• The ability to work independently and collaboratively in a high-pressure creative environment
• An in-depth knowledge of 16mm and Digital Video cameras and motion picture production
• A working knowledge of 35mm cameras and 35mm film production
• The ability to write and pre-visualize a screenplay
• In-depth experience working as a director, producer, assistant director, director of photography, assistant cameraperson, gaffer, and grip on student productions
• Mastery of Final Cut Pro digital editing software
• Knowledge of film history and film studies
• Knowledge of aesthetic film theory and experience with practical application of the same

Project 1 - Mise-en-scène Film
Project 2 - Continuity Film
Project 3 - Music Film
Project 4 - 8-Week Final Film
Project 5 - Digital Chekovian Film
Project 6 - Digital Point of View
Project 7 - Digital Semester One Final Film
Project 8 - One-Year Final Film

• Grow as artists by finding new and effective ways to visually express stories
• Hone group problem solving skills through collaboration on increasingly complex film projects.
• Complete shot exercises assigned by instructors, which are designed to challenge their status quo as artists.
• Examine Filmmaking from a business perspective.
• Direct a Thesis Project

Project 1 – Commercial or Music Video
Project 2 - Commercial or Music Video
Project 3 - Script Lock on Thesis Script
Project 4 - A “Greenlight” Production Schedule, Budget and Storyboard
Project 5 – Complete Thesis Project (Excluding those students who choose Thesis Option B)

• Completion of Feature Length Film

This course introduces students to the language and craft of film directing. Director’s Craft prepares students for the film exercises and is the venue for screening and critiquing their work throughout the course. The Director’s Craft instructor challenges students to find the most effective and visually expressive means to tell their stories. This course also exposes students to the unique ways great directors have approached visual storytelling and how they have used mise-en-scène (the task of staging scenes and moving actors within the frame).

In the first week of the course students are trained to use the 16mm Arriflex-S motion picture camera and its accessories. In lighting class they learn fundamental lighting techniques through shooting tests on film. As they progress through the workshop they learn how to support the mood of the story with lighting choices, and they experiment with expressive lighting styles.

This course focuses on the fundamentals of visual storytelling and provides students with constructive analysis and support as they take a story from initial idea, treatment, and outline to a rough draft, and finally, a shooting script. The intersection of story structure, theme, character, tension, and conflict is examined through detailed scene analysis. Students are encouraged to tell their stories visually, and not rely solely on dialogue to tell the story. The scripts they write will be the basis of all class work and the Year One Final Film projects in the second semester.

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.

Editing is an art unto itself. Students will learn how to use the Final Cut Pro digital editing system. Each student edits his or her own films, and can supplement their classes with individual consultations at the computer. Students will be taught the fundamental concepts of film editing, both practical and aesthetic.

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" in order to improve their actors' performances. Through exercises, students learn how an actor trains him/herself physically and emotionally. Sensory work, emotional recall, and improvisations are the tools the students will use in order to understand how an actor is able to live out a character's reality.

In Production Workshop students stage and shoot exercises under the supervision of the instructor. The technical aspects of filmmaking are seen as tools to realize the story. The guiding idea is that once students can articulate the objective of a given scene, the necessary craft and techniques will follow. Students design shots to heighten the emotion of a sequence and shoot it on film with supervision. In the next session, they edit the exercise and analyze it with the instructor.

While each student in the program writes, directs and edits his or her own films, it is also essential that he or she learn the importance of collaboration. Crews function as working groups for each film project. Thus, each student not only directs a series of projects, but also works in crew positions on his or her colleagues’ films. Students edit and screen their films for critique and discussion.

An introduction to the art and architecture of various geographical areas around the world from antiquity through the medieval period. The course will provide foundational skills (tools of analysis and interpretation) as well as general, historical understanding. It will focus on a select number of major developments in a range of media and cultures, emphasizing the way that works of art function both as aesthetic and material objects and as cultural artifacts and forces. Issues include, for example, sacred spaces, images of the gods, imperial portraiture, and domestic decoration.

Digital Camera and Lighting class sessions are designed to help students master many elements of digital video photography including white balance, shutter speed, focus, video latitude, gels, and filters. Through hands-on exercises, students will explore the possibilities of digital video and learn how it differs from film.

In this interactive course students learn how proper script supervision can help filmmakers effectively tell their stories. Students break down their Year One Final Film scripts and learn an advanced and efficient approach to the organization and management of the shooting day. Students are challenged to maximize the efficiency of shooting schedules and learn practical techniques for creating and preserving spatial and temporal continuity in their films.

A continuation of the Film Projects, students direct 3 digitally filmed projects and a culminating Year One Final Film.

Director’s Craft 2 further explores the aesthetic elements of mise-en-scène: shot choice, composition, setting, point of view, action of the picture plane, and movement of the camera. Starting where the first semester directing class left off, students learn how to cover a dialogue scene with a series of shots as well as more sophisticated approaches to coverage including the use of dollies. Students practice different approaches to coverage by breaking down scenes from their own scripts. They create floor plans and shot lists and discuss their choices with the instructor.

Screenwriting 2 focuses on the completion, rewriting, and polishing of the scripts for the Year-One Final Film. Students will use live readings of their screenplays and engage in instructor led round table discussions of the work. The goal is to increase the writer’s mastery of those aspects of screenwriting as outlined in Screenwriting 1. In order to successfully complete this course, all students must achieve “script lock”. At the completion of this course, each student will formally enter into Pre-Production of the Year-Two Final Film.

Student Producing II leads students through the entire process of pre-production, including scouting and securing of locations, permits, and casting. The producing instructor and the students design a production schedule for the entire class. The instructor encourages students to form realistic plans for successfully making their films. Using script breakdowns, students learn how to plan and keep to a schedule and budget for their productions. They use their own finished scripts in class as they learn how to take advantage of budgeting and scheduling forms and methods.

This course builds on the tools students gained in the Directing Actors I course of the first semester. Students break down their own scripts by identifying the dramatic beats of their scenes and translating this into effective feedback for actors. Students learn to adjust character objectives through rehearsal. This results in specific and believable performances.

Students are trained to operate the Arriflex 16SR camera and accessories.

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. By shooting set-ups from students’ own storyboards, this camera and lighting-centric class provides students with a practical approach to getting the most out of their resources.

This class will train students in the proper use and operation of 35mm cameras and accessories. 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 demystify the process of designing, shooting, and editing scenes on 35mm.

This class teaches students to edit their sync-sound projects. Dailies from the exercises from Cinematography class are transferred to digital video so that students learn to sync and edit with dialogue. This gives students the hands-on technical training they need to edit their own projects. Students benefit from the creative discoveries their classmates make when they compare the very different versions that are edited from the same material.

This class brings together all the elements of the second semester program in a practical hands-on workshop. In a series of sync-sound production exercises students shoot scenes on 16mm film from their own scripts with the guidance and critique of the instructor. One of the course objectives is to empower the students to determine what adjustments to make to their scripts and shooting plans before their films go into production. These practice scenes are fully pre-produced (storyboarded, cast, scouted, rehearsed and pre-lighted) and treated as actual productions.

An introduction to the art and architecture of various geographical areas around the world from the fifteenth century through the present. The course will provide foundational skills (tools of analysis and interpretation) as well as general, historical understanding. It will focus on a select number of major developments in a range of media and cultures, emphasizing the way that works of art function both as aesthetic and material objects and as cultural artifacts and forces. Issues include, for example, humanist and Reformation redefinitions of art in the Italian and Northern Renaissance, realism, modernity and tradition, the tension between self-expression and the art market, and the use of art for political purposes.

Year One culminates in the pre-production, production, and post-production of the Year One Final Film.

A continuation of Director’s Craft 2; students study the language and craft of film directing from the perspective of the last thirty years. In preparation for the film exercises executed during Production Workshop, students study the style and techniques of contemporary filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola. This class is the venue for screening and critiquing their work throughout the course. The Director’s Craft instructor challenges students to find new and effective ways to visually expressive their stories.

Class sessions are designed to help students master the many elements of digital video photography using professional DV cameras. In preparation for the Semester Three Music Video or Commercial Projects, students learn lighting techniques of increasing complexity, building on their arsenal of skills through shooting tests on film and experimentation.

This course focuses on the fundamentals of visual storytelling and provides students with constructive analysis and support as they take their Thesis Project Script from initial idea, treatment, and outline to a rough draft. Students will have an opportunity to have their work critiqued by their peers during in-class workshops.

Students will apply the fundamentals of film producing to their own Thesis Project. Similar to Student Producing II, this class continues to examine the job of producer by matching tasks and challenges with ways of approaching them. As students start to produce their own projects, the challenges will become clear, and some class time will be devoted to specific production “hurdles”. Students will hone group problem-solving skills, a film industry must-have, and learn through sharing real examples.

Students will continue studying Final Cut Pro digital editing system. Students are given instruction and asked to complete exercises of increasing complexity. Each student edits his or her own films, and can supplement their classes with individual consultations at the computer. The goal is for students to grow as editors so that they have a wealth of tools by which to express themselves creatively on their own evolving Thesis Project.

In this seminar students are taught to identify techniques that they may use in their own films through screenings and discussions. They learn how filmmakers have approached the great challenge of telling stories with moving images from silent films to the digital age. The course explores ways that the crafts of directing (particularly shot construction), cinematography, acting, and editing have developed. Instructors select films for screening and discussion from among the great cinematic innovators. The course gives students an understanding of how cinema has developed to the present moment and where they find themselves in that development.

In continuation of Production Workshop II, students stage and shoot exercises building in complexity, under the supervision of the instructor. Students are introduced to a broad range of technical aspects of filmmaking. The idea is to give students an arsenal of techniques and practical tools, which they can use to successfully, complete their Thesis Project.

While each student in the program writes, directs and edits his or her own music videos or spec commercial, it is also essential that he or she learn the importance of collaboration. Crews function as working groups for each film project. Thus, each student not only directs a series of projects, but also works in crew positions on his or her colleagues’ films. Students edit and screen their films for critique and discussion.

Screenwriting IV focuses on the completion, rewriting, and polishing of each students’ Thesis Project. The goal is to increase the writer’s mastery of those aspects of screenwriting as outlined in Screenwriting III. In order to successfully complete this course, all students must achieve “script lock”. At the completion of this course, each student will formally enter into Pre-Production of the Thesis Project.

Student Producing II leads students through the entire process of pre-production, including scouting and securing of locations, permits, and casting for their Thesis Projects. The producing instructor and the students design a production schedule for the entire class. The instructor encourages students to form realistic plans for successfully making their films. Using script breakdowns, students plan and keep to a schedule and budget for their productions. They use their own finished scripts in class as they learn how to take advantage of budgeting and scheduling forms and methods.

Students will examine filmmaking from a business perspective. Topics include the history of the studio system, the job of production companies, professional guilds, financing, film festivals, and the roles of agents and managers. Students will meet industry professionals during special guest lectures.

This class is a continuation of Cinematography I. Students learns new, complex approaches to cinematography. By shooting set-ups from students’ own Thesis Project storyboards, this camera and lighting-centric class provides students with a practical approach to getting the most out of their resources.

This gives students the hands-on technical training they need to edit their own projects and assigned exercises. Students benefit from the creative discoveries their classmates make when they compare the very different versions that are edited from the same material.

Year Two culminates in the pre-production, production, and post-production of the Thesis Project.

The requirement for students who choose to pursue this track is twofold:

1) Associate degree candidates must direct and shepherd a short-form thesis film through post-production. Projects may be up to 30 minutes in length, and must be delivered prior to graduation. Students may choose from all media formats studied over the course of the program to film their thesis films.

2) Associate degree candidates must also pre-produce and package the feature scripts they wrote and developed during year Two Advanced Producing and screenwriting classes. Students must present a polished script, storyboards, a budget, and production schedule.

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.

Students who will direct feature length thesis films must also collaborate in prominent crew positions for students directing short form thesis films.

Satisfactory completion of 80 Semester Credit Units is required for graduation from the New York Film Academy’s Associate of Fine Art in Filmmaking Degree Program. The Associate of Fine Art in Filmmaking Degree Program is an accelerated full-time study program and does not provide for multiple tracks of study. All courses are mandatory. This is a highly specialized program, and there are no majors or minors. The program may not be completed in less than four semesters. Classes are taught in either a lecture, seminar, or laboratory format. Students are also scheduled for hours of practicum. For the designation of instruction hours, lab and practicum are treated as “studio hours” as is customary in visual arts studies.

Film and Video Stock, Processing, Telecine, and Other Production Related Expenses are not included in tuition, and vary from student to student. Students must pay a refundable fee for a magnetized Student ID Badge. This ID is required for access to several areas of Universal Studios. If badges are lost or damaged, the deposit will not be returned. Students may elect to rent a parking space within the perimeter of Universal Studios for a monthly fee.

An Associate of Fine Arts degree is a two-year degree that indicates a focus of study in a specific artistic discipline with no general education courses (i.e. English, math, sciences, etc.) included. The degree and credits earned are often transferable to other institutions. Please see "Credit Transfer" below.

The New York Film Academy's Associate of Fine Arts Degree in Filmmaking is conferred at our Los Angeles location at Universal Studios upon successful completion of our two-year AFA degree program. While the first year of study may be taken at any of our three year-round locations – New York, Los Angeles or Abu Dhabi – the second year of study must be done in Los Angeles.

The Associate of Fine Arts in Filmmaking degree is not a General Education transfer degree. In spirit with the traditions of the AFA degree, the curricular structure of the program focuses heavily on professional artistic development. Also in line with many AFA degrees, the general education requirements generally incorporated into a traditional AA, BA, or even BFA degree, are not satisfied upon conferral of the degree. Although designed to meet the transfer requirements of many institutions, the AFA degree does not complete the full general education requirements generally accepted for the successful completion of an Associate of Arts (AA) degree. Rather, the AFA degree allows qualified, career-oriented students to properly focus on their intended majors earlier than the Associate of Arts degree allows.

It is the general policy of New York Film Academy Degree Programs neither to accept transfer credits from other academic postsecondary institutions, nor to consider prior experiential learning for application toward any degree or non-degree course of study. Furthermore, the New York Film Academy makes no representation whatsoever that credit earned in the Associate of Fine Arts Degree Programs or any non-degree program or workshop operated by the New York Film Academy will be accepted or applied toward the completion of any degree or certificate by any other postsecondary institution. The acceptance of transfer credits is always governed by the receiving school.

Transfer admission is competitive. Students will need to fulfill the General Education requirements of the school to which they transfer. Completion of the AFA does not guarantee admission either to a baccalaureate program or to upper division art courses. Students may be required to demonstrate their skill level through audit, placement test or portfolio review. Most schools require a portfolio review for admission to a bachelor in fine arts program, for registration in a second studio course in a medium, and/or for scholarship consideration. Students are encouraged to complete the AFA degree prior to transferring.