Writing - Building on skills acquired in Level 1, students write a treatment and script for a 4 minute film. They will hone their writing skills by training to think like a camera. The goal is to convey their story visually using minimum dialogue.
Camera - Introduction to lenses and perspectives and depth of field. Working with the moving camera (pan and tilts) and the blocking of actors in the frame. Introduction to lighting (3 point). Bouncing, mixing and balancing available versus artificial light. Creating drama and mood with light.
Sound - Introduction to sound in cinema. Planning and using sound to enhance your story. Recording location sound with a Sennheiser External Microphone - shotgun and boom pole.
Acting - Understanding actors and preparing them for performances in front of the camera. Working non-professional actors and theatre actors. Rehearsing actors to illicit realistic performances.
Shooting - Each film will be shot in 8 hours in one day. Shoots are timed. The director of each film will also be its cinematographer. A production plan will assign crew roles to each student for each film. Crew roles are rotated through the class. No student performs the same role twice. The instructor will be present during the shoot.
Editing - This is done using Final Cut Pro. Films are titled using LiveType. Understanding the usage of music in cinema to further the story. Students will individually set music to their films using SoundTrack Pro. They will learn to mix music and sound tracks to create a master track.
