Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) April 24, 2012

Ringling College of Art and Design today reported on the completion of the third season of the Colleges Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab, which featured actor/director Forest Whitaker in the season finale leading question and answer sessions with students, local filmmakers and media following a screening of his Academy Award-winning performance in “The Last King of Scotland.”

In the public question and answer session moderated by producer Paul Schiff, Forest stated that, Honestly, you can make a movie and you can tell a story. It is possible, its more than possible – you can do it, its just a question of having the fortitude to push it forward and getting somebody to see it. Of particular interest to Ringling students was Mr. Whitaker’s transition from actor to director and what they could learn through his experiences to become better directors themselves.

Ringling College president Dr. Larry R. Thompson said, Forest provided great insight into the development of character and an actors need for direction to embrace their character. His enlightened social consciousness and the ongoing commitment of his professional talents to projects addressing pressing societal issues was both instructional and inspirational to Ringling students seeking to make a difference with their work.

Forest provided an exceptional finale to a third season that also included Elijah Wood, Edward Burns, James Woods and Whit Stillman, said Sam Logan, who with Future of Films cofounder David Shapiro, partnered with Ringling to develop the Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab. Over the past three years Ringling students have learned from, worked with and have been recruited by Werner Herzog, Bill Paxton, Martha Stewart, Andy Garcia, Paul Schiff, Oren Moverman, Ben Foster and Ed Carroll, among others. The Ringling College Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab is providing our students with industry access on par with, or exceeding, film schools in Los Angeles and New York.

Ringling College class of 2011 Digital Filmmaking graduate Jason Letkiewicz said that, “The skills I learned and the people I became close with during my time at Ringling have been essential to my growth as a director. Less than a year out of college I find myself directing projects for the largest studio in NYC and competing for big national jobs. It is surreal to step off your set and see Martin Scorsese working on something across the hall. There is no question that I have a lot to thank this school for.”

The Studio Lab began its third season in November 2011 with director, actor and writer Edward Burns discussing the evolution of the film production and distribution process. Mr. Burns drilled down on the new economics of film with students. His experience shooting, producing and distributing the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes and the lessons learned have provided an interesting new model for aspiring filmmakers. In due time its my belief that direct to consumer sales is how a lot of people – not only filmmakers – are going to be getting their art, their work, to the people that want it. Youre seeing it now in the publishing world with ebooks, youve seen bands like Radiohead do it and its only a matter of time before the indie, or specialized, movie business, starts to do that as well, Eddie stated in an interview with Ringling students.

Academy Award