Subject to change!

In Progress

Moving Image Classroom
The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the chains that shackle the spirit... the arbitrariness of the constraint only serves to obtain the precision of the execution. Igor Stravinsky

At the center of every story is some question I do not have the answer for, and something that really scares me.
Paul Haggis
Mirrors should do a little bit of reflection before giving us our images back. Jean Cocteau 

Fall 09
Pier Marton
Eads 013
 Office Hours
Wednesdays & Thursdays (two sections)
4 pm-7 p.m.
253 Umrath Hall Wed. 2-4 p.m..
& Thurs. 3-4 p.m.
(Appt. Pref.)

Teaching Website
Wednesday Ning & Thursday Ning.

935-4055
marton@artsci.wustl.edu

The first of five production courses, each emphasizing a different aspect of video production, this course explores the ways images and sounds function as cinematic building blocks and purveyors of content.
Our present era of market-driven sensory overload does not allow the value of each image to emerge. Yet as media producers, we are required to make our images count. How can we re-energize our field? Where are the vital and necessary images?
To assist in this task, our projects start with simple montages of images and evolve toward sound and movement sequences, culminating in a tightly edited video piece, rich in content and form. Not unlike the screening process of film and television which both reveals and conceals reality, as we create new media, wary of perpetuating clichés and past formulas, we will strive to recognize some of our blind-spots.
Students work with 720p cameras and are introduced to iMovie editing software to produce a two-minute (max.) piece screened in a public setting. They also produce a web page showing off their clip(s).
Required texts: Photo Idea Index by Jim Krause, The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video by Tom Schroeppel. Recommended: iMovie 09, Visual QuickStart Guide by Jeff Carlson, Notes on Cinematography by Robert Bresson. Prerequisite: Film Studies 220 (or some other basic film history course).

Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty. What is happening now is not as exciting as what may or may not happen next. - Alexander Mackendrick.

Week 1 - August 24. Introduction to Course, Goals, Ning. Creativity. Sensory Experience. Previous Pieces. iMovie's Preferences. Glitch. In the Mood for Love.
For Next Week Check the Page of Assignments.

Week 2 - August 31- Two Biographies BeatMarkers. Exporting Frames of Text & Shapes with Storyboard, Page of Advice

Week 3 - September 7 - Harold Ramis. Details about the Final Projects. How to create the markers, split clips and delete/replace sections. Eliminating what is Superfluous. Possible PII Quiz.

Week 4 - September 14 - The Cinematic. Narrative Structures. Macro/Micro and Fractals. Tensions, Mono No Aware, Wabi-Sabi, Reygadas & Silent Light. Narrative Curve.Characters vs. Stick Figures. Compositional Principles & Explosive Recipes. Soundtrack Pro Editing Basics. Sound as Anchor for Character & Atmosphere. Away from Catalogues, Primer Trailer. Importing BBC Sound Effects.(PDF Part 1 & PDF Part 2)Possible PII Quiz.

Week 5 - September 21 - Composing "oneself". Giving Problems to the Audience. Rule of Thirds, Symmetry, etc...Storytelling Elements: Stick Figures. Getting away from A to Z, Layering in Time/Space, Foreground/Framing. Basics of Timeline, Practical "Inoculations". Wabi-Sabi and Not Knowing. Keeping the Interest Going, Rhythms. Excerpts from Fuse, Paris, I Love You & The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (compare with the book's description): the Immersive Experience:Media vs. Project Files. Server Playback Settings.Capture Footage. Possible PII Quiz.

Week 6 - September 28 - .Cameras/Tripods. Stabilization, Smoothness. Acting vs. Being (Context) and Not Spelling Things Out. 180 degrees. Further Details about Hierarchy in Time. Brightness/Grey Scale, Composition, Style (Consistency).

Week 7- October 5 - Image Hierarchy, Headroom, 180, Clean Entry/Exit, Mystery & Layering, "Held Against You", Cropping Reality, What to Include on Your Website. Say it clearly and you make it beautiful, no matter what. Bruce Weigl. Quiz Barebones.

Week 8- October 12 - Introduction to iWeb/Your First Posting. Continuity/Unity. Shooting Scripts/Shot List. Climax. Establishing Shots & Basic Grammar of Shots. Jump Cuts.

Week 9 - October 19 - Speaking "Filmic", Project and Website Feedback. Work Session.

Week 10- October 26 - More Feedback about Work Produced. Space/Time/Atmosphere. Flipping Screen Direction. Noise in Communication. Revise, Recycle your idea to fit your Material. More FCP Tips.

Week 11 - November 2 - Enough to hook us? Maybe another layer of information is needed. Why Sound? Sound Effects vs. Instruments. Marker's Letter from Siberia. Soundtrack Dissonances Soundtrack Pro Basics. Musical Stinger/Accents.

Week 12 - November 9 - Titling/Colors. Audio-Post Production.

Week 13 - November 16 - Finishing Touches: Graphics/Fonts. Adding your own fonts. .Post-Production "Lighting" and Color Correction, Hum and Volume Control.

Week 14 - November 23 - Fine Tuning Individual Assistance.

Week 15 - November 30- In-Class Screening & Review.

Sunday December 6, 2 p.m. - Public screening! (in Brown 100).

In terms of grading, sustained efforts and thorough participation will guarantee a passing grade. Beyond that, if your piece is well-done, you will get a B. If it is nearing excellence by being original, well-designed (visually and as a concept) you will receive an A. I recommend you ask me throughout the semester for such feedback, if you are concerned about your final grade.