Frame By Frame I

This course is for students who wish to “think cinematically.” It will be an intensive, hands-on introduction to filmmaking. Students will work individually and in groups to produce a series of fiction films. In addition to the required class work, students will attend mandatory craft courses in directing actors, cinematography, and editing. The craft course takes place one evening a week outside of class. The first film assignment, entitled “The 2 Minute,” is a video project to be edited in camera. Students will not be allowed to review their material until it is presented in class. The second assignment, “On Location,” will introduce students to 16mm cameras and production. Six-to-eight classes during the fall semester will be dedicated to the second assignment, in which students will practice skills learned in cinematography, acting, and general set coordination. The final requirement is the conference project. Students will produce and direct a five-minute film, working with assigned crews. This will incorporate all of the technical aspects of film production that were discussed in lectures, screenings, and demonstrations: preproduction planning, budgeting, shotlist, storyboards, and script breakdown. In this course, students will explore the structure and aesthetics of films from around the world, while gaining practical experience transforming their own ideas into action.