Film Classes at NYU for Film and Non-Film Majors

The Open Arts Department at NYU Tisch School of the Arts offers the Minor in Film. And all NYU students can declare this minor, regardless of their major. The two core courses for the minor are Fundamentals of Filmmaking I and II. 

Filmmaking I introduces students to developing, producing, and editing short digital films. Working in crews of four, students work in crews of four and learn directing, shooting, and editing skills. They each get a chance to direct three short videos. First, students shoot their initial shorts in black and white without dialogue. Then, they move on to shooting in color and without dialogue.

Filmmaking II introduces students to color cinematography and aesthetics, sound recording, casting, directing, producing, and editing. Students have access to a compact lighting and mic kit for their productions. At the end of the course, students can direct and produce a short, digital video project, write a short screenplay with minimal dialogue, cast and direct actors, storyboard, light a scene, record clean dialogue, and use editing software.

Enrolling is pretty straightforward, but because the minor is popular, there is usually a waitlist. Beyond Filmmaking I and II, there are also other classes available in subjects like lighting, photography, and special effects makeup.

In addition, non-film major students and even non-NYU students can enroll in summer film classes at Tisch. Non-film major NYU students enroll through Albert and non-NYU students complete the visiting student application. For international students the application deadline is in March. For domestic students the deadline is May for Session I and June for Session II.

In fact, I took Sight and Sound: Filmmaking during the summer. As a student who internally transferred to film, I was encouraged to take a class during the summer. That way, I’d have a basic grasp of the foundations of film before the fall semester started. 

Sight and Sound: Filmmaking’s content is similar to Fundamental of Filmmaking I and II but it’s just packed into one semester. As a result, the class pace is a bit faster and the content is more compact.

I met such a diverse group of classmates. There were students with PhDs, international classmates like a 35-year-old Indian film producer and undergraduate students from Hungary, the United Kingdom, and other universities around the country. Students accepted to the dual-degree program MFA in Film and MBA in Business were also in my class.

In classes there were interesting exercises like mise-en-scène where we shot everything in one take. I shot a breakup story next to the Hudson River called The Heartbreak. For the final project, each student made a five minute short film with their group mates. My final project was a short film about Asian hate and discrimination after the pandemic called 3PM.