Cartoons at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts

Attention Annapolis! Learn the art of cartooning through two individual workshops or buy both workshops as a package.  Click here and sign up today!

Steven Fischer, a two-time Emmy® nominated filmmaker and cartoonist, takes us through his personal journey in cartoons that led to an award-winning career in the arts working on projects with such creative luminaries as Martin Scorsese, Brian Cox, Mariska Hargitay, and animation legend Bill Melendez. Fischer explores the philosophy and psychology of character creation, inspiration, creativity, and storytelling in ways that help aspiring storytellers effectively bring their characters and stories to life. Students may register for the Lecture/Q & A and Workshop separately or for both with the Cartooning Series Package.

Love Your Characters to Life: Lecture and Q & A

Wednesday, March 29 | 7-8 pm

A 2D Guide to Creating 3D Characters: Workshop

Saturday, April 1 | 9:30 am-12:30 pm

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Old School New School on Film Monthly

Old School New School review at filmmonthly.com

Photographer Herman Leonard, attorney Diane Davison, film director Steven Fischer at opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City, October 2009. Photo by Rick Edwards.

Director Steven Fischer with his cousin, Kathleen Monroe, Baltimore, Maryland.

Old School, New School

by Caress Thirus

We open on a common scene – a slightly flustered journalist making small talk with his interviewee as he prepares to ask his questions. Old School, New School is a documentary that follows Steven Fischer as he explores the different paths people take to develop their creative fingerprint, aka, their “voice”. A lot of people forget that documentaries are still films. Though they are informational, they’re meant for entertainment. There’s a sense of practical humor to this entire film, and key aspects are held from the audience so as to keep their interest. The first two minutes are sure to stir up a swirl of questions that Fisher and its interviewees answer during the film. “What is your voice, and how do you find it?” It’s a common question that anyone in an art-related career has asked themselves, time and time again. Though commonly asked, the answer is never straightforward. For some, the answer is simple; for others, not so much. This documentary compares and contrasts the answers given by different people in different careers, from dancers to cinematographers to musicians. The film is opinionated, but full of good opinions that are supported with logical reasoning. This is a film about voice, after all. How inappropriate would it be not to have an opinion or two? The entire documentary has a very honest feel to it; it’s realistic rather than rigged. Unfortunately, this causes it to drag in areas, but it always seems to pick back up. This movie is definitely in need of a soundtrack (and perhaps a more relevant title). It’s basic; there’s nothing unusual, and with all of the artistic people who were interviewed, it is upsetting to learn that none of their work is showcased in the film. Old School, New School sort of feels as if the filmmaker didn’t want to cut any of his interviews, and he left too many [unnecessary] clips in the film, making it too long. Still, the film feels organized and planned enough for the audience to keep watching. The viewer feels as if he or she is actually in the room with Fisher and the various people he interviews. It’s easy to get pulled into the stories they tell. In the end, the infamous question still stands. How does one go about defining their personal voice? Perhaps musician McCoy Tyner put it most simply when he said, “You found something you liked to do. It’s a matter of developing by doing it.”

Most information is derived from IMDB’s daily news, the Chicago dailies (Tribune and Sun Times), Entertainment Weekly, MSN.com, various sources as listed, and by just paying attention.

Caress Thirus is a student at Roosevelt University and a film enthusiast.

E-mail us at filmmonthly@gmail.com

Acting for Directors workshop at St John’s College Film Institute, New Mexico!

Many thanks to Scott Hannan and David Carl for hosting my workshop at St. John’s College!

St John’s College in beautiful Santa Fe, NM.

Steven Fischer directing class participants.

 

Steven Fischer presents: Acting for Directors at St. John’s College Summer Film Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexcio.

 

This interactive workshop is an introduction to acting. Animation and live action directors will experience the fundamentals of acting to generate performance ideas they can use to help bring on-screen characters to life.

 

Characterization, delivery, timing, expression, motivation, body language, and movement will be studied through a variety of storytelling and acting exercises. Participants will simultaneously use the discoveries they make during these exercises to create an original story.

 

Objective:

To understand acting and how it relates to animation and/or live action storytelling, and how these skills can be used to bring characters to life, to experience feelings and learn to trust instincts, to experience acting (body language, tone, pace, rhythm) and apply the experience to the building of believable characters.

Seeking Venues in New Mexico

On July 3, 2015, Steven Fischer presents an Acting for Directors workshop at St. John’s College Summer Film Institute .

We are actively seeking additional venues for Steven in Santa Fe/Albuquerque area this July: universities, creativity coalitions, schools, business, bookstores, art centers — any place that might be looking for a guest speaker on creativity and storytelling. Know of a place looking for a guest speaker? Leave a comment on this blog or contact Shirley Hogsett at Destiny Speakers Bureau.

Thanks!

John Cleese on Creativity

Click here to watch an insightful, inspiring speech from John Cleese at Video Arts on Creativity. He reminds us of the value space, time, confidence, and humor have in our ability to tap into our full creative potential. Some of the ideas are present in Old School New School.

OSNS on OSNS

Steven Fischer, producer of Old School New School the movie, will be appearing on Old School New School the podcast on Thursday, July 7 2011 at 6.30pm PST. More details to come.

Old School New School Released!

Old School New School with Brian Cox released today! Please watch the movie, post a comment, and share the link with anyone interested in creative self development. Thank you for all your continued interest and support of our journey into the mystery of creativity.

Watch the movie here.

Brian Cox and McCoy Tyner Shoots

In the past few days here in NYC, we’ve recorded Brian Cox, McCoy Tyner and Francisco Mela for Old School New School, our inspirational study on creativity and how young people can reach their full creative potential.

Brian proved a true delight, a gracious host, and was so animated and electric when he spoke I’ve no doubt his appearance in the movie will be a highlight.

With McCoy I’ve never laughed so much during a recorded conversation. He displays such a lively spirit, even though in his 70s, the child within him is still alive and vibrant. He’s such a playful, fun-loving soul.

Francisco was generous with his thoughts and equally as lively as McCoy. It’s going to be fun to edit these conversations.

A journalist joined us on the shoots as he is filing a feature story for City Paper and Urbanite. He observed the shoots, made a lot of notes, and at the end of the day we spent an hour in a nearby cafe interviewing about the movie over coffee. More details to come.

Many thanks to DP Chris Cassidy and videographer Fred Weil for capturing these three remarkable storytellers, and for giving as much as they did to make the shoot a terrific experience.

L-R: Fred Weil, Steven Fischer, Brian Cox, Chris Cassidy shooting Old School New School, New York City, June 2010.

Loring Cornish and Brian Cox to Appear in Old School New School

Two exciting up-coming shoots for Old School New School, our educational study on creativity.

Visionary artist Loring Cornish is an energetic and exciting communicator whose art is highly stylized and personalized. He works primarily with glass and has covered a variety of surfaces, including two houses top to bottom!

Brian Cox is an actor’s actor, through and through. He is known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and his portrayal of King Lear, but you may have also seen him on the silver screen in Troy, The Bourne Supremacy, Braveheart, Rob Roy, Deadwood, the list goes on and on…

More details to come, and more news to share…

A 44 inch x 36 inch mosaic by Loring Cornish.

Brian Cox in Running with Scissors (2006).

OSNS on Film Cast Live

Film Cast Live posted a review of the OSNS screening in Hollywood, June 20th. The writer’s name is George Leon and he had some great words to share!

Click here to check it out!

Thanks for the kudos, George!

OSNS panel discussion, Los Angeles, CA, June 2009 (L-R) Brett Paesel, Mark Goffman, Steven Fischer, Steve Melendez, Mike Polcino