Producer’s Craft 3 Semester Credits
This introduction outlines the essential roles, tasks, and obstacles faced by film and television producers in Hollywood and in independent production. In this class students will begin to develop their yearlong producing project, which will be either a feature film or a television pilot.
Prerequisite: None
Pitch Meetings 2 Semester Credits
Each week students are instructed in the art of pitching. They will present their own pitches in workshops and perform them before students in the Directing and Screenwriting programs.
Prerequisite: None
Industry Speaker Series 0.5 Semester Credits
These are information sessions featuring discussions with producers of American independent, foreign, and Hollywood films, network and cable television, as well as directors, actors, agents, managers, lawyers, foreign sales representatives and many others. These sessions may be coupled with screenings of new films or television shows brought by these guests.
Prerequisite: None
Directing for Producers 1.5 Semester Credits
Even if a producer never plans to direct anything, he/she needs to know how directors carry out their visions. Producers should create a nurturing and artistic production environment that enhances each director’s skills and provide the support needed to make the best possible film or television show. Here producing students learn about using the camera and working with actors – the two central tools of any director. In hands-on sessions students will break down a short script into a shooting plan and direct a scene with actors on digital video. Students will have the opportunity to edit the scene and present it at their final class meeting.
Prerequisite: None
Line Producing 2.75 Semester Credits
In this class students will analyze budgets and schedules of films and television shows that have already been produced in order to gain an understanding of these two key elements in preparing a project for production. In later sessions students will prepare a budget and a schedule from scratch and learn how these two elements interact and drive the production.
Prerequisite: None
Film Craft 0.25 Semester Credits
In Film Craft, students learn the basics of practical production. They are educated through hands-on instruction in basic cinematography and digital editing.
Prerequisite: None
Ent. Law I: Contracts and Intellectual Property 2 Semester Credits
An overview of the contract law and how it impacts the entertainment industry. The study of legal issues regarding television, films, recordings, live performances and other aspects of the entertainment industry. Topics include contracts, copyright law, compensation, celebrity status (including privacy and publicity rights), First Amendment, intellectual property, and talent representation. This course addresses legal issues to preserve, protect and actualize the intellectual, entertainment, and technological property of people working in entertainment industry.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Finance, Marketing & Distribution 2.25 Semester Credits
Using case studies of actual films and television shows this workshop will focus on successful strategies for each of these vital aspects of producing.
Prerequisite: None
Screenplay Development 2 Semester Credits
This course will help students gain an in depth understanding of the screenwriting process. This course will provide the key classroom setting for developing each student’s feature film or television pilot. The instructor will help the students design strategies for their individual projects, whether it involves optioning an existing feature script, hiring a screenwriter to work with them on an idea, developing a concept for a reality television pilot or any other producing project they wish to pursue.
Prerequisite: None
Hands on Producing Reality Television 2 Semester Credits
Working in small groups, students create their own reality show pilot or teaser episode. They will cast, scout, shoot, and edit their shows for presentation and critique.
Prerequisite: Line Producing, Film Craft
Hands on Documentary and News 2.5 Semester Credits
Students will work in small teams, producing their own news segment, or short documentary under the guidance of the instructor.
Prerequisite: Hands-On Producing Reality Television
Pre-production of a Short Film 3.5 Semester Credits
Working closely with their respective mentors, in this course, producers will plan the production strategy for the short films they will produce from the NYFA One-Year Filmmaking Program.
Prerequisite: Line Producing
Short Film Production 2.5 Semester Credits
Working with students in the One-Year filmmaking: Directing for Film Program, One-Year Producing students will Line Produce a “Thesis” short film.
Prerequisite: Pre-Production of a Short Film
Television Producing 2.75 Semester Credits
This class will cover a diverse range of development possibilities, including sitcoms, dramas, educational shows, reality series, news magazine programs, documentaries and cable specialty shows such as sports, cooking, and decorating.
Prerequisite: Line Producing, Hands-On Producing Reality Television, Hands-On Documentary and News
Project Development Practicum 2.00 Semester Credits
Here students will meet once a week, or more, with their project mentor to track the progress and discuss ongoing strategies for their yearlong project.
Prerequisite: Screenplay Development
Producing Year One Final Project 9.5 Semester Credits
Each Student will be required to develop a feature film or television project. Requirements for the project include a development package, a final pitch, and a trailer or short film derived from the project. The package will be comprised of a synopsis and/or summary of the project, marketing and distribution plan, production schedule, and budget.
Prerequisite: Short Film Production, Project Development Practicum
Summer Assignment
In the summer between Semester Three and Semester Four, MFA students will be required to complete an independent assignment. The options for this assignment are as follows:
Summer Option A: Produce a short film in collaboration with a NYFA One-Year Filmmaking Student. These projects, which serve as the thesis project for the One-Year Filmmaking program, are usually 20/30 minutes in length.
Summer Option B: Internship with a Production Company, Studio, or Agency.
This practicum allows students to gain hand-on experience in film industry through internships at different production companies. Typical internship areas include film production and development office, visual arts, and casting office. During this practicum, students are exposed to various practical aspects of film industry such as filming movies, preparing film releases, summarizing film scripts, and deciding on screenwriters. Interns read scores of scripts, participate in various client meetings and spend considerable time on the set. Through apprenticeship and shadow programs, students work closely with costume designers, film producers, and art directors to learn, first hand, the art and science of filmmaking.
Situational Comedy Development 3 Semester Credits
In this exploration of television Situation Comedies from the Producer’s point of view, students will participate in an in depth analysis of the Television Sit-Com industry and develop a full-length pilot of their own. From the initial concept and pitch to finalized script and budget, students will prepare a sitcom script.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
The Art of Story 2 Semester Credits
Students explore story and storytelling through an in depth study of the elements, conventions, structure, style, and traditional forms of the art. This course lays an introductory foundation upon which producing students will develop their skills in developing and executing the craft of storytelling.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Line Producing II 2 Semester Credits
Line Producing leads students through the entire physical process of pre-production (including scouting and securing of locations, permits, and casting), and production (managing the chaos of a bustling film set and keeping on schedule and under budget). Students will also analyze budgets and schedules of films and television shows that have already been produced in order to gain an understanding of these two key elements in preparing a project for production. In later sessions students will prepare a budget and a schedule and learn how these two elements interact and drive the production.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Entertainment Accounting 2 Semester Credits
This course provides an overview of the financial, cost, and managerial accounting functions specific to the film industry, with general application to all other areas of media production, including television, commercials, music, videos, and game development. It analyses techniques and control procedures for accurate preparation of financial statements. Specific topics include production budgeting, management reporting, film accounting terminology, amortization of film cost, and studio distribution contacts.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Producer’s Craft II 3 Semester Credits
This course continues the study of the essential roles, tasks, and obstacles faced by film and television producers in Hollywood and in independent production. Students will also track feature films and new television shows as case studies. The class serves as the core of the first year of study and is essential in conveying fundamental producing skills including optioning and developing material, film festivals, networks and ratings, pilot season, studio distribution and marketing, independent film financing, and the pitch.
Prerequisite: Producer’s Craft I
Cinema Studies I: Historical Perspectives 2 Semester Credits
This course is an intense film studies seminar in which students are taught to identify the techniques used by cinematic innovators throughout the history of filmmaking. The course explores ways that the crafts of directing (particularly shot construction), cinematography, acting, and editing have developed. Through screenings and discussions, students will grow to understand how filmmakers have approached the great challenge of telling stories with moving images from silent films to the digital age.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Long-Form Project Development 3 Semester Credits
Students conceptualize and develop a Feature length film (live action or animated), Movie of the Week, or Mini-Series. Students will pitch and design their projects, focusing on characterization and structure, and develop (with or without the assistance of a hired screenwriter) a full-length screenplay and production plan.
Prerequisite: Short Film Development and The Art of Story
Ent. Law II: Contracts Negotiations and Drafting 2 Semester Credits
A survey of legal issues pertaining to contract negotiation and conflict resolution in the entertainment industry. In this course students develop contract negotiation and contract drafting skills through mock negotiations and contract drafting exercises. It will provide students hands-on opportunities to engage in interviewing, contract negotiations, and contract drafting exercises.
Prerequisite: Entertainment Law I
ELECTIVE: Documentary Development 2 Semester Credits
This course examines artistic, technical, and ethical approaches in reality TV, documentary, and news magazine production. Documentary styles, shooting approach, methods of interviewing, documentary structure, theme, documentary editing, point of view, and reenactment are some of the topics that will be discussed and critiqued.
Prerequisite: Hands-On Documentary and News
Cinema Studies II: Industry Perspectives 1 Semester Credit
A broad cross-section of the film community will be represented in this screening series, including directors, producers, directors of photography, editors, screenwriters, production designers, post production coordinators, and casting directors. Students will be exposed to multiple avenues for potential employment in the film industry. All lectures will be followed by an extensive Q&A session.
Prerequisite: Cinema Studies I: Historical Perspectives
ELECTIVE: New Media 2 Semester Credits
In the ever-changing world of the entertainment industry, it is essential for a producer to keep abreast of evolutions in new media technology and the many new outlets for distribution that continue to emerge on an increasingly rapid basis. In the digital age, ipods, webcasts, even cell phones have become viable modes for distribution. The format war between HD DVD and BluRay, the dynamic possibilities of multimedia tie-ins and Alternate Reality Games, and the anti-piracy aspirations of digital 3-D projection are only a few of the topics that will be covered in detail.
Prerequisite: Graduate Standing
Ent. Law III: Entertainment Culture and Ethics 1 Semester Credits
A historical analysis of entertainment industry culture, including the rise of modern mass mediated culture and cyber culture. Students explore the link between entertainment culture and our usual categories of aesthetics, politics, culture, identity, ethics, and value. The course explores various perspectives on ethical decision-making and ethical business practices specific to the entertainment industry.
Prerequisite: Entertainment Law II
The Postproduction Process 1 Semester Credits
This course explores the entire postproduction workflow for both film and digital formats. In addition to the technical aspects of physical postproduction, the artistic and managerial aspects will also be addressed. Post Production for all current exhibition venues, including DVD, theatrical, cable and satellite will be reviewed in this class.
Prerequisite: New Media
Financing, Marketing and Distribution II 1 Semester Credits
Focusing on domestic, international, and independent marketing and distribution, and using case studies of actual studios and independent production companies (and the films and television shows they produce), this workshop will focus on successful strategies for each of these vital aspects of producing.
Prerequisite: Producer’s Craft II
Thesis Project 12 Semester Credits
MFA Thesis Projects consist of Thesis Option: A or Thesis Option: B or Thesis Option: C. The Primary Thesis Options and Secondary Thesis Components are as follows:
Thesis Option: A
The MFA candidate produces and delivers a Short-Form version of the Long-Form Project they developed and pre-produced in Long-Form Project Development. Students will work under the guidance and advisement of the New York Film Academy Thesis Committee. Mandatory consultations with these appointed faculty members are necessary for students to gain guidance and an understanding of the many tasks inherent to long-form production. These consultations will also include a clear template of delivery dates for script deadlines, casting calls, production meetings, budget breakdowns, location lockdowns and a demonstration of financial responsibility to obtain approval to shoot. Due to the significant amount of time required to produce and fully complete Long-Form Projects, students will produce short-form versions which are considered useful marketing tools for financing long-form or feature length projects.
Thesis Option: B
The MFA candidate founds and self-incorporates a Limited Liability Corporation production company. The student must find, acquire, and develop a stable of at least three properties, develop and pre-produce them, and deliver a completed production package (including a polished script, storyboards, budget, production schedule, list of potential actors for consideration in each role, plans for set construction, etc.). The candidate must also produce and deliver a finished trailer for at least one of the developed and pre-produced properties. These corporations will be formed with the guidance and advisement of the New York Film Academy Thesis Committee. Mandatory consultations with these appointed faculty members are necessary for students to gain guidance and an understanding of the tasks inherent to entrepreneurial endeavor in the entertainment industry. In addition to founding the production company, students following this Primary option must participate in an additional internship or continue their internship from Semester Five.
Thesis Option: C
Students my choose to produce a feature length film in collaboration with a MFA in Filmmaking Student. By choosing Option C the master student agrees to remain for a paid fifth semester before completion of his/her degree. Students will enter Pre-production of a feature film in Semester Four with the guidance of an appointed faculty member. Mandatory consultations with these appointed faculty members are necessary for students to gain guidance and an understanding of the grueling tasks inherent to feature length film production. These consultations will also include a clear template of delivery dates for script deadlines, casting calls, production meetings, budget breakdowns, location lockdowns and a demonstration of financial responsibility to obtain approval to shoot. Students must receive a “green light” before beginning production on their thesis films.
SEMESTER FIVE (Optional):
Production of Feature Length Film (Thesis Option C) 6 Semester Credit
A continuation of the work started in Semester Four. Students will complete and deliver a feature length film in collaboration with a MFA in Filmmaking Student.
Prerequisite: Thesis Project C |
