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What’s in DeRoy? Tour a young filmmaker’s paradise with Director of Film & New Media Michael Mittelstaedt
From ARRI lighting to a professional soundstage and animation suite, DeRoy Center for Film Studies is packed with tools for turning concepts into fully-produced films.
At Interlochen Center for the Arts, students don’t just learn from top instructors. They have access to outstanding facilities and equipment, which can give them a vital boost when it comes to building real-world skills.
Interlochen’s Film & New Media Division is no exception. The division makes its home in the DeRoy Center for Film Studies, a 26,000 square-foot state-of-the-art learning space dedicated to young filmmakers. Students taking summer programs or studying as Academy high school majors in filmmaking and animation can work with top-of-the-line lights, cameras, sound systems, projectors, computers, and more.
A screening room that makes movies come alive
At the heart of the DeRoy Center lies its crown jewel: a 178-seat screening room. Equipped with 7.1 surround and a 4K DCP projector, it brings films to life on a screen as wide as those found in local theaters. The projection space is used for showcasing student films as well as professional productions, and it becomes the main center of activity during Arts Academy’s annual Future of Cinema Film Festival. The impact of this technology isn't lost on industry professionals.
“When guest filmmakers come here, they can screen their work and know that it'll be seen and heard in the way it was intended to be seen and heard, with full contrast and great sound,” says Director of Film & New Media Michel Mittelstaedt. “Robert Eggers saw his film The Witch here, and he told us he’d never seen that much vivid range of contrast at a film festival before.”
Our actors are able to inhabit spaces that truly heighten their performances, offering them everything they’d typically have on location for an independent film.
The sound stage: where films go from concept to creation
The sound stage is a 40x40 black box which provides an ideal environment for filming in any kind of weather. The dark surroundings ensure that when the lights turn off, the only focus is the subject.
The sound stage hosts many of the sets that young filmmakers create for their projects.
“In this space, we've created a dilapidated spaceship, a jazz club, and an elevator with functioning doors and light-up buttons,” says Mittelstaedt. “Our actors are able to inhabit spaces that truly heighten their performances, offering them everything they’d typically have on location for an independent film.”
The sound stage is also home to top-of-the-line equipment that you’d expect to find on a Hollywood set.
“From day one, when students arrive in our lighting class, they’re learning how to safely use ARRI lighting and professional grip equipment,” says Mittelstaedt.
As students progress through their major at Arts Academy, they’re allowed more and more access to dollies, jibs, and more.
“A Blackmagic 6k Pro and cinema prime lens is a typical camera option for our senior thesis students,” says Mittelstaedt. “With more experienced crews, we’re getting out some of our most sophisticated gear, so that students can learn and apply visual storytelling skills that will serve them in college and the professional world.”
Typical equipment in a DeRoy editing suite
Edit suites for focused work
The DeRoy Center also features four edit suites, where students can cut their work just as professional editors would. Each room contains small sound monitors and a powerful iMac, creating an intimate space ideal for focused editing.
“These spaces allow our students to work in uninterrupted settings, whether it’s the director and the editor sitting side by side, or just a single student who wants to be in here and focus their work in a place that’s more enclosed and private,” says Mittelstaedt.
Arts Academy students have access to these suites from morning to curfew every day.
Classrooms that allow for in-depth film analysis
Film students spend much of their time in the DeRoy classrooms, which Mittelstaedt calls “scaled-down versions of the screening room.” Each classroom has laser projectors and 5.1 surround sound.
“Our classrooms allow us to watch films and critically understand them, providing space for rich conversations and analysis,” says Mittelstaedt. “Students understand how films are built and learn how to deconstruct them so that they can better create visual stories themselves.”
The DeRoy Center is also home to a state-of-the-art animation lab.
Animation labs with top-of-the-line equipment
DeRoy isn’t just for filmmaking students, though. It’s also home to an animation suite where students can design storyboards and sets with a variety of 2D, physical, and digital media. The animation studio features a digital lab with 27-inch state-of-the art Wacom Cintiq Systems and a 4K surround sound system, plus a physical lab including a sand table, puppetry station, and 3D printers.
Mittelstaedt (right) interviews screenwriter and television producer Allan Heinberg (IAC/NMC 80) at the Future of Cinema Film Festival.
An ideal space for collaboration
Perhaps the most exciting part of the DeRoy Center is something you can’t touch or see: the spirit of collaboration that makes Film & New Media one of the most wide-ranging arts divisions on campus.
"Our students take their imagination and manifest that through all of the essential components of filmmaking," Mittelstaedt enthuses. “They can cast talented actors from around the globe, partner with musicians, and conceptualize with visual artists.”
This multifaceted learning experience is further enriched by master classes from industry professionals. Recently, Mike Gioulakis, the director of photography of Us and an Interlochen alum himself, returned to share his expertise in creating realistic, motivated lighting. He is just one example of the numerous directors, producers, editors, and screenwriters who grace Interlochen’s campus each year.
The DeRoy Center is a nexus of technology and creativity that’s the perfect place for young filmmakers to grow. Surrounded by all the resources they need, Interlochen students are doing more than just making movies. They're learning how to tell stories that will resonate through time.
If you’d like to learn more about the program, take a virtual tour of DeRoy or explore Film & New Media at Interlochen.
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