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

• gregd@unsw.edu.au

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