Hands-on 6-Week Evening Filmmaking Workshop

OVERVIEW

The Six-Week Evening Workshops provide students with a strong foundation in filmmaking. Each student directs two short films in digital video and edits on digital editing software.

The Evening Workshop is ideal program for individuals who must balance filmmaking with other responsibilities.

Designed for students with little or no filmmaking experience, the course meets three evenings a week from 7:00-9:30 pm on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. In addition, few workshop classes will be held on Saturdays. Films are shot on the weekends.

Course Description

• Directing on Digital Video Students are taught the language of filmmaking and the director’s craft as applied to the digital format. Aspects of mise-enscene, visual storytelling, continuity-style coverage, directing actors and writing visually will be emphasized.
• Hands-On Digital Camera and Lighting Classes help students master the digital medium, including white balance, shutter speed, focus, video latitude, gels, and filters.
• Digital Editing Students learn to “log and capture” their digital footage into the digital editing software. Creating a time line, inserting footage, special digital effects, and building a digital soundtrack are among the subjects that are covered. Editing instructors are on hand to consult with students on creative and technical aspects of their individual projects throughout the editing process.
• Sound Recording Students learn to get professional quality sound for their projects with microphones and accessories.

Film Projects

• Project One

  Continuity Style Directing

  Students explore film vocabulary while using the digital camera. Students are taught to plan and shoot “coverage” of a dramatic or documentary subject. Students are taught how different camera angles, camera movements, focal lengths, lighting and blocking actors combine to bring the scene together seamlessly in the editing room.
• Project Two

  Final Film

  Project two may be in documentary, music film, fiction or experimental form and up to 5 minutes. The portability and flexibility of digital video make it an excellent format for documentary filmmaking, while the unimposing size of the camera and the ability to shoot in low light levels with small crews allow for a new intimacy working with actors in dramatic projects.
  
  With this project, students explore the unique properties of the digital format. Students must plan their projects meticulously, and then improvise and utilize the best aspects of the digital medium. The light weight of the camera makes for great ease of hand-held camera movements. Low light level shooting is possible in such a way that the camera can record very sharp images in a wide variety of environments. Students take their digital cameras into places where film cameras and film crews would not have easy access. Students interested in experimental projects and/or music videos find limitless creative possibilities in digital formats.
  
  Students edit their final digital projects during the last week of the program, which culminates in a final screening open to actors, friends and family. Experimentation in the editing room is encouraged as students explore the advanced functionality of digital editing software.