This two-year graduate program is designed to instruct gifted and hardworking prospective Directors of Photography in a hands-on, professional environment, the New York Film Academy MFA in Cinematography provides a unique setting for the development of both the creative vision and technical mastery necessary for a career as a Cinematographer.

Students will follow a rigorous program of classroom study, self-directed projects, instructor-led Production Workshops, and school-facilitated collaboration with New York Film Academy students across different disciplines. Upon graduation, students will have a working knowledge of the full range of film and digital formats and a wide range of camera systems (16mm, 35mm, HD, and RED) used by professional cinematographers today and be able to confidently supervise the creation of sophisticated lighting schemes. Most importantly, they will be able to effectively harness the visual tools of cinema to tell meaningful stories.

New York Film Academy degree programs are offered at our Los Angeles Campus at Universal Studios. Qualified students have the option of completing course work at the New York Film Academy in New York City in a one-year non-degree program and requesting that their course work be accepted for advanced standing and start in the second year of the degree program at the Los Angeles campus. In order to do so, students must apply and be accepted to the degree program in Los Angeles. Please click here for conditions for the acceptance of credit and number of credits awarded.

YEAR ONE

In Year One, Cinematography MFA students will be immersed in a concentrated schedule of classroom learning, teacher-supervised workshops and outside projects. This regimen presupposes no prior knowledge of Cinematography, but aims to have students confident in the fundamentals of exposure, composition, set-etiquette and lighting by the end of the year.

SEMESTER ONE:

During the first semester, students learn the fundamentals of the art and craft of Cinematography. Topics covered will include optics, incident and spotlight metering techniques, loading and utilizing 16mm and HD video cameras, basic lighting, fundamentals of composition, color theory and film chemistry, and dolly movement.

Cinematography students will be expected to complete four projects during their first semester. Their first project will be a story told with stills photographed on 35mm black & white film. The second project will be a 'Mise-en-scène' photographed on 16mm film with basic on-set lighting.

In the third project, the 'Continuity Film,' students will use the 16mm Arriflex SR camera, and will begin using more sophisticated grip and light-shaping techniques. This project will focus on shot design and creating a scene that can "cut together" elegantly.

Collaboration with film directing students plays a major role in the fourth project. By filming a music video in HD, students are introduced to the unique director-cinematographer relationship in the real world context of in-the-field film production. Before undertaking this project, students will study the theory and practice of digital Cinematography.

Cinematography and film students will collaborate again on their fifth project, the Semester One Film. This project will be their first introduction to sync-sound dialogue-based projects as well as longer narrative form (up to ten minutes). Working in conjunction with Directing students, Cinematography Master's candidates must act as either a Director of Photography on a single Filmmaking Semester One Project or as a Gaffer, Camera Operator, or Camera Assistant on several projects.

Production Goals:
1. Photograph a 35mm still photo project, two short films on 16mm, and a music video on High Definition video.
2. Crew on eight colleagues' films, either as Gaffer, Camera Assistant, Key Grip or Operator.
3. Photograph or operate camera on a NYFA semester one film.

SEMESTER TWO:

The second semester in the Cinematography program is designed to help students move beyond simply capturing an image, and begin "painting with light." As students’ ability increases, so does their tool set. Students learn how to build and operate a professional 35mm camera package, as well as advanced High Definition equipment.

The RED Camera System provides the core platform around which the second semester is centered. Students will have multiple opportunities during class time to master the extraordinary tools the RED Camera offers, including speed-ramping, 100 fps slow motion, and the 4k production workflow.

Sophisticated High Definition cameras will round out the comprehensive assortment of tools available to Cinematography students for digital image capture. Proper operation of wave form monitors, histograms and IRE/ISO calculations will be covered in-depth in a practical hands-on classroom environment.

These three camera systems (35mm film, Red One, and HD) are the platforms available for the three individual projects in this semester. Examples of format include commercials, music videos, or short narrative. Ideally, these three projects will contribute to an impressive show reel for the emerging graduate.

In addition to the above classes, students are introduced to new subjects, including lighting and cinematography workshops in the sound stage environment and a series of on-location "production workshops". These classes allow students to work on their preproduction planning skills and their set operating procedures under the supervision of an experienced professional.

At the end the first year, New York Film Academy Cinematography students are required to either photograph an advanced project of a fellow New York Film Academy student or to create their own self-directed short film of up to 15 minutes in length.

Production Goals:
1. Photograph a showcase film utilizing either 35mm or Super 16mm film.
2. Photograph a RED camera showcase film.
3. Photograph a High Definition showcase film.
4. Photograph a Filmmaker’s Year One final film or a self-initiated project of equivalent complexity.


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