Prestigious acting school NIDA training future YouTube stars
IT has produced some of Australia’s biggest stars of stage and screen, now the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) has launched a “raw footage” course aimed at training YouTube stars of the future.
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BURN the casting couch and take a seat in the director’s chair: Australia’s most prestigious drama school is now teaching hopefuls how to become YouTube stars.
The National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), which trained some of our most famous thespians including Cate Blanchett and Toni Collette, has recently launched a “raw footage” course as part of its NIDA Open program.
This teaches — among other things — how to navigate the film and TV world without classical acting training.
It’s a first for the 60-year-old Sydney-based institution but an essential one for the acclaimed school because — according to course chief Tricia Ryan — “every second kid that walks in wants to be a YouTube presenter”.
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It comes as more and more Hollywood actors and directors get their starts via social media as opposed to theatre and the TV and film audition circuit.
“So what these courses do is essentially teach students how to present yourself in what is a very different and changing media environment,” Ms Ryan told The Sunday Telegraph.
“In a broader sense it’s also about looking at the way people use communication and creative skills and applying them to different arts environments.”
Unlike classical acting courses that teach skills such as acting on stage and preparing for screen auditions, the new breed of training offers components in music video making and how to use recording devices like iPhones to “bring a narrative to life”.
Filmmaker Ben Matthews, a graduate of the Australian Film and Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and Atlantic Theatre Company in New York, said students no longer need to rely on the traditional filming TV audition route to build a career.
Big money is now being made through posting content direct to YouTube and, for those who don’t make an initial commercial impact, there are always producers and casting agents watching.
“Auditioning is a bit like buying a lottery ticket — there’s only one winner and no runner-up,’ Mathews said.
“Now creating your own content is a win-win. If it takes off on YouTube great but, if not, there is still a chance someone from a production platform can see it.”
Those platforms include Foxtel, which recently commissioned an entire comedy series out of YouTube performers (Slot) as well as streaming services like Netflix, Stan, ABC iView, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
Aspiring stars are also tempted by the money on offer.
YouTubers can expect to earn about $10,000 per 100,000 views through advertising.
And you could end up like Daniel Middleton (DanTDM) who rakes in $21 million a year, Lilly Singh (iisuperwomanii) who takes home $13.5 million and has a budding movie career or Dude Perfect, a group of mates who have turned a YouTube channel diversified into a mobile app and were given a TV show by Nickelodeon.
Against that, the starting wage of actors looks pretty slim.
According to the 2018 Equity Minimums, theatre performers can take home $1145.70 a week, while a Performer Class 2 in a feature film can look forward to $1176.44 a week.
NIDA teacher and former classical acting graduate Pip Edwards now teaches students how to compile their own audition reels to email direct to casting agents.
“The older theatre technique doesn’t really help now because actors are taking control of their own careers, shooting their own shows and making their own content,” Edwards, who graduated from the same three-year NIDA undergraduate acting course completed by Blanchett and Collette, said.
But “that technique doesn’t help me any more”.
“Now it’s about sending clips direct to casting agents and producers and essentially cutting out the middle man.”
Not surprisingly the new media courses “instantly sell out”, although there still remains interest in classical training for some actors keen on the stage.
“We are surprised how many people still show an interest in the Shakespeare avenue,” said Ms Ryan.
Randwick’s Amber Langman, 15, said she has taken the course to brush up on her digital skills, although she said her true love is the theatre.
“But performing arts is a very cutthroat industry and with film there are a lot more opportunities now than in theatre,” she said.
“I prefer theatre though. I love the atmosphere of the stage and the excitement you get from it. But I feel like its popularity is decreasing slightly.”
NIDA will also, for the first time, offer free courses to select students in their junior programs (ages 2-5) to be more accessible to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Originally published as Prestigious acting school NIDA training future YouTube stars
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