Considered among the best film schools, the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles prides itself on offering hands-on intensive filmmaking programs that challenge students to develop their visual storytelling abilitiess and they learn creative and technical skills. At the Academy’s film school in Los Angeles, students receive an education in film unlike any other film college. Located in the heart of the movie industry with access available to students to shoot on the iconic Universal Studios backlot, students at the Academy’s film school in California learn about how to make movies by actually making them. It is the Academy’s commitment to learning by doing, through having students study in professional film locations, that makes NYFA stand out as a top film school.
From the first day of class, students are behind the camera gaining hands-on experience in numerous exercises that expose students to the many different types of filmmaking, something that most film schools simply do not emphasize as strongly. Over the course of their program, film school students get extensive experience writing, directing, producing, and editing their own original films while also crewing on fellow students’ films in a variety of different roles, providing them with a solid foundation in how a film set works. In addition, students at the Academy’s film school in LA have access to cutting-edge equipment, including a wide range of digital and film cameras, lighting equipment, dollies, and much more. Furthermore, students study under the Academy’s renowned faculty of award-winning, professional filmmakers who remain active in the film industry, providing students with unique insights into the realities of making films.
Through the combination of the school’s learning by doing philosophy, the access students have to the city of Los Angeles and the Universal Studios backlot, and the Academy’s unparalleled facilities and faculty, it is no doubt that many consider NYFA to be the best film school available to students from around the world.
NYFA Spotlight on MFA Student Hugo Salvaterra
Film Courses LA
The Academy boasts a wide variety of film courses, and students enrolling in a film course at the Academy’s film school in California can expect to take many of the following courses.
Screenwriting
The Director’s Craft
Digital Production Workshop
Cinematography
Acting for Directors
Collaboration Workshop
Digital Editing
Cinema Studies
Film Crew Participation, Production, and Post-Production
Film Screenings
Feature Screenplay
Advanced Directing
Post Production
Production Design
Entertainment Industry Seminar
New Media
Sound Stage Scene
Director's Team
Producing
Short Film Directing
Cinematography I
Casting
Film Art
Script Supervision: Efficient Shooting
35mm Filmmaking
Acting for Directors
Cinematography I
Film Classes LA
Students that are interested in a film class at the Academy’s film school in California have the opportunity to enroll year-round. The start dates and tuition information for each film class can be viewed here.
NYFA Filmmaking Student Highlight Reel 2017
Film Degrees LA
Offered at the Academy’s LA campus, students who wish to earn a film degree can enroll in one of the Academy’s following degree programs. Please note that students can choose to study in a one- or two-year conservatory program at the Academy’s NYC campus and apply for advanced standing in a film degree program.
The film school at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles offers a wide number of short-term workshops designed to immerse students in the fundamentals of film and digital cameras, with students able to focus on either format or both. Each film workshop is offered throughout the year, with the exception of the Special Holiday Film Workshop.
For students looking to make a full-time commitment in a non-degree film program offered at the New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles Campus, our conservatory film program is an immersive one-year commitment that provides an excellent foundation in filmmaking.
The faculty at the Academy in Los Angeles is one of the main reasons that many consider NYFA to be one of the best film schools in the world, as the roster of instructors is comprised of working professionals who come from a variety of film backgrounds, including screenwriting, producing, and acting. This diversity of backgrounds and experience is a boon to students who wish to study certain areas of filmmaking in greater detail. Some of the distinguished faculty members students will study under include the following.
Mike Civille: PhD American Studies (Boston University); MFA Film Studies (Boston University) As a film scholar, Mike has presented papers on Hollywood cinema and popular culture at the Society of Cinema and Media Studies, the Popular/American Culture Association, the California American Studies Association, the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a film director, his short After June (2006) played at several nationwide film festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival and the Palm Spring International Festival of Short Films.
Scott Marshall: A director and actor with over thirty years of experience, Marshall was exposed to the industry at a young age as an actor on such classic television shows as Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, and Mork & Mindy. Marshall transitioned into directing with such features under his belt as Keeping Up with the Steins, Blonde Ambition, and All’s Faire in Love and War.
Film Alumni
Upon graduating from the Academy's film school in Los Angeles, some of our driven film school alumni have realized their professional goals working on feature films and directing their own original films that have been shown around the world.
Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.
Contact Us
To learn more about the film school at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, please call us at +1 (818) 333-3558 or click on the following links to get information and apply to the film school.
Until COVID restrictions on the Universal Studios backlot subside, not all cohorts or students will be able to attend production workshops on the backlot. The backlot is generally not used for production workshops for screenwriting, animation and game design departments.
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Film Degrees
