Directing Workshop

Catalog description

An advanced aesthetic and skill production course in directing for the screen. COMM 445 Directing Workshop (3) This course is an advanced aesthetic and skill production course in directing for the screen. The class is designed to introduce more advanced directing concepts and techniques as well as to more deeply explore the collaborative processes of working with a creative team on effectively integrating the aesthetics of cinematography, production design and acting performance in film narrative. The first section of the course will focus on understanding the actor's preparation and process with the goal of developing the appropriate and effective communications skills to coach performance. Students will thoroughly explore scenes for interpretation of subtext and motive, and will learn accepted practices of script preparation. Casting and audition styles will be investigated and demonstrated, as will various types of rehearsal techniques. At the end of this section students will workshop a scene in a small group, blocking it and executing it to illustrate concepts of character relationships, stage and camera craft to produce a short scene for discussion and critique. The second section of the course will be an advanced aesthetic exploration of the visual vocabulary, including cinematic, psychological and fine art concepts that contribute to the planning and design of screen direction. Students will then analyze the technical means to execute this aesthetic vision through production design, lighting and composition. In practice the students will then translate this analysis into a working scene plan and will produce a short scene for discussion and critique. Students will also be introduced to professional practices such as location and studio set protocols and on-set safety procedures. The third section of the course will explore narrative conventions and their relationship to screen genres in the interest of understanding the film language shared between filmmaker and audience. At the end of the section students will produce a short classic scene with an alternative interpretation for discussion and critique.