For
Teens
(Open to anyone age
12-18)
afternoons in
mid-June
Class limited to maximum of 20 participants!
(minimum of 10 must enroll to have class)
For
Adults (NEW!)
(Open to anyone age
18 and up)
evenings in mid-May
Class limited to maximum of 12 participants!
(minimum of 6 must enroll to have class)
Co-sponsored by
UND
Department of English
UND
Department of Visual Arts
[This page last
updated on April 10, 2008]
Schedules
May
12-23, 2008 (adults)
June 9-20,
2008 (teens)
Monday
through Friday Afternoons
Week 1: Writing for
the Screen
Adult workshop Mon-Wed, May 12-14
6:00-9:30 pm nightly
Teen workshop Mon-Fri, June 9-13
3:00-5:00 pm daily
Week 2: Production
and Editing
Adult workshop Mon-Fri, May 19-23
6:00-10:00 pm nightly
Teen workshop Mon-Fri, June 16-20
1:00-5:00 pm daily
NOTE: only scripts written or revised
during Week 1 will be considered for production in Week 2
Registration:
· $180 for full 2-week camp (SAVE $20!)
· $ 75 for Screenwriting only
(May 12-14 for adults, June 9-13 for teens)
· $125 for Production only (May 19-23 for adults, June 16-20 for
teens)
(Make check payable to UND)
Include: name, address, school & grade, parent or guardian
signature, and emergency contact info
Mail registration with
payment to:
SUMMER MOVIE CAMP, UND English
Dept. mailstop 7209, Grand Forks ND
58202
CLICK HERE for printer-friendly Registration Form to fill out and mail with
payment.
Registration for either one-week session includes instruction, textbook,
DVD of class movies, and 2 tickets to a World Premiere screening of the class
movies at the historic Empire Arts
Center in downtown Grand Forks on Sunday afternoon, June 29th.
Additional copies of the DVD may be purchased at $10 each.
Registration for full two weeks includes 4 tickets to the Empire
premiere screening.
A workshop of the UND English Department in co-operation with
the UND Department of Visual Arts
Merrifield Hall classroom and Hughes Fine Arts Center video
editing lab
REQUIRED TEXT:
Christopher P. Jacobs, “Instant
Film School” – No-budget Moviemaking with Digital Video (supplied to
workshop participants)
INSTRUCTORS:
UND English Department senior lecturers Christopher P. Jacobs and Kathleen King
Kathy Coudle King has written a number of screenplays, and has
both written and produced numerous stage plays.
Christopher Jacobs has completed six feature-length digital movies
since 2002, and numerous short films since age 14.
TEN
GOOD BOOKS TO HAVE ON YOUR SHELF:
Alexander Mackendrick, On Film-Making
ISBN # 0-571-21125-9
Dale Newton and John Gaspard, Digital Filmmaking 101 ISBN# 0-941-18833-7
Laurent Tirard, Moviemakers' Master Class ISBN # 0-571-21102-X
David Howard and Edwared Mabley, The Tools of Screenwriting ISBN # 0-312-11908-9
Denny
Martin Flinn, How NOT to Write a
Screenplay ISBN # 1-58065-015-5
Syd Field, The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver
ISBN # 0-440-50491-0
John Gardner, The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers ISBN # 0-679-73403-1
Rick Schmidt, Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices ISBN # 0-14-029184-9
Bret Stern, How to Shoot a Feature Film
for Under $10,000 and not go to jail
ISBN # 0-06-008467-7
Michael C. Donaldson, Clearance &
Copyright ISBN # 1-879595-72-X
OVERVIEW
“Film as literature” has long been recognized as a valid subject
for serious study in an English Department, but has generally centered on
analysis of existing works, whereas creative writing classes foster mastering
the forms of short stories, poems, essays, and novels.
This is intended as a concise but comprehensive course on using
recent digital technology for personal self-expression in the dominant literary
form of the past century—moving pictures—starting with the written word (the
screenplay).
SYLLABUS
The class may view one or more episodes of “Project Greenlight.”
One or more feature films with DVD audio commentary tracks may also be assigned
for home viewing. Locally made and
student movies may also be shown and discussed as examples of motion picture
production realities and/or what can be done with limited means. Each student
will write one script, from which the class project(s) will be chosen. If a
substantial number of students have previous moviemaking experience, the class
may divide into two or more smaller groups, each making its own short movie or
(depending on scripts submitted) doing selected scenes for a longer movie.
Dedicated participation is critical, as the main project for the class will be
a group effort. There will be no exams.
Class meeting schedule
(Adult writing workshop will be condensed into three days, and participants can
use the rest of the week to get a head start on preproduction arrangements)
Tentative syllabus (subject to change):
WRITING WEEK
·
Monday - basic elements of screenwriting for a low budget; screenplay
format; brainstorming story ideas
–HOMEWORK: write screenplay
·
Tuesday – write screenplays
–HOMEWORK: revise screenplays
·
Wednesday – revise and polish screenplays
–HOMEWORK: watch a movie on DVD twice, the second
time with the audio commentary (title TBA)
·
Thursday - the producer’s responsibilities for organizing the project so
it can be completed; read screenplays and discuss preproduction needs
–HOMEWORK: continue preproduction work as needed
and/or watch another movie on DVD with audio commentary track
·
Friday - effective and efficient methods of shooting scenes and working
with actors, planning in advance for continuity editing; choose screenplay(s)
for production
WEEKEND HOMEWORK – work on
production(s) independently, if desired
PRODUCTION WEEK
·
Monday - basic principles of camera composition and lighting for a “film
look”; angles, lens focal lengths, camera movements, tripods, etc.; begin
production of the class script(s)
·
Tuesday - finish production
·
Wednesday - evaluating raw footage and possible post-production “fixes” for
faults; editing the footage for maximum impact
·
Thursday – completing “roughcut”; adding sound effects, ADR, and music
scoring
·
Friday - final editing, viewing and evaluation
Depending upon student interest,
previous experience, and equipment availability, the class may make either
several short small-group productions or one longer full-class production. The
final completed project(s) for both the adult and teen workshops will be
screened at a world premiere at the historic Empire Theatre in downtown Grand
Forks, starting at 2:00 pm Sunday, June 29th.
CONSIDERATIONS TO THINK ABOUT
·
Develop story ideas from recent
news stories, personal experiences, favorite movie genres
·
Be sure to take into account how
you might actually produce the concepts you have in mind
·
Make an outline of your basic
plot development (setup, confrontation, payoff),
then
fill it in with descriptions of the action, and finally the dialogue
·
Contact friends and
acquaintances about using locations and/or props
·
Set aside a realistic amount of
time for shooting and editing
·
What sort of close-ups, inserts,
and cutaways might add interest or dramatic impact to each scene?
·
What sort of transitions between
scenes will make things easier for the audience to follow?
·
How might music and/or extra
sound effects help intensify your scenes?
ADDITIONAL READINGS
FREE SCREENPLAY FORMATTING
TEMPLATE for MICROSOFT WORD
(To download, right-click and select
“save as”
-- then choose the folder on your hard
drive where you want it)
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Notes for the
UND “Intro to Film” class
Low-budget
and no-budget independent movies made in this region