Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The Maltese Falcon (Day 2); Treatments due; The Collaborative Film Project

We will screen the rest of The Maltese Falcon today. Turn in your notes at the end of the film for participation credit. Also, your treatments are due to our Google classroom today. See below.

Option 1: Collaboratively with up to 6 students, work on an original film, using a film script or treatment (which then needs to be turned in as a film script) and create an original short film (typically 3-5 minutes in length). All members of the team should work together in a significant manner to see the completion of the film project. (i.e., each member of the team should have a well-defined role to complete in the making of the film...points will be deducted from groups that string along dead weight--students who do not have a distinct role in helping to bring the film together and finished.)
  • One person should be the director (the most inspired or most organized at task management); this person can double as the producer (or you can have a separate person be the producer to ensure that the film project is scheduled and completed on time.)
  • One person should be the cinematographer (the best photographer & eye for visual design)
  • One person should be the editor (the most computer savvy)
  • One or more persons should work on the script as the screenwriter(s) (this script should be taken from one treatment from the group's choices...the screenwriter does not have to be the same person who wrote the chosen treatment)
  • One or more persons should be actors (the most theatrical--you can also hire parents, siblings, friends, and theater majors or other people from other grades to help you!)
  • One or more persons should help as grips, gaffers, best boys, costume designers, sound designers (music), casting directors (make sure the roles in the film are filled and present at the shooting), producers (someone to keep track of time and resources), and assistants to the other jobs--particularly if someone is absent, etc.
Option 2: You may work alone or with actors outside of this classroom. If this is the case, once you have your script ready, gather who and what you need and begin filming.

Option 3: Choose a director from the American New Wave or from contemporary cinema. Research this director. Watch at least 3 films from this director and in a short documentary that includes at least 3 clips from the films you watched directed by this auteur, explain the director's influence on the film industry. I.E., use the information you research to create a short film documentary (of 3-7 minutes in length) about the director & his/her impact on film. You should also discuss common themes or genres the filmmaker generally practices. You will need to narrate (voice-over) your "script"--scripts should be turned in with the film.
  • Woody Allen
  • Robert Altman
  • Hal Ashby
  • Peter Bogdanovich
  • John Cassavetes
  • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Brian De Palma
  • William Friedkin
  • Dennis Hopper
  • Stanley Kubrick
  • George Lucas
  • Mike Nichols
  • Martin Scorsese
  • Billy Wilder
  • Pedro Amoldovar
  • Wes Anderson
  • Darren Aronofsky
  • Kathryn Bigelow
  • Danny Boyle
  • Mel Brooks
  • Tim Burton
  • Joel & Ethan Coen
  • James Cameron
  • Jane Campion
  • Sofia Coppola
  • David Cronenberg
  • Julie Dash
  • Guillermo Del Toro
  • Claire Denis
  • Ava Duverney
  • Clint Eastwood
  • David Fincher
  • Jean Luc Godard
  • Terry Gilliam
  • Catherine Hardwicke
  • Mary Harron
  • Werner Herzog
  • Ron Howard
  • Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
  • Peter Jackson
  • Ang Lee
  • David Lynch
  • Nancy Meyers
  • Hayao Miyazaki 
  • Christopher Nolan
  • Tyler Perry
  • Roman Polanski
  • Gina Prince-Bythewood
  • Dee Rees
  • Ridley Scott
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Gus Van Sant
  • Lars Von Trier
Film projects will be completed mostly on your own time (lab time is limited...) but will be due June 11 so we can screen the films on our last week of the course (June 11 or 13). The shooting script for your project should be turned in with your film project--but you'll need it to shoot your film...

HOMEWORK; If you are a screenwriter or your group is ready to begin shooting, do so. Aim to complete your script by Tuesday after Memorial Day.

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