What's new at Florence Film School

What's New!

With so many exciting new things happening here at the Florence Film School it is difficult to know where to begin.

First I would like to introduce our new Student Coordinator Hannah Urkowitz!

Hannah Urkowitz is a Multi Media Artist, originating from New Jersey. She Holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree from Albright College dual majored in Studio Art and Digital Media. She has previously studied at Studio Arts Centers International (SACI), Moore College of Art and Accademia Italiana. She has assisted in the filming of a two documentary in Ghana, West Africa to support the NGO Women in Progress and shown nine films with the Berks County Pennsylvania Film Society Worked as a technical intern for Berks County Television. For three years Hannah’s works were accepted into the Pennsylvania Freedman Gallery's Spring Juried Shows. In 2006 she was awarded the Fine Art Commission award for the acrylic painting "The Pro Choice Deli". She currently works freelance as a Videographer, Photographer, Web and Graphic Designer. ¬

She is a great gal who has joined the Florence Film School to help teach workshops, mentor students in the latest motion graphics, animation and editing techniques. She will also be on hand to help students to have fun; meet film makers, artists and musicians living here, participate in parties, and events and make important contacts for your career as a professional film maker!

EVENTS:

May 14^th-25^th THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL UPDATE:

Our most recent graduate Nannette Del Carmen is at THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL with the film short Eve olution. She will be promoting her film, making pitches to international distribution companies and attending great parties through the contacts she made here at Florence Film School!

May 23- 22^nd The Florence Film School in affiliation with ABC news is producing a 2-hour special that will air on ABC in the United States this Fall called, Earth 2100

This is a show about what the world's top scientists, economists, and historians say our world could look like by the year 2100 if we don't act now to save our troubled planet. Experts say that the "perfect storm" of climate change, resource depletion, and population growth could converge with catastrophic results.

This Spring, leading up to the broadcast, we're launching a massive online event engaging people from across the globe to create their own versions of the next century. The Florence Film School and other journalism programs will be recruiting people interested in being our 'reporters' from the future. This is an incredible opportunity for young filmmakers to create short videos on issues facing our future, and we will incorporate the most compelling submissions into our national broadcast.

July 7^th- August 29^th : Summer Eight Week Film Making Intensive & Workshop Series begins!

Learn the latest in digital film making, motion graphics and film productions form international professionals form around the globe in one of the most beautiful cities in the World Florence, Italy!

Join our eight week intensive or take a week long workshop!

July 11^th Welcome Party:

Students will meet other film makers, artists and students here in Florence.

August 29^th: Multi Media Event premiering the Summer Intensive Film Project.

September 1^st FALL SEMESTER BEGINS

NEW WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAMS:

This summer and fall we will be bringing in a host of professionals in Film Production in from all parts of the world to teach and mentor our students on their own projects. We have a fantastic staff of top professionals and fun activities where you can get to know them both professionally and personally.

Each Issue of The Florence Film School Newsletter will highlight one of the many guest lecturers who will presenting a workshop at our school and /or participating in a our Florence International Film Festival Teaching and Learning Forum

This issue we are focusing on Larry Sugar:

With over 35 years in the film and television industry Larry Sugar has been fortunate enough to have had very diverse opportunities. He has run major corporations, produced dozens of feature films. He has written both screenplays and teleplays, and produced over 400 hours of television programs. He has owned and operated his own international distribution company.

In addition to a career within the entertainment business, he has also been a lecturer at many U.S. universities including UCLA, USC, Brandies University and Tulane University. For approximately 12 years, and created his own class at the cinema department of the College of Santa Fe (entitled The Business of Entertainment--Finance, Production and Distribution) to help students understand the ins and outs of succeeding in the business side of Film Production. He presently lives and works in Vancouver BC, Canada and has recently completed a series for the CBC.

He will be on hand to help student film makers learn the business of selling, distributing and receiving funding for their films.

TOURS OF FLORENCE:

Our students receive year long passes to all the major museums and gardens here in Florence. We arrange special tours for our students to experience this amazing city through the eyes of a Film Maker. Our Tours focus on the Art Treasures helping students learn the art of storytelling, developing a cinematic eye, scouting film locations, listening and recording the sounds of the city, animating works of Art and many more creative and fun ways to inspire students and utilize this unique opportunity of film making in Florence.

EVENTS:

Florence Film School also organizes Happy hours, Artistic Events and Club nights where are students can meet other students in our creative community for collaborations on their projects and to form important contacts for their future and have fun!!!

Creative Campus is a fun and challenging opportunity for students living in or visiting Florence. It offers an innovative approach to night-time entertainment, the chance to learn about other cultures, and feel a part of a community, especially if they are far away from home. Students create and participate in cultural projects that help enrich their lives and the surrounding community. Along with FITC professionals and community members, students also work with their peers from all over the world.

This summer the Creative Campus events will include:

MUSIC

WITH THE CREATIVE CAMPUS BAND –

Musicians and Singers Needed!

PERFORMANCE AND ART

STORY HOUR -

If you like children, art, and performing this is for you!

THE BIG FRATELLO/BIG SORELLA PROJECT –

Pair up with local teens to create a performance together

What Is Creative Campus?

“… the most important part of my experience in Florence.”

“one of my greatest memories from my time abroad.”

“an amazing experience.”

Former Creative Campus students

Come visit us at our summer kick-off event on June 5th at 8:30pm at and learn about our programs and talk to company members. Other events in June and July can include an Art Crawl and the launch of the Global Creative Campus Initiative. Please contact info@florencetheatre.com for any questions or inquiries. You can also visit us at www.florencetheatre.com.

Theatre Internships:

Student can attend and or work with one of the International Theatrical Companies here in Florence to learn the art and craft of acting, stage design, lightening, stage management.

Video Documentary Making:

Student can film short promos and documentaries on their projects and the artistic happenings around Florence and post them on our U Tube news channel New Renaissance News and work in our video journalism program with Florence’s Online Newspaper.

Professional Films Shot on location in Italy

Our students have opportunities to work with Professional production companies who come to Italy to shoot their films. Our last group of students went to Venice during the Venetian Carnival and worked with a British Film Maker. Now one of our Directors will be meeting up with them in Cannes!

DECEMBER 12^TH FLORENCE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:

The Florence Film School working together with The Tuscan Film Commission and our Media Partner The Florentine. Together we will be sponsoring the first International Student Film Festival as part of the 50 days of cinema. The 50 Days of Cinema is a Festival already a great success with a long track record! Sandwiched into the 50 days festival is The French Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival, The Women’s Film Festival and The Documentary Film Festival and more, we are honored to be part of a prestigious established Festival. We look forward to the great contacts and opportunities our students will have premiering their films, attending parties and symposiums with professional film makers from all over the world! Students from The Florence Film School will have an opportunity to intern in the Festival and attend the Gala Parties!

ALUMNI

Julian Ulrichs a recent graduate from The Florence Film School had his film short Eye Talk which he filmed in our program, accepted into The Durango International Film Festival. He has returned with wonderful tales of being hosted at the Festivals Hotel and attending all the parties and where he made some great contacts with other independent film makers!

In June he will be going to Nigeria to film a Documentary on Female Genital Mutilation.

Elizabeth Monroy
Director
Florence Film School

The EVEolution EVEnt

THE FLORENCE FILM SCHOOL IS HONORED TO PRESENT:


The EVEolution EVEnt

Eve has been kept in the dark, in the shadows of men for eons. Now is the time for Eve to step into the light and redefine herself as a woman, can she? And Will She?


Two women Directors Jamy Silver and Nannette Del Carmen would like to invite you to the premiere of their film short: EVEolution

After the film we will have an open forum on the topic of women in the new era. Can women rule the world, as women?

We would like to hear your opinions and also video tape the open forum and put some of the comments on our blog. It will be a lively and energetic evening discussing and defining the role of women as we face the "Dawning of the New Eve".


Please join us on Friday February 29, 2008 at 8:30 pm at
The Artist's Workshop via Toscanello 33 r (near the restaurant 4 leone.) .

Best of 2008!

Elizabeth Monroy
Director/Florence Film School
www.newrenaissanceflorence.com

Shooting in Venice

Happy Mardi Gras!!!! Here in Italy Carnival is a month long party and what better place to celebrate it then in Venice! Everyone wears the traditional robes and masks of canivale. It is a true visual feast! Our students are off to Venice interning on a professional film shoot in Venice during Carnival!
Have a great time in Venice Florence Film Students!

Mean while I would like to post an up and coming contest for the Perfect Pitch!
AVID: THE PERFECT PITCH CONTEST
Film Specific is thrilled to team up with Avid for The Perfect Pitch contest!
AVID: THE PERFECT PITCH
Do you have a film you'd like to get made? Avid has launched 'The Perfect Pitch' contest. Submit your best 60-second video pitch and see what the world and Avid's panel of industry experts have to say. One grand-prize winner will receive a package valued at over $25,000.
We are thrilled to have been selected by Avid as part of their prize packages and look forward to seeing all of your perfect pitches!

Multi Media Cinema

We are in the fourth week of our winter term The Director as Story Teller: Creating the Documentary. I am very proud of our students dedication, courage and passionate creativity!
Our students have been honored with the presence of very creative, talented and unique mentors. Andre Parente a independent director form Rome who taught a fantastic workshop on The Psychology of the camera and really helped the students understand the concept of letting the story motivate the camera along with a true pearl of wisdom for all independent film makers "Let your limitations be your inspirations!"
This week we have an incredibly inspiring artist Andi Nufer who is taking our students creativty to the max with her installation art and mulit media concepts. She is helping them bring a deeper creativity and origionality to their documentary films that will make their work stand out among the glut of film shorts!
Yesterday we were introduced to the concept of mind mapping and I would like to direct our students to a website and video clip that explains that in greater detail.
http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/mindmap/

Notes on the Sound Design Workshop

First of all, hello to my workshop participants, Jamy, Nannette & Chris-I'd love some feedback on what you want to get out of this workshop. If you get a chance, please send me an e-mail- since we're a small group, I'd like to conduct this as a conversation.

Here's a the best way to prepare for the workshop:

1) Download the .zip file with the reading materials (http://www.divshare.com/download/3629705-038), and finish reading as much as you can before the workshop begins. Some tips:

2) DON'T TRY TO MEMORIZE THIS STUFF, especially not the technical info. It is only meant to give you an overview; of certain terms needed to do sound design for your film projects, basic info regarding the use of sound & music, and hopefully, some insights to think of sound & music in a new way.

One basic source I used to gather the materials was an online library (http://www.questia.com) that only lets me copy documents one page-at-a-time. I've organize the separate pages into folders, and hope this doesn't make too much inconvenience. Some of the folders have links to websites that might be useful. Many sites on sound & music are very technical, or too full of advertising to be relevant- again, this info intended as an overview.

The material is contained in the folder "Philosophy Of Music" will, I hope, spark some interesting conversation - please give these six pages some special attention.

3) I noticed that all of you have a Yahoo or Hotmail e-mail account. This is important, because you will need it to register for various websites where you can download sound & music for your film projects. If you have a problem with giving this e-mail address (fear of spam, etc.), please start another e-mail account like Yahoo/Hotmail that you can access from a web browser.

As I said in my 1st blog post, I want this to be as much a learning/sharing experience as a teaching one, all the more so because we're a small group.

See you soon,
Loren
mail@loren-taylor.net

Babelgum

Just a quick post to add an interesting link to the ones Jason already suggested

Babel Gum

This site is endorsed by the Clermont Ferrand film festival, one of the most important in Europe for short movies, and by the director Spike Lee.
Its dedicated to short movies and documentaries and it's an interesting opportunity to show your (our :-) stuff.

trees

hi

trees

hello. uh.

See you soon!

Hi everyone,
My name is Andrea and despite the name I’m a man (you’ll learn in few days Andrea is a male name here in Italy).

It’s pretty exiting to know you already begun to work, unfortunately I live in Rome and I won’t be able to meet you before the workshop but we’re going to spend together one week that I hope will be intense and pleasant.

During the workshop you’ll be invited to look at the documentary with an artistic, narrative and experimental approach.
Beginning from the study of few paintings we will follow a path that goes from the different ways of filming reality to narrative examples of fiction movies applied or applicable to the documentary language.

A good part of the workshop will be dedicated to practical exercises in order to understand better the theoretical part and to learn how to use the basic of the camera and of the editing software.

I’ll be following your journey using the blog so I hope to have a small summary everyday, if you have any question we can use the blog to talk or you can e-mail me (and757@gmail.com).

Enjoy each day of this experience!
See you soon
Andrea

Greetings from The Music Guy

Hello to the FFS family-

My name is Loren Taylor, & I'll be teaching a workshop on music & sound for film. In keeping with the artistic direction laid down by director Elizabeth Monroy, the main thrust of this workshop is simple: to spark your brain cells and opening up your thinking. Specifically in two ways: 1) to think of music & sound not merely as an add-on to the visual image, and 2) to demonstrate how music & sound can create moods & feelings.

I'm hoping that my experience with FFS is as much a learning as a teaching experience. I'm looking forward to getting to know the students not just as receptacles for information, but as artists. And I've heard so much from Elizabeth about the creative atmosphere of Florence that I'm excited to meet the other instructors and find out what they're all about, too.

For those who are interested: you can find out more about me from my website (http://loren-taylor.net/bio.html), or drop me an e-mail (mail@loren-taylor.net) with any questions, comments, feelings or observations you have.

Peace,
Loren