NSCAD film grads stepping out onto red carpet
NSCAD graduates made a splash at the Atlantic Film Festival this year, making a name for themselves and the seven-year-old program at the Halifax arts college.
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Students of the NSCAD Film program get hands-on experience in the medium. Photo: Chris Muise
Since starting the course in the beginning of the decade, the film studies program at the Nova Scotia College for Art and Design is starting to show results.
Several NSCAD students swept the 29th Atlantic Film Festival's short film category this year, including 28-year-old Joel MacKenzie's Super Science, which took Best Atlantic Short film, while Jared MacLeod and Adam Rafuse won Best Art Direction for their movie Ghost Vase. MacLeod and MacKenzie are both NSCAD grads ,MacKenzie having graduated from the film program in 2008, and Rafuse is set to graduate this year.
With the first wave of graduates hitting the market since the program's inception in 2002, Solomon Nagler believes the program prepares fresh young filmmakers to make it in the real world.
"Primarily what we're interested in is creating directors," said Nagler, one of the head instructors for the program.
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The office for the Halifax branch of the Director's Guild of Canada. Photo: Chris Muise
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"In terms of training, our primary interest is teaching people about independent directorial vision."
Since 2004, 54 students have graduates majored in film. According to Nagler, NSCAD focuses on training students to work in "Above the Line" aspects of filmmaking - more creative positions such as art director, cinematographer, producer, and, of course, director.
"People below the line would be technicians," said Nagler. While the program does feature technical training, more emphasis is put on the creative side of movie making at NSCAD. "They have to think in a much larger scope than just the bells and whistles of the instruments."
Lauren Bell, a third-year student, only recently decided to major in film.
"Last year I signed up for Intro to Film, and I fell in love with it," said Bell, who is currently working on directing one of the six student films NSCAD approves each year. She says there's more of a balance at NSCAD, a balance that will be useful down the line.
"I'm sure schools like the Nova Scotia Community College, their program is really technical, so it probably gives them a better grasp of that," said Bell. "But here it incorporates your ideas, making a story. It's a nice balance between technical and artistic."
"Walking the producer's dog" first, directing later
According to those in the industry, the NSCAD program is a great step in the right direction, but it will take more than just a diploma to become a director.
"Right now we have at least half a dozen to a dozen [NSCAD graduates] who are members of our overall membership in Atlantic Canada," said the business agent for the Atlantic branch of the Director's Guild of Canada, a body that represents people in the "above the line" part of the film industry that NSCAD aims to make..
"They're all in more junior categories at this point," said Tim Storey.,
Storey says NSCAD's film program provides a good start for aspiring filmmakers, but there's no program that gives students enough experience to immediately sit in the director's seat.
"While they are gearing them towards going into those management positions, and those key creative positions," said Storey, "they'll still need to come out they'll still need to get experience on real world projects."
Storey says young filmmakers need to be realistic about what they'll be doing once they start working on real projects.
"They're not going to be coming out and directing Steven Spielberg's next picture. That's going to come with time and building of contacts," said Storey.
"Chances are they're going to be working as a production assistant running photocopies and walking the producer's dog. They'll start off that way, but if they're good and they're diligent and they're responsible, then they will move up the ladder."
Nagler says the first years of the program were a success, but it's going to be a while before he expects to see NSCAD students become well known.
"It's starting," Nagler said. "[The program] took baby steps, and now we're running marathons."
Nagler says they're looking into improving the program in the near future, including introducing a graduate program.
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