Jeremy Butler (jbutler@bamanet.ua.edu), Telecommunication and Film Department, P.O. Box 870152, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.
TCF 140 FILM FUNDAMENTALS FALL 1994 Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Butler Office: 430C Phifer Office hours: TT 3:30-5:00, & by appt. 348-6350 E-mail: jbutler@bamanet.ua.edu OBJECTIVES: An awareness of the creative potential of the cinema through "hands on" experience with cinematic materials: image, sound, editing. An understanding of the conventions of narrative film and the tools necessary for film production. TEXTS: Malkiewicz, Kris. Cinematography. Second edition. New York: Prentice Hall, 1989. David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction. Fourth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. Pages 82-84 only! LAB/PROJECT FILM: Each student will contribute three 100-foot rolls of black-and-white 16mm film for class exercises and projects. He/she will also arrange for its processing. Currently, a 100-foot roll costs $12.13 and processing is $12.50 (plus shipping). EQUIPMENT: The TCF Department provides all cameras, tripods, and editing equipment, as well as some lighting equipment. You are financially responsible for all equipment you use. Please treat it with care. We have no insurance. ATTENDANCE: You are expected to attend every class. Roll will be taken. Your grade will be adversely effected by unexcused absences, especially during lab exercises. FINAL PROJECTS: The class will be divided into four groups, each of which will create a ten-minute film. (These groups will not be the same as the lab exercise groups.) These four projects will be based on scripts selected from the class' planning reports (see below). Each student will be assigned a specific crew position on these films. The students whose scripts are chosen will be the directors. PLANNING REPORTS: Each student will prepare a treatment (due 15 September) and shooting script (due 13 October) for a ten-minute narrative film. The four final projects will be selected from these planning reports. EXAMS: Exam One--September 22 Malkiewicz, chs. 1, 2, 10 and pp. 84-86 Exam Two--October 25 Malkiewicz, chs. 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 An approximate reading schedule is indicated below. Make-up exams will be arranged at the discretion of the instructor. OTHER ASSIGNMENTS: Students whose scripts are not selected for final projects must prepare three additional assignments: (1) a narrative analysis (due 22 November), (2) an image analysis (due 29 November), and (3) a decoupage (scene break-down) (due 1 December). GRADING: Exams will count 50% (25% each). 10% of your final grade will be determined by an evaluation of your film project planning reports (5% each). Class and lab contributions will count 6%. The film project will be worth 34%, if you are directing it, and 25%, if you are a crew member. For crew members the decoupage, narrative analysis and image analysis will each be worth 3%. A grade of "F" will be given to a student who has (1) not returned departmental equipment, or (2) not arranged for the repair of departmental equipment he/she has damaged. Grading summary: Directors Crew Members 50 Exams 50 6 Class Part. 6 10 Planning 10 34 Final Project 25 Decoupage 3 Narrative Analysis 3 _____ Image Analysis ____3_ 100 100 Grade scale: A 93-100 A- 90-92 B+ 88-89 B 83-87 B- 80-82 C+ 78-79 C 73-77 C- 70-72 D+ 68-69 D 63-67 D- 60-62 F 59 and below INCOMPLETE GRADES: Due to demands on equipment, incomplete grades will be given only in the most dire of circumstances. APPROXIMATE COURSE SUPPLIES COST: $80 (lab/project film) + $10 (misc.) = $90 COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to revisions announced in class): August 2 Introduction to film production (view student films) 30 Camera basics (Canon Scoopic camera) [ch. 1] September 1 Lens basics: focal length, f-stops, depth of field 6 Light meters and film stocks (Bolex camera) [ch. 2 & pp. 84-86] 8 Pictorial continuity: the basic scene 13 Narrative structure: the classical model [Bordwell & Thompson, pp. 82-84] 15 **LAB EXERCISE #1 (simple shooting sequences, panning)** **PLANNING REPORT #1 DUE** 20 Pre-production planning, camera placement [ch. 10] 22 **EXAM #1: chs. 1, 2, 10, & pp. 84-86** 27 Analyze film results of Lab #l 29 **LAB EXERCISE #2 (overlaps, cut-ins, cut-aways)** October 4 Composition, screen direction, lighting, SFX [chs. 3, 4, 8] 6 Analyze film results of Lab #2 11 Post-production: editing [chs. 7, 11] 13 **LAB EXERCISE #3 (shot development, angles, movement)** **NOTE: PLANNING REPORT #2 DUE** 18 Analyze film results of Lab #3 20 **LAB EXERCISE #4 (interior shooting, pull focus)** 25 **EXAM #2: chs. 3, 4, 7, 8, 11** 27 Sound basics November 1 Analyze film results of Lab #4; prepare for Lab #5 3 **LAB EXERCISE #5 (a filmed story)** 8 Editing and sound. View films 10 Groups 1 & 2 edit Lab #5 films 15 Groups 3 & 4 edit Lab #5 films 17 View/discuss Lab #5 films 22 Narrative analysis **NARRATIVE ANALYSIS DUE** 24 Thanksgiving Holiday 27 Hanukkah begins 29 Image analysis **IMAGE ANALYSIS DUE** December 1 Decoupage **DECOUPAGE DUE** 6 Groups A & B edit films 8 Groups C & D edit films (Hanukkah begins) 16 **FINAL EXAM PERIOD--8-10:30 A.M. (Friday)** View/discuss final film projectsJeremy Butler, jbutler@bamanet.ua.edu