Directing Workshop

Every artistic element in a film reflects the vision of the director. The role of the independent film director, especially at the low/no-budget level, is that of a Jack of all trades. The filmmaker is the writer, the producer, the director, sometimes the actor/actress, and often the editor of the project. But the independent filmmaker also needs to know about many non-artistic aspects of film: budgeting, scheduling, insurance, law, publicity, advertising, marketing and distribution.

This course will give an overall view of the many functions of the low/no-budget independent director. It will examine the entire filmmaking process from concept to distribution in order to empower the filmmaker to create a meaningful and/or entertaining film spending the least amount of time, money and energy.

This course is intended for those who have little or no filmmaking experience and want to understand the entire process of making a low/no-budget independent film as a writer/director/producer. Each class is three hours long and meets once a week for six consecutive weeks. The first part of each class offers practical information on producing a film and the second part offers insights on how to use all the artistic elements to write and direct a film (film clips will be screened during this second part of each class). 

Topics that will be discussed: 

Development: Screenwriting, treatments, synopsis, protecting your screenplay, script breakdown, storyboards, budgeting, shooting digital video or film, legal structures, raising money. 

Pre-production: Shot lists, finding the crew, renting equipment, location scouting, casting, rehearsing, permits, research, production meetings, insurance aspects. 

Production: The first day of shoot, the actor/director relationship on and off the set, the importance for the director to establish trust and respect between cast and crew, location and studio filming, staying on schedule, legal aspects of filming, release forms, wrapping up. 

Post-production: Digital editing, sound design, optical effects, titles, sound mixing, music composition, music contracts, video to film transfer, the first print. 

Festivals: US vs. foreign festivals, strategies for national and international premieres, film festivals and film markets, promotional material, marketing and advertising, social media as publicity. 

Distribution: The best deal, distributors and foreign sales agents, elements that distributors will want from you, theatrical distribution, foreign television sales, self-distribution. 

Selected clips from these and/or other films will be shown and analyzed regarding all elements of filmmaking: screenwriting, story structure, acting, directing, shot composition, camera movement, lighting, set design, editing, sound design, etc. 

A Clockwork Orange (1971), A Man and A Woman (1966), American Beauty (1999), Annie Hall (1977), Batman Returns (1992), Battle of Algiers (1966), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Boogie Nights (1997), Breathless (1960), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Citizen Kane (1941), Dark Passage (1947), Day for Night (1973), Dick Tracy (1990), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), The French Connection (1971), Goodfellas (1990), The Graduate (1967), Hearts of Darkness (1991), The Hurt Locker (2009),The Killers (1946), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Lost Weekend (1945), Metropolis (1933), North by Northwest (1959), Paths of Glory (1957), Pi (1998), The Player (1992), Repulsion (1965), Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Touch of Evil (1958) Trainspotting (1996), Two for the Road (1967), West Side Story (1961),Who's That Knocking at My Door (1968).

Instructor: Alain G. Cloarec (see Bio here.)

Screenwriting Workshop

In 1897 Joseph Conrad wrote: “My task is to make you hear, to make you feel – and, above all, to make you see. That is all, and it is everything.”  When he wrote these words Conrad was obviously not talking about screenwriting but he could have been because this is exactly what a screenwriter should strive for.

This course is intended for those who have little or no screenwriting experience and want to understand the entire process of writing for film. Each class is three hours long and meets once a week for six weeks. The objective is for students to write either a short screenplay or be well on their way to writing a feature-length screenplay by the end of the course. Those who already have written a short or feature script can also bring it in if they wish to re-write it during the six week period.

The first part of each class will involve reading out loud each other’s scenes and constructively sharing thoughts about the work to realize what needs to be done for the following week. The second part will be spent analyzing in depth scenes from film clips in terms of plot and character through the use of visuals and dialogue. Topics that will be discussed: story, structure, writing visually, precise dialogues, conflict, psychology, relationships, research, location choices, themes, inner and outer action, characters’ needs.

Instructor: Alain G. Cloarec (see Bio here.)