MultiChoice Talent Factory announces series of masterclasses in partnership with New York Film Academy
Off the back of a successful Canon x MTF masterclass series, the MultiChoice Talent Factory is excited to announce the next masterclass series in partnership with the New York Film Academy over the next 6 months.
Designed as a series of educational virtual masterclasses, the series aims to empower emerging and existing talent from across the African continent, by bringing the best-in-class both locally and internationally of each of the selected topics.
The series officially kicked off on 08 September 2022, with a Directing Actors Masterclass. The session was facilitated by Jonathan Whittaker a New York-based Producer and Director with over 20 years of experience in lensed features, short films, music videos, live concerts, commercials, TV shows, virtual reality experiences and 3D specials.
The directing actors masterclass focused on the tools and techniques used by directors to communicate the essence of a scene to their actors. Attendees of the masterclass explored and practised the principles of acting techniques, learned the vocabulary of filmmaking for actors and understanding the art of collaborating with talent when creating content.
Aspiring and established African storytellers are encouraged to attend the upcoming masterclasses:
Theme: Production Design
Date and time: Monday, 14 November at 16:00 – 17:30 GMT
The Production Design Masterclass will focus on The Art of Visual Storytelling and will be hosted by Uzair Merchant. Uzair is a multiple award-winning filmmaker, designer, and the founder of bkreativ productions in Vancouver. Having studied Production Design from Nottingham Trent University in the UK, Uzair then pursued his dreams within cinema at the New York Film Academy earning a certificate in filmmaking. He has 14 years of experience in the film business in various countries and projects ranging from features and TV shows. Uzair has also designed the World’s Largest Cultural Theme Park: Global Village in Dubai for 6 years, winning Best Pavilion Award. His last short series ‘Chasing lines’ (Shot on iPhone) has won him 11 awards from Los Angeles Film Awards, New York Film Awards and many more international festivals.
For this masterclass, attendees can expect to learn more about production design elements such as mood, tone, character, creating sets, and the designer’s role in the overall aesthetic and artistic look of the project. As well as everything and anything visual, that not only helps tell the story better but creates the environment for the actor to live in and the audience to want to live in it.
