New York Film Academy (NYFA) College of Visual and Performing Arts is a private school for visual and performing arts. Summer program students learn how to shoot short movies using HDSLR digital cameras, professional lighting packages, and industry-standard digital editing software, with New York City as the backdrop. 

“It was my first time in the Big Apple, a city with an integral place in the history of film,” notes Ronald.

For one month, Ronald lived and studied at the Academy, gaining practical experience in directing, basic screenwriting, camera, lighting, editing, and post-production workflow, as well as how to direct actors.

“I joined a group of similarly aged students from all across the world who were also in the directing cohort,” says Ronald, an avid filmmaker who has shared his work with Taft audiences over the years. “Within this cohort we were divided into groups of four. Throughout the day, we attended seminars on lighting, screenwriting, and editing, the goal of which was to produce two short films by the end of the program. When we weren’t directing, we were crew and actors for the other students in our cohort.”

The first film Ronald produced at NYFA was called “The Tourist.” He shared the short film during the Morning Meeting talk.