“You come out of the program with the fundamental expertise of every single aspect of making a film – which is so unique.”

I can honestly say that the 1-year Documentary program at NYFA in Los Angeles gave me very well-rounded skills. Although it was an intense program, I learnt how to do literally pretty much everything myself. Meaning; writing, producing, directing, filming, editing and sound mixing. And also how to make completed films during a short amount of time. It turned out that this was exactly what a job I applied to at George Media in Venice was looking for. The official job title of the position is “Young Director”, but we are expected to do almost all the things mentioned above ourselves, except we get to work with a DP. The job entails making 12 short videos during 6 months, so having learnt to make films under time pressure was incredibly helpful. Also, since the Documentary program at NYFA is so hands-on and we make 6 films during the year, it gave me the confidence to keep doing what I had already done at school multiple times in the professional world.

I just wanted to thank you [Bill Einreinhofer] and the school for teaching me so much…

I think the best thing that the New York Film Academy managed to do in this program is the balance between the theory and the Hands-On. I was able to learn how to make a story. You have to shoot it, write it, edit the story, produce it. This challenge and this short deadline it keeps you in the run, it keeps you creative. Every time, somebody asks me, if you like New York Film Academy I say, yeah, I love it! You can get exposure to all different nationalities from all around the world. Everything happens in New York, it’s the capital of the world. So what better place to be as a reporter?

I recently joined the VICELAND production team and am no longer with Vice Digital. I also want to thank you once again for everything you taught me. I would not be at Vice anymore if I didn’t know how to edit or even write a script. Those long hours in the edit room actually paid off.