Course syllabus

SCREEN 200 Foundations of Screen Production (2019)

Lecture: Wednesday 12-1                                 Classroom: TBC/Maclab/Black Box

Workshops: Wednesday 2-4 OR 4-6                 Office: Room 532/HSB

Convenor: Peter Simpson                             Office Hours: Thursday 10-12                                        

Email: pj.simpson@auckland.ac.nz  [best way to contact me]

Course Description:

A foundation-level core course in Screen Production introduces students to the conceptual and practical aspects of realising a narrative for screen. The overarching goal is to learn that filmmaking is a very deliberate process, everything seen on screen is a choice made by the filmmaker.  We will analyse films and the choices made by filmmakers to find links between conceptual ideas and the practical techniques used to realise them.

The course comprises of lectures, discussions, screenings, exercises and three key creative projects demonstrating lessons learned.  Assessment is based on participation, in-class exercises and practical assignments in the major areas of tuition utilising the techniques learnt in lectures and workshops.

The course is broken into four major areas corresponding to the four aspects of production, camera, sound, lighting and post production. Each week will feature a two hour workshop where we will investigate the techniques highlighted in the one hour lecture that precedes it.

The first four weeks of the course focus on the conventions of image in film, the visual language of film, camera movement, continuity and coverage and how we realise a script in the visual medium. We will then cover the various aspects of editing, production and post-production sound and lighting for film.

 Course Objectives:

 students will understand the fundamentals of production techniques in narrative storytelling for screen

• students will achieve basic familiarity with camera, editing, lighting and sound techniques and software
• students will learn collaborative skills and ways to receive and provide constructive criticism
• students will develop four projects from concept to completion that expose them to the different techniques of cinematic storytelling

 Participation and Attendance:

10% of your final grade depends on your presence and active involvement. It is vital for the success of a workshop that you engage with each other’s projects every week. One absence can set you behind, so be there and be on time. Please note this mark is derived partially from attendance but mostly from participation in class and workshop discussions and also activities.

Final Examination:

There will be no final examination for this course.

Course Structure:

Week 1: The Basics of Visual Language.

Lecture: Introductions. Syllabus.  Assignments. The basic building blocks of film - The Shot and The Sequence. Defining the frame. Juxtaposition - the heart of dramatic film making.

Workshop: Gear loan out process. Tech Specs. The basics of operating the camera, zoom, focus, exposure. Practical Exercises. Shoot a 4 shot sequence to tell a simple scenario.

Play back footage and discuss as a class.

Week 2:  Continuity - The Art of the Invisible Edit

Lecture: What is an invisible edit? Basics of the continuity system and its implications for filming a scene.

Workshop: Tech’ Specs’. Getting the right exposure. Types of camera motion. Purpose of camera motion. The pan, the tilt, the zoom and the hand held shot. The 180 degree rule. Practical Exercises. Play back footage and discuss as a class.

Week 3: Coverage - How to “Get It All in the Can”

Lecture: How do we ensure we have what we need to edit the film together. The master scene and the shot/reverse shot technique. Eyeline matching. Cutaways and POV’s.

Workshop: Tech’ Specs’. Create a scene of a 2 person interaction and shoot coverage of this scene respecting all rules of continuity and framing already discussed. Try a scene with more than two people.

Play back footage and discuss as a class.

Week 4: Intro To Editing - Making the Most of What You’ve Got

Lecture: What does an editor do? The technical stages of editing. Why do we edit? Montage and juxtaposition. Editing for story order and dramatic emphasis.

Workshop: The basics of editing and further exploration of Premiere Pro. Organising your project. Introduction to a fully realised scene and how to approach the edit.

Week 5: From Script To Screen - Shot Lists and Storyboards

Lecture:  Moving characters through space. Elliptical editing. The meeting and following scenes. Shot lists and storyboards.

Workshop: Tech’ Specs’. Take a short scripted scene. Decide coverage, break it down to a shot list and draw a set of very simple storyboards. Shoot and edit the piece. 

Week 6: Advanced Editing - Controlling the Story

Lecture: Extra narrative considerations. Temporal editing, timing, rhythm and pace. Associative edits.

Workshop: Assembling a scene. Evaluating performance, shot framing and technical aspects. Cutting on action. Refining the dialogue and putting it all together.

Week 7: Production Sound - The Importance of Good Sound Recording

Lecture: Why is sound so important? On set sound. How to record clean dialogue.

Workshop: Intro to the equipment. The shotgun mic and boom pole. The Zoom H5. Setting levels. How to hold the boom. Practical exercises.

Week 8: Production Sound 2 - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Sound

Lecture: Further considerations in getting good on location sound. Radio mics. Roles on set. Types of mic and their properties. Ambient sound, location sound effects and foley.

Workshop: Radio mics and how to place them on the talent. Recording ambient sound. Recording with two sources simultaneously (shotgun and radio mic).

Week 9: Sound Design and Mixing - From Rough Cut to Polished Film In One Easy Step

Lecture: The 3 components of a soundscape. The aspects of music. Building a soundscape. Tone and mood. Sound for dramatic emphasis. Establishing the world outside the frame. “Worldising”.

Workshop: Work through an example scene in Premiere Pro creating the sound scape. Practice recording foley and location sound effects. Lay into the scene.

Week 10: Lighting - The Basics of Production Lighting

Lecture: The fundamental objectives of lighting. The fundamental sources of light. Essential properties of light. Fundamental lighting setups and principals

Workshop: Safety when lighting. Tungsten and LED lights. 3 point lighting.

Week 11: Advanced Lighting - The Conventions of Lighting for Genre

Lecture: Why do we light? Naturalistic vs Stylised lighting. Conventions of genre lighting. Guest industry professional demonstrates lighting for genre.

Workshop: Continue to work with lights. Analysing a shot and recreating the setup. Lighting outdoors. The reflector.

Week 12: Course Wrap Up

Lecture: Cover any outstanding issues.

Workshop: Work on final assignments. Discuss any technical issues. If time possible look at  some more advanced concepts.

END OF TERM.