Hands-on Intensive 4-Week Filmmaking Workshop

OVERVIEW

The Four-Week Workshop provides students with a thorough introduction to the foundations of film craft. Many students find the one-month length fits conveniently into their yearly schedules. The workshop is a full-time program. Students must be prepared to make a serious commitment to its completion.

FORMAT

The Four-Week program is structured around the production of three short films of increasing complexity. Students will be introduced to the traditional concepts of shooting motion picture film and will apply this foundation of knowledge to contemporary practices of shooting with digital technology. All projects will be shot on high definition digital video cameras.

Classes and hands-on workshops are held throughout the week and some weekends are reserved for additional classes or shooting. Time will be required outside of class for writing, location scouting, casting, and editing. The fourth week is devoted to shooting and editing the final film, culminating in the final screening.

As in all New York Film Academy workshops, each student writes, directs, shoots and edits a series of short film projects of his or her own using high-def digital video, film lighting packages, and digital editing software. Classes in directing, writing, editing, cinematography, and production cover the creative and technical demands of telling a story with moving images. Each week all the students’ films are screened and critiqued in class with the instructor.

CREWS

The four-week filmmaking course attracts a diverse and international group of people, whether they are just embarking on a new career track, already established in the industry, or are international students visiting from abroad. All four-week filmmaking students must be highly motivated and committed to full-time study to successfully complete the workshop requirements and create their original projects.

NYFA students will complete their projects collaboratively, forming crews of three or four people for each film project. Students will rotate among key crew positions while working on their peers' projects, gaining experience working as director of photography, assistant camera, and gaffer/grip.

Course Descriptions

The following classes are designed to be of immediate and practical use in an integrated curriculum. Each week students are able to immediately apply the lessons learned in their classes to the films they are producing.

Director’s Craft Writing Editing Hands-on Camera/Lighting Production Workshop

Director’s Craft

Director’s Craft introduces students to the language and craft of filmmaking. Topics covered include storyboarding, composition, camera movement, continuity, montage, pacing, and rhythm.

Writing

This course is designed to help students develop their scripts for their final films. Students will be instructed in story structure, dramatic arc, creating characters, text and subtext, refining stories, and scriptwriting style.

Editing

Editing is an art unto itself. Regardless of the editing system a filmmaker uses, it is the editor’s ability to work with the shots and tell a story that makes all the difference. Each student edits his or her own films using professional editing software and can supplement classes with individual consultations at the editing station. Students are taught the fundamental concepts of film editing, both practical and aesthetic.

Hands-on Camera/Lighting

Through a series of hands-on classes and instructor-led workshops, students are introduced to the fundamentals of 16mm film before moving onto HD image making. The craft of composing images with HDSLR cameras will be taught "from the ground up" and presuppose no prior knowledge of filmmaking. The proper use of basic lighting instruments and their contribution to the image will be explored in class exercises and demonstrations. Through hands-on workshops and camera tests, students will also learn fundamental lighting techniques. As they progress through the workshop, students learn how to support the mood of the story with lighting choices and they experiment with expressive lighting styles.

Production Workshop

The Production Workshop is designed to demystify the craft of filmmaking. It is a hands-on class in which 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. Through the in-class exercises, the rules and tools of mise-en-scène and continuity are defined and practiced.

Film Projects

Mise-en-scène Continuity Music & Image

Mise-en-scène

In their first film of the 4-week filmmaking workshop, students are introduced to mise-en-scène, or directing a shot to visually tell a story. Once they create a dramatic moment, they concentrate on the dynamics of the shot that will best express it. This project teaches students how the relationship of the subject and the camera creates drama. Each student designs and shoots a scene, which has a beginning, middle, and end. Students learn to pay close attention to the choice of lenses, distances, and angles. Since the story must be told in no more than three shots, each shot must be staged to express as much as possible about the characters and their actions. Students should rehearse the shot for blocking of actors and camera until the scene works without needing to stop; only then should they roll camera.

Continuity

The second film of the 4-week filmmaking workshop focuses on continuity, one of the fundamental principles of modern filmmaking. By making a "continuity film," students learn the way cuts can advance the story while sustaining the reality of the scene. They learn the difference between "film time" and "real time." Students are challenged to make a film that maintains continuity in story, time, and space. The action in these films unfolds utilizing a variety of shots (10-15) in a continuous sequence (no perceptible jumps in time or action). Students must produce a clear, visual scene while maintaining the truthfulness of the moment. It is essential that the audience believes in the reality of the scene. Students write, direct, shoot, edit, and screen a film of up to three minutes. Students must thoroughly organize and pre-produce their projects by completing the following elements: Script, Location Scout, Breakdown, Floor Plan, Storyboard, and Schedule of Shots.

Music & Image

The third project during the 4-week filmmaking workshop introduces students to the relationship between sound and film, as well as to narrative tools like montage and jump cuts. In this project, students are encouraged to explore a more personal form of visual storytelling. Students choose a short continuous selection of music. In the editing room they cut their images to work in concert with, or in counterpoint to, the music. Students should experiment with rhythm and pacing. Each student writes, directs, and shoots his or her project on film, edits digitally, and screens a completed Music Film. In addition to storyboards, students may use a still camera to plan their films. This assists them in their choice of locations, distances, angles, and lighting.

Dates & Tuition