Tisch School of the Arts Asia

Frank R. Rinaldi, New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia second year MFA film candidate, received the Grand Jury Award for Best Experimental Short at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival for his short film, Funny Guy.

Along with the award, Rinaldi received a Filmworksfx credit ($2,500 value) and a FilmTracker account.

Funny Guy was one of three films Rinaldi completed in his first year in the MFA film program. Slamdance, which has run since 1995, takes place each year in Utah at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival.

To see samples of student work from Tisch School of the Arts Asia, please visit our Student Showcase.

With "change" being the buzzword du jour, the New York Times reports today on how arts leaders from around the United States are urging the Obama administration to consider the role the arts play in the nation's economic recovery. These leaders point out that jobs in the arts, while providing cultural benefits for the country, also provide bottom-line impact on the economy, because, according to Marc A. Scorca, "arts jobs are jobs." The Opera America president and C.E.O goes on to say, "we see opera companies cutting health care, administrative staff — these people are taxpayers and rent payers and mortgage payers, just like every other employee."

One interesting proposal for change comes from music mogul Quincy Jones, in his idea to create a Secretary for the Arts. His idea has inspired an online petition and groups on social networking sites like Facebook.

Read the whole article here.

In conjunction with Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, Rob Coleman, a two-time Oscar nominated independent animation director with 22 years of production experience, spoke to 120 guests at Tisch School of the Arts Asia 5-7 p.m., January 23, 2009.

The title of his lecture is "Acting and Animation: Bringing Digital Characters to Life."
Coleman was at Industrial Light and Magic for 12 years (1993 - 2005), and he was animation director on the Star Wars prequels The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Coleman was nominated for two Oscars for his work on Attack of the Clones and The Phantom Menace and two British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) for his work on Men in Black and The Phantom Menace. He received two MTV Movie Awards and two Saturn Awards for Best Visual Effects on the Star Wars films.

In 2002, Coleman was identified as one of the most creative people in the entertainment industry by Entertainment Weekly, in their "It List" for his work on the digital Yoda.

While at Lucasfilm Animation (2005-07), Coleman directed five episodes of the animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while developing an animated feature film project with George Lucas. He was also a key member of the creative team responsible for recruiting and mentoring Lucasfilm's Singapore-based animators.

Coleman received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Animation from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in 1987. His film credits include, Signs, Men in Black, Dragonheart, Star Trek: Generations, and The Mask.

Today they are actors, art directors, editors, producers and sound mixers. When the 81st Annual Academy Awards are announced on 22 February 2009, these seven people with connections to Tisch School of the Arts may also be known as Oscar winners.

The tradition continues.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Brian Grazer (parent, Sage / Dean's Council Member) and Ron Howard (parent of alumnae, Paige and Bryce), Frost/Nixon

Dan Jinks '85 (BFA, Drama), Milk

Actor in A Supporting Role

Philip Seymour Hoffman '89 (BFA, Acting), Doubt

Achievement in Art Direction

Victor J. Zolfo '85 (BFA, F&TV), Set Direction, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Directing

Ron Howard (parent of alumnae, Paige and Bryce), Frost/Nixon

Achievement in Film Editing

Elliot Graham '99 (BFA, F&TV), Milk

Achievement in Sound Mixing

Lora Hirschberg '85 (BFA, F&TV), The Dark Knight

When Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009, students at Tisch School of the Arts Asia along with faculty, staff, friends and family watched the telecast in Theatre 2.

“It felt good to watch it on big screen, together as a community… it echoes what we saw on the screen at the ceremonies, unity and a sense to community," said David K. Irving, chair, Department of Graduate Film.