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Directing
The NMFI directing program offers students a complete immersion into the art, technique and practice of directing a professional film production. A dynamic, integrated curriculum offers full-time classroom instruction, including theory and analysis, intensive hands-on experience, scene work, faculty and peer review and screenings. The directing program explores the various elements of visual storytelling and the skills required to create and execute a successful filmmaking vision.
Spring Semester
In the spring semester, you will learn how to analyze and breakdown a screenplay from a director’s point of view, to work effectively with actors, and to employ camera placement, composition and lighting techniques in service of your vision. In addition, you will gain an understanding of the dynamic relationship between the director and other creative collaborators, including the writer, cinematographer, production designer, editor, and producer.
Throughout the semester the NMFI brings together students from all three disciplines for professional workshops by guest lecturers working inside the business. These industry experts conduct informal seminars that reveal behind-the-scenes insights and offer instructive and entertaining stories from the trenches. Guests include: screenwriters, casting directors, editors, cinematographers, animators, production designers, directors, producers, agents, studio executives and others.
In addition, a series of workshops exploring the production hierarchy, production scheduling, methods for working within a budget, and organizational and communication strategies are ongoing through the semester. As part of these sessions, NMFI director/producer teams take pitches from screenwriting students, select material, cast actors, ‘hire’ crews, and prepare for shooting and directing a 10 to 15-minute Super 16 or High Definition movie over the summer semester.
Summer Semester
Working in a professional setting, each NMFI director collaborates with an NMFI producer to make a 10 to 15-minute Super 16 or High Definition movie. Every approved production is allocated a $10,000 budget by NMFI, offering directing and producing teams a tangible budget to allocate, negotiate and meet, thereby challenging student directors to deliver an artistic vision within the scope of a real schedule and budget.
Through the summer semester, a practical industry primer exposes students to matters related to film development and financing, packaging, guild membership, industry representation, delivery requirements, and the domestic and international marketplace.
Successful NMFI directors will complete the program with a reel in hand and the tools to pursue film festival and commercial distribution for their film— an incredible opportunity to launch a professional career as a director.
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