Meet: Tribeca Flashpoint Academy

Recently I attended a movie screening where I chatted with the young man sitting next to me.  He said he was studying filmmaking at Tribeca Flashpoint Academy, located in Chicago's Loop area.

From the website:

Tribeca Flashpoint Academy is one of the industry’s most well-known and respected media arts schools—providing intensive, direct-to-industry associate degree programs that propel graduates into “the business” in a way few other institutions can

A venture with Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Enterprises, Tribeca Flashpoint Academy offers a progressive training model that erases the boundaries between education and the professional world by exposing students to real-world, industry experiences and state-of-the-art software and equipment beginning their first semester on campus.

Part college, part industry apprenticeship, TFA equips graduates with the up-to-the minute technical skills, robust resume of real-world experiences, and powerful industry know-how they need to launch their careers in the digital media arts.

He told me that student filmmakers there learn by doing--short films are produced with all the expected roles filled by the students--director, producer, sound, etc.   Projects don't just include the typical short films or documentaries, but also video games, interactive media, graphic design and animation effects.  The films are produced via funding procured through the website IndieGoGo.

This student and I had a nice time talking about movies as we waited for the movie to begin, which due to technical difficulties ended up being an hour later than planned.  If you get a chance to visit Tribeca Flashpoint, be sure to check out their funky art exhibit that is in the lobby space.