Film

Overview

More About the Department

As an undergrad of the Film program at School of Visual Arts, you can specialize in Directing, Screenwriting, Cinematography, Editing or Sound. You can create a body of work that rivals most graduate schools. Our immersive program has many special features designed to educate you better and faster—like courses which are taught in collaboration by writers and directors, and an integrated curriculum which means you develop work in writing classes, fine-tune it with professional actors in directing, prepare and shoot it in production and edit in post-production.

All of our faculty do what they teach—actively contending in today’s high tech media marketplace. The relationships you form with your mentors now mean you are already connected to the film industry. When our teachers need to fill a slot on the set or in the studio—who better than the people they have trained themselves? Our students intern at the top production and post-production companies, among others, and are often working before they graduate.

Because your education isn’t just academic but hands-on right from the beginning, you learn early what you love and what you’re good at. You share your skills working on your classmates’ films. Bonds are formed during the intense days and nights of shooting that not only contribute to fine work during school but to career opportunities after graduation.

At SVA Film “independent” is not just a trendy pre-fix for “filmmaker.” It’s the creative DNA that makes SVA artists different. We’re not just about getting a job, but having a life. A life in which you can keep making the work you love.

Film and television are New York’s fastest growing industries—employing more than 100,000 workers. The reason for this explosive growth is the talent pool—New York is the place to find the right people with right skills. SVA has long contributed to the city’s artistic resources.

SVA gives you many advantages as a budding filmmaker. You’re in an atmosphere with a rich tradition of innovation and originality. You’re surrounded by the best image-makers in media. You’re part of the art and idea capital of the world.