2 YEAR FILMMAKING

CONSERVATORY PROGRAM
My advice to young film-makers is this: dont follow trends, start them! Frank Capra

wo-Year Conservatory students learn the fundamentals of visual and dramatic storytelling through the production of a series of short films in year one, as outlined in the One-Year

Filmmaking Program. They then build on this foundation in the second year as they focus on feature filmmaking as well as music video and commercial production. Conservatory students receive over 2,000 hours of hands-on instruction and actual production experience. Students will complete the Two-Year Program having made short films, music videos, commercials, and documentaries. Additionally, students choosing to do so can direct a feature film in a paid fifth semester. This two-year conservatory program is offered at our New York City Campus. Students interested studying at our Los Angeles campus should consider our two year MFA in Filmmaking degree program, two-year AFA in Filmmaking degree program, or the three-year BFA in Filmmaking degree program. To create this curriculum, we have distilled the key ingredients of the most respected graduate and undergraduate film schools from around the world to provide two intensive years of learning and production. The Two-Year Conservatory Program requires students to commit themselves to a focused and demanding curriculum. Conservatory students work with 16mm and 35mm film as well as 24P and HD Digital Video in both year one and year two. They will work with an array of production equipment including tungsten & HMI lights, boom & wireless microphones, and various dollies & camera accessories. They have the option of shooting their final projects for the first year, as well as their second year thesis films, on the format of their choice.

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IN V A AILABLE
LOCATIONS NEW YORK CITY TUITION $16,000 PER SEmESTER**

The New York Film Academy encourages individuals to take creative risks and find their own voices as visual artists. Conservatory students receive a certificate upon successful completion as well as a full arsenal of filmmaking skills, an enormous amount of production experience, a body of their own work, and a feature film project. The network of working relationships they develop with their classmates will help carry them forward as they pursue their own careers in filmmaking. Two-Year Conservatory Filmmaking students are invited to visit one of our campuses before the course begins.

**Additional Equipment Fee: $2,000 per semester. Students will also incur additional expenses on their own productions. This varies depending on how much film they shoot and scale of the projects.

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Students shooting 35mm in Production Workshop.

Two-Year Filmmaking Conservatory

YEAR TWO CLASSES
The first year of the two-year conservatory program follows the curriculum outlined in the One-Year Filmmaking Program. Year two classes include the following:

FEATURE FILM DIRECTING

This class is an advanced exploration of the art of directing. The special requirements of directing multiple character and plot lines, as well as sustaining a point of view over the course of a ninety minute film are examined. Students hone their skills and prepare a number of scenes from their feature scripts for in-class presentation. They workshop the scenes (both inside and outside of class) with professional actors from the local community. Instruction and in-class criticism focuses on the directors process and working with actors.

FEATURE SCREENWRITING
The goal of this workshop is to fully immerse each student in an intensive and focused course of study, providing a solid structure for writing and meeting deadlines. Students learn the craft of writing by gaining an understanding of story, structure, character, conflict and dialogue. With strict adherence to the rituals of writing and learning, students complete a first draft of a feature length screenplay of 90 to 120 pages. This class is designed as a creative and academic safe-haven for students to develop, re-write, and polish their scripts. In order for a student to successfully pass this class, each project must be scriptlocked by the end of the semester, and ready for Pre- Production in Semester Four.

ADVANCED LINE PRODUCING WORKSHOP

In this class, students analyze budgets and schedules of feature films in order to gain an understanding of these two key elements in preparing a project for production. In later sessions, students prepare a budget and a schedule for their own feature projects to be used in the production package.

SOUND STAGE SCENE WORKSHOP

In this hands-on workshop, students gain the valuable experience of shooting on a sound stage. Working with dollies, cranes, flats, standing sets, green screens, and the many other elements inherent to filmmaking on a closed stage, students are exposed to a professional filming environment. Students shoot several in-class group projects including a music video, and are encouraged to make use of all of the tools at their disposal.

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ADVANCED POST PRODUCTION

In a series of lectures, field trips, and hands-on demonstrations, students study the constantly evolving world of high end digital PostProduction and finishing to film. Many aspects of Post- Production including telecine, datacine, Efilm, negative cutting, conforming, optical printing, color timing, answer printing, sound editing, sound track mastering, effects compositing, ADR, foley, looping, and theatrical printing are explored.

ADDITIONAL SEMESTER
Students who choose to direct and edit a feature length film do so in an additional semester held after the end of Year Two. This is reserved entirely for Production and Post Production of the feature projects. Students who choose to direct a feature film as their thesis will be required to pay for a fifth semester.

APPLIED FILM STUDIES

Through screenings and discussions of historic and modern cinema, students identify techniques they may use in their own feature films. They learn how filmmakers have approached the challenge of telling stories with moving images from silent films to the digital age.

CONSERVATORY FILMMAKINg PROJECTS YEAR TWO

MUSIC VIDEO
Each student conceives, produces directs and edits a music video. This project is an opportunity for students in the second year to develop and demonstrate their visual style as filmmakers. It is intended to help students build their reels for possible professional work in the future. Students are encouraged to collaborate with a musical artist or band that incorporates performance and the use of playback. Allotted shooting time: 2 days Editing time: up to 40 hours Screening time: 1-5 minutes

NEW MEDIA
In the ever-changing world of the motion picture industry, it is essential for a filmmaker to keep abreast of evolutions in new media technology. New media trends are nearly impossible to predict. The climate changes so quickly that often times, revolutionary new ideas face obsolescence within months of their inception. In this class, students are immersed in this maelstrom of technological developments. Each student completes a short new media project for posting on the internet.

THE BUSINESS OF FILMMAKING

As burgeoning film professionals, conservatory students learn the importance of balancing their artistic inclinations with a thorough understanding of the business of filmmaking and the industry as a whole. Topics such as option agreements, financing, sound licensing, film festivals, representation, distribution and marketing are covered.

COMMERCIAL
Each student writes, directs, and edits a television commercial for an existing or invented product. This project challenges students to try their hands at this very influential form of filmmaking. This medium demands high production values and concise storytelling. It is another opportunity for students to showcase their talents for their reels. Allotted shooting time: 2 days Editing time: up to 40 hours Screening time: 30 or 60 seconds

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Production design plays an important role in the success of any production, as it provides the audience with the visual clues that establish and enhance the production content. The production designer works to create a design style or concept that visually interprets and communicates a story, script or environment appropriate to the production content and action. This workshop is intended to help students prepare for the design requirements of their feature film projects. Topics covered in this hands-on workshop include set design and construction, makeup design, costume design, and basic aesthetics.

THESIS PROJECT:
OPTION A: FEATURE FILM
Direct and edit a feature length film in a paid fifth semester of study at the end of Year Two, and fill essential crew positions on short form films directed by fellow students

ADVANCED CINEMATOGRAPHY
This hands-on study of the art and craft of motion picture photography provides the student with multiple approaches towards intelligent and artistic ways of shooting. It is an in depth analysis of painting and sculpting with light, cinematographic control of the aesthetic, and the emotional possibilities of a well designed and executed photographic image. Students who wish to crew as Director of Photography on any Year Two thesis films are strongly encouraged to take this elective. Students who choose to pursue the Cinematography thesis option are required to take this elective.

OPTION B: TRAILER OR SHORT FILM

Direct and edit a trailer or short based on the feature project of up to 30 minutes in length, and fill essential crew positions on short form films directed by fellow students.

OPTION C: CINEMATOGRAPHY
Collaborate as Director of Photography on three feature trailer films of fellow students or one feature length film.

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