Mo-Sys Academy Students Set for Promising Careers

Mo-Sys Academy students set for promising careers as short film wins multiple awards

Three talented Mo-Sys Academy students look set for promising careers as their short film, Balance wins multiple awards at the University of Greenwich’ BAFTA styled film and television GRAFTAs.

Mo-Sys Academy invited students from universities to attend the Virtual Production Practical Summer School 2021, an intensive six-week course designed to introduce students to virtual production through hands-on practical learning with the latest technology.

Set on the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, Balance follows the journey of trainee astronaut, Ben who is working to complete training and follow in his father’s footsteps. The production used a mix of traditional and virtual production with the team utilising Mo-Sys Academy studios to film the virtual scenes in just two days.

Mo-Sys Academy students set for promising careers as Balance wins multiple GRAFTA Awards from the University of Greenwich

I massively enjoyed working on Balance since I was able to explore the process of virtual production in detail with a crew I trusted. As a cinematographer there are a lot of new things you may need to know, to prepare yourself for the shoot. Virtual production allows you to set up a scene in the virtual environment even before getting to the studio. All that’s left during the production process is trying to imitate that light in front of the green screen. The experience I gained during the Mo-Sys Academy training was crucial when working on Balance. When making the shot list I already knew what things would look like and what scenes would be more complicated to film than the others in that way saving time on the set.

Director of Photography, Emils Lisovskis

Led by Juliette Thymi, a senior VP Technician and experienced Virtual Production Producer who has worked on projects for Netflix, ITV and BBC. Mo-Sys’ Academy aims to build students confidence and provide valuable experience, priding itself on a friendly, collaborative learning environment for all skill levels.

During their time with Mo-Sys Academy the team worked through a practical exercise set on a desert alien planet and this would become the forerunner to ‘Balance’. Judged by a panel of recognised industry professionals, Balance picked up nominations for all categories, winning four of them; Best Director, Best Producer, Best Production Design and Best Sound Design.

We are incredibly proud to see three former Academy students following a path of Virtual Production and winning awards so quickly. I am confident the team have fantastic careers ahead of them.

Juliette Thymi, Mo-Sys Academy

Since attending the Academy, the team have stayed in touch, not just for ‘Balance’ but bringing more ideas and collaborating with Mo-Sys on projects like the TEDx University of Greenwich VP event.

When I got accepted at Mo-Sys Academy 2021, I knew there and then that I would use Virtual Production to create my film. In the 2 weeks course I learned all I could so that I would be able to tell a story that could take place in an exotic environment, furthermore, the short film we've done at the end of the Academy served as a great proof of concept to how Balance could turn out. 

We had little experience in VP apart from the Mo-Sys Academy, however when I created the story I had I mind the fact that I would like to mix traditional filmmaking with virtual production, so I could benefit from the best of both worlds. I planned on using VP to recreate the desert, for the interiors I planned on using real locations. This created the basis and offered us familiar territory to play with considering that in the Academy exercise our story took place on a desert alien planet, basically using the exercise and what we learned in our favour so that this time we could make bigger and better.

It was an overwhelming feeling finding out that our film was nominated for all categories at the GRAFTA awards. I have to give credit where credit is due, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the film Balance or produce the TEDx University of Greenwich VP event without the help and knowledge of my crew members Emils Lisovskis and Eduard Fadgyas. Also, none of these projects would have been possible without the teachings from the Mo-Sys Academy, led by Juliette Thymi and Dom Smith. Thanks guys!

Director/VP Supervisor & Producer, Jean Ciuntu

Mo-Sys Academy has announced new course dates in the UK and Los Angeles. Spaces are limited and demand is expected to be high. Visit Mo-Sys Academy for more information and to book your place.