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Aside from being a cool guy, he was very helpful with the students who actually put effort into their work.

Billy Tyler Smith is an industry veteran who know of what he speaks. I had the pleasure of studying with him in a month-long intensive workshop, and I was chuffed to know that a feature film director was going to be overseeing the effort. He's great in class, and maybe even better as a mentor.

Still the most influential teacher I've had. Made me question everything I did on set in the proper way.

Like I told him before, He's the great film teacher I ever met!

The greatest teacher!!!

If cinema is your religion or a subject of spirituality, He is the Shaman. One of the rare film teacher...

His knowledge and insights about filmmaking were of a tremendous benefit to me. Thank you William for sharing your words of wisdom.

He is a great teacher. Very easy to talk with and he knows how to adapt to a class where there are several knowledge levels.

He's great, funny, mean and crystal clear when you need to get to know why you're wrong

Great teacher

maestro.

Theaching film is his life!

His instruction was spot on. Will not waste your time. Blunt and concise. Does not like to entertain questions out side of the subject matter he is teaching. I wish I would have taken better notes at the time.

Billy is truly an awesome teacher. He has such a unique teaching style. Always challenging you to do better and think outside the box. j.w

Billy is a Great Teacher

Billy is an extraordinary film instructor. He is passionate, intelligent and insightful. He is truly gifted at getting the very best from his students. I have the utmost respect for him.

I'd be useless in life without this guy

Without Billy's class, I wouldn't have found my voice as a filmmaker.

Billy is fantastic, having a teacher that had a feature in tribecca film festival adds to his crediblity

WTS is one of the best teachers I've ever had. I still use the things he taught me daily in my career. Couldn't have asked for a better person to learn from!

He knows his stuff! Awesome conversations about Films. Always keeps you thinking and tries to make you see more than what's right in front of you.

He showed me the difference between filmmaking and directing!

Billy is a great instructor with a real understanding of the art of cinema. Beyond that, he's willing to tell you exactly what he thinks, which is perhaps his best quality. The film industry doesn't want your excuses and neither does Billy.

He can be a little harsh on your work. But he makes you think about it and how you can improve on it. I can say that he was hard on me, but it definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me a better director. He is honest and extremely direct. But at the end, the end justifies the means. that's what makes him a good teacher.

Very clear about the concepts he has about cinema, always making you think about going farther away in your ideas to make a movie.

Liked his class, he has a good sense of humour, similar to my own, a rather enjoyable class.

Billy taught me the most valuable thing in filmmaking is to constantly ask Why? I still keep that in mind every day I'm at work. Every step of the way. I'd recommend Billy in a heartbeat. He a fantastic teacher.

Excellent teacher. Not only invested in teaching technique but also exposing the art and style behind it all.

As cool a cat as they get

Really interested in teaching and helping with our projects.

Great teacher. I learned a lot from him.

He is a great teacher,best one at the entire school.Opened my eyes to a whole new world and inspired me very much.Now i am confident and have the skills to take on any project.

Billy is a teacher who is more than willing to depart his wisdom of the world of filmmaking to students. Anyone who attends his class will have a complete understanding of the film industry and will enjoy the experience while mastering the craft.

Good teacher, very knowledgable. Always pushed students to do better. Was incredibly helpful with script notes. Some of the best notes I have gotten to date from a prof.

really good teacher! very helpful with projects.

Billy is extremely encouraging to students, wanting them to recognize their own voices and express themselves truthfully. Great teacher.

EXCELENTE PROFESOR, IN TOP 3 IN MY LIST OF TEACHERS

Billy is a great teacher, one that you'd remember years down the road; he guides student projects by working as a peer, while never missing an occasion to have you doubt yourself. I can honestly say that I owe him my understanding of proper storytelling.

I have to say that Billy was the first professor I ever had that made pure cinematic sense. His ability to courageously view the world through the lens of his camera and share those images with those he came into contact with inspired me daily. My own visual story telling has never been the same!

I was really a nervous student having never studied film before. Billy put me at ease. He's a natural-born teacher (with passion for the subject), and he also really knows his stuff. He's also an excellent photographer, which is helpful in that field. I love film directing (& photography) now, and it's largely thanks to him.

Billy is an amazing professor & person!He is really talented sensitive & friendly,you can talk with him about everything but he wants your respect & commitment.It's a class that I learned a lot but if you are not ready for an intense film-making class just study something else.A friendly advice to all,don't be late.

He is a very good professor

Billy is very interested in helping out tudents individually and as a group. he makes filmmaking feel easier than it is in the real world, but making sure we know what is put theRe.

He is the best!!

focus and straightforward. passionate and realist. very helpful and happy to teach

He is a wonderful teacher who loves cinematography and teaching it. He has managed to fit in the most important filmmaking principles into a class and we all felt comfortable during our shooting projects, we all progressed quickly. Very fun, knowledgeable, supporting professor, very kind, gives individual attention if needed.

Excellent instructor!

GReat teacher!

Passionate about his craft. Goes into extreme detail, which is sometimes dull ... but the tiny details are often the most important.

Excellent job of explaining technical information about directing and editing films. Excellent guidance on telling a story with pictures and bringing out my creativity.

One of the best

Wonderful teacher and very focussed on key points that he wants to imbibe in his students.

I got a wonderful experience with Billy. He is an excellent directing teacher and I would say a friend. I'll miss him!

He was one of the greatest teacher that I have ever had. He won't coddle you or stroke your ego so if that is what you are looking for then you should go elsewhere. He will show you how to be a speak to actors, behave on set, think outside of the box, work as a team and push you to be proud of yourself. He is a teacher that changed my life.

Billy is a no-nonsense type a prof. He has a very focused and detailed methodology to his teaching. He will make you think logically, metaphorically and provide a very thorough critique of your assignments. He's the kind of guy you have to give full your attention to or you will be lost if you don't. He's a very good teacher.

Excellent teacher. Great combination, topics we are supossed to learn, in a different and interesting way of teaching them. I'm grateful with his candor and passion about filmmakind and teaching, its inspiring. It's clear that he knows very good what he is talking about and is refreshing that he always pushed us to do our best.

Billy is a great talented teacher with a lot of knowledge. I am very happy to be his student! I became a good film director just being a singer. Thats amazing! Shaksa

The best teacher. He taught me not only the importance of following fundamental rules but also how to break them. His class always reminds me that's the key of filmmaking.

A great teacher, his lectures are clear and inspiring. He's always sincere and helpful with his feedback. I wish there were more teachers like him.

I really loved Bill's class, the best I had at NYFA.

Billy is the best directing teacher anyone could get.

Billy (what you'll most likely end up calling him) cares. If you're late, you're gonna get a phone call asking where you are. You're going to be treated like an adult. Your work will be critiqued intellectually and helpfully. You will feel genuinely cared about. If your phone goes off in class he WILL embarrass you. Do not underestimate this man.

funny and inspirational

Billy's classes were consistently interesting and made me want to participate despite being usually quiet. He made sure we were all with him and nobody was left with a question. His style of teaching was engaging and entertaining.

He explains the subject in a way, you will not forget. Gives a vast insight to the subject. And helps shape your ideas wonderfully.

Billy's classes were the best! I never wanted to miss them even when I was unwell. He changes the way you look at things. He pushes you to bring out the best in you. He makes learning fun. Even the most difficult things he'll simplify and teach in a way it'll stay with you for life. His "Inside-Out" theory is amazing. He is the best teacher!

Billy as he is fondly called made my experience of going to NYFA the most memorable one What I learnt from him in 8 wks I have not learned in 25 yrs of being in film biz He has the gift of taking lectures like no one I have ever been to and the ease with which he raises the bar is not even noticeable, until you feel the breakthrough one fine day

He's the best.

Billy is a very inspiring teacher; one of the best I've ever come across! He completely changes the way you look at films, and makes you think. He goes the extra mile to make sure his students get the best out of his classes. He's always upfront and honest with his feedback, and is very approachable. His lessons were very well planned and great fun

A very inspirational lecturer. He always gives constructive, helpful feedback and he makes students feel at ease with his open and enthusiastic approach to teaching. If you're looking for an easy class and to have someone stroke your ego this is NOT the lecturer for you!

William Tyler Smith is a wonderful, perceptive professor and gives great insight to filmmaking. His approach to art is very psychological which is perfect when teaching directing to new film students. His impact goes beyond his classroom. He is very accessible for critique outside of class as well and does his best to help each student.

Life changing professor, for real. He gave me guidance in how to be a film director. I knew I wanted to be one, but not how. He was patient, he adapted to the personality of each student. Today I feel confident in my talent and hard work, because he showed me how to focus it. Most important he thought to learn from my mistakes and improve.

So incredibly thoughtful and insightful; really pushed us as students to do our best. To this day, I still use the advice that he gave us in class and it has helped me become a successful filmmaker that stands apart from the rest-Learn the rules so you can break them.

I am a graduate of McGill University, which has a reputation of incredible professors, after graduating I went to NYFA where Billy (William Tyler) was my professor. To this day, he has been my favorite professor of all time, the most inspiring, genuinely interested in the art of filmmaking and in teaching his students. I will never forget his class

Great teaching manner and highly knowledgeable on the subject matter. Very caring demeanor and great sense of humor. Very inspirational professor and a joy to attend class, made the class very motivated to attend. In summary, one of the best professors I have had the pleasure to be educated by.

A loving and caring teacher. You can feel his passion for movies and the creative process with every lesson. Always pushing his students to go the extra mile, Professor Smith truly made me a better filmmaker.

Billy was a great teacher throughout my 8-weeks at the film academy. He has a vast amount of knowledge and analyzing film was always eye opening and fun. Hes a good mix of funny, respectable, and hard-ass. All the traits youd want from a mentor.

If you don't see how Billy is a great teacher, then storytelling probably isn't the right thing for you. It's not about critiquing the art or the artist, his real gift as a teacher is to shape your mind by forcing you to doubt and explain yourself, which is ultimately the only way to gain confidence in your work if you strive for excellence.

To continue learning how to be a filmmaker, Billy told me "make your own content". "You're good, just keep at it and you'll get better". The pandemic forced me to start writing and I made a short entirely on my own. It's the best thing I've ever made creatively. Thank you for the advice, the encouragement and you were absolutely right ��

Excellent Teacher!

Billy has been an excellent teacher who has jumpstarted my film career and supported me and my peers every step along the way. I look forward to keeping in touch with him long after the end of this term.