The silver screen may be closer than ever for Syracuse University film students.

The Film House, a film production company, is moving into the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries.

“The first thing you should know is that what they’re calling the film hub is actually a culmination of two things: a campus in Dewitt and a nanotechnology program,” said Larry Elin, a television, radio and film professor.

While The Film House is creating a lot of buzz, some might wonder why they decided to come to the Syracuse area, where there has been no prior history of filmmaking.

“Syracuse has the best film program in the state outside of New York City, so if you’re going to go upstate, you’re going to look at Syracuse very seriously,” said Owen Shapiro, Shaffer Professor of Film in the Department of Transmedia in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. He cited on-hand student talent, geography and the smaller price tag, compared to that of working in New York City, as specific areas of allure for production companies.

Other than SU’s strong film school, moving to Syracuse is also financially attractive, Elin said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo started a series of tax breaks for companies that align themselves with state universities. The Film House will also receive a tax credit for post-production: if the company remains in-state instead of sending their project to places like Los Angeles, the government will essentially pay the bills, Elin said.

Michael Haggerty, the chief operating officer of The Film House, said the company has high praise for Cuomo for setting up the New York tax incentive and that The Film House is intrigued by the prospect of student activity.

“When we approached the idea of locating in Syracuse, one of the first things my business partner and I talked about was getting the university and the students involved,” Haggerty said.

Another reason The Film House may be moving to central New York is the opportunity to work in conjunction with a nanotechnology program. Elin said in filmmaking, nanotechnology is used to create some of the most stunning visual effects, citing “Life of Pi” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy as examples.

Dan Pacheco, a newspaper and online journalism professor, said that nanotechnology is incredibly relevant across all fields, including entertainment. He compared the kind of advances The Film House is hoping to invest in to a project he is involved with, the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that uses 3-D imaging to recreate immersive scenes.

Although The Film House is interested in student involvement, both Elin and Shapiro have different views on exactly how viable of an opportunity The Film House will become.

Shapiro said there will be opportunities for students to work with The Film House, regardless of what college they come from. He added that The Film House’s resident director Ryan Johnson is “counting on having Syracuse University students work as personal assistants or assistants or in other various roles, depending on their expertise.”

Shapiro added that students may potentially find full-time jobs at The Film House depending on how successful the company becomes.

Elin is more skeptical on how good a resource The Film House will be for SU students. He said that while promising great benefits and opportunities, The Film House might not live up to those promises.

“I’m going to be very hesitant to do anything until I’m more convinced that trustworthy people with a lot of integrity are involved in it and the likelihood that it will actually do what it’s been advertised to do,” Elin said.

Regardless of how many SU students become involved with The Film House, the company represents a new opportunity for the film industry in central New York and has the potential to develop and utilize new technologies, Pacheco said.

“For the area, it’s a really good thing,” said Pacheco. “It’s going to be generating jobs and what I understand is that it is going to be focusing on computer advances and computer graphics.”

Published on September 10, 2014 at 12:01 am