FOUR-WEEK
FILM SCHOOL

4 College Credits

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Film School Student On Location With Camera

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2008 TUITION: $ 3,500 (USD)
€ 2,199 (EURO)

In our Four-Week Film School, each student writes, shoots, directs, and edits 3 of his/her own films and crews on 9 others

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Overview • Objectives • Classes

next start date:
may 5, 08 - May 31, 08
June 2, 08 - June 28, 08

At the Disney-MGM Studios locations a special three-week session is also available.

Many students find the Four-Week Filmmaking Workshop fits conveniently into their yearly schedules. We designed this workshop to give students the most information and the most complete course we could in the shortest amount of time. This workshop is an excellent introduction to the filmmaking craft and allows students to walk away from film school with some wonderful shooting experience and three completed short films. Like our six and eight-week workshops, the four-week workshop is a full-time course. Students will have class, editing or production nearly every day of the week. Instead of being handed a book, like

other film schools, our students begin to learn how to write, shoot, and edit their own films from their very first day onward. Students must be prepared to make a serious commitment to this film school program.

The Four-Week Filmmaking Workshop is offered starting on the first Monday of every month of the year at our film schools in New York City and our West Coast headquarters at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. It is also offered throughout the year at our film school at London UK. Additionally, the Four-Week Filmmaking Workshop is offered at all of our summer locations, two or three times per summer. In select locations a special three-Week session is also available.

Overview

In one month, each student will direct a total of three films, and for each of these films the student will have to go through the process of writing, producing, directing and editing. The first film, shot at the end of week one, focuses on the art of the shot; the second, shot at the end of week two, on continuity and the conventions of the film craft. The last of the projects, shot at the end of week three, is a film of up to four minutes with a music track. In addition to their directing opportunities, film students rotate among the key crew positions (director of photography, assistant camera person, and gaffer/grip) on their classmates projects, which will give them the greatest understanding of the functions of the various film departments.

Week four is comprised of additional editing classes and post-production. All films will be shot with Arriflex 16mm cameras, Lowel lighting packages, and edited on Apple Final Cut Pro digital editing systems.

PRODUCTION GOALS

+ Write, direct, and digitally edit three short non-synchronous 16mm films. The last of the three films can be up to 4 minutes in length with multiple tracks of sound.

+ Be a cinematographer, gaffer, and assistant camera on your crew's films.

LEARNING GOALS

+ Explore and understand the art and technique of visual storytelling including directing, cinematography, editing, and post-production sound design.

classes

DIRECTOR'S CRAFT	WRITING
Director's Craft serves as the spine of the workshop, introducing students to the language and practice of filmmaking. Through a combination of hands-on exercises, screenings, and demonstrations, students learn the fundamental directing skills needed to create a succinct and moving film. This class prepares students for each of their film projects and is the venue for screening and critiquing their work throughout the course.	The writing portion of the filmmaking course adheres to the philosophy that good directing cannot occur without a well-written script. The course is designed to build a fundamental understanding of dramatic structure which is essential to writing an engaging film. Arc, theme, character, tension, and conflict are thoroughly explored.
EDITING	HANDS-ON CAMERA AND LIGHTING
This class covers the language of editing and the organization of film and sound material. Films are shot on 16mm film and edited digitally with Final Cut Pro on Apple computers. While students learn how to use the nonlinear editing software, the emphasis is on the craft of editing which challenges students to create cogent sequences that best serve the story.	Beginning on day one, this is a no-nonsense camera class in which students learn fundamental skills in the art of cinematography with the 16mm Arriflex-S, the Lowel VIP Lighting Kit and its accessories. Unlike many film school programs, students shoot and screen tests for focus, exposure, lens perspective, film latitude, slow/fast motion, contrast, and lighting during their first week of class.
PRODUCTION WORKSHOP
Production Workshop gives students the opportunity to learn which techniques will help them express their ideas most effectively. This class is designed to demystify the craft of filmmaking through in-class exercises shot on film under the supervision of the instructor. The guiding idea is that once students articulate the objective of a given scene, the craft and techniques they need will follow.

FOUR-WEEK FILM SCHOOL

Overview

classes

FOUR-WEEK
FILM SCHOOL