New York Film Academy Los Angeles Campus

MFA Film Program at New York Film Academy (NYFA) is an accelerated two-year program made possible by an extended academic year. Candidates will complete three full-length semesters in each calendar year

Qualified candidates have the option of completing course work at the New York Film Academy in New York City in a one-year non-degree program and then applying their course work to be accepted for advanced standing in the MFA Film degree program. No previous experience is required for NYFA’s Filmmaking School; however, MFA Film candidates must work with self-discipline, energy, and mutual respect.

Mfa Filmmaking Program Experience
Beginning on day one, our MFA Film candidates participate in an intensive sequence of classes in Film Directing, Screenwriting, Cinematography, Digital Editing, Directing Actors and Production. While the theory they learn in the classroom is important, the heart of program is the production of original, short 16mm films. Candidates will team up to make these films, working in crews of three of four where each candidate will gain experience in writing, producing, directing and editing.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree Program in Filmmaking employs a total immersion approach to the subject, where students develop a powerful arsenal of skills in directing, screenwriting, cinematography, editing, and producing. Students work in all formats from 16mm and HD to 35mm and RED Dragon as they write, direct, shoot, and edit their own films. A strong grounding in the liberal arts and sciences serves to inform students' work and give them a well-rounded undergraduate education.

The New York Film Academy's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Filmmaking is unlike any other film school; it is an accelerated intensive degree program that can be completed in three years. One benefit of this is that students may begin internships or professional work a year earlier than they would in a standard bachelor's program, and of course save a year of tuition and expenses. It requires a rigorous schedule; students are in class or production for eleven months of the year. There are short breaks between each each of the three years, and a two week winter break during the holiday season.

A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) is distinguished from a standard Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree by its in-depth study of and professional training in the arts. In the BFA, two thirds of the degree is devoted to study and practice in fine arts and one third to general liberal arts and sciences (that ratio would be reversed for an art major in a traditional BA program). The BFA student has opportunity for deep exploration and mastery of their art.

Our BFA in Filmmaking offers a well-rounded collegiate education in the Arts and Humanities and Social and Natural Sciences, with a comprehensive study of — and practice in — the art and craft of filmmaking. During the three years of study, each student will write, shoot, direct, and edit 12 film projects of increasing complexity. In addition, students will work in key crew positions on their classmates' films.

BFA Filmmaking graduates will complete the program with a solid academic foundation in the arts and sciences, and an in-depth understanding of film production. They will enter the field with critical thinking and research skills developed in their academic classes as well as essential knowledge from the study of literature, art history, psychology, and philosophy. This specialized degree will prepare them to pursue their own paths in film and related fields as

It is geared to students with little or no experience in producing, but who recognize that an intensive and demanding program, much like the job of producing itself, will provide them with the knowledge they seek.

Students are treated as Producers throughout the duration of the course, and are challenged at each step of the way. Students are encouraged, but not required, to bring a piece of intellectual property - a book, screenplay, show concept or treatment-at the beginning of the course that will be used throughout the year as the foundation of their final project. Students take this project through the various stages of development: pitch, treatment, script, talent search, budget, schedule, and plans for marketing and distribution. Students learn the real-word strategies for successful producing and are encouraged to develop the professional network needed within the film and television industry.

Students must be prepared for full-days of intensive work throughout the entire program. They must be committed to a fast-paced, intensive learning and production schedule, and willing to work collaboratively with our filmmaking, screenwriting, and acting students.

Producers are confronted with a number of visual, dramatic, financial, legal, logistical, managerial, and technical challenges in the process of filmmaking. From the first day of class, students are immersed in a hands-on education on how to work through these challenges. Through an intensive sequence of classes and workshops, and with professional insights and encouragement from their instructors, students rapidly learn the fundamental creative and technical skills they need to produce for film and television.

Learning Goals

• Introduction to the roles, tasks and obstacles faced by film and television producers including development of script, casting and talent negotiations, budgeting, scheduling, locations, hiring of crew, payroll, contracts and deal memos, equipment rentals, applicable Union regulations and contracts, and post-production requirements.
• Master storytelling concepts of elements, conventions, structure and style.
• Understand basic principles of entertainment law.
• Introduction to filmmaking from the perspective of the screenwriter, director, cinematographer and editor.
• Hands-on study in camera, lighting, sound and editing

The New York Film Academy recognizes the critical role writers play in the creation of every film and television show. Yet writing talent alone is not enough to create successful work in these mediums. Screenwriting is a learned craft, and a writer must write every day to train for the demands of this field, and to truly understand the elements that make a screenplay or teleplay functional as well as engaging.

In addition to learning the conventions of the writing craft, students are given the support and structure to write and meet deadlines. Students write intensively throughout the program and complete several projects with the assistance of constructive critique from instructors, as well as peers.

Students in the New York Film Academy’s Screenwriting programs generate a lot of written material, building a portfolio of writings that span several mediums. There is a focus on film and television, but MFA students will also study comics, web series and games. Upon completion of the program, students not only understand story structure, character, conflict and dialogue, but also leave the Academy with finished products that they can pitch, produce, and try to sell.

In the MFA Screenwriting program, students are taught the art of screenwriting through workshop courses that have them learn by writing, but also in skill-building courses that focus on film history, film genres, and specific skills, like scene construction, adaptation, and character building.

Students also study filmmaking, acting and editing, to get a complete sense of how cinematic stories are told. In addition to stories, treatments and scripts, students will also create, direct and edit their own short film and their own web series pilot.

NYFA’s degree programs in Screenwriting have business classes that teach students the reality of the industry; how to find work as a writer, how to work in the industry to support yourself, how to find an agent or manager, and how to pitch your stories and story ideas. These classes require students to get an internship in the industry.

The MFA Program culminates in a Pitch Fest, where students get to pitch their thesis script to agents, managers, executives, and/or producers.

An MFA in Photography program at the Photo Arts Conservatory at the New York Film Academy (PAC at NYFA) is an accelerated, conservatory-based, graduate program designed for full-time study over the course of four semesters. We provide a creative setting in which to develop, challenge, and inspire the skills and talents of prospective photographers in an immersive, stimulating environment. By combining seminars and lectures with intense, hands-on classes, students acquire a sound understanding and appreciation of still photography and learn to integrate knowledge and professional experience.

At the Photo Arts Conservatory at NYFA, students engage with a diverse international student body and a core faculty of working professionals. This master's degree program includes visits to museums, galleries, and studios, along with guest lectures and critiques by photographers, artists, and curators. PAC embraces all lens-based media, offering a unique curriculum that includes digital and film-based photography. Though all MFA candidates must take two semesters of Lighting, Imaging, Printing, and Introductory Theory, beginning in Semester Two students are able to choose the rest of their course load themselves.

PAC faculty are committed to our Photography students and their futures as successful image-makers. Through demanding, hands-on coursework, instructors help students keep pace with technological change and push them to excel in all the areas needed to compete in the ever evolving marketplace.
Applicants to the program who have graduated from NYFA’s One-Year, Two-Year, or BFA in Photography programs, or an equivalent program from another institution, may attempt to test out of certain foundational courses within the MFA program. All evaluations and decisions are at the sole discretion of the department chairs, and are final. Students who successfully test out of any courses will substitute other courses in their place, and must fulfill the 63 total credit minimum, as well as all course category requirements.