See What's Happening at Motion Picture Institute

  MPI's Instructor Robert Butler, has put out his top 10 list for what he calls 2018, "a standout year for movies." A native of Ortonville, and chief critic at, DeFacto Film Reviews, Butler is an award winning filmmaker and...

    We want to thank ALL the amazing MICHIGAN AREA ACTORS who braved the cold and stood in long lines to audition at the Motion Picture Institute Saturday. Putting yourself out there is never easy, especially at a big open...

From the crumbling arches of the Roman Coliseum to the steps of the holy Vatican, Rome Italy has always played an important role in cinema history.  Last weekend MPI Co-Founder and Film Director Douglas Schulze flew to Rome to screen the...

CONGRATULATIONS to the MPI alumni and staff involved in the upcoming motion picture MIMESIS: NOSFERATU. The sequel to the 2012 STARZ / Achor Bay film is screening in the exotic Canary Island's of Spain as part of the ISLE CALAVERA FILM...

    Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. When I was four my Uncle showed me Yellow Submarine and Star Wars and said, “These movies will change your life.” He had no idea how right he was. Since then...

  MPI asked Nick Stumphauzer to update us on what inspires him and what he is doing since graduation.   1. I've been making short films since I was 8 or 9 years old. I have always loved filmmaking and aspired to...

2017 MPI grad Michael Turner just checking in after almost year after graduation! Check out the interview!

Karri Brantley has been actively working in the arts and entertainment industry as a professional Actress, Director, Producer, and Voice Over artist for 23+ years. She holds a BFA in Acting from Wayne State University and is also a graduate...

Hey, Filmmaker! You Don’t Need Money. You Need An Idea You Can Afford There’s a saying that if you give someone a million dollars they’re suddenly a filmmaker, and the idea here is that filmmaking is an art form that...

A Conversation with Whitney Wagner: Class of 2016-17 We took a minute to talk to Whitney Wagner, a recent graduate of our Film Acting Program. She tells us about her dreams of being an actor, what brought her to MPI,...

I will shoot down any drone that flies over my private property.” Actually, shooting at a drone is considered a felony offense in the United States and could land you in jail. Also note, the drone probably transmitted the footage of you...

Cost, proximity, job placement rate these are the types of things we and parents are conditioned to think about when looking for the right college (or post secondary school) for ourselves or our children. Yet overwhelming research indicates...

Few, if any, independent filmmakers embark on their first feature with any real idea of the scope of the endeavor they are about to undertake. If they did, most might reconsider… The 5-Year Cycle of Independent Feature...

What do Shelly Dhar, Nandan Shah, Ashray Dravidian and Vikas Patel all have in common? Well for starters they are all Award winning filmmakers who were born in India and are now living here in America. But of equal importance is the fact that...

As the trend for online schooling continues, and the "No Film School"ers hope to hit it big by avoiding formal schooling and educating themselves thru the Internet, the simple truth is that if you're on-line, you’re not on...

Good Experience vs. Bad Experience We've heard the saying before, that "all experience is good experience, even a bad experience." That saying suggests that we learn something even from time wasted. But, what if I told you...

Your pathway to success starts before film school. In fact choosing what film school to attend could be your career defining moment. Allow me to explain. A Four-Year Track Someone I know was fortunate enough to attend an ivy league college...

You've heard it before. "Getting work in the film industry is all about networking. It's all about who you know." But, what exactly does that mean? How do you go about meeting the people who will help you get those desirable...

For most majors, you go to a four-year university, get a paid internship, get a job after graduation, start at the bottom and work your way up. And while that clear-cut path is sufficient for a future Accountant or Veterinarian, it doesn’t...

MPI's Annual Auditions: For The Novice and Seasoned Actor Alike Thinking about whether or not it will be worth your time and effort to come out and audition for our students' films this year? Although the roles are unpaid, here are...