Actor Training and Filming with Olivia Williams

Matthew Marshall- Head of Film Production with Intern Student Olivia Williams and Don Hickey- Community Engagement Manager

Meet the iFilmGroup team that is working with Olivia Williams, a Co-op intern placement with iFilmGroup. Olivia is in grade 11 and is very passionate about acting and filmmaking.

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Matthew Marshall sharing notes with Olivia Williams for the next shot.

The iFilmGroup’s mandate is to mentor individuals young and old in the art of filmmaking and acting. This has taken many forms throughout the existence of iFilmGroup. Which includes mentoring through teaching on set, and at workshops.

The iFilmGroup team has also done what is called "accredited mentorships" through educational facilities. Meaning students work a prescribed number of hours to achieve a credit or credits for an educational institution (this in the past has been on a shorter term of a few weeks to a month). But, starting in October 2021 the iFilmGroup team led by the head of film Production Matthew Marshall took on a full-term intern/co-op student from a local St. Thomas Ontario High School named Olivia Williams.

Matthew Marshall showing Olivia Williams composition of finished shot.

Olivia has worked from October 2021 to the end of May 2022 with iFilmGroup studying acting and film production. Olivia was taught about different acting styles and methods, along with learning skills of acting and the audition process. As part of the co-op, she did monologues, wrote weekly blogs about what she has done, did acting training, and various activities related to film and acting assignments.

She also participated in a film through Fanshawe College and worked on footage for the training segments iFilmGroup is producing.

Olivia Williams on set of ‘The Big Audition’ with director Matthew Marshall

“Olivia and Matthew Marshall also made a short film called “The Big Audition" in which Olivia starred in. Olivia also learned how a set was built (props, lighting, audio) and watched how other actors were directed. Olivia also met other actors and directors and crew from other productions,” says Don Hickey.

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Matthew Matthew setting the shot. Olivia Williams and Jordyn Taylor doing ‘actor to actor’ training.

“The year has been very successful and Olivia has learned a lot about the art of acting,” says Marshall. This full school year internship is something that the iFilmGroup team hopes to be able to do with more students moving forward.

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iFilmGroup
London ■ St. Thomas ■ Chatham-Kent
Ontario - Canada
WEBSITE - www.ifilmgroup.org

Olivia Williams - Joins Production Team

The iFilmGroup team is excited to announce that Olivia Williams will be doing a Co-op intern placement with iFilmGroup that will last till the spring of 2022.  Olivia is in grade 11 and is very passionate about acting, modeling, and dance. She is excited for the upcoming months with iFilmGroup and the opportunities she will get through the placement in the art of acting and modeling.

Olivia Williams applied for the Co-op position and was put through a typical audition process of first submitting a headshot and resume with acting experience. Then she had to perform a rehearsed monologue and go through an interview process with the iFilmGroup Head of Production Matthew Marshall.   Marshall admits the process is not an easy one but feels the audition process for the placement mirrors what it is like in the real world for those auditioning for roles in productions for acting. “The idea of the audition and application process is to simulate what is like for someone looking to be cast or brought on with a theatre or production group,” says Marshall.  He admits it’s not an easy or simple process but those that get through it have shown that they are up to the task.

Williams admits to being a little nervous with her audition monologue. “I was scared I would mess it up” says Williams. She found a monologue she knew and liked online and then went over it a lot of times.  In the end, she felt that she did pretty well.  Marshall backs up and confirms that Williams did well by pointing out that Williams made it through the process and was selected for the Co-Op placement. “I think that fact that she got the placement speaks to how the entire audition interview process went for her.  Williams is just getting started on the placement, but she is already enjoying talking about what her Co-Op with iFilmGroup might look like and the opportunities she might have.  “I think it sounds really exciting. I am looking forward to it” adds Williams.

The Co-op placement will include the various aspects of acting including character development, various styles of acting, and acting methods. As well it will include work on the audition process which is something Williams is glad that she will get lots of opportunities to get more comfortable with the process even if it might feel repetitive at points. 

This is not the first time iFilmGroup has offered something like this in a formal program to someone looking to expand their knowledge in an aspect of the film industry. Although iFilmGroup co-founder and Community engagement Manager Don Hickey offers up these words “the two previous Accredited Mentoring participants had experiences different than that of what Olivia Williams will have”.  Hickey is quick to point out the difference between accredited mentoring and the standard mentoring program that the iFilmGroup offers.

Standard mentoring is what the group does all the time. But the accredited mentoring is when students in high school or college/university have their school involved and the student does an internship or period of evaluation with iFilmGroup and the student is then evaluated and receives a mark and credit for their time under the mentorship of the iFilmGroup team. 

The iFilmGroup has had two previous students. “One individual did their internship during the making of a film to put in the hours required for their course. They were evaluated on their acting and performance as well as participation in the filmmaking process, along with the hours put in. This will be similar to what Williams is doing. However, Williams will follow more of the standard Co-op placement practice of having to put in a certain number of hours in a week. 

The second student was a Middle Eastern woman named Yasmine “Jasmine” Al Sayyid.  Yasmine left her home country and came to Canada to study film in post-secondary studies. While in Canada she went by the name Jasmine. She had very little opportunity to explore education and make films in her home country due to her culture. While studying film at film school here, she was looking to learn more about directing. Marshall mentored her virtually to assist with long travel.

She spent several months being mentored by Marshall several hours a week and working on a film studies credit and an independent project on the art of directing a film. With the opportunity to learn and train with Marshall, she was able to explore her passion for filmmaking. “Learning directing and filmmaking from Mr. Marshall and the iFilmGroup was a dream come true for me”, says Yasmine.

She goes on to say “I feel very blessed to be able to have learned from someone like Mr. Marshall. He creates strong female lead films. This group of people at iFilmGroup inspire me. They make me want to pursue my dream even more. I love that they allowed all people to have opportunities to explore their passions and talents within making films”, adds Yasmine. 

Following her film training, Yasmine went back home and most recently went on to submit a short film called “Prejudice” to the iFilmGroup International Film Festival. Yasmine was the director and the creative drive of the film. She says that she owes a lot of making this film to iFilmGroup for what they gave her. The film received three “Official Selection nominations” at the 2020 IFGIFF. “Prejudice” was nominated for the best short film, Yasmine Al Sayyid was nominated for “best director” and the lead actress of the film Amira Assad was nominated for “Best Actress” for her role of Maryam.  The film lost in all three categories but Al Sayyid was happy with the nomination. “It showed that what I learned was able to be applied. The nominations mean I made a good film. That is all I can ask for” says Al Sayyid. 

The focus for iFilmGroup now turns to this newest opportunity to mentor through an accredited Mentoring program opportunity. Marshall has a number of things in the works to try and give Olivia Williams an outstanding placement experience. Marshall would not divulge much of what he has planned. Just saying it was “in the works” But he did share a few tidbits. “She is likely to play a big part in working with us to get the iFilmGroup online education program off the ground with training videos,” says Marshall.  Williams is looking forward to being part of the newly formed training program. “I think that the educational videos will be really fun to be a part of as well as it being a good thing to look back on at the end of this year,” says Williams.   

It is also not to be forgotten that iFilmGroup is also preparing for their second annual iFilmGroup International Film Festival which will happen during Williams’ placement. “She will likely play a part working on the administrative side with us in helping make the festival a success,” adds Hickey.

RELEASE SUMMARY
Production Team Member- Olivia Williams

iFilmGroup
London ■ St. Thomas ■ Chatham-Kent
Ontario - Canada
WEBSITE - www.ifilmgroup.org