Hands-on Intensive 8-Week Filmmaking Workshop

OVERVIEW

In our Eight-Week Film School, each student writes, shoots, directs, and edits 5 of his/her own films and crews on 15 others.

Designed for people who wish to study the craft of filmmaking in an intensive environment, the Eight-Week Filmmaking Workshop challenges students to produce five films over a period of two months.

For students with little or no filmmaking experience, the Eight-Week Workshop offers the best of all worlds: focused learning, hands-on film productions, and the opportunity to make a fully-realized final film.

The program is divided between hands-on instruction in class and the production by each student of a series of short films of increasing difficulty. Students direct their own projects in three or four person crews. They rotate in the other production positions when fellow crewmembers direct. Students will be introduced to 16mm film, before moving on to HD. Special classes in digital camera and lighting are given before students shoot their films. Students use HDSLR cameras, Lowel lighting packages, and digital editing systems to create their individual film projects. Following production and post-production of each film, students screen their work for their classmates and instructors and engage in critiques and discussion.

During the second month of the program each student writes, directs, and edits a final film of up to ten minutes. Students have a pre-production period to cast, scout locations, plan their final films and meet with instructors for one-on-one consultation.

At the end of the course, the final films are celebrated in a screening open to cast, crew, friends and family. All students who successfully complete the workshop receive a New York Film Academy certificate and leave the program with a digital master copy of all their projects.

Course Descriptions

Director’s Craft Writing Editing Hands-on Camera/Lighting

Production Workshop Budgeting and Scheduling Sound Recording

Director’s Craft

Director’s Craft introduces students to the language and craft of filmmaking. Topics covered include storyboarding, composition, camera movement, continuity, montage, pacing, and rhythm.

Writing

This course is designed to help students develop their scripts for their final films. Students will be instructed in story structure, dramatic arc, creating characters, text and subtext, refining stories, and scriptwriting style.

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. Workshop students will learn how to use the digital editing system Avid Media Composer. Each student edits his or her own films and can supplement classes with individual consultations at the editing station. Students are taught the fundamental concepts of film editing, both practical and aesthetic.

Hands-on Camera/Lighting

Through a series of hands-on classes and instructor-led workshops, students are introduced to the fundamentals of 16mm film using the 16mm Arri-S camera before moving onto HD image making. The craft of composing images with the Canon 5D HD camera will be taught "from the ground up" and presuppose no prior knowledge of filmmaking. The proper use of basic lighting instruments and their contribution to the image will be explored in class exercises and demonstrations. Through hands-on workshops and camera tests, students will also learn fundamental lighting techniques. As they progress through the workshop, students learn how to support the mood of the story with lighting choices and they experiment with expressive lighting styles.

Production Workshop

The 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-scène and continuity are defined and practiced.

Budgeting and Scheduling

This course introduces students to the craft of producing, preparing a budget and scheduling a film for shooting, including script breakdowns, call sheets, production schedules, permits, location insurance, and actor contracts. During the course, students will get an overview of all the essential elements of producing short films—ranging from pre-production through post-production.

Sound Recording

This is a comprehensive class that details the process of sound recording. It provides concepts, technical information, and hands-on demonstration. Students are introduced to various types of recording devices and taught when to use them.

Film Projects

Mise-en-scène Continuity Music & Image Text & Subtext Final Film

Mise-en-scène

In their first film, students are introduced to mise-en-scène, or directing a shot to visually tell a story. Once they create a dramatic moment, they concentrate on the dynamics of the shot that will best express it. This project teaches students how the relationship of the subject and the camera creates drama. Each student designs and shoots a scene, which has a beginning, middle, and end. Students learn to pay close attention to the choice of lenses, distances, and angles. Since the story must be told in no more than three shots, each shot must be staged to express as much as possible about the characters and their actions. Students should rehearse the shot for blocking of actors and camera until the scene works without needing to stop; only then should they roll camera.

Continuity

Continuity is one of the fundamental principles of modern filmmaking. By making a "continuity film," students learn the way cuts can advance the story while sustaining the reality of the scene. They learn the difference between "film time" and "real time." Students are challenged to make a film that maintains continuity in story, time, and space. The action in these films unfolds utilizing a variety of shots (10-15) in a continuous sequence (no perceptible jumps in time or action). Students must produce a clear, visual scene while maintaining the truthfulness of the moment. It is essential that the audience believes in the reality of the scene. Students write, direct, shoot, edit, and screen a film of up to three minutes. Students must thoroughly organize and pre-produce their projects by completing the following elements: Script, Location Scout, Breakdown, Floor Plan, Storyboard, and Schedule of Shots.

Music & Image

The third project introduces students to the relationship between sound and film, as well as to narrative tools like montage and jump cuts. In this project, students are encouraged to explore a more personal form of visual storytelling. Students choose a short continuous selection of music. In the editing room they cut their images to work in concert with, or in counterpoint to, the music. Students should experiment with rhythm and pacing. Each student writes, directs, and shoots his or her project on film, edits digitally, and screens a completed Music Film. In addition to storyboards, students may use a still camera to plan their films. This assists them in their choice of locations, distances, angles, and lighting.

Text & Subtext

This project challenges students to explore the relationship between dialogue and dramatic action. It serves as the students' first foray into directing a film with dialogue recorded on set. Students are provided with short dialogue-only scripts with no description of physical detail or action. The student director determines the "who, what, where, when, and why" of the story. Above all, each student director identifies the character objectives and dramatic beats of the scene. Students will find that these elements determine the meaning of the dialogue and should deepen their understanding of text versus subtext. When the finished projects are screened in class for critique, students will discover how different directorial interpretations of the same scene reveal the characters and the impact and meaning of the story.

Final Film

This final film is more ambitious in scope than the previous exercises. It builds upon the foundation of skills and knowledge gained in the first half of the workshop. There is a five-day pre-production period during which students meet with faculty for consultation. The shooting period is two days for each film. There are two weeks of post-production in which each student may edit from 50-100 hours. Students may use sound effects, music, voiceover, and ambient sound to help tell their stories. They apply the lessons learned through editing the first three projects as they utilize the many transition tools, special effects, and sound design options that digital editing allows. Films may be of any genre, and can be narrative, documentary, or experimental. In past years, many of these films have been selected and won awards at film festivals, both in the U.S. and abroad. Each film project is screened in class for discussion and critique. These screenings are an important part of the learning process and help students improve on their next projects. There is a group screening celebrating all final films open to cast, crew, friends, and family. The final film is part of the six, eight-week, evening, and one-year programs.

Dates & Tuition