From Ideas to Postproduction

Catalog description

Prerequisite: a prior film course In this course, students will conceive a short film from its very basis to its final completion. In fall, we will explore a creative and deep examination of the foundations and processes of writing with images and sounds. The course will provide a path to a certain type of sensitivity that will help writers create not just the screenplay for the course but also contribute to all of their screenplays to follow. What are the fundamental skills that we need for writing a film? What is the observation period in which artists need to participate to successfully translate their ideas into words? The script is a descriptive representation of the images and sounds that the writer has created in their imagination—beginning with the construction of an image that nests a story and exploring its possible forms and shapes, imagining characters from the inside outward, and then situating them in the image to let them grow. In spring, we will explore all areas of staging and styles to digest information within a script—from the very first impression of our story, through the actual image, until the editing. Working with each other on projects in a constructive and meaningful way and exploring an audiovisual style, the course will provide interaction and exposure to a wide range of types of film styles, from small to large productions. Guiding questions will include: How do we understand the core of our image? How do we see scripts from a directing point of view? How is the image able to transmit emotions and thoughts? How can we develop critical and well-formulated thoughts of a film idea and expand our personal visual research? Experimental Filmmaking: From Abstraction to Poetic Encounter