ONE YEAR FILMMAKING PROGRAM
INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL TECHNOLOGIES
Aims
Introduce the students to the film department and to apply the knowledge of the creative and technical production pipeline (pre-production – production- postproduction).
To develop an understanding and appreciation of the variety of diverse industries involved in film and video production. To be introduced to the concept of visualizing the film before shooting and to explore working as a director with a small cast and a crew in the aim of making creative and technical decisions in blocking and acting. To be introduced to the role of a director by actually taking this role through the assignments. To develop an understanding of actors, acting and working with actors as well as an appreciation of the creative collaboration between directors and actors. To explore the basics of video and film theory and to equip students with knowledge of digital video systems and standards in the aim of making creative and technical decisions in editing. To develop basics skills in pitching an idea and developing it into a short fiction script using scriptwriting software Final Draft.
Furthermore, there is an Introduction of some key areas Introduction to project planning. Introduction to film history and theory.
Mastershot
One liner & synopsis for short films
3-5-minute Short Film
Basic multimedia studies for films
To raise a sensibility around on-screen representations that claim being ‘real events’ or ‘reality’.To install confidence and a sense of ethical thinking in the students as directors and cameramen when they collaborate with people in authentic and sometimes intimate situations.
To raise awareness of eventual risks related to the projects, and to consider relevance, risks and resources all together in order to follow through with a project.
Creating an engaging feeling of intimacy with the subject of the documentary.
In this course – informally called Documentary Narrative 1– students will work individually on a short documentary film of their own choice. The documentary assignments will involve theory and practical work.
Students are being introduced to a large film genre which, according to filmmaker Dziga Vertov, deals with ‘life as it is’. Whilst the definition of Documentary films spans from the factual documentary, the historical documentary with staged re-enactments, the cinematic documentary, via reality-TV docudramas, news-reportages, investigative documentaries and even propaganda films, students will work with intimate and personal narrations revolving around a person (young or old, on the verge of poverty or a media mogul, a taxi driver or a nurse…).
In this course, students are encouraged to observe and appreciate ‘life as it is’ in day-to-day situations that occurs around the person they chose as subject, and to capture these events as they unfold in front of the cameras.
In the preproduction procedure, students are introduced to the concepts of project planning and management: storyboard and flowchart development.
In class exercises students train themselves on setting up interviews and learn how the choice of cinematography will strongly interfere with the outcome of their project.
Students will soon realize that in order to portray a human being on screen they need coverage (cutaways): what coverage and why? This is followed by in class-discussions and demonstrations of how the situations could be presented differently using different approaches in interviews, adding or abstracting coverage and alternative filming techniques (handheld, talking directly to the camera, slow pans, etc.)
Research & Presentation
Interviews & Cutaways
3-5 minute Documentary
Documentary Theory and History
Film making and Theory Studies
Aims
In Film Making and Theory Studies, students work analytically in the preproduction of the storyboard in preparation for the longer and more developed documentary.
Theory
Furthermore, the aim is:
- To provide an overview of the technological developments that have historically shaped the television and film industries.
- To provide an introduction to film theory, analysis, and criticism.
- To build a solid appreciation of film from different perspectives.
- To investigate specific techniques used in different areas of the industry.
Storyboard for Documentary
Long Documentary & Sound Design
To create something that is more than ‘just a home video shot on DV’ and a documentary that could be an important starting point for the career as a documentary filmmaker.
To treat sound as an integral and important part in the procedure of film making; to include sound as an active feature in the filmmaking procedure, and to develop an understanding of the processes involved in scoring music for film and an appreciation for its emotive and dramatic effect.
In this course – informally called Documentary Narrative 2– students will work in groups on a longer documentary film. The documentary assignments will involve theory and practical work.
With this second and longer documentary, students have gained further skills in the concepts of project planning and management, storyboard, and flowchart development.
In the longer documentary, they are encouraged to approach the task of documentary filmmaking with more innovation and more contemporary methods such as non-linear narrative and experimentation. As there has been little stress on soundscapes in Semester 2, this is a turning point where students get to explore the tools and skills in sound design.
The skills achieved during the short documentary are reassessed and thoroughly discussed in class:
What worked well in the short documentaries? What didn’t work? Did we engage with the story?
Was it a subject worthy of developing into a longer documentary? Were the people on screen willing to collaborate with the students as directors? Did someone pull out and why? Were there any difficulties in the production line that need to be handled better this time? How was the sound? (Atmosphere, dialogue, film score?).
Stressed out in the longer Documentary is the importance of working collaboratively with peers in distinct roles and as a professional team; the importance of loyalty to the group and the project; the importance of overcoming practical problems when shooting non-fictional work out on the field.
Accreditation on a project is valid for these roles:
- Director
- Producer
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Long 10-minute Documentary
Sound Design
Advanced Film Studies
Aims
In preparation for further study in the Professional Diploma, this Module will provide students with basic screenwriting concepts that are put into practice, as well as a basic introduction to industry related issues, copyright and law. The production from A-Z of a 10-minute short film will allow them to further understand the whole production pipeline, and to apply previously acquired skills to a creative final project.
Demonstrated ability to conceive, write, produce, shoot, edit, post produce and deliver a technically accomplished, professionally executed, creative and engaging short film. As students graduate they will have realized a short film that will be an important work for their show reel as Directors.
Theory
Screenwriting: The Three Act Structure, Inciting Incident, use and structure of major Plot Points.
Film Production management: A basic production plan.
Historical development of the film industry – early cinema; European developments (German Expressionism, France – la Nouvelle vague); Hollywood (Studio Productions, Film Noir, Independents.)
Examination of the classic story genres of motion pictures Cinematic expression and the art of film
Examination of influential films and public and critical responses to these films.
On completion of this module the successful student will be able to demonstrate a basic theoretical knowledge and understanding of:
- Historical developments in film and cinema.
- Principles of film analysis, cinematic expression, film theory and criticism.
- The impact of technology, past and present, on filmmaking and creativity in motion pictures.
- The emotive and dramatic effect of music, incidental sounds and Foley.
- Acting for stage and film, dramaturgy and script writing.
- The creative collaboration between directors, script writers and actors.
Skills
On completion of this module the successful student will be able to:
- Analyze and provide critical commentary on a film.
- Contextualize a film.
- Comment on different creative and technological considerations involved in.
One-liners
Treatment, Script and Storyboard
Production Plan
A 10-minute Short Film
Cinematography
- Non-Motion Photography
- Video Fundamentals (SD)
- Visual Story
- Motion Photography (35mm)
- Motion Photography (16mm)
- Digital Cinema Production (Panavision, Red, Alexa, Blackmagic)
- Video Fundamentals
- Operation of filmmaking equipment (camera, lighting and sound systems)
- Grip equipment (camera support systems)
Lighting fundamentals:
- Basics, 3 Point Lighting
- Quality & Character
- Inverse Square Law
- How Much Light
- Film & Practical Lights
- Exterior/Interior lighting, Color Temperature, Color Meter, Light Meter, Studio lighting versus the lighting on location, lamps, filters and reflectors, portrait lighting, portable units, low key, high key, soft lighting.
Technical & Technological Aspect of Camera Equipment:
- Digital Cinema Equipment:
Cameras and Lenses, differences between focal length, high-speed lenses, zooms and mini zooms, follow-focus, the psychological impact of using different lenses, digital versus 35mm, Digital Intermediate, how modern cinematography is inspired by classic art. - Grip Equipment:
Modern grip equipment – dollies, tracks, steady cam, car mounts – handheld shooting versus steady cam, tracking versus zooming, the art of traveling, Mastershot and continuity in lighting, choosing the right lenses and camera movement for the specific visual design of the movie, the work of camera assistants – camera operator, focus puller, clapper/loader. - Digital Production
- Camera Stabilizing Systems
Production Procedures – The Process of Making the Shot:
- Principal Photography
- Set Organization
- Departments and their responsibilities
- Procedures for making the shot/take
Practical lecture – Field Trip:
Trip to a rental facility (the ones listed below)
- Panavision Prague
- Vantage Prague
- ARRI Rental
Practical lecture – Homework|Atelier:
- Lighting a face
2 photos, b&w, no post adjustments - Lighting hands
2 photos, b&w, no post adjustments
Day Exterior Cinematography:
- Common Knowledge
- Day Exterior
- Preparation
- Day Exterior Continuity
- Exposure
Practical lecture – Homework|Day Exterior:
- Cinematic work with sunlight continuity
- Storyboard made of 6 photos with simple staging
- One location, one continuous moment, one scene
- B&W or Color
- Aesthetic use of sunlight in a scene
ART DIRECTION
The unconsciousness many filmmakers have for the potential of their project’s backdrop may lie dormant from a lack of knowledge or capability – or even this idea (and sense) of ‘limitations’. How do you portray your story, your set – your vision – most affectively without a ‘designer’?
Because film is ultimately a visual medium, its visual material is like another actor, creating mood and eliciting an emotional reaction from the audience. In a world where budgets are growing forever tighter, how the future filmmaker perceives the aesthetic of his/her film should be an essential factor. We will explore a variety of genres and analyze in-depth filmmakers’ visions – from minimalist to stylized – around a scale of budgets.
This course will emphasize the importance of aesthetic in film as an essence of that emotion. We will unfold how subtle design elements – when constructed together – can embody a role of equal importance and intensify your cinematic language.
Syllabus:
- General goals of the course & defining expectations of each class… - What is Art Direction (?) - Who makes up the Art Department (?) - How can the different roles of Art Department impact your film, and even writing process
- Graphic design in cinema
- The basic Design Principals for film and television (mise- en- scene, positive & negative space, color theory for film & it’s psychological impact, use of monochromes in film)
- Film / TV excerpts analyses from renowned directors, designers, artists
- Design of PRESS-KITS / LOOK-BOOKS
- How to work cinematically with MIRRORS using graphic design hints
SOUND
In the process of film production, the soundtrack is constructed separately from the images, and it can be manipulated independently. This makes sound as flexible and wide-ranging as other techniques. Yet sound is perhaps the hardest one to study. Unless we’re musicians or sound engineers, we’ve learned to ignore most sounds in our environment. Our primary information about the color, texture, and layout of our surroundings comes from sight, and so in ordinary life, sound is often simply a background for our visual attention. Similarly, we speak of watching a film and of being movie viewers or spectators—all terms implying that the soundtrack is a secondary factor. We’re strongly inclined to think of sound as simply an accompaniment to the real basis of cinema, the moving images. This inclination lets sound designers create a world without our noticing. On the screen we may see merely an anxious face against a cloudy sky, but we may hear a fierce wind, a police siren, and a child’s cry. Suddenly we conjure up a situation of danger. A low-budget horror film with awkward acting and unconvincing special effects can stir an audience to shrieks with disgusting slurps, snaps, and gurgles. Sound is a powerful film technique for several reasons. For one thing, it engages a distinct sense mode. More significantly, the engagement of hearing opens the possibility of what the Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein called “synchronization of senses”—making a single rhythm or expressive quality bind together image and sound. The meshing of image and sound appeals to something quite deep in human consciousness. Just as our minds search for patterns in a shot or for causal patterns in a narrative, we’re inclined to seek out patterns that will fuse lip movements and speech. Our bias toward audio-visual blending governs both our everyday activities and our experiences of arts like music, theater, and film.
Syllabus
- Fundamentals of film sound (loudness, pitch, timbre)
- Recording, altering, and combining sounds
- Recording and editing dialogues’ tracks
- Post-production sound: ADR, Sound Effects, Foley, Walla
- Sound mixing
- Layers and contrasts
- Dramatic sound stream
- Sound and film form
- Musical score (rhythm, melody, harmony, tempo, volume, instrumentation)
- The functions of leitmotif
- Dimensions of film sound (rhythm, fidelity, space)
- Diegetic versus Nondiegetic sound
- Offscreen sound
- Optical point-of-view
- sound perspective
- Simultaneous and non-simultaneous sound
- Sonic flashbacks
- The uses of sound bridge
EDITING
The editing allows the filmmaker to manipulate time, space, and pictorial qualities in ways that shape the viewer’s experience of the film.
SYLLABUS
- Dimensions of film editing
- Graphic relations between shots
- Rhythmic relations between shots
- Spatial relations between shots
- Temporal relations between shots
- Dimensions of film editing
- Contrast between motion and stasis
- Flash frames
- Establishing and manipulating the space
- Intra-frame editing
- Constructive editing (Lev Kuleszov effect)
- Analytical editing
- Flashback and Flashforward
- Condensing and expanding the narration
- Elliptical editing
- Overlapping editing
- Replay editing
- Continuity editing
- Spatial continuity (the 180˚ system)
- Axis of action
- Establishing shot
- Shot/Reverse shot
- Eyeline match
- Re-establishing shot
- The match on action
- Characters in the centre (shifting the axis)
- Deleting the establishing shot
- The cheat shot
- The POV shot (on the axis)
- Crosscutting
- Temporal continuity