
Director's Craft serves as the spine of the workshop, introducing students to the language and practice of filmmaking. Through a combination of hands-on exercises, screenings, and demonstrations, students learn the fundamental directing skills needed to create a succinct and moving film. This class prepares students for each of their film projects and is the venue for screening and critiquing their work throughout the course.
This class covers the language of editing and the organization of film and sound material. Films are shot on 16mm film and edited digitally with Final Cut Pro on Apple computers. While students learn how to use the nonlinear editing software, the emphasis is on the craft of editing which challenges students to create cogent sequences that best serve
the story.
Production Workshop gives students the opportunity to learn which techniques will help them express their ideas most effectively. This class is designed to demystify the craft of filmmaking through in-class exercises shot on film under the supervision of the instructor. The guiding idea is that once students articulate the objective of a given scene, the craft and techniques they need will follow.
The writing portion of the filmmaking course adheres to the philosophy that good directing cannot occur without a well-written script. The course is designed to build a fundamental understanding of dramatic structure which is essential to writing an engaging film. Arc, theme, character, tension, and conflict are thoroughly explored.
Beginning on day one, this is a no-nonsense camera class in which students learn fundamental skills in the art of cinematography with the 16mm Arriflex-S, the Lowel VIP Lighting Kit and its accessories. Unlike many film school programs, students shoot and screen tests for focus, exposure, lens perspective, film latitude, slow/fast motion, contrast, and lighting during their first week of class.
In this class, students learn to incorporate voice-over, sound effects, and music into their final film projects. Students will have access to our extensive library of sound effects and sound recording equipment. Final films may have multiple tracks of non-synchronous sound.