Our vision for the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking is to be the school we wish had existed when we were going to film school. We know through our own experience that in order to have a career in the movie industry, you need three things: a reel of your own work, credits on a movie, and contacts within the industry. Our vision has been to design a program where students get all of these essential tools.

Because of the availability of sophisticated digital cameras and non-linear editing software, the world of movie making is radically changing. Now, anyone with a passion to visually tell their story can do so. We see this as a wonderful opportunity to rethink the way the craft of movie making is taught. That's why we designed our curriculum around a series of increasingly challenging and motivating movie projects. At SFSDF, the movie set is our classroom.

Movie productions are intense, with creative decisions, time deadlines and budgetary pressures. We know that when you are thrown into this type of environment, that's where you really learn your craft. Traditional film schools are more abstract, theoretical and academic. They have too many students fighting over out-dated equipment. There's a disconnect between the work that is done in a traditional film school and the work that is required in the industry. This is where the value of apprenticeship comes into being. Historically, apprenticeship was an important part of the movie industry. Before there were film schools, how else could someone learn their craft except at the elbow of a mentor? At SFSDF we honor that tradition of apprenticeship and have made it an integral part of our teaching philosophy.

Our students work on their own projects and are individually mentored by an experienced film crew, as the school produces documentaries and independent feature-length digital movies. This type of project-based learning has never before been possible. Before digital filmmaking, it was too expensive and too risky to combine teaching with traditional film production-the sheer logistics of people and equipment was overwhelming. At SFSDF, you are not an intern. You are not getting coffee or standing around with your hands in your pocket. You are developing your own talents and working side by side with professionals. There is a language of cinema that students need to know. Students need to understand what everyone on the crew does and the uniqueness of each job. In order to pursue a career in the movie industry, you must learn this language of the movie set.

We want a school that is an incubator of new talent, fresh ideas and exciting projects. This is our vision, our passion. This is the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. Join us.

	Jeremiah Birnbaum Founder & CEO	Stephen Kopels Founder & President