Filmmaking

Overview
This course is divided between in-class hands-on instruction and the production of three short films by each student. Students will take classes in Directing, Hands on Camera, Writing, and Editing. Students will learn to use HD cameras, Lowell lighting packages, and digital editing. 

The first week students will learn the basic tools or filmmaking and begin shooting a series of film projects. Following production and post-production, students screen their work with their classmates and instructors and engage in critiques and discussion. All films are non-synchronous, with the third film accompanied by a music track.

Students will spend an additional twenty to forty hours a week on production of their film projects. Production or practicum hours are considered separate from lab and lecture hours, however they are still necessary to successfully complete the program. The Academy recognizes, as should the students, that these hours will vary from student to student.

Outcomes
Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this workshop include:

• The ability to work independently and collaboratively in a high-pressure creative environment.
• An in-depth knowledge of professional camera equipment and  motion picture production. 

Project Requirements
The Four-Week Filmmaking Program requires successful completion of the following creative projects in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements:

• Project 1 - Mise-en-scène Film
• Project 2 - Continuity
• Film Project 3 - Music Film

Students must successfully complete every Area of Study with a passing grade or better. In order to receive a Certificate of Completion students must also adhere to the Academy's Attendance Policy and Code of Conduct. Additionally, students must fulfill all financial obligations to the New York Film Academy.

The Four-Week Filmmaking Program does not provide for multiple tracks of study. All Areas of Study are mandatory. This is a highly specialized program, and there are no majors or minors. The program may not be completed in less than four weeks. Classes are taught in either a lecture, seminar, or laboratory format. Students are also scheduled for hours of practicum. For the designation of instruction hours lab and practicum are treated as "studio hours" as is customary in visual arts studies.

Areas of Study
Directing: The core of the Four Week Program, this Area of Study introduces students to all major aspects of filmmaking. Students will learn to concepts to help achieve maximum psychological impact by studying the director's decisions in camera placement, blocking, staging, and visual image design. Students will be challenged to think comprehensively about their film projects in terms of the economic realities of low budget student production. Using their own film projects as prototypes, students will learn to break down their film scripts in terms of story and emotional beats, shot selection and composition, and budgeting and scheduling. This Area of Study will be the forum for preparing, screening and critiquing three short films.

Hands-On Camera & Lighting: In the first week, students will perform test shoots to learn how to get a correct exposure, the effect of different lenses, focus pulling, and in-camera effects. In the lighting class, they learn fundamental lighting techniques through shooting tests on film. Students are taught the principals of shooting and lighting high definition video.

Editing: In Digital Editing, students study the fundamental theories and technical aspects of nonlinear editing. Each student edits  his or her own films. Classes are supplemented with individual consultations at the computer. 

Writing: This Area of Study introduces the established tools and language used in writing a film project. Students will take a story from initial idea to script with an emphasis on the fundamentals of visual storytelling. The intersection of story structure, theme, character, tension, and conflict is examined through detailed scene analysis. In-class discussion provides students with constructive analysis and support. Students are encouraged to tell their stories visually, rather than relying on dialogue.

Screenwriting: This  course  introduces  students  to the foundations  of  screenwriting.  Students workshop  ideas,  write  loglines,  treatments, rough  drafts,  and  shooting  scripts. Instruction focuses on the essentials of visual storytelling, dramatic structure, and character development.  In-class  discussion  provides students  with  constructive  analysis  and support, as students learn to tell their stories visually,  rather  than  through  dialogue.

Production Workshop: Production  workshop  is  a  hands-on  class  in which  students  stage  and  shoot exercises under  the  supervision  of  their  instructors. Through  this  in-class  practice,  students incorporate  the  rules  and  tools  of  framing and continuity learned in other classes. As a supplement  to  this  course,  filmmaking students  will  also  study  acting  and  act  in these  production  workshops,  preparing themselves  to  not  only  communicate  and collaborate with their actors, but to draw out the best emotional outcome of a scene.

Acting for Directors: This course  adheres  to  the  philosophy  that, in  order  to  direct  actors,  one  must understand and experience acting as art and methodology. Directing students will become actors.  Students  learn  how  to  identify  a screenplay’s emotional “beats” and “character objectives”  in  order  to  improve  their  actors’ performances.  Students  are  prepared  to  not only communicate and collaborate with their actors,  but  to  actualize  the  best  emotional outcome of a scene.

ISA recommends students to bring a laptop that can run Da Vinci Resolve.