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ONE-YEAR EVENING
FILMMAKING PROGRAM19 COLLEGE CREDITS |
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| NEW YORK CITY • UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES |
TUITION:
$17,000 (USD)
€11,890 (EURO) |
START DATES:
• Sep 14, 09 • Jan 7, 10
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The One Year Program can lead to a Bachelor's Degree. Click here for more information |
| Overview• Objectives• Classes |
OVERVIEW
From the first week, students begin an intensive sequence of classes in Film Directing, Screenwriting, 16mm Camera Technique, Lighting, Editing, Directing Actors and Production Workshop. They extend and deepen their in-class learning by producing their own short 16mm and digital films. Working in crews of three or four, each student writes, produces, directs and edits seven films over the course of teh year. In addition, eachl student fulfills the essential roles of Director of Photography, Assistant Camera Operator, Gaffer (Lighting Technician), and Boom Operator on the films of her/his crew members. Thus, everyone has the extensive hands-on experience of working on over twenty short films in the one year evening program.
The course meets three evenings a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) from 6:30 - 9:00pm in New York City and from 7:15 - 9:45pm in Los Angeles. Films are shot on the weekends.
OBJECTIVES |
PRODUCTION GOALS
• Write, direct, digitally edit four short non-synchronous 16mm films. The fourth film can be up to 10 minutes in length with multiple tracks of sound.
• Be cinematographer, gaffer, and assistant camera on your crew's films.
• Write a short film script with dialogue.
• Write, direct, and edit three digital projects including a final project of up to ten minutes with multiple tracks of sound including dialogue. |
LEARNING GOALS
• Learn art and technique of visual storytelling including directing, cinematography, editing, and post-production sound design.
• Learn fundamentals of digital video production and digital editing.
• Survey of the documentary format with focus on styles, techniques and elements of storytelling.
• Fundamental training in acting craft and directing actors.
• Immersion in screenwriting craft. |
CLASSES |
DIRECTOR'S CRAFT
This course is the backbone of our film school curriculum. It introduces students to the language and craft of film directing. Director's Craft prepares students for the film exercises and is the venue for screening and critiquing their work throughout the course. Director's Craft instructors challenge students to find the most effective and expressive visual means to tell their stories. They guide the student film crews in special production meetings each week. |
SCREENWRITING I
This class is designed to help students develop their scripts for their films. It focuses on the fundamentals of visual storytelling and provides students with constructive analysis and support as they take a story from initial idea, treatment, step outline to a rough draft, and finally, a shooting script. The intersection of story structure, theme, character, tension, and conflict is examined through detailed scene analysis. |
HANDS ON CAMERA AND LIGHTING
16MM FILM
In the first week of the course, students are trained to use the 16mm Arriflex-S motion picture camera and its accessories. Unlike other film schools, our students learn to load the cameras and take light readings on the very first day instead of being handed a book. On the second day, they perform test shoots to learn about the latitude of the film stock, how to get a correct exposure, the effect of different lenses, focus pulling, and in-camera effects. In lighting class, they learn fundamental lighting techniques through shooting tests on film. As they progress through the workshop, they learn how to support the mood of the story with lighting choices and they experiment with expressive lighting styles. |
PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
Production workshop is designed to demystify the craft of filmmaking. It is a hands-on class in which students stage and shoot exercises under the supervision of the instructor. The technical aspects of filmmaking are seen as tools to realize the story. The guiding idea is that once students can articulate the objective of a given scene, the necessary craft and techniques will follow. Through the in-class exercises, the rules and tools of mise-en-scene and continuity are defined and practiced. This applies to the use of lenses, lighting, performance, and editing. |
EDITING
Editing is an art unto itself. Regardless of the editing system a filmmaker uses, it is the editor's ability to work with the shots and tell a story that makes all the difference. One-year students will learn how to use the digital editing system, Final Cut Pro. Each student edits his or her own films, and can supplement classes with individual consultations at the editing station. Students will be taught the fundamental concepts of film editing, both practical and aesthetic. Classes consist of lectures that combine technical information and demonstration. |
SOUND EDITING AND DESIGN
This is a comprehensive class that details the process of sound editing and design. It provides concepts, technical information, and hands-on demonstration. Our approach is to encourage students to create sound tracks that combine both realistic and expressive sound elements. Examples are given to illustrate both seamless sound design and bold, expressive use of sound that call attention to the director's personality. The class challenges the students to use sound as an additional tool for storytelling, and takes them through the complete post-production process. |
BUDGETING AND SCHEDULE
This course teaches our film school students how to break down a film script for budgeting and scheduling purposes. Students learn how to use all the necessary forms for use in their own short films. The importance of having a finished script before going into a shoot is stressed as it applies to creating realistic budgets and schedules. |
HANDS ON CAMERA AND LIGHTING - DIGITAL VIDEO
Designed to help students master digital video photography including white balance, shutter speed, focus, video latitude, gels, and filters. Through hands-on exercises students will explore the possibilities of digital video and learn how it differs from film. Students learn how to get the best quality sound recording by working with boom-poles and external shotgun microphones. |
DIRECTING ACTORS: INTRODUCTION
This course helps our film school students learn how to communicate and collaborate with their actors. Students learn how to identify a screenplay's emotional "beats" and "character objectives" in order to improve their actors' performances. Through exercises, both in class and on location, students learn how an actor trains his/herself physically and emotionally to "crawl inside a character." Sensory work, emotional recall, and improvisations are the tools the students will be exposed to in order to understand how an actor is able to live out a character's reality. |
SCREENWRITING II
As students take part in the Digital Camera classes and Directing Actors classes, they also begin an intensive writing period. This will be achieved through a combination of one-on-one consultations with their faculty mentors, in-class readings and supportive discussions, and at least three rewrites. |
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
This course is an elective. Subjects in the documentary class include: documentary styles, shooting approach, methods of interviewing, documentary structure, theme, documentary editing, importance of research, "truth and objectivity," point of view, ethical questions, and reenactment. |
SPECIAL LECTURES
Classic Myth Structure
This lecture examines Joseph Campbell's analysis of myth structure, and demonstrates point by point how the 12 steps of the hero's journey can be applied to the dramatic structure of a film and beyond. Scene-by-scene analysis of classic films demonstrates a convincing argument for this relationship. The lecture concludes with a discussion about how students can use Campbell's concepts to structure their own short films. Director's Vision
The Director's Vision lecture exposes students to the unique ways great directors have approached visual storytelling and how they have used mise-en-scene (the task of staging scenes and moving actors within the frame). The class will look at the idea of the director as author of the sequence. Students are shown by example how silent film construction relies on scenes in conflict or collision. This concept is expanded by showing the relevance of these ideas to modern films, particularly for sequences involving tension or suspense where extra emphasis or shock is required. There will be a broad presentation of film technique as individualized by a number of directors. Numerous examples of directing styles are shown along with a discussion of their relevance to beginning filmmakers.
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