H.I.S. CLASS CONTINUES

Above is a photograph of a tour I gave recently of the Fox Foley Stage. I am often asked, "What is foley and how did it get it's name?"

Foley is a sound effects technique named after a sound effects editor at Universal Studios, Jack Foley who invented it. Foley Artists, or "Walkers" create live sound effects on a foley stage as the watch the film projected on a screen in front of them. It's an extremely creative job that takes years to master.

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

At the end of our screenwriting class, we invited some of our actor friends to come in and read our students scripts.


The actors were amazed how good these short scripts were. Like the professionals they are, they memorized and performed each script beautifully. It brought more than one of our students to tears.


Thank you!

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Last week, 33 of our HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS family met at 20th Century Fox for our first annual Christmas lunch. It was held in the Shirley Temple Room of the executive dinning room. Lots of great conversation and catching up with friends we've not seen recently.


After lunch we enjoyed a tour of the studio, including the set of BONES and New York Street.



The tour also included the scoring stage and the Foley stage (pictured above). We had such a glorious time. Everyone at HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS wishes you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy 2011!

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

Derrick Warfel, one of our continuing guest instructors, came in again to teach screenwriting. Derrick is such an incredible teacher. Our students can not stop talking about how much they enjoy and learn in his class. After their first class, he gave them their assignment..."head to the computers to start writing your first script"... Derrick doesn't just teach them screenwriting though, he also covers how to write magazine articles and short stories.



Once again, Derrick is having them all compete in The Hollywood Impact Studios writing contest. First prize will be awarded. Thanks Derrick.

Hollywood Impact Studios - News & Updates

Last week, Keith Rogers, from Smart Post Sound, came in to teach a class on Pro Tools sound editing and re-recording mixing. For those who might not know, re-recording mixing is the final step in creating the sound track for a motion picture or television show. Re-recording mixers like Keith, combine (or mix) all the final sound effects, dialogue and music. It's a very creative job and our inmate/students, really enjoyed the information. Just another possible career path. Keith was a terrific teacher. He currently mixes for the Fox show, BONES. In years past he has also worked on such hits as PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.



Thank you Keith!

HOLLYWOOD IMPACT STUDIOS - News & Updates

We're happy to report that our 20th Century Fox donated computers are all up and running. This is terrific news because now our student/inmates can use them during our screenwriting class and our resume and office skills class. Cyndi worked very hard to make this all happen. The guys couldn't be happier!

H.I.S. CLASS CONTINUES

In our last class, "Post Production", we talked a lot about visual effects. The 20th Century Fox film, AVATAR, of course had a great deal of visual effects in it. Below is a brief clip from Giant Studios (one of the visual effects companies that worked on the film). The reason I've included this, is so you can see how actors have to learn to perform, even when everything is make believe. Go to the link below and then scroll down to "Performance Capture". I think you'll find it interesting.

http://www.giantstudios.com/avatar.html




Note: To buy the movie AVATAR go to: www.avatarmovie.com