KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts announces New Chair of Motion Picture Production
In its 40th year of Acting, Musical Theatre, and Motion Picture Production training, KD Conservatory is delighted to announce the new Chairman of its Motion Picture Production Program: Robert J. Castaldo. He succeeds the founder and 10-year Chair of the program Dennis Bishop, who is stepping down on February 20th, 2019 after 10 years of academic leadership at the award-winning school. Mr. Bishop will continue to serve the Conservatory in an advisory role, under the title of Chair Emeritus.
DALLAS, April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Commenting on Bob Castaldo's new role, Bishop said:
"Though I will miss the day to day experiences of working alongside KD's students and instructors, I am extremely excited about this new opportunity for Bob. Having known Bob for over 20 years, I have full confidence in his ability to take our Motion Picture Production program to the next level of success."
Mr. Castaldo will be taking over the role of Motion Picture Production Chair at a time of significant change for KD Conservatory (http://kdstudio.com/) as long-time Conservatory Director, T.A. Taylor, retired late in 2017 and veteran KD Acting Instructor, Mike Schraeder, stepped up to fill the position at the start of KD's 2017 Fall Semester.
Castaldo has been an instructor in the program from its onset, teaching courses in all levels of Film Production, Editing, and Post Sound. Commenting on his new position, Castaldo said:
"This is a very interesting time to take over the Chair position. Considering the changes occurring throughout Higher Education and within our Conservatory, along with the continual innovations taking place in the Film Industry, I am very excited to help future filmmakers develop the skills that will prepare them for the professional world. Dennis Bishop has created such an effective, mentor-based curriculum, allowing instructors the opportunity to spend invaluable one-on-one time working with our students. It is an ideal curriculum for someone who is passionate about teaching and for someone who is passionate about learning.
KD Conservatory Director and Acting Chair Mike Schraeder added:
"We are sad to see Dennis retiring. His contributions to our Conservatory are beyond measure. However, what a privilege it will be to work alongside Bob Castaldo. The breadth of his filmmaking experience and knowledge is second to none. Not only that, he is passionate about teaching and student success—a perfect combination for a Higher Education Administrator. He is the type of leader a film school needs when facing future challenges. This is, indeed, an exciting time to be a teacher and a student at KD."
About Robert "Bob" Castaldo
In a film and video career that spans four decades, Robert "Bob" Castaldo has worked on hundreds of films, television shows, commercials, music videos, and corporate/industrial/training videos. Along the way, he has explored every aspect of bringing a script-to-screen, from writing, producing, and directing, to cinematography, location sound recording, and set decoration, to picture, sound, and music editing.
In the 90s, Bob turned his focus to post-production—the area that most industry professional will recognize him in—working as a picture editor, sound editor, foley artist, and motion graphics designer. Over a twenty-year span, he has worked on over thirty narrative films, including Fall Down Dead, Garrison, Living And Dying, Hollow's End, She Gets What She Wants (aka Slap Her, She's French), American Nightmare, Learning Curve (aka Detention), Night Vision, Takedown, Winning Colors and Positive I.D. and the feature length documentaries Ned Rorem: Word And Music, The Stages Of Edward Albee and Our New Family.
Castaldo taught for several years at The University of Texas at Arlington, teaching narrative film production, commercial video, and video art. While there, he developed a very successful "Introduction to Film and Video" course that establish the foundational groundwork for hundreds of successful young filmmakers and became the basis for the curriculum he presents to this day.
An active member of the film community, Bob regularly participates in panel discussions, seminars, workshops, and conferences, and has been featured in print, digital media and television. He is a past member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700, and is one of the founding members of the Dallas DaVinci Resolve User Group, making regular presentations on post-production technique.
Mr. Castaldo joined the KD Conservatory Motion Picture Production program (http://kdstudio.com/) as one of its original faculty members in 2009 at the invitation of founding Chair, Dennis Bishop and eagerly looks forward to playing his part in introducing the film industry to the next generation of filmmakers.
About KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts
For 40 years, KD Conservatory has been dedicated to the development of the nation's future actors and filmmakers and to the creation of avenues into the professional world of entertainment. A subsidiary of KD Studio Inc., KD Conservatory offers an Associate of Applied Arts degree in Acting, Musical Theatre, and Motion Picture Production. It has been rated "Exemplary" by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, designated as one of the Top 8 Performing Arts Conservatory's in the U.S. by Backstage, and has prepared thousands of actors, musical theatre performers, and filmmakers for work in the entertainment industry since 1979.
For more information on KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts please visit (http://kdstudio.com/) or call (214) 638-0484.
SOURCE KD Conservatory College
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