Every great film project – whether it’s a movie, television episode, or webcast – starts with a good script. A well-written script provides the emotional core and narrative structure that allow the production to shine. It’s often said that you can make a bad movie with a good screenplay, but you can’t make a good movie with a bad screenplay. At the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School we take that to heart.
Review Of The Screenwriting Program
The New York Film Academy boasts a unique curriculum that encourages learning by doing. Throughout their time at the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School students will write and workshop scripts in a variety of different genres and styles. From the very first day students will be behind the keyboard, learning to transform their ideas into structured scripts.
In addition, screenwriting students have the unique opportunity to work with fellow screenwriting, filmmaking, and acting students in developing and bringing a script to life in a finished film, providing each student with extensive experience in going through every step of the filmmaking process as it relates to screenwriting. Furthermore, students learn the art of pitching their screenplays to help ensure they are prepared to realize their professional goals once they complete the Academy’s Screenwriting School.
Screenwriting Courses
The New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School offers a number of different programs, ranging from short-term screenwriting workshops to full-fledged degree programs. Depending on the student’s screenwriting program, he or she can expect to take some to most of the following courses:
Story Generation
Character Arcs Heroes
Classic Screenplay Structure
Script to Screen
Conflict and Flashbacks
Writing the Feature Film Screenplay
Genre Studies
Screenplay Analysis
Elements of Screenwriting
Acting for Writers
The Great Screenplays
The Business of Screenwriting
Treatment Writing
Transmedia: Franchises
Screenwriting Workshop
Revision Class
Adaptation Workshop
Special One-Week Seminar in Digital Filmmaking
Dramaturgy
Pitching Class
TV Writing: Sitcoms and One-Hour Dramas
Cinema Studies
TV Writing: Pilot
TV Writing: Specs
NYFA Alumni Spotlight on Will Willis
Online Screenwriting Courses
While our screenwriting programs and workshops are only offered in New York City and Los Angeles, the New York Film Academy is also proud to offer online screenwriting courses that allow aspiring writers to hone their skills from anywhere in the country. Get training from a top screenwriting school without commuting or leaving your home. Learn more below:
The New York Film Academy’s New York Screenwriting School offers classes year round. To learn more about the start dates and tuition rates of the Academy’s screenwriting programs please click here.
Screenwriting Degrees
The New York Film Academy’s degree programs are designed for students who wish to make a long-term commitment to mastering the craft of screenwriting. Offered at our Los Angeles screenwriting school, the New York Film Academy is proud to offer AFA, BFA, MA, and MFA degrees in screenwriting:
For students looking for a full-immersion screenwriting experience in a smaller period of time, the New York Film Academy offers screenwriting workshops. These 8- and 12-week programs are an excellent choice for aspiring screenwriters who cannot attend the Academy for a full year. Learn more about our screenwriting workshops below:
If you’re a student looking for a more extensive screenwriting program than our workshops, but are unsure about committing to a degree program, we recommend the one-year screenwriting program. This conservatory program teaches the professional skills expected of a screenwriter in a year. Learn more below:
In addition to the fantastic facilities and exposure to all facets of the filmmaking process, students at the Screenwriting School at the New York Film Academy study under our prestigious faculty of professional screenwriters and filmmakers. Part of what makes the Academy one of the top screenwriting schools is that each faculty member comes from a distinct and distinguished background and is committed to helping students better understand how their writing translates to an actual film production. Students enrolling at the screenwriting school can expect to study under the following faculty members.
Melanie Williams Oram: The chair of the screenwriting school in NYC, Williams Oram is a winner of the Peabody Award for the HBO documentary Dare to Compete and an Emmy Award for the HBO series Real Sports. She has also worked as a producer on four short films including A Glance Away, A-Alike, The Birthday Girl, and Lifted and directed the short film Shook.
Nunzio DeFilippis: The chair of the screenwriting school at the Academy’s LA campus, DeFillipis is a veteran of film, television, video games, and comic books for over two decades. Having received his MFA in Screenwriting from USC, DeFelippis and his wife Christina Weir have written for such series as HBO’s Arli$$ and the Disney Channel’s Kim Possible as well as comic book runs including New X-Men, Adventures of Superman, and Batman Confidential.
Randall Dottin: An award-winning writer, director, and producer, Dottin is a winner of the Student Academy Awards gold medal for his film A-Alike, which he wrote and directed. He also earned recognition from the Director’s Guild of America, which honored him as the Best African-American Student Filmmaker for A-Alike, which went on to air on HBO. He has also penned and directed the short film Lifted and produced the upcoming documentary Finding the Prospers.
Screenwriting Alumni
Over the past twenty years, the Screenwriting School at the New York Film Academy has graduated countless students who have gone to find great success in their screenwriting careers. Click here to see some of the accomplishments our screenwriting alumni have achieved.
Career Opportunities
Like other top screenwriting schools, the New York Film Academy prides itself not only on its academic rigor, but also on the professional achievements of our alumni. Graduates of the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School have gone on to a variety of professional positions. The list below includes a list of some of the jobs you’ll be qualified for after graduating from our screenwriting program. We’ve also included a list of prominent companies where many of our graduates have gone to work.
Feature Film Screenwriter
Television Screenwriter
Television Showrunner
Story Supervisor
Writer’s Assistant
Script Analyst
Development Assistant
Script Reader
Treatment Writer
Contact Us
If you wish to learn more about the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting School in NYC, please give us a call at +1 (212) 674-4430 or follow the links below for more information.
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1-800-611-FILM | 1-212-674-4300 
Screenwriting Degrees
