Filmmaking & Storytelling

Schedule: 6 Weeks | 2 Days a Week (Tue, Thu) | 13 Sessions Total (3 Hours/Session)

Core Objective: Create cinematic art using accessible tools. Students use personal smartphones for production capture and transition to desktop systems for post-production editing.

Phase 1: Pre-Production & Screen Storytelling (Weeks 1–2)

Session 1: The Architecture of a Narrative Screenplay

●      Theory: The classic 3-Act narrative structure. Moving from literal dialogue to visual exposition ("Show, Don't Tell").

●      Practical Lab: Standard screenwriting software formatting, script structure, and layout management.

Session 2: Visualizing the Script (Storyboarding)

●      Theory: Camera mechanics and psychology: Low angles for authority vs. high angles for vulnerability. Utilizing Shot Sizes (Wide, Medium, Close-Up).

●      Practical Lab: Transforming written beats into structural shot lists and scheduling sequential film tracking.

Session 3: Mobile Cinematography & Composition

●      Theory: The Rule of Thirds, forced perspectives, frame depth, and kinetic camera movement principles.

●      Practical Lab: Overriding smartphone auto-settings: Locking focus and manual exposure points. Safe stabilization grip handling.

Phase 2: Production & On-Set Dynamics (Weeks 3–4)

Session 4: Sculpting and Modifying Light

●      Theory: 3-Point Studio Lighting principles (Key, Fill, Backlight). Soft light vs. hard shadow diffusion.

●      Practical Lab: Manipulating natural window rays utilizing bounce boards and simple diffusion panels.

Session 5: Sound Capture & Audio Integrity

●      Theory: Acoustic management. Identifying background distortion risks. Understanding how sound design carries narrative immersion.

●      Practical Lab: Placing secondary recording devices for backup microphone tracking and proximity lapel placement.

Session 6: Principal Photography (The Live Set)

●      Theory: Set communication rules and active crew hierarchies (Director, Cinematographer, Sound Recordist, Slate).

●      Practical Lab: Real-time time management tracking, sun-path alignment, and running consecutive takes on a live set.

Phase 3: Post-Production & Assembly (Weeks 4–6)

Session 7: The Assembly Cut Structure

●      Theory: Editorial philosophies. Selecting performance takes. Establishing narrative logic inside the initial timeline layout.

●      Practical Lab: Media ingestion, project organizing structures, and mastering basic timeline editing commands.

Session 8: Editorial Rhythm & Pacing

●      Theory: Cutting on kinetic action. Integrating B-Roll overlays to cover continuity cracks. Utilizing advanced J-Cuts and L-Cuts.

●      Practical Lab: Speed tracking modifications, trim refinement tool options, and visual transition overlays.

●      Milestone Assignment: Turning the raw assembly into a polished fine-cut layout by maximizing clip transitions and structural pacing.

Session 9: Color Grading & Ambient Sound Beds

●      Theory: Color balancing emotional tones (warmth vs. cold hues). Layering immersive background soundscapes, foley audio, and music beds.

●      Practical Lab: White balance balancing, highlight controls, and multitrack background audio leveling.

●      Milestone Assignment: Final color matching and audio mastering of the respective group film timelines.

Session 10: The Grand Cinema Showcase

●      Theory: Rendering settings and social video specs. Explaining artistic intentions to an active viewing audience.

●      Practical Lab: Compression presets, audio normalization boundaries, and batch archive file creation.

Session 11 & 12: Final Project (Capstone Presentation)