The New York Film Academy, 2006

Jamie Steedman at film school.

Projects and information about Jamie’s time at the New York Film Academy in 2006.

Jamie attended film school in New York City in 2006 for the one-year filmmaking and directing course, where he would learn the techniques and skills that shaped his later career in film and television production. The year at the New York Film Academy was an intensive, all-hands-on crash course in directing, cinematography, lighting, sound, editing and directing actors. The course consisted of making films throughout the year, culminating in a thesis film written and directed by each student.

2006 was a pivotal year in the film world: the first digital cameras broke onto the scene and began to be adopted in Hollywood and beyond in professional filmmaking. Luckily the course was split in two, and Jamie’s year was the first to experience both: making films on 16mm Arriflex film cameras, a 35mm workshop with a Panavision camera, and a second half working with the first digital cameras on the market.

Course projects

The film projects Jamie worked on.

All projects shot with 16mm Arriflex cameras.

1st semester — 16mm film

Project 1

Mise-en-scène

Each student will make a short film of 60 seconds to one minute in one shot.

This project teaches you how the relationship of the subject and the camera creates drama. You will design and shoot one to three shots in order to produce a scene, which has a beginning, middle and an end.

Pay close attention to your choice of lenses, distances and angles. Since you will tell your story in no more than three shots, be sure you design each shot to express as much as you can about the characters and their actions.

Rehearse each shot for actor and camera blocking until you get it right; only then should you roll film. You will shoot one roll of black and white reversal film, then edit and screen your film.

You will work in crews of four. You may use your crew as actors, or you may use the file of actors’ headshots near the internet workstations to find actors.

Keep in mind you will not be cutting to a soundtrack.

Allotted shooting time: 3 hours
Editing time: One 4-hour slot
Screening time: Up to 2 minutes

Project 2

Continuity

Shoot a dramatic scene to create a feeling of continuous action. The scene unfolds using a variety of shots (10–15) with a consistency of physical detail between shots intended to match (no jumps in time or action). This will challenge you to produce a clear, visual scene while maintaining the truthfulness of the moment. It is essential that the audience believe in the reality of the scene.

You will shoot two rolls of film, then edit and screen your film.

Allotted shooting time: 4 hours
Editing time: Two 4-hour slots
Screening time: Up to 3 minutes

Project 3

Music & montage

Choose a short selection of music. Plan and shoot this exercise with the music in mind. Students are encouraged to use montage-style editing to move the story or idea forward. This film may be simply a film accompanied by music or a “music video” type of piece. You may use only one song on this project.

Montage can be used to great effect in the compression of time and to create visual collisions or unexpected continuations between shots. In the editing room you should cut the images to work in concert with, or in counterpoint to, the music.

Students should experiment with rhythm and pacing. Shooting two rolls of film, each student will make a short film of one to three minutes, then edit and screen it. A good genre for a musical impression is a profile of a person, a place, an abstract or an experimental film.

In addition to storyboards, you may use a stills camera to get a better idea of your film. It can help you in the choice of locations, distances, angles, lighting and so on. It is a great supplement to a storyboard.

Keep in mind you will not be cutting the soundtrack.

Allotted shooting time: 5 hours
Editing time: Three 4-hour slots
Screening time: Up to 4 minutes

Project 4

Short film: “Life goes on”

Write a short script of 3 to 10 pages. You may choose from any genre, including but not limited to narrative, documentary, episodic, music film or experimental. Make a shot list, storyboard and floor plan. Scout your locations. If you are having any trouble with locations, see Claude, Emily or Ben at least two weeks before your shoot.

Cast your film and rehearse the action. It is advisable to videotape your actors: there is a big difference between a live casting call and seeing your actors on tape. You have one week of pre-production and advisements.

Create a production book with tabbed dividers, including your shooting schedule. You have two full days to shoot your film.

Edit for one week. Use up to two tracks of sound, incorporating voice-over, music, sound effects and/or ambient sound. Screen your rough or fine cut in final screenings.

Remember, less is often more! The quality of a film is never determined by the amount of money spent. There is no substitute for creativity, ingenuity, resourcefulness and, above all, pre-production.

Any film over 10 minutes will not be screened. To be screened, every film must have “Produced at the New York Film Academy” in its closing credits.

Allotted shooting time: 2 days
Screening time: Up to 10 minutes

All projects shot with Panasonic HVX200 cameras.

1st semester — digital films

Project 5

Chekhovian

Working with the spoken word: text versus subtext.

Students each direct a brief page of dialogue (provided by the instructor) that has no written physical detail or action. The director determines who the characters are, based on the work they have done in their fourth non-sync film or the characters they are developing for their second semester film. The director chooses the location, the situation, the back story and, especially, the objectives and beats of the characters in the scene.

Students will find that these elements determine the meaning of the dialogue, and they should reinforce their understanding of text versus subtext.

Allotted shooting time: 5 hours
Editing time: Two 4-hour slots
Screening time: Up to 4 minutes

Project 6

Directing actors

Produce, direct and edit a scene from a feature film. Act in at least one scene directed by a classmate.

Each student chooses a scene of up to two pages, which must be approved by the instructor.

This project challenges students to identify the dramatic objectives and beats of a scene and translate them into psychological and physical actions. It needs a thorough analysis of the scene, and an understanding of how it fits into the arc of the feature as a whole.

Each student creates a production packet that includes a dramatic breakdown of the scene, a contact sheet, shot list and shooting schedule. Parts are cast from within the class. Productions must be fully pre-produced, with location, art direction and wardrobe choices made in advance.

As well as producing a scene, students also act in one. This gives them greater insight into working with actors and helps them understand the dramatic requirements of a scene through experience. Students must fully memorise their lines.

Scenes must be thoroughly rehearsed before production. At this point directors give specific adjustments to the actors based on their interpretation of the scene. Staging and shot choices will inevitably change during rehearsal, which happens both in the Directing Actors class and independently outside class time.

Instructors may observe students’ productions on set and give them critical advice during the shoot.

Allotted shooting time: 5 hours
Editing time: One 4-hour slot
Screening time: 1–2 minutes

Project 7

Production workshop 1

Continuing on from the Directing Actors project, a collaborative class project, which Jamie volunteered to direct, was to choose a famous scene from a film and recreate it with the class.

Jamie chose a scene from The Deer Hunter.

Project 8

Final semester film

This project draws on the visual and dramatic lessons learned throughout the first semester.

Each student makes a short film shot on digital video, up to 12 minutes long. You may choose either a narrative or a documentary format. This project teaches you how to incorporate dialogue into your writing, direction of actors and on-set production techniques. A student who chooses to make a documentary must attend the “Exploring the Documentary Format” elective.

Dialogue filmmaking presents a new range of creative opportunities for your projects. However, many filmmakers abandon visual storytelling when they are presented with the opportunity to direct a sound film. An effective balance of dialogue scenes and visual storytelling is the artistic goal for this assignment.

Make a shot list, storyboard and floor plan. Scout your locations! Cast your film and rehearse the action. It is advisable to videotape your actors: there is a big difference between a live casting call and seeing your actors on tape. You have one week of pre-production and advisements.

Allow extra time to direct your actors on set. This is an excellent opportunity to refine your direction of actors before the thesis film. Remember that directing sync sound takes longer than shooting MOS.

To be screened, every film must have “Produced at the New York Film Academy” in its closing credits.

Allotted shooting time: 2 days
Editing time: 1 week
Screening time: Up to 12 minutes

Next step

Got something to make?

Tell me what you are trying to achieve. I will tell you whether film is the right answer and, if it is, what it should look like.

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