Certificate Filmmaking

Overview of our 1-Year Filmmaking Program

Each student writes, shoots, directs, and edits films.

The Academy's 1-Year Filmmaking Program gives students the all-around filmmaking experience necessary to make their own films. The year is divided into three (3) semesters with one to two weeks of vacation, depending on the start date. Students in the program receive over 800 hours of hands-on instruction and actual production experience. The curriculum integrates intensive study in all the major filmmaking disciplines including cinematography, directing, screenwriting, producing, and editing. They all write, shoot, direct, and edit eight of their own short digital projects (including a thesis sync-sound project). Students shoot these projects using a DSLR in the first semester and the RED Scarlet HD camera in the second semester. All projects are edited digitally using AVID software. Students are also trained in the use of 16mm film and 35mm film. Students have the option of shooting their projects in either of these two film formats, although the cost of shooting film is significantly higher than working in HD digital video.


Our program is for people who have the passion to plunge into full-time filmmaking, and to commit themselves to a focused and demanding curriculum.

No previous filmmaking experience is required. However, participants must work with self-discipline, energy and mutual respect.

As in all New York Film Academy programs, the one-year course emphasizes hands-on learning. Film directing classes are not theoretical explorations; they are practical workshops designed to put students in the director's chair as quickly as possible. The New York Film Academy encourages students to take creative risks and find their own voices as visual artists.

Students complete the year in filmmaking with skills in all the filmmaking crafts, an enormous amount of production experience, eight films of their own, a one-year diploma, and an expanded awareness of themselves and others. Students' final films are celebrated in a school screening open to cast, crew, friends, family, and invited guests.

The educational objectives of the One-Year Filmmaking Program are to teach students the art and craft of filmmaking and to instruct students through a strict regimen of lectures, seminars, and total immersion workshops to help them excel in the creative art of filmmaking.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this program may include:

• The ability to work independently and collaboratively in a high-pressure creative environment.
• An in-depth knowledge of digital video cameras and motion picture production.
• A working knowledge of 16mm and 35mm cameras and film production.
• The ability to write and pre-visualize a screenplay.
• In-depth experience working as a director, producer, assistant director, director of photography, assistant cameraperson, gaffer, grip and sound mixer on student productions.
• Mastery of Avid Media Composer digital editing software.
• Knowledge of film history and film studies.
• Knowledge of aesthetic film theory and experience with practical application of the same.
• Put into practice the fundamentals of directing and visual storytelling.
• Explore the foundations of High Definition video production and digital editing.
• Experience full immersion in the craft of screenwriting
• Serve as an actor, as well as a director, cinematographer, or assistant director on at least one production workshop overseen by instructors.
• Acquire an introductory knowledge of the history of motion pictures.
• Write direct and edit short projects including the end of semester digital dialogue film.
• Crew as cinematographer, gaffer, and/or assistant camera on approximately 15 additional projects.
• Write a complete short film screenplay with dialogue.
• Collaborate with classmates and instructors in Production Workshop exercises filmed on HD.
• Develop a professional comprehension of directing, screenwriting, producing, sync-sound production, digital and film cinematography, and digital editing study and exercises.
• Continued use of collaborative strategies and techniques, while on-set, and in constructive classroom screen and critique sessions.
• Explore the role of the producer and implement advanced production tasks.
• Serve as director, cinematographer, or assistant director on at least one production workshop overseen by instructors and shot on HD or 16mm film.
• Shoot exercises on 35mm film as part of Camera and Lighting II.
• Begin pre-production and develop a story and visual design for the Final One Year Film.
• Demonstrate a competency of pre- production, shooting, and editing a short narrative film.
• Apply the fundamentals of sound design.
• Explore the fundamental elements of visual effects and feature film story development.
• Create professional quality producing and directing production books.
• Direct and edit a film of up to 15 minutes (shot on 16mm film, 35mm film, or High Definition Video).
• Participate as a principal crew-member on fellow students’ films.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The One-Year Filmmaking Program requires successful completion of creative projects in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements. These creative projects may include:

• Project 1 - Mise-en-scène Film
• Project 2 - Continuity Film
• Project 3 - Music Film
• Project 4 - Short Film
• Project 5 – Subtext Film
• Project 6 - POV Film
• Project 7 – Mid-Year Film
• Project 8 – One Year Final Film

To graduate and receive a Certificate of Completion, students must also successfully complete every course of study with a passing grade or better and adhere to the New York Film Academy’s Attendance Policy and Code of Conduct.

The New York Film Academy One-Year Filmmaking Program is an accelerated full-time study program and does not provide for multiple tracks of study. All classes are mandatory. This is a highly specialized program, and there are no majors or minors. Classes are lecture, seminar, and/or studio based. Lab and practicum instructional hours are treated as studio hours. The program may not be completed in less than two terms.

The New York Film Academy’s Registrar’s Office ensures that the student has fulfilled all academic requirements for the entire program, as well as all financial obligations to the school. Student transcripts showing the awarding of the One-Year Certificate of Completion will be withheld until the student meets all academic and financial obligations.