Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film in Miami, FL

New York Film Academy South Beach’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film is a nine semester conservatory-based, full-time undergraduate study program. The curriculum is designed to immerse gifted and energetic prospective filmmakers in all aspects of the discipline. The BFA in Film program in Miami provides a creative setting with which to challenge, inspire, and perfect the talents of the student body. Students follow an intensive curriculum and achieve multiple learning goals.

In addition to providing a framework of collegiate-level general education and specified upper-level knowledge, the educational objectives in the BFA in Film degree program are to teach students the art and craft of filmmaking. Through a strict regimen consisting of lectures, seminars, and total immersion workshops, BFA Film candidates will learn to excel in the creative art of filmmaking.

As a supplement to their filmmaking courses, BFA Film students will also complete a curriculum of Liberal Arts & Sciences classes. This includes a series of courses in Foundation Studies that focus on communications, analysis, and deductive reasoning. Students practice critical thinking, analysis, scholarly research, writing, and reading. These courses build a foundation for more specialized subjects requiring advanced written and oral communication skills and that cover Physical and Mental Wellness, Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The skills mastered will prepare students for the advanced course work of constructing an authentic voice in their production projects.

Learning Goals

In the completion of their BFA in Film degree, students will cover the many facets of filmmaking, from film analysis to gaining hands-on experience with equipment and working on a set. Over the course of the nine semesters, students will progress in their education towards completing a final thesis film or feature length film. Students can expect the following from each semester.

• 1st Semester: During the first semester, students will learn the foundations of the art and technique of visual storytelling. Students will learn the requisite skills to write, direct, film and edit four short films. The accelerated pace of study develops students’ basic narrative and visual literacy that further terms will build upon. In addition, students will also take classes of the foundation series. The first semester is also when students begin their courses in the arts and humanities and the social and behavioral sciences, which will continue throughout the course of their BFA studies.
• 2nd Semester: In semester two students will continue to develop their filmmaking skills through further classes in screenwriting, directing, editing, and a production lab class.
• 3rd Semester: More advanced levels of production are instructed in the third semester with students continuing into advanced topics in directing, cinematography, and producing. In this semester students are introduced to the advanced equipment package that they will use in their intermediate films produced in semester four.
• 4th Semester: Semester four is dedicated to the production of the intermediate film and its supporting classes, as well as the first in a series of feature film screenwriting courses. This intermediate film is the capstone production of all the skills learned within the first year of the program. These films can be up to fifteen minutes in length and provide a larger canvas in which students can express their creative vision.
• 5th Semester: Evenly divided between film classes and courses in general education, students complete post-production of the intermediate film in semester five. This semester also introduces them to the more advanced equipment package they will use in their Thesis Films, in the cinematography III class, and continues with feature screenplay and critical film studies.
• 6th Semester: With the start of semester six, students begin to prepare for their upcoming Thesis Films. Students conduct work at a higher level, crafting more ambitious and precise scripts for these films, as well as studying the finer points of direction allowing them more control over their craft. An advanced on-set production lab class mentors students through the process of applying these new skills to actual productions in the field.
• 7th Semester: Semester seven is divided between Thesis Film production and two courses in the Arts and Humanities. These Thesis Films are the capstone project of the BFA Film program, putting into practice the skills acquired throughout the previous terms.
• 8th Semester: Semester eight provides an opportunity for students to complete post-production on their Thesis Films and expand their knowledge of the entertainment industry. They will also undertake instruction in preparing to produce their own projects outside of school environments.
• 9th Semester: The ninth semester builds on the professional preparation courses with students also completing their Thesis Films, culminating in a screening open to friends, family, and classmates.