Master of Fine Arts in Writing and Producing for Television

Long Island University, Brooklyn - StudyGroup

At its heart, the LIU TV Writers Studio M.F.A. mirrors the real world of a TV writers room: In year one, students are presented with an idea for a TV series. They talk about the characters, the world of the series and its themes, the arc of the show – all of the development issues that a real TV writers room deals with. The students have now formed a TV writers room: They pitch ideas, break stories, write outlines, and by the end of the first year, each student has written a script for this putative show.In year two, the students move into production: Each student will have a scene from her or his script filmed, utilizing a professional director, DP, casting director, and SAG/AFTRA actors. The students remain at the core of the experience, working as department heads on the shoot (which happens during a one-week intensive in January). In the spring, the students move into post-production, learning how to supervise post on a piece one has written, and end the two year M.F.A. program with a finished piece.In addition to this central project, students write a minimum of two original pilots of their own, as well as creating their own original web series. Other classes include a History of Television Writing Class, and a Capstone Class: Building A Career, which culminates in pitching a project to a panel of industry experts.