Patrizia von Brandenstein Joins Film Faculty at SVA

School of Visual Arts (SVA) has appointed Oscar-winning production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein (Amadeus, The Untouchables, Working Girl) to the faculty. For her first teaching appointment anywhere, von Brandenstein joins the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department at SVA to teach Advanced Production Design. In addition, von Brandenstein will advise the department on how students can tailor their studies at SVA to pursue a career in production design.

"It is a great and rare pleasure to be part of a film design program where I will not only have the opportunity to influence young filmmakers about the importance of film design but add something special to an already admirable film school," says von Brandenstein.

Reeves Lehmann, chair of the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department, says, "To be mentored by working filmmakers who are at the top of their game is the essence of our students' experience, so we couldn't be happier to have Patrizia von Brandenstein join the faculty at SVA."

Patrizia von Brandenstein was the first woman to win an Oscar for production design, for Milos Forman's Amadeus and was nominated for two others: The Untouchables and Ragtime. In a career launched by her costume design for the 1977 cultural watershed Saturday Night Fever, von Brandenstein has collaborated with some of the great film directors of our time and distinguished herself with an incredible range of projects. Her credits as production designer include A Chorus Line, Billy Bathgate, The Last Station, Limitless, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Postcards from The Edge, Silkwood, Six Degrees of Separation and Working Girl).

Advanced Production Design is a required course for students specializing in cinematography that deals with transforming the physical and psychological environment of their thesis script into visual reality. Through sketches, location shooting, dressing the set and addressing construction needs, students begin the process of constructing an environmental visual palette for their story.

Faculty of the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department include Howard Beckerman (Mighty Mouse), Joan Brooker (Larry Flynt: The Right to be Left Alone, We Got Us), Dejan Georgevich (Gossip Girl), Biljana Labovic (Hair High), Vincent LoBrutto (Martin Scorsese: A Biography, Kubrick), Chris Newman (The Godfather, The Exorcist) and James Strouse (Grace is Gone; Lonesome Jim).

Students in the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department can earn a degree in film/video or animation. From their first day of study, students are immersed in the aesthetic and technical training of the art of visual storytelling. The curriculum focuses on the essential elements of a well-crafted screenplay; techniques for working with actors and being a part of a professional production set; the visual and psychological choices for cinematography; and the structure and rhythm of editing. Students may choose to specialize in directing, cinematography, editing or screenwriting.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields. SVA provides an environment that nurtures creativity, inventiveness and experimentation, enabling students to develop a strong sense of identity and a clear direction of purpose.