Program Overview

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Overview of our 1-Year Cinematography Program

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CINEMATOGRAPHY SCHOOL OVERVIEW

Cinematographers have one of the most essential jobs in any film production: bringing a director's vision to life. NYFA’s world class curriculum refines student’s artistic and technical expertise through hands-on experience creating films with industry-standard cameras. In our intensive one-year program, cinematography students learn more in less time.

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) 1-Year Cinematography Program is a two semester, conservatory-based, full-time, non-degree program. This means students will work at an accelerated rate, with maximum commitment, as they develop new skills and create a body of work. The curriculum is designed to immerse students in all aspects of the discipline. NYFA provides a creative setting to challenge, inspire, and develop the talents of the students through intensive curriculum. Whether our cinematography students are seeking to forge a new life path in the industry or are already experienced and are seeking to update their skill set, our courses in the fundamentals of exposure, composition, set-etiquette and lighting will push them to develop new mastery by the end of the year.

1-Year Cinematography Program

1-YEAR CINEMATOGRAPHY PROGRAM FORMAT

NYFA’s philosophy of learning by doing means that our one-year cinematography students develop their technical skills and artistic identities through a dynamic combination of classroom experience, practical hands-on workshops, individual and collaborative projects, and instructor-led productions. Cinematography students collaborate with their peers on active film sets and are encouraged to develop their networking skills by seeking out additional project work with their peers in the filmmaking program.

This is a rigorous program of classroom study, self-directed projects, and instructor-led workshops. Upon graduation, students will be proficient with many state-of-the-art camera systems and 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.

SEMESTER ONE OVERVIEW

In the first semester of the 1-Year Cinematography Program, students will develop their lighting and cinematography skills for a number of formats including still photography exercises, 16mm film, and high-definition video. Students will photograph at least four individual projects, allowing them to practice their skills in the field as they develop the ability to tell stories visually as they learn the fundamentals of the art and craft of cinematography. Hands-on classes will cover topics in optics, light metering techniques for both incident and spot meters, loading and utilizing 16mm and HD video cameras, basic lighting, fundamentals of composition, color theory, film chemistry, and camera movement using the basic dolly.

Cinematography students will create several original projects during their first semester, including a mise-en-scène film photographed in black & white on 16mm film. Next, the continuity project provides the first opportunity to work with color as a creative element, and students will focus on shot design as they create a scene that can be cut together according to the rules of classical continuity editing.

Following this, students will use a digital camera to shoot a montage project where the students employ nonlinear storytelling techniques to tell a story or convey a message.

SEMESTER ONE OBJECTIVES

Learning Goals

• Design and execute images specific to narrative productions.
• Demonstrate technical control over the basic elements of photography, including exposure, lighting and composition.
• Develop an understanding of collaboration between the cinematographer and director.
• Prepare basic pre-production materials to support the production of a short film.
• Demonstrate basic skills in the roles of camera assistant, gaffer and key grip.
• Explore the progression of technology and broad artistic trends throughout the history of filmmaking.
• Successfully complete a variety of short film projects, managing each project through the pre-production, production and post-production phases.

Production Goals

Los Angeles

• Photograph a minimum of four projects using still photo cameras, 16mm film and digital high-definition cameras.
• Crew on colleagues’ films in key creative positions including gaffer, key grip, camera assistant, and camera operator.

New York

• In addition, students also complete a cumulative final film project for semester one.

SEMESTER TWO OVERVIEW

Semester two builds in complexity, introducing 35mm and advanced Red digital camera systems, as well as more advanced lighting and grip instruments. As students’ ability increases, so does their tool set. As the students explore an expanded range of equipment, they are expected to exhibit more precise control of all the tools available to them. Students will be expected to demonstrate a consistent visual approach while making choices designed to tell the story visually. Students collaborate with filmmaking students and support their classmates’ projects by working in key crew positions to gain additional experience.

Semester two cinematography students learn how to assemble and operate professional 35mm camera packages and advanced Red digital cinema equipment. Instructor-led productions mentor students on these new systems in the field, with a focus on professionalism and industry-standard set operations. Students will have photographed additional projects for their showcase reel by the end of the second semester, including the semester one final, a Point of View project, and the semester two final.

Students will have multiple opportunities during class time to master the extraordinary tools the Red camera offers, including speed-ramping in camera, slow motion at high frame rates, and a RAW image workflow. During the semester, students will photograph two projects outside of class with the advanced cameras now available to them, including the Red Epic Dragon and the 35mm film format, with potential opportunities to collaborate with filmmaking students on their final projects. Together these projects will contribute to a professional cinematography show reel that incorporates their best work.

SEMESTER TWO OBJECTIVES

Learning Goals:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with a director and a crew in a high-pressure creative environment.
• Demonstrate safe and effective use of a wide array of professional camera, lighting and grip systems, and utilize these tools effectively in the production of several short projects.
• Utilize a production workflow that allows the creative team to maintain control over the image through all phases of production, from principal photography through to final distribution.
• Maintain a consistent look for each short film, and manage the look throughout each step of the production process
• Analyze a screenplay from the perspective of a cinematographer.
• Utilize color correction tools to achieve the cinematographer’s visual goals.

Production Goals:

• Shoot a 2-5 minute POV project in sync-sound on the Red Dragon.
• Shoot a final film, a sync-sound narrative film of up to 15 minutes, on Ultra HD, 16mm, or 35mm.
• Shoot a 1-Year Filmmaking Program student’s thesis project on Ultra HD, 16mm, or 35mm.
• Participate as a crew member on fellow students' films and group projects.
• Color-grade Ultra HD, HD, 16mm, and 35mm.