The New York Film Academy offers an extensive array of workshops for the aspiring filmmaker, with campuses in New York City, Universal Studios in California, Disney Studios in Florida, Yale University and Harvard University. It also offers classes at locations such as England, France, Italy and Japan. The full course catalog isn’t available at every site, but the workshops are held often enough that you’re likely to find something that fits the length of time and amount of money you want to spend. In addition to advanced degrees, the academy offers digital film workshops in one-week, three-week and four-week segments. Traditional film workshops are held in three-week, four-week, six-week and eight-week blocks. Film editing workshops last four and 12 weeks, and 3D animation workshops last three and four weeks.
New York Film Academy
100 East 17th Street
New York, New York 10003
(212) 674-4300
nyfa.com
Co-founded by screenwriter Dan Gordon (Passenger 57, Wyatt Earp) and named after his son, a filmmaker who died at age 22, this institute is accredited and a member of an association of major film and television schools. It offers one- and two-day workshops in screenwriting, editing, and visual effects, plus a full-time program at reduced tuition for Arizona residents and those from several western states.
The Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking
c/o Yavapai College
4215 Arts Village Drive
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 649-4276
Toll Free: (800) 922-6787
http://zaki.yc.edu/
The Digital Film Academy offers digital filmmaking workshops in blocks of two, four and twelve weeks, as well as advanced six-month and one-year programs. In addition, it features a workshop about how to be a script supervisor, also known as the continuity person on set. It also offers an array of technical courses teaching 3D animation, motion graphics, editing, cinematography and lighting.
Digital Film Academy
Film Center Building
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 901
New York, New York 10036
(212) 333-4013
http://digitalfilmacademy.com/
If you’re not sure what area of film you want to study, PA Bootcamp might be for you. “PA” stands for Production Assistant, the entry-level job on a film set. PAs do everything from passing out shooting schedules and timesheets to keeping errant pedestrians out of a shot. They have long hours, often work outside, and are there to do whatever is asked of them. On the plus side, they learn about all the different jobs on a set and the various facets of production. After their first films, they gain enough experience to move up the ranks to more specific jobs. The one-day and two-day weekend boot camps are based predominantly in California, such as in in Sherman Oaks or Van Nuys. They don’t promise employment but say you will learn the skills needed to be an asset to a real production. They also offer hotel references for out-of-towners.
PA Bootcamp
(no address listed on Web page)
(818) 386-1228
http://pabootcamp.com/home/home
MediaBistro.com is a resource for media professionals. Its online and in-person courses are heavy on writing, but it does feature some filmmaking options, such as video lectures called “The 20-Minute Screenwriter,” “Produce Your Own Internet Series” and “How to Make a Successful Short Film.” A $19 fee gives visitors access to all MediaBistro videos for a month. For more hands-on training, try a course in New York, Boston or online about multimedia journalism (cost is about $300 to $400). These courses teach useful filmmaking skills such as storyboarding, planning a video shoot and camera basics. Students also learn how to assemble brief audio slideshows and Flash video packages.
MediaBistro.com
mediabistro.com/