Thursday, March 2, 2017

PROJECT 3: NARRATIVE SCENE - based on INFLUENCES- An homage to a director

RTD 365 PROJECT 2 Fall 2018
NARRATIVE HOMAGE SCENE - based on INFLUENCES- homage to a director
OCTOBER 31

HOMAGE: special honor or respect shown publicly.

Select a director, a film or some cinematographer whose work inspires you. It can also be a cinematographer. Identify some of this person’s filmmaking strategies by doing research about their work and them. You will boil down one or two characteristics of their work and produce a short work that imitates or quotes this director or artist.

STEPS:
Research: Research the work of the director/creative. Look at several works. You don’t have to watch whole films but read about him or her in serious journals or blogs (there are many online).
By next week, Oct 3, you should know who the artist you will be using is and one or two strategies they use their work. See below for ideas.

Presentation: Write a short research paper about the artist’s work and prepare a presentation that includes 1 or 2 short clips (under 2 minutes). Write about the director’s work and the approach you are interested in Follow with a short description (treatment-pitch) of the work you will create.  Paper should be 1 to 2 pages and include references.

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Plan your production: Using what you have learned from looking at this director's work, plan, light and shoot a scene = approximately 1 minute - that copies something they do. This can be a short scene or it can be a fragment - eg. a small element of what could be a larger project. Create a storyboard and shot list before you produce. I will set meetings with you to go over your production plans.

Collaborations can do longer pieces- but everyone must do some filming.
Your project will involve scripting, lighting, staging. 
You must have excellent lighting for this one.

CHOICES: You can choose a sound designer or cinematographer. It can be from television or cinema. Many directors overlap in projects. Watch one or two films or clips.

Think about any of the below filmic elements when developing your ideas. 

- These are also called

--> * mis-en-scene: Character, staging, Shadow, form, light, color, style *
- a lighting style, use of shadow and light
- a particular use of focus or lens effects
- a particular kind of movement, space, representation of time or temporality
- the use of color, scenery
- a particular way of staging a shot, framing or directing a conversation
- ways of using sound, soundtrack, rhythm, sound effects and/or silence
- a style of editing, the use of simple effects (accessible to our class)
- use of transitions, cuts, repetition and visual rhythm
- storytelling, plot, character choice- how is the character directed??

You will need to talk and write about the elements you decide to work with.


BEGIN TODAY --

DUE: March 9 Introduce us to the director you will make an homage of in class
Read a serious article. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone in terms of research- use the library! An online publication about contemporary directors is called “Senses of Cinema” or any link from this site. Search for your director.
If you are unsure, storyboard a scene from the director’s existing work, a useful exercise
READINGS to help you out. 
This is an article about working up ideas from. Her description of her working process might help you. She outlines professional practices for working for a client, although her work is limited to animation and storyboarding

-->
DUE: March 23- PRESENTATION, short paper and production concept
·                Presentation:
    • Show no more than 2 minutes of footage 
    • what elements of the artist’s work that are valuable to you 
    • don’t select a director whose work consists of effects you can’t do- no fight scenes, explosions or aerial or crane work 
    • TALK about any or all of these elements: Framing, use of color, acting, direction of characters and staging (where they are placed in relation to scene and camera lens), development of character, use or dialogue or silence, location, sets, effects, story.
·                Short paper:
    • write about I page about your director's style and turn this in with references (at least 2 other articles) at the end.
    • Add a short pitch and descriptive treatment for your project 
Productions begin March 23 after class.

DUE: March 30 all this information should be ready and you are in production
·                 Production plan
    • shot list
·                •           storyboard
·                             crew list
·                •           location
·                •           lighting and camera rental order
·                •           script if pertinent

April 6: rough cuts
April 13: Final cuts (deadline to be extended if necessary)

By screening on April 13: turn in a production book that will include
pre-production material- 300 word introduction to director, your lists, drawings, storyboards, location images/photos, scripts, costume and lighting ideas, cast, crew, music citations, anything you want to be paid for

TIPS
·                don’t choose a complex project with complex scenery or a large cast
·                No MICHAEL BEY.
·                Remember a good scene does not always need dialogue
·                You are not compelled to edit, but you should if this is essential to your idea. 


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