Rebel FX creates digital stories filled with heart and soul
Crisis and times of change often offer organizations great opportunities for growth.
One such organization is Rogue FX, a full-service production company based in Albany that has become an inexpensive resource for quality film making. They work primarily with notfor-profits to develop product that can be streamed to audiences.
Not only has Rogue FX filled a need for not-forprofits, they do so by servicing their main constituency – young people of color. Rogue is an arm of Youth FX, an Albany-based organization that trains underserved youth.
Their mission statement describes its purpose as, “To provide the underserved with meaningful opportunities with training and engagement in new digital media technology.”
Youth FX was established by Bhawin Suchak. Now 35, he was born in Tanzania, Africa and came to the United States when he was 11 years old.
Suchak studied Journalism and English at SUNY, with a minor in Education. After graduation, he taught at the Free School
in Albany, which he helped found.
In an effort to transform and inspire young, urban persons of color, he started Youth FX as a part time adventure. He had the goal of nurturing the creative side of individuals. The hope was, in so doing, to offer a career path for the students as filmmakers, script writers and directors.
Just as important as learning how to tell a story, Suchak wanted to encourage his students to tell important stories. He describes
important stories as “Those that were not being told. Stories about the common man and people of color. As an organization we seek stories with heart and soul.”
Little did he know his avocation would become his life’s work. He left the Free School in 2007 to become Executive Director of Youth FX.
Over the past 13-plus years they have produced TV pilots, short films, commercials and industrials. In the year 2019-2020 (before
the pandemic) they serviced more than 48 communitybased organizations. Their Albany facility was visited by more than 2800 people, a large number being young people between the ages of 10-25.
With the arrival of the pandemic, Suchak says their skills and experienced work force were ideal for not-for-profits who needed digital product. One of the outgrowths of Youth FX was Rebel FX. It is staffed by alumni of Youth FX.
They’ve worked with Special
Olympics, Capital District Writing Project and Trinity Alliance, as well as commercial companies like Vent Fitness.
In the time of COVID they have thrived working with not-for-profits trying to do projects at the lowest possible cost. With the Russell Sage theater department, they have filmed three productions. At Cohoes Music Hall, they filmed the Playhouse Stage Company’s youth group production of “Polkadots.”
Their most recent collaboration with Theatre Institute at Sage was filming the production of “39 Steps,” which is available online through March 26.
David Baecker, a professor of theater at the school, and director of “39 Steps” also directed “A Christmas Carol,” which Rebel FX also filmed.
Baecker calls Rebel FX “highly professional” and is impressed with the preparation they put into the shoot. He explained that they attended several rehearsals and at the time of the shoot they had a wellorganized plan.
Baecker feels their editing produced a highly polished product that improved his initial vision of the show. He calls it, “a highly collaborative experience.” The result, he says, is a product he is proud to put out to the public. But most of all he feels it is a record that the student actors will treasure. “It shows them at their best, and really, what we do at Sage is all about the students.”
Suchak feels his most valuable contribution to “39 Steps” was to add visual interest to the production. He uses three cameras so as to shoot from various camera angles. This technique adds energy to a production to make it dynamic and visually appealing.
Suchak feels both Youth FX and Rebel FX are in their infancy. “My goal is to create sort of an ecosystem of filmmakers in the area.” He explains that means expansion – larger studio facilities, more sophisticated equipment and a larger pool of community partners.
He is certain that after the pandemic, both Rogue FX and Youth FX will grow. “We’ve learned a lot. We’ve helped our neighbors and we trained many people. It’s only going to get better.”
You can contact Rogue FX at roguefx.org. To see the streaming production of “39 Steps” go to theatre. sage.edu