Tag Archives: film school

New York Film Academy Filmmaking Student

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The New York Film Academy has always been my dream school to go to after High School. It was the only college I applied to because I couldn’t see myself anywhere else and my dream of getting accepted came true! I took Multimedia Technology for 3 years in high school so I knew the basics of film editing, cinematography, etc. I wanted to learn so much more about film and I knew that the only school that could teach me things I didn’t know was the New York Film Academy. The first DAY of the academy was hard! I thought I knew what we were going to learn, but I never touched a 16mm camera until my first day of college. The academy was NOT kidding about sometimes having 12-hour days!

Since attending the academy, we had a guest speaker and screening almost every week! I networked with a lot of people and by doing so, I even got to attend a private screening of Silver Linings Playbook featuring Jennifer Lawrence & Bradley Cooper; and the movie, Fun Size! This weekend I went to the New York City Horror Film Festival where I saw three short films and a feature length film! Not only did I get to meet the director from the feature film, I got to meet and network with a past graduate from NYFA whose thesis film, “The Hierarchy”, was in the festival! It made me so excited to be a part of the academy and made me want to enter my films into festivals someday!

I love all my teachers at NYFA! I’m such a nerd that I googled them on the first day and I am very impressed with their past and current work. I even had my Director’s Craft instructor, Billy Tyler Smith, autograph his feature film for me! I know that I’m learning from the best because they have such good stories about their experiences in the industry. Learning from them inspires me to want to become a teacher and teach students about my soon-to-be experiences in the film industry! The majority of my instructors are male so the movie examples they show are not all in my interest. I will most likely show “Legally Blonde” when I become a teacher.

After this year of the New York Film Academy, I will be attending the campus in Los Angeles to earn my Master’s Degree in Filmmaking. This was another reason I chose the academy over other film schools. NYFA has campuses almost EVERYWHERE. I think it is so beautiful how it is located in different countries as well as other states. I believe that every inspiring movie will come from a NYFA student because we are from all over the world and have different stories to tell! It was one of the few schools that allowed me to travel! To earn my masters degree, it is required to have one year in NYC and another 3 years in LA. No argument there from me! They are my two favorite cities and I can’t wait to fall in love with both. They are different in the most beautiful ways I have heard.

Once I graduate NYFA, I plan on getting an internship with Warner Brothers studio or another huge production company. New York Film Academy encourages you to dream BIG and take risks! I’m getting choked up writing about it. The first day of NYFA I was told by instructor Michael Sandoval, “As of this moment, you are all filmmakers.” I am a filmmaker and I plan on keeping it that way.

-Casey Hempel

New York Film Academy Acting and Screenwriting Student

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I have been a student at New York Film Academy for 3 different programs. I first came here when I was 19 to do the 8 week acting for film course. All my life I had been doing some form of acting but considering where I grew up, there were no proper film opportunities so I wanted to go to NYFA for a shorter course to ensure that it was the path I wanted to take in life before dedicating everything I had to it. Needless to say, it did the job and I ended up coming to an 8 week screenwriting class before heading back here for the year long program.

This school is unlike any other in a number of ways. I’d have to say the one thing that really sets NYFA apart from other schools I’ve been to etc, is the trips to the backlot. You get to film on REAL sets with real camera crews that are also a part of various programs at NYFA. The school also offers a vast range of different courses that contribute to an all around acting experience. In all of the school’s courses and workshops I had done previous to coming back for the year long program, I had never taken a meisner class. I have to say that Anne Moore who was my meisner teacher is one of my favourite acting teachers to date. She spends equal amounts of time with each student and goes out of her way to make sure that we really understand. She was also always available at a moments notice to do a one on one session if we needed more help.

The acting for Film Class with Bruce Ducat was also fantastic because we learned a lot of tips and tricks that really came in handy when it came time to getting in front of the camera. Things like eye line and angles which really ended up coming in handy. Valorie Hubbard was our Scene Study teacher and she is one of the most knowledgeable people I have personally met on the subject. She really challenged us and taught us how to get in character and gave us different tips and tricks to get into those difficult ones that occasionally test us to the limit.

These are just a few of the great aspects that NYFA has to offer. They keep students interested in what they’re doing and offer a number of challenges that end up pushing us to the limit to ultimately become our best.

-Jesse Brandes

New York Film Academy 1 Year Documentary Student

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I moved to New York from Canada in 2010 to study Documentary Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy.  After graduating from university with a Biology degree, I had a difficult time deciding whether I should pursue teaching, public health or film – something that I’ve never thought would be possible. Since I was young, I worked towards becoming a health professional like my father, so I tried to find an outlet for my creativity in high school art classes or English projects. While I enjoyed the arts, I never saw myself as artsy enough to fully dive into it and felt the pressure to find a career that was more “stable.” It was only after my 4-month internship in Bangladesh in 2009 that I mustered the courage to make that transition from Biology to film. At the end of my internship , I put together a short 16-minute documentary about my research there and it was one of the most exciting things I had ever done.

Sarah’s documentary film “Newtown Creek”

The 1-year Documentary Program I took at NYFA was intense, but exhilarating.  As someone who enjoys both in-class and practical training, I think I took the most out of the program by being committed to my coursework, investing in my film projects, while taking the full advantage of studying in New York City by attending outside film screenings in my spare time. I learned a great deal from my instructors as they shared their wisdom from years of personal experience in the industry, as well as the guest lecturers who came in for our Master classes. The fact that we started filming our projects within the first month of the program and worked together in small crews of 4 helped me to learn the craft of filmmaking in its true collaborative nature. Through trial-and-errors, I learned firsthand how to produce, shoot, and edit better while, critique sessions with my classmates and instructors enabled me to take my films to the next level.

I would definitely recommend NYFA to those looking to pursue filmmaking – documentary or narrative. This school has equipped me to become the filmmaker that I am today and has set me on the path to grow as a documentarian when I did not know anything about filmmaking only two years ago. I have met many mentors and friends that I still collaborate with at this school and was able to produce two short documentaries that have been screened at film festivals. I am grateful for my experience at NYFA and stand as a proud alumnus of the school.

-Sarah Choi

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 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 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 Associates Degree Acting Student

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I started at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles back in 2010. Upon entering, I fell in love with the craft and the school instantaneously. Every one of my classmates was as excited to be there as I was. We were from all over the world. I’m from Canada and I thought it was going to be hard to meet people and make friends, but when you are all brought together for the love of the same craft, getting to know people is pretty easy.

The thing that is unique about this school is that it is all hands-on training. Of course there is in class work, but you learn and hone your skills by physically getting up and doing what we came here to do. Without a doubt, the teachers are what made my experience here a beneficial one. Not only does this school have a staff that is more than capable of teaching the classes, they are also working in the business themselves. I don’t think that there was a better way to learn than to be working beside those teachers that were working themselves. They don’t only teach, but they inspire us. We go on a journey at this school. We learn the craft and grow in it as well.
The classes at this school train us in every aspect of this business. Whether it be ‘Scene Study,’ where you put together scenes and polish them up for a performance, or Stage Combat: where Jack Huang teaches Tai Chi and how to fight for stage combat. With many different types of teachers, (some working with Shakespeare, others working with commercials, and sitcoms.) you learn all aspects of the business. This school also has seminars all of the time. Whether it be a seminar from a celebrity guest to show a screening of one of their films, or one of the staff members (like Chris Devane) who are just so passionate about what they do and want to pass on all of their knowledge onto their students. You have access to a never ending field of knowledge at New York Film Academy.
I spent two years at this school and received my Associates Degree, and I loved every day of it. The skills that I obtained from my lessons are what helped me to become the working actor that I am today. I am proud to be a New York Film Academy graduate.
-Adam Shirley

New York Film Academy Student

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Hi Blake, New York Film Academy Admissions Counselor

What can I say?! Peter Stone and Jennifer Norton are two amazing teachers with big hearts and very professional! The days are full and I feel like I’m learning a lot! I decided to continue in the one year course in Florence.

The other teachers are fantastic too and very supportive.

Talk to you soon,
Thomas Mennell

New York Film Academy Documentary Student

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I enrolled in the New York Film Academy Documentary program in September 2011, because it was the most intense hands-on program I could find. I think it was a great choice! The program is structured around 6 film projects (two video logs and 4 shorts) in 11 months, which kept us extremely busy (often meaning more than 10 hours per day at school). I had the steepest learning curve in my life and have learned from some of the best in their field – professors who are also very productive film professionals. We had a lot of masterclasses where award-winning documentaries were presented by their producers, directors and cinematographers. I met some amazing young filmmakers. When our class started, we were 20 people from 18 different countries, which is a great experience on its own. In addition, doing a documentary program in a city like New York was a chance to quickly get to know the city in its endless diversity.

After graduating, I decided to take the opportunity to stay for an extra year of practical training (OPT). As of 1 November 1st, I will be interning at Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning producer, Alex Gibney’s, Jigsaw Productions (http://www.jigsawprods.com). I will be assiting as an AVID intern on their latest Fela Kuti project (http://www.jigsawprods.com/fela/). As a big fan of Fela, and someone who spent part of their childhood in Nigeria, I am really looking forward to it :)

I cannot thank New York Film Academy enough for the fantastic year! A special thanks goes to our production professor, Alexandra Johnes (a kick-ass producer but also Neverending Story’s magical princess) for recommending me at Jigsaw!

Best to New York Film Academy :)

-Maria Stanisheva