DOES DIGITIAL MEDIA INTEREST YOU?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DOCUMENT ISSUES OF CONCERN ON FILM?
COME AND LEARN THE BASICS OF USING FILM TO:
- TELL A STORY
- DEBATE AN ISSUE
- RAISE AWARENESS
- DOCUMENT INJUSTICE
- PRESENT THE WORLD AROUND YOU
- ACT FOR CHANGE
To build the capacity of citizens – particularly youth -- to institute social change, Open Space, the civil society outreach initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies (CCDS), is offering a 4-week course in using film as a medium of social communications and social change. The course is designed for students, activists and concerned citizens.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
- To understand the form and function of documentary cinema
- To learn to make documentaries on socially-relevant themes using a medium that is accessible and affordable
- To learn to use documentary for self-_expression_, advocacy and social change.
The course will be supplemented by a hands-on, guided filmmaking module where participants will choose topics, script, direct and complete their own films. Groups of participants will have made a 10-minute film on a socially relevant theme at the end of the course.
In addition to learning about the elements of digital film making (script development, shooting, sound, editing and post-production), participants will be exposed to the fundamentals of social communications as they explore issues related to sustainable development, social justice and human rights.
FACULTY
The course will be conducted in Pune and will have lectures and inputs from well-known documentary film makers and experts in social communications including
--P K Nair, Founding Director, National Film Archive of India, and teacher at the Film and Television Institute of India
-- Paromita Vohra, Visiting Faculty at the Sophia College Center for Social Communications Media in Bombay, and scriptwriter, documentary/feature filmmaker
-- Anand Patwardhan, award-winning documentary filmmaker.
The course coordinator is Prakash Belawadi, Co-Director of the Centre for Film and Drama, Bangalore, journalist, documentary filmmaker and winner of the National Award for best feature film in English.
FRAMEWORK
The course will run for approximately 25 working days (including teaching, shooting and post-production) and will allow participants sufficient time with equipment and training. Five contingency days have also been provided and will be used if necessary.
Each film will be made by a group of participants and the length of shooting and post-production schedules will enable participants to get a complete feel of the medium and the technology they are working with. The equipment used will be professional, ensuring a broadcast-quality final product.
MODULE ONE: THEORY AND BACKGROUND
Five days of classes (6 hours per day).
The first module of the course will highlight the form and function of documentary films and the larger documentary enterprise. Through moderated discussions, we will make students aware of how to watch documentaries and how to write about them, how to use them as innovative means of communication and how to integrate them in professional situations.
Students will have a chance to post their film reviews and critiques on the Open Space website (
www.openspaceindia.org).
Outline of the module:
* A general introduction to the history of the documentary, its traditional purposes and intent
* The Indian documentary film movement
* Different styles, positions and ideologies
* How does documentary differ from short film, from news reports on television, from commissioned film?
* The impact of documentary cinema
* How to watch documentaries and how to write for/about them, how to use them as innovative means of communication and how to integrate them into professional situations
* The evolution of documentaries in the age of digital filmmaking and the Internet.
Students will have the opportunity to view several documentary films in the course of the sessions. Students will also be watching films from the collection at the National Film Archive of India in Pune at special screenings in the mini theatre.
Sessions will be interactive and will elicit the views of the students as well as guide them through new ideas, concepts and perspectives.
TECHNICAL ORIENTATION
One day of orientation to cameras, sound, editing and post-production possibilities so that participants understand what can be done during a shoot and what can be done in the studio. This will enable students to write their scripts with technical details and constraints in mind.
MODULE TWO: PREPARING TO MAKE A FILM
Seven days of guided research and training for script development with reference to a provided topic.
Outline of the module:
* Understanding visual language
* Researching and developing a script idea
* Developing and practicing interview techniques
* Planning pre-production
* Introduction to directing, editing and sound recording
* Planning post-production
* Putting together the shooting script for a documentary
MODULE THREE: MAKING A FILM
Ten days (one shift per day) of shooting and post-production for each group. The ten film-making days will run parallel as each group shoots and edits simultaneously but separately.
Participants will work with professional camera, sound and editing technicians to make their film. Each group will go through the entire process of making a film as a production unit with designated tasks and functions.
Outline of the module:
* Shooting
* Editing
* Post production (effects, titles and sub-titles, music, voice over, etc)
COURSE FEE
Rs 15,000 per head.
There are no scholarships available.
Participants from outside Pune will be expected to make their own arrangements for boarding and lodging.
This course is open to all. No prior experience in filmmaking is necessary though candidates demonstrating commitment to social change will be given preference.
For more information and an application form, please contact Open Space at 020 2545 7371 or write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Deadline for completed applications: August 2, 2006 |
