French Film Culture & Filmmaking

Week One

#Day 1

• Introductions of Class, Crew, Professors and staff
• Defining project for production, outlining shoot limits, production opportunities and exploring school and resource of the fortnightly project

• Writing fundamentals. Short versus Feature film considerations.
• Character based storytelling vs. three act structure
• Analysis of key short films at EICAR
• Defining beats, writing the treatment, defining the pitch
• Dialogue versus action
• Brainstorming for group parameters

#Day 2

• Directing fundamentals of film grammar
• Shot listing
• Basic prep and pre production fundamentals
• Continuity
• Visual storytelling and conceptual editing basics

• Master class on French film styles and movements and highlighting auteur theory vs Hollywood in approaches
• Group brainstorming for screenwriting sessions

#Day 3

• Location scouting: Tracing the steps of famous French films and how locations were used.  Follow the footsteps of Agnes Varda’s character in the seminal work Cléo from 5 to 7 »)

#Day 4

• Set fundamentals and working as a crew, designations of crew and casting plus scheduling for project

• Field Trip to Luxor Cinema for Film Screening

#Day 5

• Students can meet individually for prep

Week Two

#Day 6

• Editing Master Class Designing coverage and Understanding film Continuity

• Final pre production preparation, final casting, crew scouting and test prep

#Day 7

• Final Group Project All Day Shoots as a Collective

#Day 8

• Master Class Lecture about film Styles and Genres

• Final film editing and post production sound, read out of summaries written of cultural excursions

#Day 9

• Visit to the French Cinematheque and Screenings Exhibits
• Picnic at Francois Mitterand Library

#Day 10

Morning and Afternoon

• Final Review of cultural excursions and final screening/ceremony in late afternoon