BFA Acting for Film

Overview of our BFA in Acting for Film

New York Film Academy’s three-year bachelor's degree in acting for film is for highly motivated students who would like to enter an intensive, hands-on course of study. By completing the bachelor's degree in three years, students can:

• Save one year of expenses
• Begin working on their craft sooner.

The Academy makes this accelerated schedule possible by creating an extended academic year, allowing students to complete three full-length semesters in each calendar year. Students may also choose to complete the program in a traditional four-year time frame.





The New York Film Academy (NYFA) Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Acting for Film is an eight-semester conservatory-based, full-time study program. The curriculum is designed to immerse gifted and energetic prospective actors in all aspects of acting as a discipline. The program provides a creative setting with which to challenge, inspire, and perfect the talents of its student body. Students follow an intensive curriculum and achieve multiple learning goals.

Our prescribed eight semester acting curriculum serves to address the following core competencies necessary for completion of a BFA in acting:

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS ACTING FOR FILM: LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• PERFORMANCE
  Demonstrate the ability to create a fully articulated, believable performance in scenes exhibiting emotional depth which are appropriate for actors' physical type and age range in both stage and screen.
• LITERATURE
  Provide critical analysis of the global standard of literature for film and theater, demonstrating an advanced understanding of the vocabulary, history and writing trends within the industry.
• PRODUCTION
  Acting BFA students demonstrate an understanding of and basic competency in technical film/video production skills and standards relevant to today's film and television industry.
• KINESTHETIC EXPRESSION
  Demonstrate the selection and execution of movement, gesture and vocal elements that reveal the subtext and intention of a character.
• BUSINESS
  Demonstrate critical analysis by researching the industry for their own marketing niche and create a personalized business plan to meet their vocational objectives.
• SYNTHESIS
  Evaluate the core training skills practiced and synthesize these into the formation of a unique artistic product (vision), allowing for continued growth within the industry.

Overall, the first six semesters of the program concentrate on developing the tools required to create a believable character, while the final two semesters refine these tools for use in film/video projects.

The program places a heavy emphasis on two additional kinds of courses: foundation studies and physical and mental wellness. Courses taught in the area of foundation studies focus on communications, analysis and deductive reasoning. Students practice critical thinking, scholarly research, writing and reading. These courses build a foundation for more specialized subjects requiring advanced written and oral communication skills in later semesters. The skills mastered will also prepare students for the advanced course work of constructing an authentic voice in their production projects. Coursework in physical and mental wellness focuses on the theory and practice of lifelong wellness in a stressful industry.

ACTING FOR FILM BFA: SEMESTER BREAKDOWN

During the first semester, students will develop a foundational understanding of the major tools and techniques used by the actor. Students are introduced to voice and movement work as expressive components of character creation. Introduction to Acting for Film provides intensive practice in on-camera acting technique. Foundation Studies of English and Math ground students in core skills that will be invaluable throughout their program. Filmcraft provides acting for film students a full-immersion experience into the world of film production, while Acting Technique & Scene Study I provides students with the preparatory building blocks which lay a solid foundation from which to go deeper into the craft. Students will learn of the rich acting technique traditions that have shaped the craft today. In Voice & Speech I, students will begin to develop a free and healthy voice and an awareness of vocal tendencies and adverse conditioning, while Movement I introduces an exploration of the actor’s ability to engage the body in a full and courageously unedited manner as a tool for performance.

In the second semester, students will build upon what they learned in semester one. Expanding upon the techniques and skills learned in Movement I, students will continue their exploration to refine their ability to express character and emotion through the body. Acting for Film I introduces students to the skills necessary for creating a fully-realized performance. Acting Technique & Scene Study II continues the exploration of relaxation, sensory awareness, and creative choice-making and individual performance elements in exercises designed to enhance students’ ability to synthesize their own practical techniques for performance on screen or stage. Students will also continue their liberal arts studies with courses in Film Art and Public Speaking.

In the third semester of the BFA in acting for film program students learn in Technique & Scene Study III how to assess the needs of the scene through application of text analysis, inhabiting given circumstances, development and pursuit of strong objectives, incorporation of voice and movement training and technique, breaking text into beats and making strong choices, moment to moment communication with scene partner, and the give and take between scene partners throughout the scene. Acting for Film II builds on the techniques explored in the first semester, teaching intermediate skills necessary for creating a fully-realized performance. On a weekly basis, students will prepare a script and digitally tape the scene. Foundation studies courses in Critical Thinking, Physical and Mental Wellness, and Critical Film Studies broaden the student's skills.

The fourth semester of the NYFA BFA Acting for Film program includes a close study of advanced topics in Dramatic Literature, Topics in Film Studies, and Psychology of Creativity. These courses emphasize research, analysis and synthesis of diverse sources of information. Acting for Film III: Scripted TV introduces the concepts and skills students need for today’s sitcom shoot, while students continue to cultivate their acting skills in Improvisation and Technique and Scene Study IV.

In the fifth semester, acting students progress to a more advanced inquiry into portraying specific human behavior and culture in Technique and Scene Study V (Period Styles), where students explore the definition of style/language analysis, Greek period style, the comic impulse in Commedia Dell’arte, Comedy of Manners and Theatre of the Absurd. In Voice Over, students will learn the highly specialized skill of voice-over acting. They will discover what kind of voice-over work they are most suited for and learn how to use their voice in different ways. Writing for Actors is an essential course which allows students to conceptualize original projects for themselves. Research is again emphasized this semester through upper level classes in arts and humanities like Environmental Biology.

The overall goal of semester six is to challenge students to grow as artists by exposing them to skills, techniques and approaches to acting for film that are more specific and complex than those they learned in previous semesters. Upper level classes like Art, Culture, and Society develop students' understanding of the diverse personal, interpersonal, and societal forces that shape people's lives, and teaches them how to approach these subjects through the concepts, principles, and methods of scientific inquiry. Performing Shakespeare will develop the fundamental concepts of scansion, meter, text analysis, and scene study as it pertains to the demands of performing heightened language, while developing advanced film performance techniques in Acting for Film IV. Building the Reel initiates students in the basics of digital editing. Students will learn by experience exactly what is needed to match shots, which will help them understand how to tailor their performances accordingly.

Semester seven concentrates on new topics with New Media and Play Production Workshop. In New Media, each student will create, pitch, and write a “pilot” for a scripted webisode. Play Production Workshop focuses on the director-actor relationship, walking students through the process of producing a live performance, culminating in a taped full-length performance in front of a live audience. Advanced Voice and Movement: Characterization for the Stage supports this work, allowing students to focus on creating well-developed and fully-realized characters for their workshop. Continuing upper level classes in liberal arts ensure that students continue to deepen and broaden their understanding.

The final (eighth) semester of the BFA in acting for film focuses on assisting students with their transition to professional performing artists, while continuing studies in upper level liberal arts courses. The Final Project course will allow students ultimate individual expression, as they create their capstone project including both a creative project and substantial supporting written documentation. In the Industry Showcase course, students prepare for their final showcase with work on advanced scenes. They are encouraged to explore more intense and emotionally deeper material, choosing scenes that expand their characterization work. This course will culminate in a live showcase of scenes for industry members and an invited audience. The Business of Acting & Audition Technique courses teach advanced business skills as well as how to prepare for acting auditions, to students on the verge of graduating with a BFA in Acting for Film. .Students will create a business plan, hone auditioning skills, develop cold reading skills, and put together a polished portfolio which will include their headshot, resume, and demo reel.