INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE FILM 20P
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1. gt a sequence of 5 images that connect sequentially either through concept shape amp color vectors and or both gt a sequence of 5 images which tell a story 3 Complete at least 3 of the following composition types COMPOSITIONAL TYPES gt a primarily vertical composition gt a primarily horizontal composition gt an image which uses focus depth of field to attract our attention to the object person gt an image which abstracts its subject through de contextualization for example an image of a billboard or sign which is fragmented to spell a new word or an extreme close up on a texture object or pattern gt an image which contains foreground midground and background gt an image in which the aspect ratio of the frame is changed through the use of an architectural or natural feature creating a frame within a frame gt an image that creates an interesting relationship between positive and negative space A Before turning this assignment in please do the following gt write your name on the back of each photo with a Sharpie or non smudge pen gt write down the compositional type on the back of each photo gt place your photos in an envelope or fasten them together with a paper clip 20P Gustafson 7 Wintar NA VY Exercise 3 Writing a scene ver 1 and ver 2 Write a 1 2 page scene about something that has happened to you This can be anything a memory a banal event a thrilling momen2. INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE FILM 20P WINTER 2005 http arts ucsc edu faculty gustafson FILM 2020P syllabus html Instructor Irene Gustafson ireneg ucsc edu e COMM 125 e 831 459 1498 Office Hours Wed 2 4pm and by appointment Class T TH 2 00 3 45pm STUDIO C COMMUNICATIONS Teaching Assistants Sumit Agarwai e sagarwal ucsc edu Daniel Massey aboxinsideout hotmail com Sections O1A TH 4 00 5 00pm 01B TH 5 15 6 15pm OIC F 12 00 1 00pm OID F 1 15 2 15pm COURSE OVERVIEW The camera is an instrument that teaches people to see without a camera Dorothea Lange This class is designed to introduce students to the production processes of visual aural time based creative work Students will work on numerous creative projects performed written photographed and created digitally With an emphasis on low budget independent film and video making we will study all aspects of production from idea generation conceptualization and scripting through post production Assignments both written and creative will emphasize creativity visualization research and production organization Presentation of ideas in both the written word and visual media are integral to the production of creative media and form the basis of the assignments for this class Course Objectives gt To demystify the creative process so that you can develop your own and or become more aware of your own creative processes gt To develop creative a
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4. PTION OF ASSIGNMENTS VY Exercise 1 Alien Anthropologist Show Tell One must die as a sighted person to be born again as a blind person and the opposite is equally true one must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person Your task is to imagine that you come from a planet that has no visual culture a society of the blind or a society that has never developed visual representation or has never found visual information of any special interest This society has sent you to Earth as an anthropologist to study the ways in which visual culture operates Upon returning to your planet you discover that due to an unfortunate accident you have lost all the material samples images objects apparatuses of this culture that you had gathered along the way EXCEPT ONE From that one sample you must try to reconstruct for your audience both a general idea of what your object is and how it comes to be understood by people who approach the world visually For example your object is a desktop picture frame You will need to explain to your audience what a frame is a polygon or circle made of wood metal or plaster what it does holds usually a two dimensional object for display and how it functions in the lives of the people who use them Where did you see this object on people s walls by their bedsides in museums and how did location affect its contents personal snapshots paintings You will find that you will need to tell your audi
5. cott McCloud Understanding Comics Ch 4 SECTION e Communications Computer Lab T February 8 Writing a scene Pre production Treatments Reading Due e CR Dancyger and Rush Beyond the Rules Dramatic Voice Narrative Voice Working with Genre TH February 10 Writing Alphabet Exercise still image Reading Due e CR short story by A M Homes Chunky in Heat SECTION e EXERCISE 3 DUE Writing a Scene ver 1 e pick genre categories for writing a scene T February 15 Screening Matewan USA John Sayles 1987 134 min VT 1350 TH February 17 Screening Matewan USA John Sayles 1987 134 min VT 1350 SECTION v EXERCISE 3 DUE Writing a Scene ver 2 e Communications Computer Lab T February 22 v EXERCISE 4 DUE Nine Frame Narrative at the beginning of class Acting Casting Directing Drama Stereotypes Reading Due e CR Rabiger Directing the Actors TH February 24 The Documentary Performance Screening Mister Death USA Errol Morris 2000 92 Reading Due e CR Interviews with Errol Morris 20P Gustafson 4 Wintar NA 10 SECTION v EXERCISE 4 DUE Performance T March 1 Sound Listening Exercises TH March 3 Review for Final Exam SECTION e v EXERCISE 5 DUE Photoshop Portrait e Finish up Performance Exercises if needed M March 8 Photoshop Critiques W March 10 FINAL EXAM 2 0P Gustafson 5 W intar NA DESCRI
6. deptness at translating ideas into well designed and competently executed visual works gt To develop a more sophisticated level of media literacy in creating and seeing i e learning how to constructively critique gt To foster the collaborative sense necessary for the production of film and video gt To develop an understanding and appreciation of production aesthetics techniques and technologies Please be aware that there is a course materials fee of 15 00 plus 1 00 administrative fee to cover film rentals and other course materials You are responsible for providing your own 35mm camera disposable or other photo processing for one or two rolls of film and digital media storage CD DVD 20P Gustafson 1 Wintar NA REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIVING CREDIT gt Attendance and participation at both lecture and section is mandatory Sections will allow students to explore the concepts presented in class through assignments and discussion on a more individualized basis gt Two missed sections will constitute a NO PASS in the course and active participation will count favorably in determining evaluations gt Reading assignments should be completed BEFORE class gt Careful and conscientious treatment of equipment and facilities REQUIRED READING available at the Bay Tree Bookstore gt Course Reader ASSIGNMENTS Your final evaluation and or grade in the class will be based on the following V Attenda
7. ence what a snapshot is what a museum is or what the word display means play Your task is to give a five minute show and tell presentation using your sample to illustrate what a visual culture is like This sample can be just about anything it need not be a picture or a piece of art In fact your object might be more interesting if it isn t It could for instance be a machine instrument found object a piece of clothing etc The objective here is to de familiarize visual experience and representation to re stage it as a problem to be explained rather than a capacity to be taken for granted The idea is to set up an empty frame in which any object or experience may be staged for inspection and analysis insofar as it helps to explain what a visually oriented culture is Our Show Tell will be staged during discussion section during week 2 You will be presenting in groups of four Each person in the group will talk Please come prepared with a 5 minute presentation and an open mind 10 minutes in addition to the presentation time will be dedicated to Q A from the audience 20P Gustafson 6 Wintar NA VY Exercise 2 Still Images in a Sequence 1 working individually shoot a roll of 36 exposures YOU WILL BE TURNING IN 5 PHOTOGRAPHS 2 Complete 1 of the following sequence types SEQUENCE TYPES choose 1 gt a series of 5 photographs which are different views of the same object person environment
8. mes Monaco Technology Image and Sound SECTION e No Section This Week T January 11 How we read images Learning to See Reading Due e CR John Berger Ways of Seeing Chapter 1 2 3 e CR Bruce Mamer Creating the Shots TH January 13 Photography amp Images in sequences Form Content Reading Due e CR John Sayles Thinking SECTION ev EXERCISE 1 DUE Alien Anthropologist T January 18 Mise en Scene Things you include in the scene Reading Due e CR John Sayles Writing e CR Kris Malkiewicz Lighting TH January 20 Thinking through character Reading Due e CR John Sayles Shooting Pre production SECTION e Photography review Berger T January 25 v EXERCISE 2 DUE Still Images in a Sequence due at the beginning of class Photoshop Collage Reading Due e Adobe Photoshop 7 In a Classroom Lesson 1 2 3 TH January 27 Photoshop Portraiture Reading Due e CR John Sayles Shooting Production e Adobe Photoshop 7 In a Classroom Lesson 4 5 SECTION e Communications Computer Lab 20P Gustafson 3 Wintar NA 5 T February 1 Guest Professor Warren Sack Photoshop Javascript html Nine frame narratives Reading Due e CR Scott McCloud Understanding Comics Ch 1 3 TH February 3 Guest Professor Warren Sack Photoshop Javascript html cont Nine frame narratives Reading Due e CR S
9. nce and Participation 10 Y Exercise 1 Alien Anthropologist Show amp Tell due week 2 10 V Exercise 2 Still Images in Sequence due January 25th 15 V Exercise 3 Writing a scene ver 1 2 due week 6 7 15 VY Exercise 4 Nine Frame Narrative due Februray 22nd 15 V Exercise 5 Performance due week 8 10 V Exercise 6 Photoshop Portrait due week 9 15 V Final Exam March 10th 10 gt Students must complete each of the assignments in order to pass the class Late assignments will not be accepted missed exams will not be rescheduled so please plan your time and commitments carefully Any emergency situation or special condition should be discussed with the Instructor not only with your TA Incompletes for the course are NOT routinely given Please assess your time commitments early in the term An Incomplete will make you ineligible to proceed into another FILM production class until the I has been cleared the following Quarter Lectures will be organized around the topics and the films as listed Films can be reviewed and studied further at the Film amp Music Center at McHenry Library 20P Gustafson 2 Wintar NA SCHEDULE T January 4 Introduction to the class assignments sections and expectations Admissions Screening Visions of Light USA Stuart Samuels 1992 92 min VID343 TH January 6 Visualization Techniques framing aesthetics and composition Photography Exposure Depth of Field Reading Due e CR Ja
10. pany that word or phrase Count on spending at least 2 two hour sessions working out the moments with your partners Do not try to put this together twenty minutes before class ORIGINAL SCRIPT A Well B Well I m here A So see B Yes A Well B Is that all you can say A What do you want me to say B Nothing A Nothing B You don t trust me A It s not that B Then what A Nevermind B Stop it A What B That A can t B Try A Is that better B This is hopeless A What s the matter B don t know A You don t know 20P Gustafson 10 Wintar NA V Exercise 6 Photoshop Collage Portrait For this assignment you will be creating a Photoshop portrait of someone yourself or another person In addition to showing your subject s face capture this person s personality in other ways through the expressive use of color the choice and arrangement of images Remember we the audience do not know this person How can you tell us something about him her without using in jokes or clich s How can you tell us how you feel about this person character without using clich s or in jokes You must use at least 3 layers Save your project as a Photoshop File with layers in tact Assignment must be saved to disc CD and turned in with a label your name and TAs name V Final Exam In class closed book no notes Exam covers pertinent concepts and required readings 20P Gustafson 11 Wintar
11. provides some tutorials photoshop crash course http hotwired lycos com webmonkey design graphics tutorials tutorial 1 html javascript tutorial http hotwired lycos com webmonkey javascript tutorials tutorial 1 html html tutorial http hotwired lycos com webmonkey authoring html_basics 20P Gustafson 9 Wintar NA VY Exercise 5 Performance You will be working in groups of 3 Each of you will perform twice and direct once this may be subject to change dependent upon available time The process is as follows 1 invent a relationship between two characters co workers siblings lovers roommates etc 2 devise a given circumstances that bring these people together funeral waiting for a bus dump date 3 re work the script if necessary students are allowed to rearrange the words so long as they do not add words or remove them A give the words a fresh new context Find a doing for each generic word that puts it into a dramatic context as character attempts to start a failing car she says nothing For this exercise it is important to transform these words from generic dialogue into the context of actions 5 identify the style or genre you are working with and develop the scene accordingly 6 bring all necessary props Do not pretend a bottle is candle If you need a candle bring one Part of this process is to type out the script You will include the dialogue and then describe a whole set of actions to accom
12. reen Remember you can turn off and on as many of the screens as you want to simply by adding several is Looping assignments within the on MouseOver statements attached to each screen on the page 6 When you ve finished composing your 9 screens and have the mouse Over commands the way you want them write two paragraphs of text and put them just under your 9 screens on same webpage or attach them via a link to a second web page a In the first paragraph give a short user s manual how does your composition work what happens when a user moves the mouse here or here or here tell us what we should try with the mouse b in the second paragraph use Scott McCloud s terminology or any other language of montage editing etc that you have learned in this class or another film studies course Answer questions like these in the second paragraph What relation does this screen have to do with that one How does time change within a given screen How does it change between screens What sorts of closure are you assuming that a viewer will see between screens Within screens Is your composition a narrative If not why not If so how is it a narrative What is the logic of the 9 screens Is each screen devoted to a character a la Time Code or a physical location a la New Book or an aspect a la the Eames 1964 IBM World s Fair film or something else e g like Paik s work Here are some pointers to a site webmonkey that
13. t Write in the first person Describe what happened in terms of story action sounds the way things looked and felt Write in story form prose Do not use specialized screenwriting terms i e EXT MORNING or CLOSE UP This draft is ver 1 and is due in section during week 6 Then re write and adapt this scene to the genre category you randomly choose in section Re write the scene according to the demands and principles of your genre For example if you choose mystery re tool your story to create or highlight elements of suspense surprise danger a heightened sense of drama This draft is ver 2 and is due in section during week 7 You will be turning in both drafts of this writing assignment Exercise 4 Nine Frame Narratives Warren Sack 1 editing and saving plain text 2 moving files from machine to machine using an ftp client like fugu see dmedia ucsc edu 3 photoshop 4 html 5 javascript Assignment Description Create a nine screen interactive film using sequences of stills you have created or downloaded 1 Assemble your stills You will probably want to have at least six stills per screen thus at least 36 still images but more than 36 might be even better But then again maybe you have a great idea that you can do with only six images 2 Download the file film_table html file from here dmedia ucsc edu wsack film_table html Remember you will need to go to the menu view g
14. t page source in the web browser in order to see the html and the javscript code of the page open it in a text editor and edit it so that the variables frames 0 to frames 8 all refer to the file names of your still images Right now they refer to the file names of warren s still images y g g y g 3 Load the film_table html file into the browser and see how things look 4 Look again at the text of the film_table html file notice all of the comments containing TO DO ideas By modifying the html and the javascript at the indicated places i e indicated by the position of the comments 2 0P Gustafson 8 Wintar NA you can modify the size and placement of the screens and the looping frequency and dynamics of the frames within the screens Experiment with these aspects until you get a layout that you like and that you can explain with Scott McCloud s terminology You should be able to answer questions like this What relation does this screen have to do with that one How does time change within a given screen How does it change between screens What sorts of closure are you assuming that a viewer will see between screens Within screens Try to layout a composition with nine screens that can be viewed in multiple different directions consult McCloud page 105 for one possible idea 5 Now make the screens interactive by modifying the javascript code that controls which screens start and stop when the mouse is moved over a sc
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