ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

PROJECTS
Evening Documentary students complete the following projects over the course of two years:
1. Observational film: Each student produces a visual portrait of a place or activity. Students are challenged to observe the subject closely and find the most effective shots to reveal it. (Each student directs, shoots, and edits a 16mm film of up to 2 minutes.)
2. Character Film: Students are challenged to reveal an extraordinary or extremely ordinary person using image and sound to build a “direct cinema” style portrait. (Each student directs, shoots, and edits a film of up to 5 minutes.)
3. New Media: Each student creates a series of v-logs (or Video Blogs) for distribution on the internet. Students are challenged to utilize the intimate dimensions of the player window to their advantage and attract the interest of the web-surfing audience. (Each student directs, shoots, and edits four DV films of up to 90 seconds.)
4. Social issue film: Extensive use of research, interview, and narration are the building blocks for this project. Students may provide a fresh perspective on a political issue or document a local story that has larger implications. (Each student writes, shoots, and directs a film of up to 10 minutes.)
5. Television Series –Students conceive and develop an idea for a documentary or reality TV series, then develop and polish a written and verbal pitch for it. In teams, they go on to produce a “sizzle reel” or “taster tape” for at least two of the series. Using documentary techniques learned throughout the first semester students are challenged to structure a show that obeys classical story conventions. Team projects may be up to 10 minutes in length.
6. Thesis Film - Independent Documentary: The culmination of the one-year documentary program is a thesis film of the student’s own choosing. Through extensive research, writing, and planning, each student develops, produces, directs, and digitally edits a thesis film of up to 30 minutes in length.

BUDGETING AND SCHEDULING
This course teaches students how to break down a film script for budgeting and scheduling purposes. Students learn how to use all the necessary forms for use in their own short films. The importance of having a finished script before going into a shoot is stressed as it applies to creating realistic budgets and schedules.

HANDS ON CAMERA AND LIGHTING - DIGITAL VIDEO
This course is designed to help students master digital video photography including white balance, shutter speed, focus, video latitude, gels, and filters. Through hands-on exercises, students will explore digital video and learn how it differs from film. Working with boom-poles and external shotgun microphones, students learn how to get the best quality sound recording.

DIRECTING ACTORS: INTRODUCTION
This course helps students learn how to communicate and collaborate with their actors. Students learn how to identify a screenplay’s emotional “beats” and “character objectives” to help improve their actors’ performances. Through exercises, both in class and on location, students learn how an actor trains his/herself physically and emotionally to “crawl inside a character.” Sensory work, emotional recall, and improvisation are the tools to which the students will be exposed to understand how an actor is able to live out a character’s reality.

SCREENWRITING II
As students take part in the Digital Camera classes and Directing Actors classes, they also begin an intensive writing period. In Screenwriting class, they develop a premise for their second semester project and then take the necessary steps to complete a final shooting script of up to fifteen pages. This will be achieved through a combination of one-onone consultations with their faculty mentors, in-class readings and supportive discussions.

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
This course is an elective, however, it is mandatory for all students who would like to make a documentary as their final project for the year. Subjects include: documentary styles, shooting approach, methods of interviewing, documentary structure, theme, documentary editing, importance of research, “truth and objectivity,” point of view, ethical questions and reenactment.

SPECIAL LECTURES
• Classic Myth Structure
This lecture examines Joseph Campbell’s analysis of myth structure, and demonstrates point by point how the 12 steps of the hero’s journey can be applied to the dramatic structure of a film and beyond. Scene-by-scene analysis of classic films demonstrates a convincing argument for this relationship. The lecture concludes with a discussion about how students can use Campbell’s concepts to structure their own short films.

• Director’s Vision
The Director’s Vision lecture exposes students to the unique ways great directors have approached visual storytelling and how they have used mise-en-scene (the task of staging scenes and moving actors within the frame). The class will look at the idea of the director as author of the sequence. Students are shown, by example, how silent film construction relies on scenes in conflict or collision. This concept is expanded by showing the relevance of these ideas to modern films, particularly for sequences involving tension or suspense where extra emphasis or shock is required. There will be a broad presentation of film technique as individualized by a number of directors. Numerous examples of directing styles are shown along with a discussion of their relevance to beginning filmmakers.      Continue >>

SEMESTER TWO OBJECTIVES

PRODUCTION GOALS
• Direct and edit a sync-sound narrative film of up to 15 minutes. (16mm, HD, or 35mm)
• Participate as a crew member on fellow students’ films and group projects
• Shoot and edit scenes on 35mm film using Panavision cameras

LEARNING GOALS
• Advanced filmmaking craft including directing, casting, producing, sync-sound production, color cinematography, editing and sound design.
• Learn fundamentals of 35mm and HD

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35mm film aking
This class will use Panavision 35mm cameras and accessoriesthe gold standard in motion picture photography.

All the fundamental creative skills and concepts students have learned working with 16mm film and digital video apply fully to 35mm filmmaking. The 35mm class is an opportunity for students to see how the wider frame and higher resolution of 35mm affects their shot design, framing, composition, staging, camera movement, lens choice, and lighting. The class will explore the process of designing, shooting, and editing scenes on 35mm. Students will digitally edit the scenes shot in class. The following subjects will be covered in the 35mm classes:
• Loading and operation of 35mm cameras
• Lighting for the 35mm frame
• 35mm aspect ratios
• 35mm tripod head
• Working with Elemack Spyder dolly and track
• Lenses for 35mm
• Anamorphic photography (super wide screen)
After completing their instruction in 35mm, students may
shoot their final projects on 16mm, 35mm film, or HD

CINEMATOGRAPHY
This class immerses students in the technical and creative demands of cinematography. Color film stocks are tested to help students make the best choice for their films. The use of color correcting filters and gels is practiced through shooting tests. Lighting and contrast ratios are reviewed. In addition, students learn the most economical ways to light a scene by shooting set-ups from their own storyboards. A special focus on lighting for and shooting with HD teaches students how to achieve a film look and maximize possibilities of working with this format.

SYNC-SOUND EDITING
Film dailies and HD media are imported to Final Cut Pro where students learn to sync and edit with dialogue. This experience provides students with the hands-on technical training they need to edit their own projects. An even greater benefit is the creative discoveries students make when they compare the very different versions that are edited from the same material. With this hands-on practice in sync-sound editing, students will go into production on their own films with a full understanding of the challenge that awaits them after the shoot.

PRE-PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION
Students start the second semester with a finished script of up to 15 pages. They continue to improve these scripts in one-on-one consultations with their mentors and as they work with scenes from their scripts in their other classes. During the instruction period they find locations, cast, and design their shoots. They continue to meet with instructors in one-on-one advisement sessions to get feedback on their shooting script, casting, storyboards, floor plans, schedules and budgets.

Each student receives five shooting days, according to a production schedule designed in class. Students work on their classmates’ films in the principal crew roles. Schedules are designed to allow for days off between productions and for last-minute preparations for the subsequent shoot. The production period is as intense and demanding as a professional feature film shoot.

After the production period, students begin editing their films. They screen rough-cuts of their films for the directing instructor and their mentors and receive feedback before presenting their finished films to an invited audience at the end of the semester. Throughout the post-production period, the editing instructor is available for consultation. Students may use up to 300 hours of individual editing time. They finish their films with a digital sound mix on the computer. Some students may choose to do more elaborate sound work and take their films to a professional sound mix.

LIFE AFTER THE NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY
There is no single path or formula for creating a career in filmmaking. Our filmmaking graduates have gone on to win awards at film festivals, start production companies, become cinematographers, film editors, screenwriters, directors, producers, and even actors.

We have an open door policy for alumni. With campuses all over the world, former students visit us and seek advice from our staff and faculty. Graduates also find that their most valuable professional network is one another.

During the last weeks of the program, students explore the many different possible roads to a life in film. Guest filmmakers share their experiences with students.

Subjects may include:
• Building your reel
• Film festivals and grants
• The studio system and alternatives
• Contracts, negotiations, and deals
• Networking and jobs in the industry
• The internet and new media
• Multi-camera studio shooting

Final screenings
At the end of the One-Year Filmmaking Program, a final screening will include a diploma-granting ceremony and will be open to friends, family and invited guests. Students will take their finished films with them and are free to submit their work to the many film festivals in the U.S. and abroad.