ONE-YEAR ACTING FOR FILM

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1 ONE-YEAR ACTING FOR FILM 28 COLLEGE CREDITS 30 The New York Film Academy is proud to offer its extraordinarily popular One-Year Acting for Film program. The One-Year program is unlike any other actor-training program in the world a cutting-edge exploration into the art and practice of acting for the screen. The One-Year program runs on an eight-month calendar, divided into two 16-week semesters. Each of the 16-week semesters requires intensive time demands and a complete commitment on the part of the student. A standard week of study involves additional time required in the evenings and on weekends for classes, rehearsals, and shoots. WHAT MAKES OUR ACTING PROGRAMS UNIQUE? PRACTICAL HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE The best way to learn how to act in films is to actually act in films. Our students begin acting in front of the camera from the first week of the program. Every week, students get the opportunity to practice the techniques and skills they have gained in class to exercises that are shot and reviewed. PROFESSIONAL FACULTY Our instructors are working veterans of Hollywood and independent film, Broadway and Off-Broadway. FILM PRODUCTIONS Many of our programs feature the production of short films or scenes that are created by and star our acting students. These are shot and edited together and may be used for students own reels. FILMMAKING RESOURCES Our Acting for Film and Filmmaking programs work hand-in-hand, providing all of our students with resources such as film equipment, live film shoots, and a network of filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, and editors that is developed before entering the real world. REEL MATERIALS We provide all of our students with shot and edited materials that are suitable to put on an actor s reel. Available in New York City Universal Studios, Hollywood London, England Miami, Florida Florence, Italy Tuition: $12,000 per Semester After my screen test, the director clapped his hands gleefully and yelled: She can t talk! She can t act! She s sensational! Ava Gardner

2 FIRST SEMESTER OVERVIEW The first semester concentrates on building a foundation in the craft of acting, using training techniques rooted in the theater but applicable to screen acting. Students participate in a broad array of core classes that introduce them to finding the actor within, while simultaneously training their instrument to do the kind of technical, emotional, and physical work necessary for film acting. Since we believe that film actors also benefit immeasurably from working in front of a live audience, in addition to work in front of the camera, training in the first semester builds towards a live performance. LEARNING GOALS Explore and learn and the principles of acting technique. Learn the vocabulary of filmmaking for actors. Become familiarized with the logistics of performance on a film set. Recognize the differences between film acting and stage performance. Understand how to break down a scene and analyze a character. PERFORMANCE GOALS Rehearse and tape film scenes to be analyzed and critiqued in class. Break down, analyze, and rehearse a select monologue and perform it in front of a live audience. CLASSES In the first part of the semester, students begin to build the foundation of their craft through a broad array of classes that incorporate both traditional stage performance, as well as film performance techniques and concepts. FIRST SEMESTER Acting Technique Acting for Film I Film Craft Meisner I Voice & Movement I Speech Text Analysis Improvisation Shakespeare Editing Performance: Monologue Presentation Class Descriptions Acting Technique This class will be an introduction to the various well-known acting techniques of the Master Acting Teachers. The classes will begin with basic ensemble acting games and warm ups. Students will first explore the work of Konstantin Stanislavski, then move to the Method, briefly discussing the role of Sanford Meisner, then continue to the work of Lee Strasberg (sense and emotional memory), Stella Adler (absolute belief in given circumstances), Michael Chekhov (the psychological gesture), Jerzy Grotowski (physical approach/ outside in ), Anne Bogart (viewpoints) and Tadashi Suzuki. One-Year Acting for Film 31

3 Film Craft The classes will include a brief historical background of each of the Masters, as well as a discussion of the development of each of his/her techniques. Students will then be introduced to specific exercises attributed to each Master and asked to work on them outside of class and to perform them in class. In this series of classes, students will learn directing, producing, screenwriting, etc. from the actor s perspective. Learning the roles of all the players on a film set dramatically increases the actor s ability to collaborate with the filmmakers in developing dynamic performances. Students will move to Open Scenes and monologue work to begin to utilize the different concepts learned. A final "Presentation" of monologue (or open scene work) will be performed at the end of the semester." Meisner I Sanford Meisner s teachings had a seminal impact on the acting craft. Students will deeply immerse themselves in the Meisner Technique, which will enable them to Acting for Film I discover their voice of The basic tenets of acting intuition and to inhabit a translate from stage to screen, but there are skills and knowledge that are role spontaneously, from moment to moment as specific to the craft of well as to build acting for the camera. a character arc that While the Film Academy is both specific and will explore with students Martin Scorsese inspired by the actor s With sometime the necessary acting muse Robert De Niro on Taxi Driver. own responses. techniques and elements that must be practiced and understood to give Voice and Movement I a good performance in general, each student In both film and theatre, a character s objective is will be introduced to acting for the camera in often illuminated by the playing of strong physical the very first week of the program. Students actions. In other words, what a character does, learn the basics of film acting: calibrating more than what he or she says, is what defines performances based upon shot size and angle, his or her true desire. hitting marks, emotional and physical continuity, and strength and imagination in acting choices. Over the course of the year, classes will devote a majority of time applying skills taught in other classes to acting on a film set, specifically. Movement, in addition to strengthening body posture and contributing to an actor s ability to relax and prepare to play a role, will also focus on breaking down inhibitions, building ensemble spirit, and giving the necessary tools to bring 32 Apply Online at

4 depth to the physical dimension of assigned roles from dramatic texts. Additionally, in this class students gain insight into the power of how to nurture and control their voices through various resonators and muscles, this enables them to tap into primal emotional impulses. Speech An extension of the Voice work, Speech focuses on the elimination of foreign accents and regional dialects by developing Standard American Speech. Using the International Phonetics Alphabet (IPA), the actor learns to correct habitual speech problems and prepare for future dialect study. The results include greater ease, clarity, and expression with text, and the ability to undertake a wide variety of roles. Text Analysis Actors learn the history and development of seminal dramatic texts from the 20th Century to the present. Both stage and screenplays will be studied, often reading the same script in both formats, i.e. Tenessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire, Eugene O Neill s Long Day s Journey into Night. Improvisation The ability to improvise can never be underestimated when it comes to acting, especially on camera where there is usually very little rehearsal. Whether in comedy or drama, actors improvise well when they are fully engaged, listening to their partners, and releasing their inhibitions about failing. Through games and exercises, students learn how to let their imaginations run wild, how to play well with others, and how to live in the moment free from anticipating or planning what to do next. Shakespeare Some people say that if you can play Shakespeare truthfully, you can play anything. Students will learn how to speak, physicalize and bring strong subtextual insights to Shakespeare's classical language, but with a modern approach that assimilates the actor's personal experiences. Editing In addition to providing students with the basic tools to edit together their own actor s reel, we also teach the basics of narrative film editing. Since films are shot entirely out-of-sequence and scenes must flow when they are sometimes shot days or weeks apart, an actor cannot fully understand the critical concept of emotional and physical continuity unless they have a basic understanding of the film editing process. First Semester Performance Students in the One-Year Acting for Film Program will do a live performance of monologues that are developed and rehearsed in their Introduction to Acting and Acting Technique classes of the first semester. The performances will be staged for a live audience comprised of classmates, faculty, staff and invited guests. The live performances during the year will allow students to gain valuable experience and opportunities to compare and contrast their stage acting work with their work in front of the camera. One-Year Acting for Film 33

5 SECOND SEMESTER OVERVIEW In the second semester, the core classes continue as the students focus intensifies on applying the techniques they have learned to more elaborate scene work, on camera exercises, and film shoots all designed to develop and hone their screen-acting ability. All students perform in film or video shoots, oftentimes original work that was created and developed by the students in collaboration with their instructors. In addition, a variety of classes are given in order to broaden students knowledge of acting techniques, the film business, and many different film crafts. The second semester culminates in two public presentations of student work. The first is a live showcase performance of scenes for an invited audience of friends, family, and industry guests. The second is a screening of a thesis productions followed by a graduation ceremony. LEARNING GOALS Learn to work for directors with varying styles on live film sets. Gain knowledge of the differences between demands upon the actor on film productions versus television productions. Learn how to prepare for and present yourself for auditions. Understand the business of acting behind the craft. Learn how to create and edit a reel of work for auditions. PERFORMANCE GOALS Perform scenes and workshop exercises developed and rehearsed through instruction in the Meisner Technique. Develop, rehearse, and perform in an original short film to be presented to an invited audience at the end of the semester. Break down, analyze, and rehearse scenes and perform in these scenes for an invited audience. CLASSES SECOND SEMESTER Acting for Film II Scene Study Acting for Film Production Workshop Meisner II Audition Technique Improvisation II Voice & Movement II Acting for Television Combat for Film Performances: Improvisation Demonstration Meisner Presentation Showcase of Scenes Final Screening Class Descriptions Acting For Film II In semester two, students will assimilate a range of highly demanding physical, vocal, and psychological acting techniques for the analysis, rehearsal, and blocking of produced films or original short films that are developed in collaboration with their instructors. These scenes will be digitally shot, edited, screened, and critiqued. All acting students will also be required to serve in other crew capacities. Critiques will focus on the techniques of calibrating energy for various shot sizes as well as on the strength and imagination of acting choices. 34 Apply Online at

6 Scene Study Students will use the techniques they learned in the first semester Acting Technique class to break down scenes into beats (i.e. moments of emotional transition) and then assign specific psychological actions, physical actions, and obstacles to each beat. They will incorporate various acting techniques including Stanislavsky s System and Strasberg s Method, as well as the skills learned in the Meisner Technique class. Additionally, students will learn how to build a comprehensive scored script that includes: a lengthy character biography, description of the dramatic arc, as well as how environment impacts the character s overall objective. Scene Study class will culminate with a showcase presentation for classmates, faculty, and an invited audience at the end of the semester. Acting for Film Production Workshop Students will be cast in short scenes that are produced by the One-Year Filmmaking students with the supervision of the faculty and staff. These are full day productions shot on either film or HD and are an excellent opportunity for acting students to get more experience acting on a film set. The completed scenes may also provide material for the acting student s reel. Apply Online at 35

7 Meisner II A continuation of Meisner I, students learn how to apply the moment to moment work to characters outside of their own experience. This culminates in a Meisner scene presentation in front of a live audience. Audition Technique Acting is as much of a business as it is a craft. In addition to training, successful actors must develop strong marketing skills in order to build a career. These classes focus on such topics as feeling comfortable at cold readings, preparing a resume, choosing a head-shot photographer, and developing a career strategy. Additionally, actors will have the opportunity to get live auditioning experience both in class and during an open casting call with directors from the Academy s Filmmaking program. Combat for Film Students learn how to safely portray choreographed violence for the screen. Elements of various martial arts are employed to create convincing fight sequences that keep the actor safe from injury. Acting for Television There are many ways to record a performance. The object of this course will be to explore the differences between shooting film style (one camera) and the world of a multi-camera set. Students will be assigned scenes from either sitcoms or soap operas, which will be rehearsed and staged over the course of several weeks culminating in a multi-camera taping that will be analyzed by the instructor and class. Matthew Modine directing a New York Film Academy Master Class on location in New York City. 36 One-Year Acting for Film

8 Improvisation II In this class, students experience first hand the differences involved in the sitcom threecamera setup. Actors will be cast in and perform scenes from sitcoms (or, alternatively, a full episode) in front of three cameras, and will then edit together the footage into a final product for critique. Voice & Movement II Actors continue with more demanding physical work designed to heighten performances. Elements of movement and dance are addressed for specific works that require specific character and/or historical accuracy. One-Year Final Performance In addition to a screening of students work in front of the camera, students will perform live scenes that have been analyzed and rehearsed throughout the semester in Scene Study class. Students are also required to commit additional time outside of class to rehearse. The chosen material can range from classic stage plays to contemporary films. The scenes are fullyrealized with costumes, props, lighting and sound effects and will be performed for classmates, faculty, staff and invited guests. This performance is an exciting event that allows students to showcase their abilities and celebrate the completion of their year s study. New York Film Academy student browsing the wardrobe department at Universal Studios, California. Apply Online at 37