Narrative Film: Working from the Script

A script is only the beginning. Then come the interesting decisions: the actors, the visual style, and the sound design. In this class, each student will be given one segment of a script which they can interpret in any way they choose. Will your part be done as a film noir? A musical? Will it be shot in black and white? Acted in the nude? Reimagined as a documentary? At the end of the term, all the segments will be strung together to make a complete film–a surprising collage of everyone’s individual vision.

Sample reading list:
Alexander Mackendrick, On Film-Making: An Introduction to the Craft of a Director
Stephen Katz, Directing the Film Shot by Shot
Scott MacDonald, A Critical Cinema
Dave Viera and Maria Viera, Lighting for Film and Digital Photography
Timothy Corrgan and Patricia White, The Film Experience
Michel Chion, Film, A Sound Art
See instructor for complete list

Reading/Writing assignments:
5-15 pages of reading per week. Weekly work in writing, shooting and/or editing. 40-80 minutes of class each week viewing films outside of class via Blackboard.

Other Requirements:
Not Open to Freshmen.

Prerequisites and Restrictions:
Either VIS 261/262 (Intro) or VIS 263 (Documentary) or VIS 264 (Narrative) or VIS 362 (Intermediate) and self-sufficiency in film editing software, either Premiere CS6 or Final Cut 7.

Faculty

VENUS IN FUR

This is the feature length film–made out of ten different segments strung together–based on the play “Venus in Fur” by David Ives. The segments were produced and directed by the students in the spring 2015 class: Graham Cousins, Mauricio Gonzalez-Aranda, Emma Michalak, Chanyoung Park, Patrick Rooney, Hawa Sako, Grayson Shepperd, Jack Thornton, Roxana Turcanu, and Najia Zahir.

Sections

C01

Wednesdays, 1:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructor(s)

Su Friedrich