Story telling has never been a more powerful and necessary skill.

Just look around.

We have 2.5 TVs per household, smartphones (loaded with an average of 27 apps) and a collection of content-packed tablets and computers all shouting for attention. Film has always been a potent story-telling device. And now, when it comes to film, short matters. There's a reason the average YouTube video is 2.7 minutes long.

The future is short. Learn more

For the past six decades or so, the short film has taken a back seat to its longer sibling, the feature film. Almost exclusively independent endeavors, the short film was and remains a vehicle for experimentation with new technologies and a freedom of ideas that cannot easily be realized in a longer format. In fact, many established and successful directors, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese, first began by making short films. It served as a way for them to hone their craft, and gain entrance into the industry.

Today, for the first time since the 1930's, the short film has become a hot commodity. The shifting and changing media landscape has made short films one of the most relevant and malleable mediums available to filmmakers. Indeed, television, the internet, and mobile devices have all generated a market for shorts that goes beyond film festivals. What's more, the widespread use of digital media and editing equipment has made the genre an economical and accessible way to articulate and experiment with ideas that might otherwise be deemed too challenging or untenable. At SVA, we view the medium as integral to the existence of an evolving, stimulating, and relevant film industry.

We believe the future is short. In a world inundated with entertainment and information; the power of short, potent narratives will only increase in importance. SVA is dedicated to raising the next generation of story- tellers. Those with the power to turn their ideas into compelling narrative-driven films to inspire, inform and motivate those around them whether for creative, commercial or academic purposes.

Five reasons to choose SVA

1
10 Month Program

This course is intensive, thorough and focused. In ten action packed months students will learn and practice the skills required to create, produce and direct short-film. What other course could turn your life around in such a short space of time?

2
Learn by Doing

Theory is one thing; action is another. During this course, students write, cast, location scout, shoot and edit their own film. We believe in learning by doing. Highly trained professionals guide and challenge students during the course that is hands-on from the start.

3
Professional Players & Equipment

This is not amateur hour. Students work directly with some of the most pertinent and noteworthy industry players, including writers, casting agents, directors, assistant directors, and editors, as well as the latest equipment, including the most recent HD cameras and lenses.

4
Create Powerful Narratives

SVA focuses on turning ideas into potent and compelling narratives. A skill of considerable and increasing importance in our 'always-on' world. At the conclusion of the course, students showcase their narrative films at a competitive, short film festival at SVA's West 23rd Street theater.

5
Full Exposure

This is not the time to specialize. SVA exposes students to the entire Short Film making process. Through the lens of a director, students will practice skills ranging from the conception of an idea, to script creation, shooting, casting, budgeting, directing, filming, editing, and marketing the final product.

The latest from our Tumblr

Watch the power of short.

At the conclusion of the program, SVA hosts an anual and exclusive Short Film Festival showcasing show films written, produced and directed by the students. Here's a look at the class of 2011's work.

Learn from the industry's best players.

Questions? Feedback?

What are you waiting for?
The future is short.
Apply now.

All Graduate applicants to the Fall 2010 semester are required to complete the online application form and submit the nonrefundable $80 application fee using a credit card. The online application is available at the following link:

https://www.applyweb.com/apply/svag/

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university. Additionally, SVA requires the following:

Application Requirements Portfolio Requirements

All required application materials must be received together in one package by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Applicants who need confirmation of the receipt of materials should mail documents by a trackable means.

Pre-Apply to the program for a chance to win a spot in SVA's
How to Be a Commercial Director
taught by Bob Giraldi, chair of MPS Live Action Short Film
Everyday, by Hasan Can Dagli
Everyday
The Lemon
Untitled

Bob Giraldi

Director, President, GIRALDI MEDIA, principal partner, CatatoniaGiraldi - Education: BFA, Pratt Institute

Website

Productions include: The Grey Coat, 2010, Second Guessing Grandma, 2008, (Audience Award for Best Short Film, Sarasota Film Festival, Official Selection, 14 Annual Palm Springs International Festival of Films, Audience Award, Fresno Reel Pride, Jury award, 27 Reeling: Chicago Lesbian & Gay Film, "Winner" Best LGBT Short Film, 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival); Honey Trap, 2005 (Golden Remi Award, World Fest Houston); The Routine, 2002 (Best Drama, LA International Short Film Festival); Dinner Rush, 2001 (Selected for New Directors/ New Films Series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center)

Music videos include: Writer, director, "Beat It," Michael Jackson; "Say, Say, Say," Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney; "Just the Two of Us," Will Smith; "Love is a Battlefield," Pat Benatar; "Hello," Lionel Richie; "Loaded," Ricky Martin; "Don't Drive Drunk," Stevie Wonder

Collections include: Museum of Modern Art, Baseball Hall of Fame

Awards include: Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; Gold Lion, Cannes Film Festival; Grand Award, gold and silver medals, New York Festival; Gold Award, AICP; Gold ADDY; CLIO; ANDY; People's Choice Award; Rolling Stone; Billboard Music Video Award; Hershel Levit Award, Pratt Institute; MTV Video Music Award; "One of 101 Stars Behind 100 Years of Advertising," Advertising Age; Media Project Shine Award; Who's Who in America; International Who's Who of Professionals

Michael Holman

Writer, Filmmaker, Artist

Projects Include: "Basquiat" "Pesceador," "Downtown Calling," "Beat Street," "Graffiti Rock" (first nationally syndicated Hip Hop television show) and numerous music videos and tv commercials including: "Ossie Davis Voter Protection Campaign," "Just Say No," "Run DMC/My Adidas," "Deelite/Power of Love," "Raheem/Dance Floor," and "Run DMC/Christmas in Hollis."

Publications Include: Art Monthly Magazine, ArtForum, A Hedonist Guide to Art, That's the Joint! The Hip-Hop Studies Reader, East Village Eye.

Education: BA, USF

Awards Include: Cable Ace Award, Best Video of the Year — Rolling Stone Magazine, NYU Paulette Goddard Award for Best Film

Michelle Groskopf

Founder, Mythical Creatures; producer

Projects include: Big Gunz (documentary currently in production); "Chloe Sevigny — The Wild Wild East," Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange, Kiefer Sutherland biography, VBS.tv

Education: BFA, Film and Television, School of Visual Arts

Amresh Sinha

Filmmaker

Education: BA, Patna University; MA, Jawaharlal Nehru University; MA, SUNY Buffalo; PhD, York University

Director: Convict & the Trial, Quit India Movement

Publications include: Connecticut Review; Spectacular Optical; The Making of Modern Bihar; Patriot; Lost in the Archives; German Culture and Society; The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies; In Practice: Adorno, Critical Theory and Cultural Studies; Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film; Film-Philosophy; Colloquy: Text, Theory, Critique; Scope; Transformations

Kathy Ruopp

Coming soon

Francesco Portinari

Film & Video Editor

Projects include: "Anno Zero," "Ballaro," "Millionaire Meltdown," "Dreaming Miami," Small Potatoes, PSA series for Unicef, "San Quentin Film School"

Education: BA, I.T.C.S.A Greppi; MS, University of Milano; International Certification in Avid Media Composition, Future Media Concepts Milano.

Pre-Apply for MPS Live Action Short Film program for a chance to win a free spot in the How to be a Commercial Director Course taught by Bob Giraldi, chair of MPS Live Action Short Film

Application Requirements

Portfolio Requirements

All applicants must create a visual documentation of a subject. Using a visual vocabulary— video, photographs, or mixed-media, along with a written description— a screenplay, a short story, or a summary, create a body of work that fully creates a narrative and explores a subject. Applicants may submit:

Video

DVD (region 1 only) or Mini DV format. Work must not exceed ten minutes in length.

OR

Still Imagery

10-20 images on CD (jpeg format for the Macintosh platform). Please also include an image list and printouts of the images as well.