Home Posts tagged "become an actor"

Actor Larry Guli Finding A Way to Live His Dream

Published on September 10, 2009

17597_img_34_1252525807TheSop.org – Talent, intelligence, professionalism, dedication, passion, sensitivity and caring are just a few of the qualities that make Larry Guli a superb actor.

Pursuing a formal career in acting for the past nine years, Guli has actually been performing in one form or another for most of his life.

My first experience on the stage was back in high school, ” explains Guli who was born in Rochester, N.Y. and raised on Long Island. At that time I was running for class office, involved in sports and pretty much always up for a new challenge. When the opportunity arose to do a cowboy dance in our high school production of Oklahoma, I jumped at the chance. I was actually afraid to tell my Dad, so I just let him come to the show and see it. He was very supportive and performing on stage made me realize that I`d always want to be in front of an audience. “

Putting acting on a back burner, Guli served in the United States Army as an artillery officer and company commander. Awarded the Army Commendation Medal for exceptionally meritorious and faithful service, Guli`s reputation was impeccable and he earned the respect and admiration of all with whom he served.

Out of the Army, Guli next began working at the New York Stock Exchange and it wasn`t long before he became a managing partner in one of the most prestigious specialist firms on the floor.

This is definitely my greatest achievement to date, ” explains Guli. Being made a managing partner at the age of twenty-six really says it all. There are very few people who become managing partners at such a young age and I am very honored to have achieved that accomplishment. “

Deciding to relocate from the East Coast to the West Coast, Guli moved his family to Arizona. An avid golfer from early on, Guli began traveling the country playing Senior Professional Golf in the Senior Series, the second major senior tour in the country.

Golf had always been one of my passions, ” he continues. And, when the opportunity arose to play professionally, I took it. In addition to playing in tournaments, I also taught players, wrote magazine articles, mentored young up and coming golfers and was on the board of several clubs. It was another great experience in my life. “

In 2000, Guli and his wife moved to Chicago to be near their children.

Immensely successful in all of his endeavors to date, Guli had still never given up the dream of acting. With the move to Chicago complete, he decided that now was the time to pursue his long time desire.

Never one to do anything half-heartedly, Guli began to study acting with ACT 1 Studios and the New York Film Academy. Having lectured extensively throughout the years, he was well versed in what was necessary to deliver a strong performance. For him there is no greater satisfaction than to develop a character, tell his story and impact the audience…read more.

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Training Film Talent in Abu Dhabi

Published on December 22, 2008

By Maysam Ali, Notes Staff Reporter – Students, faculty members and administrative officials from film institutes based in the UAE set up booths during the Dubai International Film Festival as part of a one-day Student Media Trade Fair.

The New York Film Academy Acting and Film School Abu Dhabi, the Dubai-based School of Audio Engineering, Dubai Women’s College and Murdoch University were among the institutes presenting their courses and services, in addition to information on upcoming workshops for people in the film industry.

New York Film Academy, Abu Dhabi

The New York Film Academy offers short, intensive workshops as well as one-year programmes and two-year associate degrees in film-making, acting and finance.

It currently has a student strength of 80 with branches in Los Angeles, New York and, as of last year, Abu Dhabi.

Simon Hunter, president of the academy in Abu Dhabi, said students in the region have much to look forward to.

“We prepare student to create a new industry,” he told Notes. He explained that the norm for film-makers is to start making films with a limited budget, show them at festivals, get selected by new producers and start growing as funding for the film grows.

“This is a well-known path that students take and can choose to take to grow,” he said.

“Our focus is to get students to find their own voice and to create films at a cost-effective budget, involve them in festivals and bring production back to this region,” he said.

“Film festivals are to be commended because they are attracting a great level of interest; they can attract such high-quality talent,” he said.

Asked if students in the UAE are interested in the field, he said: “I have been inspired by the number of Emirati students in this field. The films they are making are beautiful. They make films about their lives, which is extremely important. They build on the idea of story-telling… . The best stories to tell are the ones that are most personal; they are frightening for the students but they make great stories,” he said.

Speaking of the future, he said: “I am excited and passionate and would love to see great stories told from the region… . Students are now globally savvy and they have an understanding of the global film industry. They have been exposed to Egyptian, Hollywood and Bollywood films, all of which makes for a great film-maker. Let’s tell a story that’s unique to the Arab region,” he said.

Student view

Students manning the various booths spoke to visitors about their training and film-making experience.

Shane De Almeida, a first-year directing student at the New York Film Academy Film School Abu Dhabi, said he chose directing because of his passion for film-making. “The program at the academy is hands-on and more practical than theoretical.”

His friend, Rami Deeb, said: “In the three months since my joining, I have been working on film-making, and training on what we will have to do in the future.”

Gulf News original article

‘Find your voice’

By Maysam Ali, Notes Staff Reporter - Students interested in film-making interacted with experts, learnt about current trends in the industry and got information about film academies and training workshops at the recent Dubai International Film Festival.

A panel discussion also brought together film-makers who shared their experiences with students. The panel included Maysoon Pachachi, Iraqi film-maker, Nandita Das, Indian actress, James Hindman, actor and director, and Greg Shapiro, producer.

Filming in Iraq

Pachachi, along with London-based Iraqi film-maker Qasim Abed, set up the Independent Film and Television College in Baghdad in 2004. She spoke about the difficulties the training centre faces trying to train students amidst a raging war that threatens to wreck homes and tear families apart.

“Making films in Iraq is a kind of resistance against the war and the current situation,” she said.

Producer’s role

James Hindman said that a great producer is a good list-maker who selects the material for a film and knows it well, picks a team, recognises the story, understands the narrative and has a vision and a great camera.

“A good producer doesn’t care about himself or herself, but rather puts everyone else in the spotlight. He or she makes actors feel special and acts as part of the audience,” he said.

Acting tips

Nandita Das highlighted how her lack of ambition to become an actress worked to her advantage as it gave her the freedom and strength to refuse many offers.

She had several tips for aspiring actors.

“If you want to be an actor, find your own space and voice and negotiate through that. You will find new ways of expressing yourself, even more when you start watching yourself in the movies,” she said.

Directing with vision

Greg Shapiro shared his views on the role of a director. “The film is a director’s medium so when choosing jobs, I look for a director with a vision and I hand the movie to him/her,” he said.

Echoing the views of the other speakers, Hindman said: “There’s a great role for film education in the region. There is vocational training related to skills and building the infrastructure; academic training provides knowledge on art history, the politics and context in which cinema exists and professional training.”

Student participation

The audience included students from many schools and universities such as the English College, Cambridge International School, Dubai Women’s College and Zayed University. They had many questions for the experts.

Sepehr Olfatmamanesh, a grade 11 student at the Cambridge International School (CIS), said he was eager to hear from the experts about training opportunities. “They can advise us on which schools to go to,” he said.

Josh Jennings, a grade 12 student from CIS, who aspires to major in film studies or drama, said: “I’m not sure if I want to major in modern drama or film but both would make me happy.”

CIS students have film studies and information communications technology  (ICT) as part of their academic course. The first part involves study and making short films whereas the latter course focuses on post-production, said Ania Sikora, head of ICT at the school.

Hysun Ismael, a media student from Middlesex University Dubai, was interested in learning about the professional viewpoint of media representatives. He and fellow student Riaz Naqui agreed that Dubai is a new market for the media but that it has a promising future.

Amnah Al Hosani, another media student from Middlesex University, said she attended the event primarily because of her interest in the field of broadcasting and public relations.

“I want to have an idea about what’s happening, to see the movies, learn about different backgrounds and ideas,” she said.

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Lights, Camera, Action: A Career in Films

Published on September 5, 2005

From the International Herald Tribune – In France, film schools are springing up and providing jobs for graduates, despite the tough job market, says Jeffrey Goldberg, international section chief for the Paris-Cherbourg school Eicar. Goldberg admits that the film industry is probably not expanding as fast as the mushrooming film school community, but says the advent of digital video in the 1990’s has revolutionized the whole business. “Although students will not be handed $4 million to make a film when they leave,” he says, “there are huge opportunities in documentaries, television commercials and music videos.”

While Goldberg says the industry used to be concentrated in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Bombay, now “the money comes from everywhere, and in Europe many films are cross-border coproductions.” Eicar, whose intake into the international section has jumped from 12 in 2003 to 60 in 2005, is no exception to the boom. Goldberg says his section’s advantages include the fact that it offers English-language teaching in France, “the cradle of cinema and the ‘ooh la la’ culture,” as he calls it, and that the fees are relatively low. A Bachelor of Fine Arts in film directing costs about €8,500 ($6,316) a year, while a Master of Fine Arts degree costs around €14,500 a year. Teachers are all professional filmmakers, says Goldberg, “because it is a question not just of understanding the craft, but of doing it.” One new phenomenon this year is that more than 50 percent of applicants are American. “There have always been a few, but never this number,” says Goldberg. But numbers and cash tell only part of the story. Eicar prides itself in the quality of its teaching and of the films that its students produce. “I have been told they are among the best from any school in the world,” he says. Students work part of the time with 35-millimeter film, and all leave with a professional-standard cassette or DVD of short films they have made and an original feature film script to show prospective employers. New to the international program next autumn should be courses in cinematography and sound.

Another vital ingredient is keeping up with the exponential change in technology, says Goldberg. Eicar, which moved its main campus to a renovated 19th-century former military hospital in Cherbourg in November 2003, is always up-to-date with the latest innovations in equipment and software. “New products come on the market every month, and we have to be there,” says Goldberg. The New York Film Academy also has a hands-on teaching approach, according to its owner, Jerry Sherlock. “We are flexible, and believe the way to become a filmmaker is to learn to make films,” he says. “The student is the client and we take our lead from them.” Since students do not necessarily have the time or cash to spend on a yearlong course, the academy offers intensive courses of five or six days a week over two to four weeks to some 4,000 students each year, says Sherlock.

Instead of students paying $100,000 to $150,000 for a three- or four-year course elsewhere, the New York Film Academy’s bill is more likely to be somewhere between $1,500 and $27,000.

The academy, which Sherlock created 13 years ago, now has nine schools, some part-time, others full-time. Six are in the United States and three are in Europe – in Paris, Florence and London. But one of Sherlock’s regrets is that demand from the French is so limited.

“French people love American films, but we get very few students from France, and don’t understand why – we wish we did,” he says.

“We would love to be able to establish a year-round school in Paris, but that is out of the question under the present circumstances.”

B.C.

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