8 WK ONLINE ADVANCED CINEMATOGRAPHY

The first four weeks of the workshop are focused on understanding the basic principles of cinematography, and will include the analysis of the history of cinematography, camera and basic lighting technology and techniques, and an introduction to editing and color correction using Davinci Resolve.

The students will test what they learn during the first four weeks through three exercises that are designed to be executed using any digital camera of their own, including a cell phone.

The last four weeks of the program will offer more advanced study of Cinematography and will include a composition lab, live demonstrations of lighting techniques and approaches, analysis of movies by their cinematographers, an introduction to art direction and its relationship to cinematography, advanced color correction and an introduction to compositing and visual effects (VFX).

During weeks five to eight, students will develop a brief short film with the guidance of their directing/screenwriting instructor that will then be shot as their final project.

CLASS BREAKDOWN

Cinematographer’s Craft
This class will provide the basic elements of cinematography, including but not limited to the basic principles of Cinematography, an introduction to visual storytelling, an analysis of how shots are used to build a narrative or documentary sequence, the basic elements of Montage, a deeper analysis into painting with lights, a study of color science and an introduction to digital and analog monitoring of the image and the light.

History of Cinematography
Students will analyze the evolution of cinematography, examine trends and historically relevant turning points in style (film noir, the introduction of color, etc.).

Students will be provided with a list of films, easy to find online, that represent a wide range of cinematographic styles to watch on their own time. Each student will choose 3 movies from this list to analyze.

Camera
This class will introduce the basic characteristics of digital cameras and the main settings, common to most digital cameras. Advanced digital cinema cameras will be introduced using a Red Dragon as an example. The course will also provide an overview of the evolution of digital cinema.

Composition Lab
This class focuses on visual composition and style. Each class will introduce different aspects of composition and framing, using relevant examples from movies, art and photography. Students will be assigned homework that will be reviewed and critiqued in the subsequent class.

Lighting and Grip
Through live demonstrations, lighting principles and basic lighting set ups are taught. Students will explore lighting techniques that are easy to employ using common materials.

Advanced Lighting and Grip
Students are introduced to lighting and grip equipment necessary for cinematic production and the Production Workshops class. Students will examine the equipment necessary for both high and low key looks, and the use of both practical and artificial lighting elements. Additionally, students are introduced to the basic technologies of green screen photography.

Production workshops
In Production Workshops, instructors demonstrate live, with the help of teaching assistants, lighting and grip techniques using the equipment introduced in Advanced Lighting and Grip. Workshops focus on different styles and approaches to cinematography. The 4 workshops will cover lighting for comedy (high key), lighting the film noir (low key), lighting in a mixed environment (practical and artificial light), lighting the green screen.

Art direction for cinematographers
This class examines the necessary synergy between art direction and cinematography.

Editing
Students receive basic editing training with Davinci Resolve. The course will focus on basic and advanced color correction techniques. Compositing and VFX classes will use the material produced during the green screen workshop.

Production Lab
In Production lab students are guided through the development of their 3 personal projects. During the first 4 weeks they will create a Composition, a Continuity and a Montage project, each project employing a new set of rules and instructions. During the second half of the course, students focus on the final project, a short narrative or doc film of 4 to 7 minutes.

Production Lab – Writing
In this writing class, students learn the basics of writing and reading a screenplay, and develop their scripts for their final projects.

Screen and Review
Students receive feedback on their personal projects and analyze their choices and approaches.

STUDENT PROJECTS:

Composition
As directed during the Production Lab prep class the students will create a series of shots to practice and test the knowledge of composition and the technical elements of cinematography (focus, exposure, color, basic camera movements).

Continuity
The student will create a small scene in which they will use different framing, angles of view and available or artificial light to build the narrative. The scene may be fictional (ex: a mystery presence in the room) or documentary (ex: a family member/partner baking a cake)

Montage
For their third film, the students will pick an abstract concept (ex: fear, excitement, love, solitude, etc.) and film images that describe the concept visually. The project focuses less on the narrative aspect of filmmaking and more on the capacity of cinematography to deliver a subtext of significance to otherwise unrelated images.

Final Short Film
The final short film is a narrative or doc project of 4 to 7 minutes, involving multiple scenes, a variety of lighting and stylistic approaches.