Published July 14, 2025

Take a Peek Into NYU Tisch’s Sight and Sound Studio

Majors & Programs Student Voices

A film crew working on a brightly lit set designed to look like a living room and kitchen, with two actors sitting on a couch. Several crew members are operating cameras and boom mics, while others are adjusting lighting and equipment overhead.

Lights, camera, action! The NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Sight and Sound Studio is designed for sophomore level Film and Television majors interested in narrative-based studio production. Students are instructed at NYU’s new, state-of-the-art Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center. From working with actors to learning about studio lighting, they get to experience it all. And this training is as real-world as it gets.

“The best part is that you can tell almost any kind of story without limitation,” says Film and TV student Steven Wang. “You get to focus on the creative filmmaking part. You get to put what you learn about directing into practice really early on. And that’s really helpful, because it gives you a glimpse of your future in this industry.”

Two actors standing side by side on a rug in a festively decorated set, lit by warm lighting and colorful holiday string lights. One crew member is holding a camera to film the actors.

Starting Out Strong

“This studio is the first opportunity students get to really dig into dialogue-driven scenes,” says faculty member Christopher Goutman. “I look at it as getting under the hood of a car. It’s a directing and producing experience, it’s how to make a scene work. So if you want to know how to do that, this is the Studio I encourage you to take.”

Over the course of the semester-long studio, each student rotates through different roles and responsibilities. This way, they have a chance to dive into every aspect of bringing a scene to life. From handling the script to the cameras, the lighting to the art direction, students get to do it all.

“After NYU, I want to work in production,” says Film and TV student Chazzel Ferbol. “I like being behind the scenes, and this studio definitely solidified that for me. The whole concept of working with each other to make an idea come to fruition—you see that in action here.”

A film camera capturing a scene where two actors sit across from each other at a red-covered table in a dimly lit room, creating an intimate atmosphere. The camera monitor in the foreground shows a close-up of the same scene being filmed, offering a glimpse of the cinematic framing.

Create Without Limitation

The Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center is a best-in-class facility located in Brooklyn’s Industry City. Here, students collaborate and grow within their craft while using cutting-edge technology. The new center is one of the first facilities of its kind on the east coast. And it further establishes NYU Tisch as a global leader in cinematic arts training.

“Everything across the board is state-of-the-art. Therefore, students can create in an environment that’s up to industry and professional standards,” explains Professor Goutman. “With so many more tools, they get a real sense of what a real-world professional experience looks like.”

Students in the Sight and Sound Studio have access to the facility’s two 1,800-square-foot television studios, along with industry-grade broadcast and control rooms.

“I didn’t have any film experience beforehand,” says Chazzel, who was in the first cohort to take Sight and Sound Studio in the facility. “This was the first time I had my hands on equipment like this. The lighting board, the studio camera—it was really, really cool.”

“The new TV studios lets us do so much more than before,” Steven adds. “We can change lights really, really quickly. And there are walls that turn and change the set really quickly too. We have so many more opportunities to transform the space and create exactly what we envision.”

A group of six actors posing on a living room set, with some seated on a couch and others standing behind it under studio lights. Crew members with boom mics are partially visible around the edges, capturing the scene while others observe from the shadows.

What Story Will You Tell?

In the Sight and Sound Studio, you’ll experience every part of bringing an in-studio production to life. What’s more, you’ll have brought your own film to life, from start to finish.

“My final project was a story about a young man who is trying to reconnect with his cultural roots and heritage,” explains Steven. Not only did he write the script, but he was in charge of casting the film’s actors as well. “His great-grandma has passed away, and he tries to convince his father to let him attend the funeral in Taiwan. But they’re in America. We then explore the family tensions that exist, and ask the question: Who gets to decide what heritage is passed along?”

Chazzel also explored family dynamics in her film, as she focused it on two brothers and the tension they face surrounding the older brother’s involvement in a gang.

“It’s about a little brother who seeks support from his older brother, but it doesn’t turn out the way he expects,” she explains. “It was my first time making a film, and to see it come alive … Well, it’s a happiness that’s hard to explain. And when you finally get to screen it in front of your classmates and your professor, there’s also this gratitude for your crewmates because they helped you make it. Ultimately, it just makes you value the whole process of working together.”