Los Angeles Film School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Established | 1999 |
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| Type | Private college |
| President | Diana Derycz-Kessler |
| Location | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.lafilm.com |
The Los Angeles Film School was founded by Hollywood professionals with the goal of balancing the practical with the academic. The LAFS is located on Sunset Boulevard, near Vine Street, in Hollywood, California. LAFS offers a one year, "hands on", immersion program, educating students in the science, craft and theory of filmmaking.
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[edit] History
This for-profit school was founded in 1999, and in 2001 Diana Derycz-Kessler, a Harvard Law School graduate, took over its management.
[edit] Academics
The school teaches Producing, Directing, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound Recording and Design and Screenwriting.
The school stresses practical learning, giving video cameras to students the first week of the program, with which they create their first short film: a single set-up, minute long story. Students continue to produce increasingly more involved short film exercises, culminating in a thesis film project. Any student who wishes to make a short film as writer and or director will have this opportunity at the LAFS and every effort is made to give producers, editors, cinematographers, sound and production designers an opportunity to practice their craft on a student film production.
The school stresses technical education and is equipped with 35 and 16mm film cameras, digital and High Definition digital Cameras, multiple AVID editing bays and advanced sound recording and mixing systems. The school is known in particular for its avocation of the High Definition digital format and its commitment to educating future cinematographers in the art and science of lighting for and using HD Digital Cameras. Students have 24 hour access to all post production facilities. The school has a 4,000 square foot digital soundstage, equipped with cutting-edge Sony High Definition cameras and one of the largest hard cycloramas for creating virtual sets. Student films are screened in a 340-seat, stadium style, THX certified, Dolby Digital Surround EX, wide-screen motion picture theater equipped with both film and digital projection. Editing students utilize a dozen Avid Media Composer 1000 non-linear editing systems while sound design students use four Digidesign Pro Tools Mix workstations and finish on a 96-input Solid State Logic Axiom digital re-recording console (a first in the academic world). There is also a well-stocked equipment room of traditional filmmaking essentials-lights, dolly's, C-stands and much more. Students build sets on the sound stages and film on location around Los Angeles.
Classes begin every two months and will begin starting monthly in the near future. Class size ranges from 30 to 60 students. The school faculty is comprised of working filmmakers who take time between projects to teach at the school.
[edit] Student Life
The Los Angeles Film School's campus is an urban one and does not have residential facilities. Instead, students either commute or rent nearby apartments.
[edit] Faculty
Past and current LAFS instructors include Donn Cambern, editor of "The Last Picture Show" and "Romancing the Stone" (Oscar Nomination); Lawrence G. Paul, Production Designer of "Blade Runner" (Oscar Nomination) and "Back To The Future"; John Hora, Directory of Photography for "Gremlins" and "Honey, I Blew Up the Kids"; Ariel Levy, Line Producer for "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Oliver!" and Anna Thomas, screenwriter of "El Norte" (Oscar Nomination) and "Frida".
