Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies

at New York Film Academy - Los Angeles Campus USA

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.

The New York Film Academy Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Photography program provides candidates with a thorough grounding in the fields of commercial, fine art, and documentary photography.

Undergraduates in the photography degree program are immersed in all aspects of photographic study. Throughout their eight semesters enrolled at the school, students take a series of academically rigorous classes that seek to challenge students creatively while giving them the skills they need to succeed in a competitive industry.

Students' creativity is carefully and constantly nurtured as they are encouraged to find and develop their own unique visual language and vocabulary through a process of investigation, critique, creative conceptualizing, self-reflection, and practice.

By the end of this program, students will be thoroughly equipped not only with the creative and technical skills to succeed in the industry, but also with the business skills necessary for a highly competitive marketplace. The advantage of New York Film Academy’s commitment to a rounded education is that our photography BFA students will graduate with a broad knowledge base that will help them succeed in photography and complementary fields, giving them a wide choice of professional paths to pursue.

The first two semesters of the BFA Photography program are foundational; students then have the freedom to choose classes best suited for them in semesters three through eight. The BFA Photography program culminates in a final portfolio presentation and group exhibition which invited peers and industry professionals attend. This event is an opportunity for students to exhibit their best work and to develop their professional network.

Photography Bfa Program: Learning Objectives

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of available and artificial light, and apply this to their images.
• Students will demonstrate mastery of Lightroom as an organizational tool and Photoshop as a nondestructive editing tool.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of lighting tools and digital and analog camera systems.
• Students will demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of digital output systems.
• Students will demonstrate an applied understanding of the visual language of photography and the ability to incorporate technical, formal, and conceptual competencies in their creative work.
• Students will demonstrate working knowledge of industry standard business practices in commercial, fine art, and documentary disciplines.
• Students will demonstrate professional skills and practices appropriate to their area of interest.
• Students will demonstrate their knowledge of and relate their work to the technological, artistic, social, and cultural currents within the history of photography and contemporary photographic practice.
• Students will identify their area of personal interest and then conceptualize and complete self-directed projects that culminate in a cohesive body of work for printed, online, or exhibition presentations.
• Students will demonstrate their ability to produce photographic work that is consistent with high professional standards.
• Students will articulate in verbal and written form the key technical, formal, and conceptual issues in their creative work and the work of others.

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. 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 course and complete several projects with the assistance of constructive critique from instructors as well as peers. To that end, BFA in Screenwriting students learn how to create great stories, and to tell them with a confidence and clarity that befits a professional.

The core screenwriting courses of the BFA in Screenwriting are supported by a full complement of courses in the liberal arts and sciences. These are designed to broaden the writers' education, feed their inquisitiveness, and give them the critical, analytical, and communication tools needed not just to be great writers, but also more fulfilled human beings.

The BFA in Screenwriting 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 screenwriting and related filmmaking disciplines.

Overall, the screenwriting courses concentrate on developing the tools required to create believable characters and stories in several major fields of screenwriting (film, television, web series, playwriting, and elective choices including comic books and games). The program builds to a final thesis project, either a television series pilot script or a feature film screenplay. This is plotted, written, and rewritten, with guidance and feedback from a thesis committee in a manner designed to reflect the development processes in the entertainment industry.

In the liberal arts and sciences, students complete the majority of the required Foundation Studies in the first two semesters. 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 prepare students for the advanced coursework of constructing an authentic voice in their writing projects. Coursework in physical and mental wellness provides focus on the theory and practice of lifelong wellness in a stressful industry.

Subsequent courses in the liberal arts and sciences bolster students' understanding of world history, political science, art history, social and natural sciences, mathematics, English composition, and literature.

The New York Film Academy Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Cinematography is an accelerated, conservatory-based graduate program intended for full-time study over the course of five semesters. Designed to instruct gifted and hardworking prospective Directors of Photography in a hands-on, professional environment, the MFA in Cinematography program provides a unique setting for the development of both the creative vision and technical proficiency necessary for a career as a Cinematographer.

Students will follow a rigorous program of classroom study, self-directed projects, instructor-led workshops, and school- facilitated collaboration with NYFA students across different disciplines. Upon graduation, students will be proficient with many of the state-of-the-art camera systems used by professional cinematographers today, and be able to confidently supervise the creation of sophisticated lighting schemes. Most importantly, they will be able to effectively harness the visual tools of cinema to tell meaningful stories.

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.

The Academy makes the MFA Acting program's accelerated 20-month schedule possible by creating an extended academic year, allowing students to complete all five semesters of the program in under two years.

The first semester of NYFA's MFA Acting program concentrates on building a foundation in the craft of acting, using training techniques rooted in the theater but applicable to the screen. Students participate in an intensive array of core classes that guide them to find the actor within, simultaneously training their instrument to do the kind of technical, emotional, and physical work necessary for film acting. Acting for Film students will shoot a short film project on location with a professional staff.

The NYFA Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies is an eight-semester program designed to focus on the study of current and emerging media arts and the theoretical underpinnings necessary for understanding media's impact in today's society. The goal of the program is not only to prepare students for the rapidly changing landscape of the entertainment industry, but also to turn out thoughtful consumers, critics, and producers of media.

Students in the media studies BA program will build the critical, creative, and analytical skills needed to examine and understand current and future trends in media, as well as reach a deep understanding of the history and development of various forms of media in society. An exploration of media theory, history, criticism, media arts, pop culture, communication, and business are enhanced by NYFA’s hands-on approach to practical filmmaking and multi-platform content development.

The New York Film Academy is proud to offer a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Documentary at our Los Angeles Campus. This two-year conservatory-based graduate program is designed to educate talented and committed prospective documentarians in a hands-on, total immersion, professional and supportive environment. The intensive curriculum challenges, inspires, and prepares candidates for professional work both as an independent documentary filmmaker and for the non-fiction film business.

In Year One, students undergo a thorough regimen of class-work and film production that builds the groundwork for a professional life in the art and craft of documentary filmmaking. Starting the first day of class, students are immersed in a hands-on education and an environment that empowers them to artfully tell their stories. Through a sequence of workshops, students begin to work through a number of visual, dramatic, and technical challenges. They rapidly learn the fundamentals of creative and technical skills they need to make a documentary. All students participate in an intensive series of courses such as Producing, Directing, Writing & Research, Cinematography, Lighting, Production, and Post Production Sound, and Digital Editing to prepare them for more advanced topics and projects in Year Two.

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Game Design is an eight semester, conservatory-based, full-time study undergraduate program. The curriculum is designed to give prospective video game designers and storytellers all the tools they need to succeed in their chosen sector of the video game industry. The New York Film Academy Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Design provides a creative setting in which to challenge, inspire, and perfect the talents of its student body.

The educational objectives of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Design are to give students an introductory education in the art and craft of professional game writing and design. Students are instructed through a strict regimen consisting of lectures, seminars, and total immersion workshops to excel in the creative art of game writing & design.

Overall, the first five semesters concentrate on building a baseline foundation in the art, technology, design, storytelling, and business of video games. The focus of the final three semesters is to build on that foundation and produce all the materials, both written and verbal, that the student will need to enter the game design industry, or pursue graduate work in the field. NYFA’s game design program is a liberal arts education that emphasis the same general education credits as other BFA programs. Throughout their time studying at the New York Film Academy, students will include courses in the humanities, social science, natural science, and the history of media. This creates well-rounded students whose expertise in game design is accompanied by general critical thinking and problem solving skills.

The educational objectives in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Game Design are to teach students the art and craft of game design and storytelling at the professional level. To accomplish this goal NYFA employs a curriculum of lectures, seminars, and total immersion workshops.