So, I am just back from a week in Beijing. It turned out to be very productive, from a number of different perspectives. In my role as Chair of the Broadcast Journalism department, I think it was definitely a success. As usual, I was “multitasking,” with three different projects in play…
It was great to be on the campus of the Beijing Film Academy again. I met with about 60 freshmen, who had just arrived the previous week. It was the first time many of them had heard about the New York Film Academy (NYFA), so I spoke in general terms about the school, its philosophy, facilities, and locations. However, I did play for them videos produced by current and former NYFA Broadcast Journalism students. (That includes Lara Gato’s Resume Reel; a recent “live shot” by Alyssia Taglia; and My NYFA Experience by Sara Quintana.)
The students were a receptive audience, asking lots of good questions. Afterwards, about a dozen of them chatted with me and/or Christina He, of NYFA’s Beijing office. BFA also gave me the opportunity to contemplate what it might be like to win an Oscar…
Later I ran a workshop at the China Film Group. This audience was very different. It was made up of media professionals who wanted to improve and expand their skill set. Surprisingly, a number of them are interested in non-fiction film and video production.
In addition to my standard PPT presentation, we had an extended Q&A session. Frankly, I think it was the high point of the afternoon. The participants had a chance to ask some very specific questions, about both video production as well as NYFA.
None of this would have been possible without Dr. Joy Zhu, NYFA’s Executive Vice President for the China Region, who did all of the preliminary work. And given my extremely limited Mandarin, without Christina I would have been left awkwardly smiling at the front of two very crowded rooms…
As for my production work in Beijing, the schedule was — as usual — hectic. We shot at multiple locations around town, as well as spending a day in the studio. Fortunately I was working with friends, so everything was done amazingly fast. (And since the scene below was a waist shot, no one saw my wrinkled pants. It was one hot, humid day in Beijing…)
I ended my trip ended being interviewed by a reporter from China Daily. While the focus was on Century Masters, I talked about my new documentary Shanghai 1937 into the conversation as well. (There is going to be big news about that program very soon…)
Now, all I have to do is get my body back on New York time…
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