Becoming a director requires an understanding of the entire filmmaking process. Much like a master of ceremonies, a film director must manage a wide variety of departments and individuals to ultimately create a satisfying production. But a director is not simply someone who sits on high, overseeing a production to ensure her or his vision is fully realized. Rather, the director is someone with an intimate understanding of what each department does and needs to accomplish who is able to lead each towards functioning as a whole.
It can take years to become a director and gain a full understanding of the many skillsets that go into building a film. The New York Film Academy’s film directing program in Los Angeles uses a hand-on directing curriculum to immerse students in the skill sets required of any great director. The film directing program in Los Angeles is designed to immerse aspiring directors in the realities of their craft, placing them in every role imaginable with a focus on developing their directorial voice. In a single year at the Academy’s film programs, directing students will write, shoot, direct, and edit eight of their own original films while serving in a variety of crew positions on twenty-eight other productions.
At our LA film directing program students can expect to find themselves behind the camera from the first day of class, studying with the Academy’s renowned faculty of professional filmmakers and movie directors. With each faculty member coming from a distinct background and possessing a unique set of expertise, students receive an extremely well-rounded and varied education that will readily prepare them for the job market after graduating. In short, whether a student takes a short-term workshop or a long-term program, he or she receives a comprehensive and practical education in film direction that will help them to navigate the industry long after graduation.
Directing Courses LA
After enrolling in a filmmaking program at the Academy in Los Angeles, students can expect to take a variety of directing courses, including some of the following.
Director’s Craft
Cinematography
Digital Editing
Screenwriting
Digital Production Workshop
Acting for Directors
Producing
Sync Sound Production
Sound Design
Thesis Film: Production
DIRECTING CLASSES LA
The Academy offers directing programs year-round, enabling students to apply at any point during the year to enroll in a directing class of their choice. Click here to learn more.
Directing Degrees LA
Students who wish to concentrate on studying filmmaking while earning a degree are recommended to learn more about the following filmmaking degree programs. Students are able to complete the degree programs at either our LA or Miami campuses.
The Academy’s Los Angeles directing program offers a conservatory filmmaking program that help a student to hone his or her directorial skills. In addition, students have the option of applying the credit earning from a filmmaking program towards advanced standing in a filmmaking program. Click on the following links to learn more.
Designed for students who wish to learn a great deal in a short period of time, a directing workshop at the Academy in Los Angeles is an ideal option. Learn more about the workshops below.
In addition to working with state-of-the-art equipment, students are guided through the craft of directing by our faculty of experienced and professional directors and filmmakers. With credits that stretch across the spectrum of different mediums—from feature films to television to music videos and much more—the faculty at the directing program in Los Angeles impart their considerable experience to students while providing insightful and hands-on instruction in the best practices of directing.
Ed Timpe: MFA in Production with a concentration in Cinematography, Chapman University; BS in Kinesiology, Indiana University. Timpe has had his graduate thesis film screened in festivals around the world.
Rick Curnutt, Associate Chair: Curnutt obtained his BA in Cultural Anthropology from Boston University and his MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University. His past experience includes working with the Trench Film Group in Beijing where he worked as a director, editor, and cinematographer on a number of award-winning documentaries, films, and music videos. His film Run China was listed as one of the “Top 10 Documentaries of the Year” at the Chine National Documentary Society Film Festival Guanghzhou in 2005. He has also directed the short films Potty Talk, Alarm, and Free Lunch.
Career Opportunities
As the curriculum at the Academy in Los Angeles focuses on immersing aspiring directors in the many facets of filmmaking, students graduate from a directing program or workshop with a multitude of skills that they can apply across a wide array of professions and industries. Some of the directing professions that students go on to include the following.
Film Director
Television Director
Web Series Director
Director of Photography
Assistant Director
Second Unit Director
Contact Us
If you wish to learn more about the directing programs and workshops offered at the Academy’s film school, please call us at +1 (818) 333-3558 or contact us by email at studios@nyfa.edu. In addition, please follow the below links for more information and to apply online.
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1-888-988-NYFA | 1-818-333-3558 
Film Degrees
