PRE-COLLEGE ENRICHMENT THROUGH FILM AND ACTING

The New York Film Academy is proud to return to Harvard in June of 2008 to conduct its internationally acclaimed teen summer Camp Programs in filmmaking and acting. Harvard is a prestigious Ivy League university, perhaps the most famous learning institution in the world.

Harvard is located in the charming, dynamic city of Cambridge, just minutes away from Boston, the "capital" of New England. The University's roots in Cambridge are widespread, charging the city with a unique and intellectually invigorating atmosphere. In this environment, the film student is challenged to achieve at the highest level.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Harvard University, founded 16 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, celebrated its 350th anniversary in 1986. Six presidents of the United States—including John Quincy Adams, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy—graduated from Harvard. Its faculty have produced more than 30 Pulitzer Prize winners and 30 Nobel Laureates.

New York Film Academy teen summer Camp Programs will be held in Memorial Hall, a Ruskinian Gothic memorial to Harvard's Union casualties from the Civil War, built in 1878. This majestic structure is conveniently located to Harvard Square's historical, commercial, and academic resources.

CAMBRIDGE AND BOSTON

Cambridge and Boston offer aspiring high school filmmakers an enormous variety of locations for making their films. They may want to capture the romantic image of the Harvard Crew rowing down the Charles River, or the site of Paul Revere's historic ride, or the bustling market of Fanueil Hall. Nearby Walden Pond will inspire visiting filmmakers as it inspired Thoreau more than 150 years ago.

A hi-tech, cultured city, Cambridge is also a town in love with movies. Students can view classics and the most recent independent films at the historic Brattle Theater in Harvard Square.

STAFF

The primary concerns of our staff are the safety and well-being of our students. In all our locales, our eclectic faculty is comprised of experienced instructors and professional filmmakers who have Master of Fine Arts degrees from the most prestigious film programs in the United States. These include NYU, Columbia University, the University of Southern California, and UCLA.

SUPERVISION

All New York Film Academy teen summer Camp Programs are supervised programs. High school students will be overseen by energetic, responsible, co-ed administrative, teaching, and counseling staff. Counselors reside in the dormitory with the students. Many of the counselors are trained filmmakers themselves, and will act as teaching assistants supervising the students' film productions. Please note: Parents who wish to allow their children to leave the summer Camp Program site (Harvard Campus and surrounding Cambridge) without supervision, must submit a written authorization to the New York Film Academy.

Students are not required to reside on campus in order to attend the summer Camp Program. In the past, many students have lived in the local area and commuted to class without a problem. To help us ensure their safety, commuting students must provide a letter from a parent or legal guardian, granting permission to come and go from campus.

ENROLLMENT

No previous filmmaking experience is required. The Academy encourages enrollment of students from all backgrounds and all parts of the world. Students, however, must be prepared to live and breathe film or acting in an intensive total immersion Camp Program. As space is limited, we recommend early application to guarantee a place in the summer Camp Program of your choice.

CURRICULUM

From the very first day of class, the focus of the Camp Program is to learn through making films. Each student in the filmmaking Camp Program writes, produces, directs, and digitally edits his or her own films, and rotates among crew positions when his or her classmates shoot.

In the Four-Week Filmmaking teen summer Camp Program, each student will make three film projects of increasing difficulty, culminating in a film of up to four minutes. Six-Week Filmmaking summer Camp Program students will make four films of increasing difficulty. The final film will be up to six minutes. Students in the Acting for Film and the 3-D Animation Camp Program should expect to enjoy similarly comprehensive programs.

DAILY SCHEDULE

All programs have full-time daily schedules every week. The filmmaking Camp Program is comprised of hands-on exercises in shooting and lighting, film screenings and lectures. In addition, students shoot and edit approximately a film per person each week.

EQUIPMENT

Students in the Filmmaking summer Camp Programs shoot 16mm film with Arriflex-S cameras and portable Lowel lighting packages for every shoot. Students in the Digital Filmmaking summer Camp Programs shoot with digital cameras on DV tape. In both programs students edit digitally using Final Cut Pro on Apple computers The equipment our Film Academy students use is comparable to that of the leading degree programs in the United States.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Although the daily schedule is demanding, non-commuting students will have time to take advantage of Harvard University facilities, and the opportunity to explore Cambridge.

Cambridge is a vibrant college town: dozens of restaurants, cafes, bookstores, ice cream shops, and pizza parlors encircle the university. One can find almost anything in the city, from independent record and comic book stores to clothing boutiques. A number of museums are in the area, including the Museum of Cultural and Natural History and the Harvard University Art Museums. Theatrical productions are held in Cambridge throughout the summer, for example, at the famed American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.).

Although athletics are not a part of the Film Academy Camp Programs, the athletic center at Harvard offers an array of recreational facilities, including basketball courts, and tennis courts. Finally, students will enjoy excursions to the many cultural offerings of Boston, located a short twenty minute train ride away.

HOUSING

New York Film Academy students will have the option of living in Harvard dormitories on campus. Please contact NYFA to arrange housing.

FINAL SCREENING / PORTFOLIO

At the conclusion of all filmmaking summer Camp Programs, a screening of the students' final films is held. This provides a unique opportunity for family, friends, and cast to see the work students have produced. Students retain the 16mm originals and a copy of their work to include in their portfolios. Each student, upon successful completion of the program, receives a diploma.

All Courses are taught in English.