In addition to the New York Film Academy’s intensive curriculum, which provides artists the opportunity to explore their craft in a hands-on environment, students are strongly encouraged to network both inside and outside of their programs. One of our filmmaking graduates, Sean Robinson, was introduced to the popular, modern Irish step-dance team Hammerstep through NYFA Musical Theatre alumnus Conor McIntyre. Following the introduction, the Brooklyn based award-winning director was hired to direct and edit a film—with cinematography from NYFA grad Esteban Robles—to promote their dance troupe. After Robinson had the trailer ready to go, it caught the eye of Amy Lee, the famous lead singer of Evanescence. She was so impressed with the film that she came on board to compose the original score, along with Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer.
“Amy’s involvement is what really catapulted the project, lending its visibility in mainstream platforms,” said Robinson.
The completed short, Indigo Grey: The Passage is a seven-minute audio-visual experience that premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival and has so far been officially selected to screen at 19 International film festivals and has won 4 awards, including best original score. The film has already garnered praise from publications like ABC and the Huffington Post.
“Whisking you away with its sweeping cinematography, the film was well edited, elegantly directed, and hypnotically choreographed to a riveting soundtrack. Indigo Grey: The Passage is a truly one-of-a-kind project that merges the worlds of film, dance, sci-fi, art and music. With its lack of dialogue, the young Lok’s budding acting performance is extremely impactful as he relies solely on his emotional expression and movement to carry the narrative. A lavish feast of sensory stimulation, this short film has successfully captured the attention of its viewers by transporting them to another dimension and most impressively, all within its humble seven minutes.” — Huffington Post
Robinson is now working on developing Indigo Grey: The Passage into a feature, in collaboration with Jason Oremus and Garrett Coleman.
“My filmmaking knowledge derives from training and working with instructors at NYFA—namely Paul Warner, who is my biggest mentor,” said Robinson. “It sounds cliche, but NYFA has definitely changed my life.”
Additionally, Robinson is in the middle of editing a third feature, The Independents, with cinematography by NYFA Cinematography Instructor Piero Basso and line-produced by NYFA Producing Instructor Dorottya Mathe.
As you may be able to tell, Robinson’s NYFA roots go deep and his networking has paid off ten fold.