introduction to filmmaking. now is a good time to switch off your mobiles
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to
Filmmaking
Now is a good time to
switch off your mobiles
Ex.1 – ‘Who am I ?’
• Take a large piece of paper• Using the whole sheet draw a comic-style
sequence – 3 cells max • Theme ‘who am I ?’ • Have a beginning, middle, end• Make it outrageous, big & dramatic• The story in images should make sense
without dialogue
Ex.1 cont. – ‘Who am I ?’
• Give your comic sequence to the person sitting behind/in front of you.
• Introduce yourself• Insert big voice bubbles – and fill them in• You are the new author of the sequence.
Your interpretation needs to be very clear and specific
•
Pass on to a third person sitting next to you. They need to let you know if it makes senseIntroduce yourselves & DISCUSS
Then write your name on the top and submit
Who?Dr Greg Dolgopolov
(UNSW)Course Coordinator
Contact Details
If you have any questions
– come & see me
Email: for an appointment or to discuss matters
put UIBE in subject heading
Introduction to Filmmaking:is an introductory production course
It is not really a theory course It is a pre-production course for
developing concepts & the imagination
Image & Sound literacy & experiment
Introduce some basic videomaking techniques and film grammarGenerate a bunch of ideas and concepts for future developmentFire up the imagination and provide a framework for realising your unique stories & concepts
Develop a film & media audio-visual creativity -- working low tech & lo-fiEncourage creative collaborations & teamwork
Hands-onIntroduce a hands-on approach to telling stories and exploring ideas:
• Prepare concept outlines, storyboards & soundscapes• Introduce effective creative workflows• Capture and generate images and sounds • Develop documentary and cross-platform concepts• Write a short script • Become a script editor• Design your project photo-essay• Figure out production logistics & budgeting• Work on an adaptation in a group
Figure out which is the best means of production and distributionExperiment with storytelling & image and sound production Develop unique content and challenging ideas for future production
Ideas
Course Outline• Photography & image literacy• Film Grammar: framing, shots, camera• Designing films for Sound and soundscapes• Scriptwriting, Adaptation • Portfolios
AssessssssmentPhoto-Essay
(Solo) Due Week 2 Monday 4pm 20%
A stills exercise using photos and your own voice to tell a factual, emotionally powerful story (2 mins) Exegesis (500 words)
Submitted online on your portfolio website and as a .mov file on disk
Scriptwriting & Script Doctoring (Partners)You will need to write your own original short fiction film script Length: strictly 8 pages. Include a log line, synopsis and exegesis. Script may contain only ten lines of dialogue. It needs to be very genre specific
You will also need to script doctor your partner's script -Write up detailed commentary & constructive feedback
Submit your script and the accompanying feedback. Your partner submits their script and your feedback.
Workshop exercises & portfolio
All course work needs to be presented and archived on your portfolio siteThis includes work for submission, your pre-production materials and a selection of your in-class workshop exercises.
Adapting a Classic (Group Production)
As a group you will select, prepare for a pre-production submission a film ‘classic’ scene of your choice (5 minutes max). As a shot-for-shot remake you will need to stick to the script, the shots, the mise en scene, but you can change the meaning or the inflection.
Alternatively you can adapt a literary classic –
Focus is on pre-production materials and film style
Individual Exegesis (500 words)
Portfolio
Wix Weebly WordpressTumblr
Put up a film on your site that is the ONE film you would recommend
www.hoogerbrugge.com
Preparation• If you have a camera enabled mobile phone or
a digital stills camera or a video camera - bring it for the next few weeks
• Photo-essay/digitale – start thinking about a great idea
• Adaptation Proposal ideas now. What do you want people to think/feel/say about your idea?
• Figure out what you need to practice or learn in order to realise your idea
• Download celtx.com – its FREE!!!!
Lars Von Trier
The Five Obstructions
• Doco or Experiment?• Directed by: Jørgen Leth
& Lars von Trier.• Denmark (90 min) 2004
• Director Lars von Trier assigns five different impediments to Danish experimental filmmaker Jørgen Leth. In each of the assignments, Leth is to remake his 12-minute 1967 film The Perfect Human
Reading 1: Andrei Tarkovsky
• Most famous Russian filmmaker since Eisenstein
• metaphysical preoccupations provoked ongoing hostility from the Soviet authorities
• Visionary approach to cinematic time & space.
• commitment to cinema as poetry
Sculpting in Time• cinema's capacity for
capturing time • long takes that allowed
time to flow through an individual shot.
• contemplative, imagistic style emphasised the integration of characters with the world around them, both through their positioning in the frame and through slow, probing camera movements.
Stalker (1979)
Sculpting in Time
• Proposed a cinema based on the rapt observation of the present moment as opposed to a plot-driven preoccupation with what will happen next.
• Rhythm over montage• Focus on cinema as art
and not as message
Objectives• To explore the creative and communicative
possibilities of film, video and other audio-visual technologies
• Present a wide range of audio & visual examples, from cinema classics to the latest music videos and a range of short and experimental films
• Explore the creative potential of sound and image with an emphasis on film grammar, photography and the development of original concepts
• Act as a preparation for 3rd year Video Exercise & provide a hands on approach to making sense of film theory