won’t reveal any plot details until the production is completed.  Just keep checking back to find out the status on this project.

And what about Professor Bryan Brown, you may ask?  He has been involved in just about everything to do with film on this campus. In fact, he has planned a big event for November 30th, but you will have to read the other blog post to find out what he has cooking…