Monthly Archives: October 2012

New York Film Academy 8 Week Screenwriting Student

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Hello Rachel. My name is Ita Hozaife. I took the 8 week screenwriting workshop last year (Sept-Nov 2011). The class schedule, workload, and deadlines are best described as torture. I loved it! And I want to do it again! What I had been trying to write, with not much success for two years, you got me to do in 8 weeks! Thank you!

I was looking for a short advanced screenwriting class but you don’t offer such. Sad. So I’ll go with the 12 week screenwriting workshop coming up in January 2013.

-Ita Hozaife
Ink Marks Ltd

NYFA Universal Studios Backlot

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The New York Film Academy at Universal Studios is located on the back lot of Universal Studios, Los Angeles.

Students can study filmmaking, acting for film, producing, screenwriting, 3D animation, photography, musical theater, cinematography, broadcast journalism or editing.

NYFA holds MFA, BFA, AFA programs as well as workshops from one-week, four-week, eight-week and evening workshops. NYFA also has programs for teens (14-17 years old) and tweens (10-13 years old).

New York Film Academy MFA Acting Student

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Oddly enough, after researching all the best film and acting schools world-wide, what closed the deal for me was a very beautiful musical student film I’d fallen in love with on the New York Film Academy website. If NYFA could do that, then that was where I wanted to go. I’ll never forget the first day on the Universal Studios backlot with a screen-test, headshots and then an Improv class. School registration was never like that before. Within a few weeks the coursework was consuming. For me NYFA was an overhaul of workshops and acting classes I had accumulated over the years. We started with the basics, learning all the diverging methods, from Shakespeare to Stanislavski to Meisner. And we were on our feet, with Improv, Speech, Movement, and production workshops, trying out all the techniques. As soon as we had film footage, editing and post production was added. Every class included one-on-one tutoring.

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New York Film Academy MFA Filmmaking Student

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Thinking back about the time I had at New York Film Academy, I must say that I have only good things to say. The hands-on experience with the state-of-the-art equipment is not only something New York Film Academy promises, but something you as a student can mostly profit from. My Master in Filmmaking program was busy and educational, just as I hoped it would be.
The staff and teachers at the Universal Campus is utterly friendly and helpful if you are in need of any advice. I felt always welcome and taken seriously if I had any problem at all.
Further on it is a place where you can make friends for a life-time, as everyone in the same boat of trying to make it in the world of film. It is wonderful to have classmates from all over the world and as such New York Film Academy is really the institution you would want to be. From Asia, to Europe, from Africa to the America’s the school is a micro-cosmos of the UN.
To summarize I would say, New York Film Academy is a place where you get out, what you put in – like with any place really. A personal commitment and a full conviction in your dream is needed, everything else, NYFA can teach you.

-Christian Jurgenson

New York Film Academy MFA Filmmaking Student

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Some call me Q, but my actual name is Quirine. I’m Dutch and an MFA Filmmaking student at the New York Film Academy, Universal Studios, and just finished shooting my Year 1 short film a few weeks ago. The great thing about New York Film Academy is that in this program, we learn everything: writing, directing, editing, producing, cinematography and every other position in a film crew.

What I love most and certainly suits my needs, is that it’s incredibly hands on. In 8 months, we shot about 9 short films, ranging anywhere from 1 min to 15 min. All written, directed and edited by myself. It’s truly great to experience so many different positions to figure out what it is you love to do and what you’re good at.

New York Film Academy 4 Week Acting Student

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On set of Michael Staininger’s “The Tomb”

About ten years ago I arrived in New York City as a twenty to year old boy from Vienna, Austria, and entered the classroom of the 4 week intensive acting workshop at the New York Film Academy. In the first session, without even having been introduced to my peers, I was asked to pick a song, and perform it in conjunction with a repetitive physical action in front of the entire class. Talk about being thrown into the cold water. This experience set the tone for the twelve months to come, and it is what makes the New York Film Academy’s approach to learning the craft so different from other teaching philosophies.

Hands on, full immersion. This is the key principle to when your desire is to actively work in the industry. Imagine going to the zoo and watching a lion in a cage. You could come very close and would still be protected in your comfort zone. You could get away with many things. Now cross the bridge from the zoo out into the African Savannah, the open battleground where it is up to your skills whether you make it or not. No bars, no protection. This is exactly what happens when you first step on set of your feature film directorial debut; you are used to the cage but suddenly it is not there anymore and you have to face the lion with determination, bravery, wit and a solid dose of self-belief and confidence. If you don’t bring these along, you’ll be eaten alive.  Self-confidence comes from uniting your talents with experience. But what if there is no previous experience on the battlefield of a feature film set? Well, then you have to do your best to replicate the real world scenarios in a protected environment, where mistakes are allowed and encouraged.

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New York Film Academy 1 Year Acting for Film

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New York Film Academy was definitely a great choice for me. I didn’t know I could learn so much about myself in such a short time. The school is very intensive, and packs about 2 years worth of knowledge into 1 year and that’s what I love. The instructors are always able to answer any question you ask, and they actually care whether you improve. For them, it’s not about the paycheck, they love seeing you progress. I noticed my acting improve each and every week, and that felt amazing. I would go back to New York Film Academy in a second!

-Jason Ellis

New York Film Academy Student

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Hey Farah,

I’d be happy to share a little feedback concerning my attendance at New York Film Academy, and maybe contribute in encouraging a hesitant student to venture into the creative world of New York Film Academy.

I attended the New York Film Academy in February 2012, in order to take the 12 week directing workshop.

Being a filmmaking graduate, and having been in different workshops around the world, I had plenty of expectations given how renowned NYFA is. But to my surprise, I learned first hand that not only does the ENTIRE staff of NYFA dedicate itself to help their students learn, but also they are genuinely concerned about the students growth and direction.

In the most supporting and welcoming way, I was transferred three weeks after the workshop began to the SCREENWRITING workshop, where I found myself needing that particular direction to take my skills as a filmmaker to the next level. And I couldn’t have done it without NYFA’s honest intention and care.

Because of that workshop, I am now focused on Screenwriting, and I am taking the next step by acquiring my Masters in Screenwriting for Film. I have no one else to thank but the amazing team/family of NYFA.

I guess that’s what I have to say about NYFA.
And I do mean it.
Thank you Farrah.
You’ve been amazing.

New York Film Academy 8 Week Filmmaking Student

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All I can say is, thank you New York Film Academy. I am really happy to have studied there. You really put me on the right path.

I’m currently directing my first TV series in Egypt…can you believe that? It’s a big production (I will send u the pictures later.)

-Mohamed Adel

New York Film Academy BFA Filmmaking Student

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My name is Joy Zhou,  and I’m from Shanghai, China. On September 2010, I got the chance to learn filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, as an exchange student from Shanghai Theater Academy.

I’ve been here more than two years now. I think what I got the most from New York Film Academy was the experience in the real film industry. Not only practicing on school projects, but also having the chance to see the filmmaking world. And that’s what New York and LA  have taught me too. Besides that, I also made some true friends in the industry, and got a great chance to know Hollywood.

Love, patience, and trust. That’s what I learned from NYFA. Thanks for the past two years, I’m now looking forward to the future.

-Qianying Zhou