Two-Year Degree Program

ASSOCIATE OF FINE ARTS

in ACTING FOR FILM

AFA Acting students prepare to perform a scene in collaboration with Filmmaking students.

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LOCATION
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Location is subject to change.
For start dates and tuition, please visit nyfa.edu

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AFA Acting for Film

OVERVIEW

T
here are numerous elements and skills that go into making a critically acclaimed film that
viewers will appreciate. Yet an audience’s connection to an actor’s performance is often the
most immediate and intimate relationship one makes with a movie. A good performance
must appear effortless, yet still convey a rich tapestry of emotion and depth to create a
convincing character.

Unlike acting in the theater, when performing on a film or television set, an actor must contend with a
far more chaotic environment where numerous crew members are running about, high wattage lights are
aimed directly at the actor, and one is expected to give a believable and engaging performance take after
take. Regardless of an actor’s inherent talent, he or she must learn how to effectively handle the countless
variables at work on a film or television production.

The Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) Degree Program in Acting for Film provides students with the opportunity
to exclusively focus on their professional and artistic development as actors. Over the course of the four-
semester, two-year program, students gain a strong foundation in acting principles through such classes as
Scene Study, Acting for Film, Voice and Movement, Improvisation, and Audition Technique.

Please Note: curriculum and projects are subject to change and may vary depending on location.
Students should consult the most recently published campus catalog for the most up to date course information.

Students shoot a scene for their Production Workshop class in New York City
with the guidance of their cinematography instructor.
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 Acting for Film AFA

Through our philosophy of learning by The AFA in Acting for Film program is exclusively
doing, students start acting in front of the offered at our campus in Los Angeles. However,
QUALIFIED STUDENTS HAVE THE OPTION OF
camera from day one. Students at NYFA
COMPLETING COURSE WORK AT THE NEW
supplement what they learn in class with YORK FILM ACADEMY IN NEW YORK CITY IN
continuous practice, gaining substantial A ONE-YEAR NON-DEGREE PROGRAM AND
on-set experience in supervised, in- THEN APPLYING THEIR COURSE WORK TO BE
ACCEPTED FOR ADVANCED STANDING IN THE
class workshops and through acting in AFA ACTING FOR FILM DEGREE PROGRAM.
original films made by the Academy’s
filmmaking students.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
To become a professional actor, we believe it is
essential that one understands the many nuances of • Text and Script Analysis.
filmmaking. Therefore, our AFA Acting for Film students • Broad Range of Acting Techniques.
are trained in the different aspects of filmmaking, • Voice and Movement Techniques.
such as directing, producing, and screenwriting. Not • Acting Skills for the Camera.
only do students graduate from our acting school • Auditioning Techniques.
with a practical foundation in acting, but also with
• Technical Film and Production Techniques.
comprehensive filmmaking experience.
• History of Acting Styles.
• Business Practices and Marketing Tools for the
To facilitate our acting students’ immersion in
Entertainment Industry.
filmmaking, students work directly with filmmaking
students to get hands-on training with state-of-the-art
film equipment. They also collaborate with a network of
students—including screenwriters, producers, editors,
WHAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE
and cinematographers—to better learn the filmmaking SEMESTER ONE
process and understand how to best work with creative • Scene and Monologue Presentations.
filmmakers of all stripes. • On Camera Shoots.
• Filmcraft Shoot.
Through constant practice on camera, students • Production Workshops with Film Students.
graduate with a reel of their performances expertly
SEMESTER TWO
shot and edited, which is an essential tool in obtaining
• Short Film Shot on Location.
work after the Academy.
• Short Film directed by student filmmakers.
• Scene Presentation on Stage.
Furthermore, students study under our acclaimed
• Filmed Voice and Movement Presentations.
faculty members of professional actors. By being
active in the industry, our acting instructors give SEMESTER THREE
students the most current insight into the state of the • Multi-Camera and Single Camera Television Shoots.
business, so that students better understand how to • Voice-over Demo Reel.
navigate such a competitive industry. • Filmed Shakespeare Presentation.
• Filmed Improvisation Presentation.
Students get the additional benefit of having a • Scene Presentation on Stage.
steady schedule of notable and award-winning guest
SEMESTER FOUR
speakers who impart invaluable experience and
• Short Film Shot on location.
knowledge about the craft of acting.
• Professional Industry Package.
• Industry Showcase.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” - William Shakespeare 225
AFA Acting for Film

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

YEAR ONE OVERVIEW

In Year One, AFA students undergo a thorough regimen of classwork and film
acting that lays the groundwork for a professional life in the film arts.

SEMESTER ONE MOVEMENT I

In this course, students will explore their ability
TECHNIQUE & SCENE STUDY 1 (PLAYS) to engage the body in a full and courageously
Acting Technique and Scene Study I provides students unedited manner as a tool for performance.
with preparatory building blocks, which lay a solid A focus of this course is to cultivate tools
foundation from which to go deeper into the craft. They with which the students can externalize their
will learn of the rich Acting Technique traditions that internal life in an authentic manner on impulse
have shaped the craft today. The focus of Technique and and through movement. Various training
Scene Study I is process not product. Students will work methods will be taught, including but not limited
on exercises, monologues, and short scenes from plays to Viewpoints, the Suzuki Method, Dance,
applying the techniques they have studied. Yoga, Laban Analysis, Contact Improvisation,
Grotowski, and Chekhov Technique.
ACTING FOR FILM I
This course introduces to the beginning Acting for Film FILMCRAFT
student the skills necessary for creating a fully realized Filmcraft provides the Acting for Film student
performance. The primary emphasis of the class is the with a full immersion experience into the world
practice of the subtlety and nuance of film acting including of film production. Students gain basic working
learning to adjust performances for specific shot sizes, knowledge of directing, cinematography, writing,
finding the arc of the character and learning to maintain the producing, editing, and inhabiting crew positions,
integrity of the script while shooting out of sequence. Film allowing for real-time experience on a short in-
set terminology and etiquette is also addressed. Students class shoot, supervised by the instructor.
collaborate in a supervised Production Workshop with film
students, which is a full immersion production approach INTRODUCTION TO FILM
to Acting for Film instruction. This seminar teaches students to identify the
techniques used by cinematic innovators in
VOICE & SPEECH I the history of filmmaking. Through screenings
In this course, students will begin to develop a free and and discussions, students will grow to
healthy voice and an awareness of vocal tendencies and understand how filmmakers approached the
adverse conditioning. Various techniques will be taught, great challenge of telling stories with moving
including and not limited to, Fitzmaurice Voicework, images from silent films to about 1960. The
Knight-Thompson Speechwork, Linklater, Lessac, and course explores ways that the crafts of
Skinner. Through exploration of phonetic sounds and directing (particularly shot construction),
optimal vowel formation, a deeper, more precise and cinematography, acting, and editing developed
nuanced experience of sounds will be felt. Students will over that period. Students are then challenged
experience a more visceral and more direct connection to to identify which techniques they are learning
their voice unimpeded by habitual tension. in their own ongoing film projects.

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 Acting for Film AFA

SEMESTER TWO
TECHNIQUE & SCENE STUDY II
Acting Technique and Scene Study II continues the
exploration of relaxation, sensory awareness, and
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-
up, but a comedy in long-shot.
“
creative choice-making and individual performance
elements in exercises designed to enhance the - Charlie Chaplin
students’ ability to synthesize their own practical
techniques for performance on screen or stage. This
course will heighten the actor’s awareness of his
or her instrument. Students will also develop their
ability to focus their attention and create detailed MOVEMENT II
and vibrant imaginative worlds. Exercises may be
Expanding upon the techniques and skills learned in
taped for in-class critique and evaluation. Students
Movement I, students will continue their exploration
will perform in a live presentation for an audience at
to refine their ability to express character and
the end of the semester.
emotion through the body. Continuing the use of
multiple approaches to movement and its analysis,
ACTING FOR FILM II
which includes, but is not limited to, Viewpoints,
This course teaches intermediate Acting for Film skills Composition work, Contact Improvisation, Dance,
necessary for creating a fully realized performance. Yoga, Laban Movement Analysis, Grotowski,
Students will prepare a script and digitally tape a Chekhov Technique, Movement II will refine and
variety of scenes during class. Students edit their expand students’ proficiency of their physical
own exercises and scenes to better understand instrument. This course will focus on applying
how the mechanics of a performance effect the final physicalization to character through improvised
edit. Edited exercises and scenes will be screened and scripted performance.
for critique in class. Students will also do pre-
production prep in class, as well as rehearse final SCREENWRITERS & PLAYWRIGHTS
scenes for shooting. In addition to acting, students
Students study contemporary playwrights and
will be intensively involved in production throughout
screenwriters, examining style as it relates to
the shoot days. They will edit their own scenes for
current forms and genres. Text analysis and plot
a final screening.
structure are treated as fundamental tools of
critical analysis. Students learn how to interpret
VOICE & SPEECH II
given elements of writing, such as mood and
Building upon the foundations established in Voice subtext, to enhance performance. Written work is
and Speech I, students explore the application of an integral part of this course.
learned vocal techniques to text to expand vocal
variety and organic connection to the character and COLLABORATION WORKSHOP
story. There will be a focused refinement of vocal
A course designed to further expand upon the
production and a deeper connection to images and
etiquette of the film set, students explore the
text. The students will explore text work by focusing
importance of the actor/director relationship
on the enhancement of the variety of vocal choices,
required for a successful and professional film shoot.
along with intelligibility and breathe support that is
Filmmaking and Acting students come together
connected to image and character.
for a series of audition technique, rehearsal, and
screening classes, in addition to a series of full-
fledged production exercises.

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AFA Acting for Film

YEAR TWO OVERVIEW

Through exposure to the many facets of the professional world of film acting, the second
year prepares students for their final projects, which include a Showcase and a Final
Film Project. All Year Two AFA students must complete a series of highly specialized
courses, participate in multiple film productions, and, ultimately, deliver a Professional
Portfolio that they may take with them upon graduation.

IMPROVISATION
Improvisation encourages students to skillfully
nurture their instincts and freely release their
creative impulses through a variety of individual
and group exercises.

ACTING FOR FILM III: SCRIPTED TV

This course introduces the concepts and skills
that students need for today’s television shows.
The instructor will work with the class to determine
casting needs. A full or partial comedy script,
and a full or partial dramatic episodic script will
be chosen to accommodate the class. Students
assist with crew positions, when not acting. The
aim of this course is to have the actor experience
the acting and production techniques used in
today’s television shoots. The final product is not
the focus here; emphasis is on students gaining
SEMESTER THREE practical experience of on-camera acting so that
they will be prepared for the pacing, tone and
TECHNIQUE & SCENE STUDY III adjustments necessary for today’s TV actor. They
will shoot both a full and partial sitcom and a full
Students learn how to assess the needs of the scene
or partial dramatic episode, teaching them the
through application of text analysis, inhabiting given
techniques of a traditional multi-camera set, as
circumstances, development, and pursuit of strong
well as single camera shooting.
objectives. They will also incorporate voice and
movement training and technique through moment-to- SHAKESPEARE
moment communication with scene partners, break text This is an Actor’s course for performing
into beats, and make strong choices to create engaging Shakespeare. The student will learn to evaluate
and believable performances. Scenes will be taped the language and the actions implied. Students
during a live presentation at the end of the semester. will develop the fundamental concepts of
scansion, meter, text analysis and scene study
VOICEOVER as it pertains to the demands of performing
Students will learn the highly specialized skill of heightened language. Performing Shakespeare
voiceover acting. They will discover what kind of will guide students to further development of the
voiceover work for which they are most suited and learn vocal and physical dexterity demanded by the
how to use their voice in different ways. Students will text. The course will culminate in either a taped
also get information about job opportunities available and/or live performance of Shakespeare’s works
via sonnets, monologues, soliloquies and/or
in this field and have an opportunity to create their own
scenes from his various plays.
voiceover material during a final recording session in
one of NYFA’s professional studios.

228 The most hands-on intensive programs in the world.

 Acting for Film AFA

SEMESTER FOUR ELECTIVES

TECHNIQUE & SCENE STUDY IV Electives are subject to change and are offered based on
In preparation for their final showcase, students demand and teacher availability.
will work on selected scenes and further assess
the needs of the scene through application of SKETCH COMEDY
text analysis, inhabiting given circumstances, This workshop is designed for actors with comedy
development, and pursuit of strong objectives. improvisation experience who are interested in writing
They will also incorporate voice and movement and performing sketch comedy. Each class will involve
training and technique through moment-to- instruction on the variety of ways sketch comedy is created,
moment communication with scene partners, using improvisational comedy to bolster the writing process,
as well as breaking text into beats and making and brainstorming to help each student discover their unique
strong choices. Performances will be taped in comic voice.
a live showcase presentation for Industry and CONTEMPORARY DANCE
invited guests at the end of the semester. This course will provide an opportunity for students to
experience a variety of dance styles and choreography inside
ACTING FOR FILM IV and outside the parameters of western contemporary dance.
The primary emphasis of the class is to rehearse Students pursue weekly research and movement based
and shoot a variety of more complex material. activities that explore a range of choreographic themes.
Students will prepare a year-end shoot to be
shot by an on-staff DP and Director. Students STUNT WORKSHOP
will both produce and act in the shoot. This course is designed to develop the specialty skills
and techniques of stunt work with specific emphasis on
BUSINESS OF ACTING/ film combat. The students will focus on the awareness
AUDITION TECHNIQUE and development of body mechanics as a tool for the
This course teaches advanced Business of Acting actor through emphasis on stage fighting, circus skills,
skills to students on the verge of graduating stage stunt work, as well as complex on-camera combat
with an AFA in Acting for Film. Students will techniques and choreography.
create a business plan, which includes research
on headshot photographers, writing résumés, SINGING FOR ACTORS
researching and targeting appropriate agencies This course offers actors the opportunity to experience
and managers, understanding basic contracts the techniques and joy of singing to feel comfortable and
and industry standards, as well as honing competent in an audition or on set. This is a voice workshop,
auditioning skills for today’s industry. Students will not a performance workshop. The skills practiced are intended
put together a Professional Portfolio, which will to create expressive freedom in a musical environment.
include their headshot, résumé, and demo reel. ADVANCED STAGE PROJECTS
This course is an individualized project-based curriculum
HISTORY OF ACTING culminating in a taped live performance for an audience.
Starting with the Greeks and Romans, the The scope of learning includes creating and developing a
course examines ideas of acting including theatrical performance.
those from Shakespeare’s time to the present
day. The course also considers contribution ENTERTAINMENT LAW
and theories of key figures such as Diderot, This course is an overview of basic entertainment law and
Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Brecht, Artaud, and how it affects actors, the business of acting and basic
Grotowski, and concludes with an examination content creation. Acting students will study legal issues
of the history of acting styles and techniques that affect actors and content creators in television, film,
for film and new media. recordings, live performances and other aspects of the
entertainment industry.

Go Online at nyfa.edu for more information. 229